Is this mountain bike worth the money?

Question

I'm new to mountain biking and considering purchasing the Trek 820 at my local bike shop for $289. I only plan on doing some light bike trails and commuting around a college campus.

Would my money be better spent on a different bike?

Answer 1

Um, I generally tend to choose KHS (Alite), Diamondback (Sorrento or Response) and  Raleigh (Mojave) over Trek or Specialized at this price. The others  tend to have one level better components at the same price. Do a bit of surfing and you can find more info.

However, the 820 is an OK bike for your application if you insist on Trek.

Answer 2

Thats about the going rate for the 820.   If you are planning on only riding paved trails and commuting, then you should look at a bike with 700 c wheels; the 820 has 26" mountain bike wheels, and with the wider tires, this bike would be harder to pedal around; its also a quite heavy bike.

Check out the Trek 7000 or FX series; may cost you up to $400, but you'll get a much better bike.

Answer 3

I've had a Trek 820 a few years ago..  It was a solid bike, very heavy steel frame, weighs about 40 pounds.  It should suit your purposes (casual use).  In the future you might want to upgrade to a lighter bike though if you get hooked and want to do more than just casual riding.