Quote:
Originally Posted by b31den
Does treck make good bikes?
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You mean Trek? Yes they do make good bikes and sometimes great ones. But more important are the components (leavers, cranks, pedals, brakes, etc.). Most of the stock component market has been cornered by Shimano. Shimano manufactures parts which vary in quality from ok to amongst the best. The higher end stuff at Shimano for mountain bikes (i'm assuming you want a mountain bike) is called SLX (formerly LX), XT, and XTR. But XTR is so expensive that you won't see a difference if you buy a bike with XT components on it. Very few bikes offer a full set of XTR and the price is through the roof anyways. Other good component manufacturers are Hayes and Sram -- to name only a few -- as well as Mavic for the wheels. The same applies to road bikes, but instead of LX and XT, the names of the Shimano parts are 105, Ultegra and Dura Ace.
Having said that, many companies make good bikes other than Trek... Cannondale, Gary Fisher, etc. Currently, there's a real buzz around Scott frames on mountain bikes.
It will come down to the price and what you want to do with it. Are you looking for a bike for general riding, one for commuting, are you interested in doing serious cross country biking.
If you are still undecided about which bike you want to buy, I strongly suggest you take a look at places like craigslist.com. You live in Calgary and there's a strong mountain bike community in that city because of the proximity to the slops and trails. This means lots of very good used bikes up for grabs. Serious cyclists are crazy about equipment and they always take good care of them. Further more, they frequently assemble and upgrade their own bikes with killer components. And they always keep an eye for the next best thing. You could get a really great bike which will have a few scratches for half the price if you would be willing to go second hand.