Ed.M

Looking to replace my old 18 speed Nishiki Hybrid with something a little more 'hill friendly'. I usually travel the backroads in my area and cover anywhere from 25 - 45 miles per trip.

I want to stay with a hybrid bike.The shops in my area offer both SPECIALIZED & TREK. I'm considering:
SPECIALIZED Sirrus Sport ($620)
SPECIALIZED Elite ($830)
TREK 7.3 FX ($690)
TREK 7.5 FX ($900)

I'm in good shape at 6', 170 lbs. Keeping in mind my type of riding, I'm looking for some opinions as to which bike might be best suited for my type of riding.
SPECIALIZED Sport or TREK 7.3? Why?
SPECIALIZED Elite or TREK 7.5? Why?
If you like the SPECIALIZED brand better, is it worth $210 more for the Elite over the Sport?
If you prefer the TREK brand, is the 7.5 worth the extra $220?

Thanks for your help...

* I did test ride the SPEC Sport and the TREK 7.3 but couldn't say that I preferred one over the other. Mainly looking for opinion on quality, durability, features, and overall ride if you can offer such thoughts?

treadtread

Have you ridden them? You might find that one of those fits much better than the others, at which point your question is automatically answered

kc4sox

Look at the Trek Verve 3. We just bought two and love them. I've done plenty of 35-50 mile rides on mine and it's a great bike. Comfy and handles climbing very well. At $650.00 it's right there in the price range your looking at. FWIW

Ed.M

Thanks for the thought on the Verve. I checked it out and looks to be a 'comfort' hybrid vs the 'fitness' hybrid I have in mind. But thanks again.

meyerca

I checked it out and looks to be a 'comfort' hybrid vs the 'fitness' hybrid I have in mind. But thanks again.

Rak73

I bought the Specialized Elite a couple of weeks ago and absolutely love it. I tried a few other including Trek, but found the ergonomics of this bike to be ideal for me. Its light weight and a really comfortable ride. I bought the bike to help me get back into shape and lose weight and so far its a dream. Yesterday I rode for 20km with an average speed of 18.3 km/h and a top speed of 38 km/hr. I'm in 'ok' shape and have no idea if that is good or not, but I was riding in a group and the mountain bikes couldn't keep but yet I could keep up with the road bikes.

The one downside (if you can call it that) is that the wheels that come with it are thin and thread bare like road bikes, which makes trails tough unless they are paved or packed gravel. If you are going on trails or off road, you could of course always change out the tires. I'm mostly riding on the road and so I'm good with it.

They say the best bike is the one that makes you want to keep riding, even when you are exhausted...this bike does it for me!

Whichever bike you get, enjoy it and welcome to riding!

Wanderer

Ride them both again, and try to ride them longer. One, should jump out at you as more comfortable, and fun.

I lust after a Sirrus Elite Disc, because Specialized bikes fit me better. I wish I knew that my back and shoulders could take it, and that the Sirrus would take wider tires......