My brother didn't have much budget for a bike, but wanted for camping/riding. He got a Trek 7.1 FX, and he and I had a great time touring for two nights out in Marin.
But there was one big issue: with its cheaper wheels, he has a lot of spoke-breaking problems on this bike. It's more frequent than should be considered tolerable for a reliable bike. To keep using this bike in the ways he likes (commuting, overnighters), he is going to need a better rear wheel. If this is typical of the model, I'd say that adds about $200 to its price. Solid wheels are non-negotiable. On Apr 13, 2013, at 1:41 PM, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery wrote: > 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. > > James Warren jimcwar...@earthlink.net - 700x55 -- 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.
