Craigslist finds: Trek 7.3fx, 7.5fx, or Mendota. Thoughts?
 

OK, I *never* see these kind of bikes on Craigslist, and right now there are a few. The Trek fx models are clearly older, like maybe 2006 based on some archives I'm looking at; the Mendota is supposed to be a 2010. The FXs are a little over an hour; the Mendota is about 50min away.

What do you think of any of these for pricing and such? I'm not as familiar with the Mendota and that grouping -- the gearing is a little different, I think.

Trek 7.3 $300 and 7.5 $400 (7.5 is the right size but might consider the smaller one for a teen, but not sure I want to spend the money)
http://appleton.craigslist.org/bik/2572561826.
I think this may be the 7.5 archived, but not sure of year:
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2006/archive/75fx

Trek Mendota $600 (no pic, no real details; don't really like that)
http://greenbay.craigslist.org/bik/2572919119.html
Info from the Trek archive:
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...rchive/mendota

Mysterious Lady,

The first question is what kind of bike do you want? The bikes you listed are what I call "performance hybrids" and are best suited for hard surfaces.

The Gary Fisher Mendota and the Trek 7.5FX are essentially the same bike except that the Mendota has disc brakes and is priced a couple of hundred dollars higher.

The 7.3FX has an aluminum fork (instead of carbon), is 8 speed (instead of 9) and is priced a couple of hundred dollars lower than the 7.5FX. In my wife's opinion, the trigger shifters on the 7.5FX are much better than those on the 7.3FX.

If you want a performance hybrid, all three are good bikes. Fit is the first priority, followed by condition and personal appeal. Price is .... negotiable.

Just my opinion, YMMV.

Hope this helps.

Hey Barry -- thanks so much for your reply. I wrote up a paragraph or two response but then lost it all, so I'll leave it at that and just say thank you for your input.