There is no one bike for everybody. Today I saw a Trek 7.1 FX on the light rail train in Minneapolis. Just guessing it's a $450ish new bike. From an unbiased viewpoint, it has lots of attractive features. Good tire clearance (fendered 700x40 easy), smart gearing, good brakes, high handlebars. Easy to rack and fender. Sure, it had lower end Shimano Alivio components, but I'm not sure that 20-year-old XT parts worked any better or were more durable than present day Alivio. Obviously it lacks the cachet and street cred of a vintage steed, but not everybody who wants a bike to ride shares that nostalgia. For most cyclists shopping in this price range and wanting a good bike with minimal hassle, I'd not hesitate to recommend this model. Just walk into a Trek shop and buy it. No hunting Craigslist, no uncertainty about history or worn/broken parts, and a warranty!
Of course, the case could be made that a suitable older bike is worth the extra effort and risk of chasing down Craigslist leads and fixing up the bike as needed. Many of us here enjoy that sort of thing. Many of our significant others, little sisters, buddies at work, etc, probably don't have that hobby, and don't understand why buying a bike has to be a fussy, complicated process. Those of use who've been drinking the kool-aid for years sometimes forget that not everybody shares our tastes or our willingness to put up with inconvenience. For better or worse, the mass market bikes are excellent for mass market cyclists. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
