# Help Decide B/W Trek, Giant, and Specialized



## tnoble (Mar 13, 2009)

Like so many other posters, I too am trying to get my wife into biking, and need help deciding which bike to purchase. I have read the some of the other threads and understand that it depends on my wife's personal feel for the bike, but I also want to know what you think of the bikes we are weighing. 

My main objective is to get her on a bike that is comfortable to her, and that she will enjoy riding (one that doesn't make her hate the sport). Then later on we can upgrade to a road or mountain. We will mostly be riding on concrete and asphalt (roads and sidewalks). She wants a flat bar "fitness" type bicycle (she is intimidated by drop down handle bars right now) We do have a $ cap at $700. We have narrowed it down to these three:

1) Giant fcr 3 WSD
2) Trek 7.3 fx WSD
3) Specialized vita

We chose these because they are in our $ range, and can be found at our LBS's. I am leaning toward the Giant mainly because of the reviews I have seen about them...don't appear to be as many reviews on the Trek or Specialized. I thank you for your help in advance.


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

tnoble said:


> Like so many other posters, I too am trying to get my wife into biking, and need help deciding which bike to purchase. I have read the some of the other threads and understand that it depends on my wife's personal feel for the bike, but I also want to know what you think of the bikes we are weighing.
> 
> My main objective is to get her on a bike that is comfortable to her, and that she will enjoy riding (one that doesn't make her hate the sport). Then later on we can upgrade to a road or mountain. We will mostly be riding on concrete and asphalt (roads and sidewalks). She wants a flat bar "fitness" type bicycle (she is intimidated by drop down handle bars right now) We do have a $ cap at $700. We have narrowed it down to these three:
> 
> ...


The best way to get your wife to cycle is to get her the bike she wants, even if it isn't necessarily 'the best.' Ideally, the one she wants most is the one that fits best, and normally just about everyone (myself included) says to go with the one with the best fit. But the truth is she's more likely to 'get into' cycling if she likes the bike, and chances are the one she likes on a gut level can be made to fit (unless you buy a size that's way off). This isn't one of those times to say, 'Daddy knows best,' because something got half a star more in reviews. 

All else being equal also consider warranty and dealer service. When I was shopping for my first road bike in 20+ years a few years back, my Specialized dealer was offering lifetime tune-ups with purchase of bike. This site's sister, MTBR.com, has reviews of bike dealers, so check those as well.


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