[markangela]

I am currently looking for a hybrid bicycle for my second oldest son, John. He's 11 and a 15" frame fits him well. I have two bicycle makes that I have narrowed it down to. The Trek 7000, or the Schwinn Sporterra - sport.

I'm not sure which way to go for versitility and durability. He will mainly be on roads, but being a boy, the call of trails and off-road will appeal to him.

I would appreciate any help someone could give me. I'm torn. I like my schwinn searcher and I do a lot of commuting with it, but the guys I bought it from are jerks. I get it serviced at a great place, but they sell Trek. I want to give them the business, but I have to get what is best.

[photosbymark]

Just in my opinion, I have a Schwinn and for the most part been pleased. Yet Trek is an outstanding bike and I likely will buy one when I replace the Schwinn. Yet brand isn't the issue. Service is. Go where you get the good service. I think most everyone here will tell you Trek is a fine bike, and the boy is likely to need repairs at some point.

What I did when I got back into biking was to get a mountain bike, then bought an extra set of tires that were for road riding. When I decided to go trail riding, change tires. That got to be a pain so I bought a spare rear wheel. Had another front wheel from an old bike so all I had to do was swap wheels. Now I have a road and a mountain bike so its not an issue, but it might give you some flexiblity till he decides what he likes best.

[jwl325]

May not be the most popular opinion, but I tend to think most competing bikes within similar price ranges are going to be very similar in quality and bang for the buck. Schwinn gets dissed sometimes because you can find them in big box stores, but they're quality bikes IMO, and in the price range you're looking at, more than likely are on a par with similar offerings from the bike shop brands like Trek, Giant, etc..

I've owned both Schwinns and Treks, and currently my wife and I have a bit of a stable of Treks. Were I in your shoes, I'd probably go with the shop I liked for the future support.

But I think quality wise, you'll be fine with either bike.

Bill

[photosbymark]

Oh a Saints logo. I remember watching the Saints first game thinking they were going to be good because they picked up one of my favorite players on the Packers their first year. Yet anyone that has been around that long remembers not only just how good, but how much class old number 8 displayed at all times. Later in life I got lucky enough to see that class displayed first hand. How many QB's have won a league MVP on a losing team??

Isn't ironic that the QB of the first Super Bowl win is named Drew??? I did buy a pair of ice skate though because frozen over is the operative phrase.

[jwl325]