Salesman told me that a giant talon is about the same quality as a trek 6500. True?

[logo273]

Im looking to do a seriously long tour. A guy has done the tour on a trek 6500 and he thought it was fine but the trek 6500 is a bit too much money. A salesman told me that the giant talon and the trek 6500 are about the same quality and will deliver a similar ride.

This true?

[EzyLee]

What is the price difference? They both look fairly similar to me... Maybe it is worth while going the giant and then spending a bit more on customising the bike for the tour (Faster rolling tyres + paniers)

[jaaber]

I've got the 08 talon and it's been really durable, I never do any maintanence and it still goes fine. I'm not familiar with trek 6500 so i can't make a comparison.

[workmx]

The spec on the Giant and Trek are almost the same (except the Giant has SPDs).

The Trek is $1599RRP and the Giant $1295RRP.

Price is in the Giant's favour (no surprise there!).

Another thing is favour of the Gaint is the lack on "in-house" parts.

Speaking from the experience (been a Trek owner for 2 years), the Bontrager parts are pretty crappy.

I have replaced all the Bontie parts on my Trek (stem, bars, saddle, seatpost, wheels and tyres) with better parts.

It was an expensive exercise.

If I had my time again, I would buy a Giant.