mueller@utah-gr.UUCP (Tim Mueller) (01/27/84)
I'd say the answer to your questions lies in your ability and/or desire to work on the bike yourself. If you are going to put the bike to heavy use and are going to need service and don't want to do it yourself the dealer you buy from might be important ( however you can always buy it from one dealer and take it to another for service, you just might miss out on some free service from the dealer you bought it from ). All the bikes you mention will hold up very well but every bike needs yearly maintenance and if you tour a lot some components will need servicing also. The TREK has a lifetime frame guarantee and their frames are one of the best around. The frame is ultimatly the most important part of the bike, I'd buy the best frame I could find, even if I didn't like the dealer. Tim Mueller ...!harpo!utah-cs!mueller