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Fun Sustainable Transport

The Trek 3700 is the basic aluminium model that is available in India and its hardly any surprise that this is the model that BumsOnTheSaddle has sold the most, for various reasons.

• Back on a bicycle after ages, scared to pick up a more expensive model
• highly recommended by others in some forums
• budget constraints
• no other bike to compare with. Our mistake, since we have just a 3700 as a demo bike
• Have the budget, but scared of what will happen if they pick up a more expensive bike. What will my wife/husband/parents think ?

The Trek 3700 is sufficient for the kind of riding that most folks do. If you are looking at commute to work, an occasional weekend ride, a little adventurous streak on the sidewalk, well this bike is more than enough. Its a good bike.

The next model that Trek boasts of, is the Trek 4300.

(please click on each image for more details)

On the whole

• the frame is stronger than the 3700. Its made of a different aluminium alloy compared to the 3700.
• the front suspension is much better with more travel. There are pre-load dials, that almost lock out the suspension. Depending on the trail/road, you can either have a soft suspension or a really hard one.
• I like the handle bars. Much better than the ones on the 3700. The Matt finish looks and feels really nice.
• The rear dérailleurs are Shimano Alivio, a notch better than the Shimano Acera on the 3700, plus its got 8 rear gears making it a 24 Speed bike.
• the wheels on the 4300 are much stronger with better tires on them.
• other components like the seat, seat post, handle bars, chain rings, pedals, cranks and stems have all been upgraded to better components.

What do better components mean ?

A Trek bicycle is made up of the frame plus various components. Trek manufactures the frame and the components are mainly from Shimano, SRAM or Bontrager. Each of these brands have a range of components starting from cheaper ones to really expensive ones. What I have understood till date, speaking to experienced folks who have ridden trek bikes for quite sometime and reading off the internet, is that better components translate to a longer component life and a more optimal functioning of that component. So, in short a better component is Good :)