guitardude7889

guitardude7889

there it is, along with my ugly mug... As you can see, the bartape is black along with the seat, my only complaint. Other than that, it dropped from the heavens into my lap and im making fully enjoying it.

MIN 

What front fender is that? Look cool BTW.

guitardude7889

Its made by "Chromo Plastics", im not sure exactly what the name of the fender is. It didn't ACTUALLY come that way, they came straight like the back ones, but the guy at the LBS who was putting them on thought it would look sweet if he bent it like that, and it does...

tsl

You look so sad!

I like the black fenders on the 2008 color. I went with silver on my orange one because with any more black, it would look like a Halloween bike.

If you like yours only half as much as I like mine, you'll still never be able to wipe that smile off your face.

Congrats and good luck!

Phantoj

Portland vs. Poprad? This is sort of Trek #1 vs. Trek #2....


"Chromoplastics" are made by SKS. IMO, they are the "best" fenders.

MIN 

I have the same fenders, I was just wondering why the front struts were bent that way. I removed the front clips because it ended up being too flexy and that resulted in the fender rubbing against the tire when sprinting or going off road. I have a solid connection in the front now, just as the back is setup.

M_S

I'm positive I've seen pictures of a Portland being raced as a 'cross bike, for whatever it's worth.

Congrats on the new bike.

guitardude7889

The Struts are bent that way on the front fender because the guy who put them on at "The Bike Gallery" on Sandy thought they would look cool. I dig them, it makes it look custom. As for a solid connection, i wouldn't mind having a solid connection, recently, they popped off and i was baffled for about 10 minutes as to how i was supposed to put them back on. When i realized how easy it was, i felt somewhat like a fool, but i like it...

guitardude7889

Just a quick question, i went to my LBS for a lock, and they guided me to the Kryptonite evolution mini LS with a security rating of 9 out of 12. Do you guys think its good enough, or should i go for the new york lock? and do you think they'd take the lock back if i have already opened it?

Zin

This thread was a great read!

I will be joining the "Portland" movement shortly! I put my 56cm 2008 Portland on lay away this weekend!
I have been looking for a replacement to my Biachi San Remo which I had to part with last summer. After test riding several "light" touring bikes, the Portland ruled the day.

It will be serving in commuter service same as the San Remo had been. I already plan to replace the stock fenders with PlanetBike full fenders like I have on my single speed commuter.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your thought and insights.

Hey, Guitardude. How about a status report? How is the Portland working out for you?

paulwwalters

don't get the LS, get the plain old evo mini. The LS is way too frickin big.

tsl

Zin:

My regular handle was taken already when I joined BikeForum, so here I'm known as TSL. Over on BikeJournal (and everywhere else) I'm known as brucew. Just some background so you won't be confused when I say, now there will be two Portlands at BJRU!

See you in July!

Zin

Hey Bruce,

Yeah, I recognized your mug in your avatar photo! I am not sure I'll be riding the Portland for RU. At this point I am not even sure I'll get to ride at RU. I am scheduled as the "On Call Engineer" for my employer starting that Friday. I've put in for time off and to have the call schedule changed, but no word back from my boss yet.

I can't wait to get the Portland! I LOVED the test ride. I rode the 56 & 58cm sizes. The 56cm felt a little small & the 58cm a little big. I ride a 56cm 2002 Trek 5200 to the 56cm should be the right choice. I think that the bars being a bit higher than I am use to was what caused it to feel a bit smaller. The shop is going to flip the stem so I can be a bit more into the riding position I'm used to on the 5200 and on my single speed commuter.

Keep this under your hat.
I look forward to meeting you at RU, even if I don't get to ride.

maddraven

I have 58c 2008 Portland. Got it for Christmas 2007 and have commuted with it 20 miles rt most work days since then. Glad my LBS gives 15 months of free tune ups -- been in 3 times to get rear wheel trued/spokes replaced and once to deal with brakes. I don't blame the bike as much as the beer -- I think I'm simply too heavy for the wheel.

I like the fenders I see in these pictures -- look nicer than the plastic ones that came with my bike.

BradBB

Is that a Bontrager seat? How do you like it? For some reason, I like the look of it, which is hardly a reason to buy a saddle, of course.....

Brad

vettefrc2000

I just picked up a 2007 close out and it is sweet!. I put a honey Brooks professional on it and it rides beautifully.

rmp5s

Damn that's a lot of money. I was looking at the Portland as well. Loved the features. Hated the price. WAAAAAAAAAY too expensive, man.

I got my bike 2 days ago:

https://www.marinbikes.com/2008_html/...?serialnum=702

I love it. Rode about 14 miles on it today and was SO glad I opted for the disk brakes. If NOTHING ELSE AT ALL, get them for piece of mind. When riding around in heavy traffic, I want to KNOW I can stop fast if I have to.

Total price paid, bike and cycloputer, out the door: $485

I'm sure those bikes are great (I didn't even ride the Portland I was looking at but I did ride a Soho that was about twice as expensive as the Marin...it was nice but the Marin is just a good IMO) but save all money, man (go buy another guitar! We can never have too many...:-D). Go check out some Marin bikes. I was going to get a Specilized Sirrus that was about $600 (I think...) when I found my Marin on sale. Couldn't be happier.

Just my $.02

derath

Pretty sure the Poprad will be no more next year FWIW

-D

vettefrc2000

I am sure you got exactly what you paid for.

M_S

That Marin looks like a pretty good deal, actually.

No need to be testy.

rmp5s

lol...I did! Probably TWICE OVER...if not MORE! I got a killer deal on my bike.

In all seriousness, why would you say this? Have you ridden either/both? What's the difference? Honestly, I didn't even bother to ride the Portland because I thought it was far to expensive to use as a commuter. For a commuter, I want a bike I can weave in and out of traffic through pot holes and uneven pavement without fear of hurting the thing...which is exactly what I got. Plus, I really doubt I could hop on that bike and be like "wow...this sure is worth the extra seven hundred bucks". I'm sure it's a great bike but come on...that's a lot of money.

The only *VISIBLE* difference is the drop bars which I'm thinking of adding to mine anyway...and it would still be no where NEAR as expensive as the Portland.

lol...true true. I did get a really good deal and, even at full msrp, the thing is a GREAT deal. I am a major shopper...you know...the kind of person that goes into a store more or less knowing everything I want to know about the item, quizzes the salesperson for tish and giggles and gets what I came for regardless. I shopped around plenty. Looked at all kinds of stuff. I didn't get what I got by accident, I didn't get what I got because someone else said it was good, I didn't get what I got because it was on sale...I got what I got because I had found the best thing the money I was willing to spend could buy.

And, for the record, I'd recommend it over everything else I looked at, too...regardless of price, I bet it'd hang with all of them through town with the same rider.

vettefrc2000

Not testy, sounds like a good value. I think when it comes to bikes you get what you pay for.

rmp5s

That goes for everything. Doesn't mean you have to spend a ton to get something good though. "I can tell a big difference between a $5 bottle of wine and a $50 bottle of wine but it's much harder to tell the difference between a $50 bottle of wine and a $150 bottle of wine." One of my teachers in culinary school told me that and it applies to a lot more than wine. As long as you spend enough, you're good to go...more than that is often by sheer preference.

vettefrc2000

You don't have to convince me, I am sure your bike is just as good as the Portland. What is even better is it was 1/3 the price. Who can argue with that?

However, culinary school aside, often we confuse perceived quality with intrinsic quality. The question should be:

Is Trek selling a bike at triple the cost because it is perceived quality or because it is intrinsically more valuable, i.e., better durability, more reliable system of parts etc. Without doing life cycle testing to see if either bike will succumb to normal Weibull distributions and as such which has superior performance and or longevity we have to assume....

Ah hell, you got a real nice bike.