First post for a new rider here. Glad I found this site. Last rode any real distances back in college days on a late 90s Trek 820. Peer pressure (the good kind) from a friend had me thinking of biking again for fun and exercise, so I dusted off the 820 and rode it for the better part of a month until the rear bearings went out. I got a new wheel and decided that I would pass it down to my daughter since she was showing interest in going riding some distances with me....and BLAMMO!....I just justified to myself buying a new bike!
This lead to the search... Although my buddy does pretty much technical mountain biking, I had no interest in MB riding anymore (being 40yo and 265lbs). But I also wasn't interested in pure road bike either. The flexibility of DS type hybrids were just up my alley. I test rode two Giant Roam 2's. Was totally set on getting one. The first lbs was a bit expensive, and I dropped the chain on the test ride a couple of times. Didn't feel right, and wasn't ready to lay out the cash. After a week or so I went to another store that had the bike for 50 bucks less, so I went money in hand. The chain did a lot of snapping and popping on the test ride, so the LBS decided to swap out another chain. Test rode it again, and as the LBS salesman watched, I broke the chain as I rode around the lot (and not on the master link either). Got a bad feeling about the Giants, even though I really liked the bike. I test drove a trek 8.2DS, which was ok, but on the expensive side.
In the end I decided on a Crosstrail Disc (2015) earlier in July. It felt perfect in terms of comfort and fit on the test ride. I have had a great time with it and I've put on about 200 miles far mostly on bike paths, and a bit on gravel and easy single track. It has been trouble free after I figured out how to get the derailleurs set up just right (they were serviceable as set up from the store, but they still rubbed on the FD more than I liked). The tires have been great. I've had one flat (I'm used to have frequent flats) but honestly the tire did the best it could in trying to keep the screw out (it barely pierced the tube).
I had a bit of buyers remorse at not getting the Sport version, because I hate the gargantuan WWII panzer style wheels and chain slap on the Altus rear derailleur, (also would have been nice to have those hydraulic brakes). But truth be told, I never thought I would drop 600 bucks on a bike two months ago, so I didn't want to push it financially. I still can't get over that this bike has more entry-level components than the old 820. But I guess that's inflation over the course of 20 years.
Accessories so far include a Lynzene ABS pump, seat tube bag, bar ends, aluminum platform pedals with studs, and I mounted up an old cheap bike computer I found on discount a few years back for 10 bucks. I'd like to have a firmer RD to reduce chain slap, but unfortunately after doing some research, it seems like there aren't really any options to upgrade the RD for an 8 speed (besides the complete drivetrain), so I guess I'm stuck with "das Altus" till I wear it out.
I'm looking forward to building up my endurance. I started our with 5-10 mile rides, and have gotten up to 22 miles once after I decided to keep going on a whim (which was a mistake, I hadn't had breakfast, and almost ran of fuel a couple of miles from home. Almost called the wife to bring me a granola bar, lol). Even though I was tired after that ride, the Crosstrail was actually comfortable the whole way. I'm looking forward to my first century on it, but' I'm pretty sure it won't be just yet
