Hi everyone.
I'm currently looking for a bike which will perform a number of tasks. I want to ride to and from university every day and about the city, but I'd also like to go much much farther, and be able to live off my bike. I am also planning a short, 2 week tour this summer, starting at the southern tip of Holland, visiting Germany, Luxemburg, France and Belgium, then back to Holland for the trip home. I'm planning to pretty much make cycling my life, but first...i need a suitable bike to train on!
I don't have a massive budget right now - can probably stretch to ?00 or so, so I was looking at this: Trek T10 2007, and maybe upgrading some parts to make it more suitable. I don't have anything at the moment, so I'll need too a helmet etc. in my budget too. Maybe some clip pedals?
Is this bike suitable for my needs? I won't be able to try it out for 2 weeks, so just fishing for inital ideas right now - feel free to recommend any other options too.
By the way: I'm 6'2 and 196lbs.
Cheers!
(锕侊箒)~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, I think the bike would do, it's OK and a good price, but I would loose the saddle and tires. Also make sure the cassette has some low gears. The hills in the German Eifel, Belgium Ardenne and around Luxemburg are not long but can get a bit steep.
My wife has the Trek 7.2FX (WSD) and has no complaints, pics on our page.
You can also see if you can pic up a (beter quality) used bike, I hear there are some good bargains out there, if you have the time that is.
Hope you're passing by Maastricht, great place to visit, and if you have any questions about this area let me know, I've riden all around this place.
cheers
(锕侊箒)~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks xilios, I've been looking at the FX range too - I've seen the '06 models going pretty cheap. Would I need to replace anything if I got a 7.1 or 7.2? It might be a better idea for me to just get one of them...
Oh, and Maasricht is my first planned stop (锕侊箒)~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------
[QUOTE=SkyPilot]Would I need to replace anything if I got a 7.1 or 7.2? QUOTE]
Again I would recomend you replace the saddle and tires.
For the saddle check out Brooks. We have the sprung models but I hear the unsprung are prety good also.
For the tires check out http://schwalbetires.com/marathon_plus_page.
A bit pricy, but are well worth it.
cheers
(锕侊箒)~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------
How about the Giant CRS 3.0? It seems quite decent to my untrained eye, and the 10% in free accesories deal means I could get some cheap pannier racks included, that is if the bike can take them? Thanks for the help so far.
(锕侊箒)~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------
At this price range they are almost all the same, only diffences would be wheel types and color. Don't forget to get lower gears, but buying new it shouldn't be a problem your LBS could just replace them no extra charge. Also I would get some cheap(er) racks we bought Tubus for my wifes bike and they are way too expansive, (for their use), you could get by with much cheaper ones. Giant make some prety good racks, I use them on my Gazelle Playa.
(锕侊箒)~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------
Although that bike appears to be a reasonable commuting bike and general purpose beginner bike, if you have plans to do touring and, as you say, live off the bike, you will probably want to purchase a touring bike. It will cost a lot more money initially, but will be better suited for carrying heavy loads and will be more reliable than the bike you suggest.
Buying a cheap bike with the idea of upgrading the components is usually more expensive than buying a bike with the components you want from the beginning.
You might check with bike shops for used touring bikes. A good bike doesn't need to have all the latest components to be worthwhile.
(锕侊箒)~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks a lot xilios and supcom for all the help.
I think what I'm going to do is wait for a good deal on ebay - currently I have a few Dawes Galaxy's being watched. My LBS's don't seem to have any touring bikes, only mountain and bmx's. Thanks again!
James
(锕侊箒)~~~~----------------------------------------------------------------------
