I've been riding to work for about 18 months (about 8 k's each way) on an old Avanti. I'm now in the market for a new bike and like what I see on both the Trek 1200 and Giant CRX1. I'm pretty heavy, about 92 kilos so I want a strong light bike and both seem to fit the bill. I'm in Tasmania and the roads are sometrimes a bit rough.
Which are the best wheels? the Giant's Shimano R550 16/20H or the Trek's Alex AT450.
Any comments about these two bikes or other similar would be much appreciated.
Just poked my head in to say I was in Hobart and Perth aboard the USS Carl Vinson in 1994. Very beautiful countryside you have there! I wish I'd had my bike with me. I would love to get over to Aus/NZ on my own when I retire. Good luck finding a bike, mate!
I went through the exact same dilemma about two months ago. I was on the verge of buying a CRX1 when I came across an Avanti Blade Pro on sale and got that instead (non AUS/NZ readers won't know what that is). Anyway, put Avanti on your list, but for bang for the buck its hard to go past the Giant: wheels, gears etc much better than the Trek.
BTW, Shimano describes the R550 wheels as "dura-ace design at a 105 price level" and the Trek's wheels have Tiagra hubs. So Shimano would probably say the Giant's wheels are better.
