Bike advice; Trek Valencia

[scouserinlondon]

So my first proper thread, i hope it's in the right forum.

I'm going to rinse the ride to work scheme and my current bike of choice is the Trek Valencia. Taking it for a test drive tonight which will be the decider, anybody got one/an opinion of one?

Cheers.

 

[2Loose]

I had the Valencia's predecessor, the SOHO 1 which is pretty much identical except for the handlebars and forks, which have been changed for the better. Standard pedals are crap, bin 'em asap because they cut into your soles, barely grip and seem to be made of tinfoil.
Apart from that, I loved the bike, sturdy, fast and great brakes...t'was a shame when some lowlife pinched it.

 

[Landslide]

Standard pedals are crap, bin 'em asap because they cut into your soles, barely grip and seem to be made of tinfoil.

How on earth do they manage that?

 

[2Loose]

Sorry, I meant that my feet would slip on them

 

[kayak_avfc]

So my first proper thread, i hope it's in the right forum.

I'm going to rinse the ride to work scheme and my current bike of choice is the Trek Valencia. Taking it for a test drive tonight which will be the decider, anybody got one/an opinion of one?

Cheers.

Hi

I know this was some time ago, but how do you find the Trek? I've not cycled since school, but would like a decent hybrid.

Cheers

 

[Banjo]

Hi

I know this was some time ago, but how do you find the Trek? I've not cycled since school, but would like a decent hybrid.

Cheers

Hi there. I bought a Valencia about two weeks ago and have done about a hundred miles since then.

I love riding it,I like the riding position which has a longer reach than some bikes.

I would say the Valencia is meant mostly for road use and smoothish canal paths.It comes with 32bontrager race light tyres which are smooth slicks.

It is surprisingly comfortable to ride the steel forks seem better than the alloy ones on my last bike.

It has a wide range of gears to cope with steep hills ,Downhill I can pedal over 30 mph when my bottle goes before I run out of g ears.Gear changing is very smooth and precise.

It has fixings for rack and mudguards if needed.
The mechanical disc brakes work well even in the wet.

If you want a bike for some offroad riding as well maybe the Trek 7.3 would be better.Or get a second set of tyres with tread on as I have done.I have put them on now ready for doing the Taff Trail next week.

I am enjoying the bike and for my mix of commuting and fitness riding it is ideal.

 

[scouserinlondon]

Hi

I know this was some time ago, but how do you find the Trek? I've not cycled since school, but would like a decent hybrid.

Cheers

I'm loving it tbh. Like you I'd not cycled since school but was bored of the gym so the bike seemed a good option and it's working out well.

I'd tried a couple of bikes from the shop and tried colleagues and really like the Valencia.

The ride position is very upright and my only slight criticsm is that the handlebars are quite wide, but it's a great riding position for city riding. Having been a keen mountain biker in my teens and early 20's the hybrid option seemed like a good one and the riding position is really comfortable.

Because the bike has 700cc wheels and road tyres it does go like a rocket, other than the obvious lycra clad roadies, I tend to zip through the traffic faster than most and it's still a very easy to manouver machine.

As has been said before the slicks are excellent for road riding but it does slip and slide on my short burst across tooting common so if you're planning some off roading then buy some extra wheels.

The gear ratios work well and the shifters are really smooth.

Give it a test ride, I love mine.

 

[kayak_avfc]

Thanks to both of you for the replies. I'm considering the Valencia and the 7.5 FX, which I had a look at today. I'll probably need to put some time aside to test-ride them both.

The tyres seemed a bit on the slick side for an inexperienced rider like myself, so I'd probably get some with a bit more grip but hopefully won't compromise much on speed. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Also, how do you find the handle bars? I liked the straight bars on the 7.5 FX.

 

[eldudino]

The tyres seemed a bit on the slick side for an inexperienced rider like myself, so I'd probably get some with a bit more grip but hopefully won't compromise much on speed.

You won't get more grip from a knobblier tyre if you're riding on the road. I'm on full slicks on the Valencia's predecessor and rain or shine there's huge amounts of grip. You'll actually have less grip with a knobblier tyre due to less rubber being in contact with the road.

 

[Banjo]

Thanks to both of you for the replies. I'm considering the Valencia and the 7.5 FX, which I had a look at today. I'll probably need to put some time aside to test-ride them both.

The tyres seemed a bit on the slick side for an inexperienced rider like myself, so I'd probably get some with a bit more grip but hopefully won't compromise much on speed. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Also, how do you find the handle bars? I liked the straight bars on the 7.5 FX.

Like U at first I was a bit concerned riding the bike in the wet on smooth slicks,but after several road rides in wet and dry weather I am getting to trust them a lot. The only slide I have had was where the torrential rain had washed a thin layer of slimy mud across the tarmac.I foolishly braked and the back slipped ,I released the brakes and the bike straightened up. I think even knobblys would have struggled on that.

Re the handlebars,they are wider than most ,I like the riding position but if you wanted to shorten them it would be a 5 minute job.I have a mirror fitted into the end of the handlebar,the extra width gives me a clearer view in it than on my previous bike.

Im doing a 60 mile ride on it tommorow(unless weather is really bad)which includes a little bit of offroad stuff so have fitted my old Michelin tyres that have a bit of tread on.I will put the Bontrager race lights back on after as they are lighter and grip better on my normal road rides.I have ridden along gravel paths with the Bontragers and they were fine.

If you plan on doing regular offroad stuff maybe this bike isnt for U. If you want a nimble commuter/fitness bike that handles nicely and stops well even in wet weather I think U will like it.

 

[Shanks]

I've had a Valencia for about 5 weeks now and can't reccomend it highly enough. It was my first bike after a considerable time in cars, but have found it so easy to get used to. I'm only using it for road miles and the stock tyres have given plenty of grip even in heavy rain.
For the money I don't think you will be dissappointed.
Cheers

 

[kayak_avfc]

If I regularly want to mix my riding with roads and Canal paths (e.g. Grand Union), would I be better off changing the supplied tyres for, say, Schwalbe Marathons to handle the uneven surfaces?