Trek 820 or 3500

Greg,

Consumer Reports did a review on bicycles in your price rangs within
the last few months. One of the things that they recommend is to avoid the
Dept. store bikes. It will probably be on their web-site.

PJ
"Greg Doughty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Good morning. I am 5'8 and 220 pounds. Looking for a cheap, well-built
mountain bike to ride on boardwalk and trails with a cannondale trailer

with

Quoted message said:

daughter in tow. I > Thanks
73
Greg
[email hidden]

On 29 Jul 2004 11:29:58 GMT, [email hidden] (Greg Doughty)

Quoted message said:

Good morning. I am 5'8 and 220 pounds. Looking for a cheap, well-built
mountain bike to ride on boardwalk and trails with a cannondale trailer with
daughter in tow. I was at one time an avid hard core mtn biker (rode Snowshoe
and asudry other places) and had a cannondale and trek. Well, time and babies
have caught up to me and I can't spend the coin I used to when I was single. I
looked at the schwinn at target but I know better than that. I also know I get
what I pay for but I think sticking with name brand is relatively safe. The
820 seems heavy and don't like the cheesy shock, but the layout on the 3500
looks more like easy riding. I will want to go offroad I am sure in the future
when I drop some pounds. Are there any other decent bikes in the 220-250 price
range?

Thanks
73
Greg
[email hidden]

You were a 'hardcore MTB-er' and you're asking us for advice on how to
purchase a bike?

Maybe you hit your head on a tree back then or something, eh? ;-)

-B

Greg Doughty said:

Good morning. I am 5'8 and 220 pounds. Looking for a cheap,
well-built mountain bike to ride on boardwalk and trails with a
cannondale trailer with daughter in tow. I was at one time an avid
hard core mtn biker (rode Snowshoe and asudry other places) and had a
cannondale and trek. Well, time and babies have caught up to me and
I can't spend the coin I used to when I was single. I looked at the
schwinn at target but I know better than that. I also know I get
what I pay for but I think sticking with name brand is relatively
safe. The 820 seems heavy and don't like the cheesy shock, but the
layout on the 3500 looks more like easy riding. I will want to go
offroad I am sure in the future when I drop some pounds. Are there
any other decent bikes in the 220-250 price range?

How about used? Since you've ridden in the past, you should recognize
decent condition, good fit, etc. Otherwise visit a few bike shops.

Bill "bump up that budget a bit" S.

Thanks for all the replies. I am looking at used as well. I would love to
have an old Cannondale super-v but that is still bucks LOL. Anyways, when I
stated that I used to bike, that was 13 years ago. A lot has changed as far as
price goes. My first bike was a trek 820 that I paid over 400.00 dollars for.
It's nice to see the cost way down but now there are a lot more choices. I
would love to have my old m500 but they are still going for over 500.00.

Thanks
73
Greg
[email hidden]

(Greg Doughty) said:

Good morning. I am 5'8 and 220 pounds. Looking for a cheap, well-built
mountain bike to ride on boardwalk and trails with a cannondale trailer with
daughter in tow. I was at one time an avid hard core mtn biker (rode Snowshoe
and asudry other places) and had a cannondale and trek. Well, time and babies
have caught up to me and I can't spend the coin I used to when I was single. I
looked at the schwinn at target but I know better than that. I also know I get
what I pay for but I think sticking with name brand is relatively safe. The
820 seems heavy and don't like the cheesy shock, but the layout on the 3500
looks more like easy riding. I will want to go offroad I am sure in the future

One of the critical factors is how much you are going to ride it. The
chain, cassette and wheels on the 820, 3500, 3700 and 4100 wont hold
up to your weight for more than 1500 miles or so (more for the
rims...maybe). For purely weekend rides, that might be 2 years, but
could be as little as a few months if you ride more (and depending on
the stress added by the trailer).

Quoted message said:

when I drop some pounds. Are there any other decent bikes in the 220-250 price
range?

You get what you pay for.

OTOH, the 4300 is 'only' about $90 more than the 3500. Additionally,
the 2005 models should be popping up in 2-3 weeks which could lead to
some nifty sales and used bike opportunities.

Quoted message said:

Thanks
73
Greg
[email hidden]

VBadJuJu none@ said:

(Greg Doughty) said:

Good morning. I am 5'8 and 220 pounds. Looking for a cheap, well-built
mountain bike to ride on boardwalk and trails with a cannondale trailer with
daughter in tow. I was at one time an avid hard core mtn biker (rode Snowshoe
and asudry other places) and had a cannondale and trek. Well, time and babies
have caught up to me and I can't spend the coin I used to when I was single. I
looked at the schwinn at target but I know better than that. I also know I get
what I pay for but I think sticking with name brand is relatively safe. The
820 seems heavy and don't like the cheesy shock, but the layout on the 3500
looks more like easy riding. I will want to go offroad I am sure in the future

One of the critical factors is how much you are going to ride it. The
chain, cassette and wheels on the 820, 3500, 3700 and 4100 wont hold
up to your weight for more than 1500 miles or so (more for the
rims...maybe). For purely weekend rides, that might be 2 years, but
could be as little as a few months if you ride more (and depending on
the stress added by the trailer).

Quoted message said:

when I drop some pounds. Are there any other decent bikes in the 220-250 price
range?

You get what you pay for.

OTOH, the 4300 is 'only' about $90 more than the 3500. Additionally,
the 2005 models should be popping up in 2-3 weeks which could lead to
some nifty sales and used bike opportunities.

Quoted message said:

Thanks
73
Greg
[email hidden]

What about the 4300 will make it last longer? Looks like it has a
suspension fork. Maybe the OP should get a cro-moly frame and alloy wheels?

Just askin'.

-B