Bike to Work choice... II

fatboypee

I went for this:

Trek 7500e/

Priced as €785

Got the cheque from grumpy employer, presented to local bike shop, told it'd be end of July before the bike can be delivered :mad:

Went for it due to roads where I live being crap (was considering the FX 7.5) so, now thats out the window I need another choice. The issue is, it took alot of pain getting the cheque out of my employer and as such do not wanna go back and have to do it all again. So, options:

1. Go back, look for the 7300 and plus up with accessories to the value of 785 (won't be happy but fair enough)

2. Re-Visit my original choice of the 7.5FX (similar price but skinny wheels)

3. Look for an alternative (shop sells Kellys and Giant), if so, which?

Thing is I signed up for the bike leg of a triathlon in August and cannot wait til July to get training..

Advice very, very much appreciated.

fbp.

mloc123

unless your local roads are mud and gravel get the 7.5FX, it will be fine for any roads.

youcancallmeal

Definitely go and try out the 7.5fx, 700x32c should be no problem unless like the previous poster said you are mainly on mud and gravel!

morninwood

deffo go for the 7.5fx

fatboypee

Consensus is 7.5FX then... roads up my way have, err green bits in the middle , potholes to lose yer wife in and alot of gravel, hence my choice of 7500 but I'll take the punt I think as I'm not comfortable down-specci'ng for the sake of it and dont' know enough about others like Kelly or Giant...

Thanks for opinions. Gratefully appreciated.

fbp.

ThisRegard

I've got the 7.5FX, it's a grand bike and haven't had any issues regarding road surfaces bar the arse getting shaken off me on particularly bad roads but I just hardened that up over time and wear MTB shorts while on it. The tyres have a kevlar belt so punctures shouldn't be a problem, touch wood, I've googled them and nothing but good reports come back with people never having had punctures.

fatboypee

ThisRegard wrote: »

I've got the 7.5FX, it's a grand bike and haven't had any issues regarding road surfaces bar the arse getting shaken off me on particularly bad roads but I just hardened that up over time and wear MTB shorts while on it. The tyres have a kevlar belt so punctures shouldn't be a problem, touch wood, I've googled them and nothing but good reports come back with people never having had punctures.

Thats good to know. I had a 2001 FX7.5 and sold it due to lack of use and the fact that the damn suspension was highly unstable under heavy braking or hitting a bump :eek: Think this is alot more refined however..

Thanks to all who contributed.

fbp.

twinsen

I did about 2000km on my 7.5 fx, quite often on a bad roads, no punctures so far. i even took out a drawing-pin from it. tires they put on this bike seems to be very hard to puncture.

fatboypee

For those who kindly replied:

I collected my bike Trek 7.5FX on Friday Evening, couldn't wait to get it home and go for a spin. Struggled like a nob to get the front wheel off (clix set-up, never done it before) bur managed it. Got it home, spun off up my first hill to see how it would fair, damn thing flew along !

Managed a longer spin yesterday morning down into the village and back up, seriously speed on the way down, managed well on rough shale-y roads, good speed on the flat but where it won-out was the several climbs back to my house ! I'm not fit (at least not cycling fit) but I only had to dismount once (or pass out), the gearing, seat position and general ease with which I was able to control it made climbing alot less effort than the previous week (on my trek 4000 MTB).

So, for anyone with the budget or on Bike to Work scheme, I for one would thoroughly recommend this bike. I'm well pleased, if not a bit knackered now

Thanks for all the help.

fbp.