solecyclist65 said:
hi there im also getting back into the bike scene ive ridden the same bike for thirty years now and feel its time for a hydrid Has anyone got any advice of which model to choose up to a budget of 500 pounds ive been looking at the trek valencia but im green on this one i would use the bike for pleasure rides of say 20 miles
I bought my Very Lovely Valencia, from a very reputable LBS that specialises in Treks, in December. I'm now regularly commuting between 5 and 25 miles a day on her, usually manage a 40-ish mile pootle with my eldest son (well, he does 25-30 miles then gets a lift home whilst I ride back!) most weekends and just did my first ever 50 mile ride. I'm really pleased with her, but I spent a long time looking and surprised myself with what things I liked and disliked about the various offerings out there. One of the things I found was that I strongly preferred not-stepthrough frames, which is why I didn't buy the WSD version.
I have had the bottom bracket replaced (under warranty) already, as the original one developed an alarming amount of play in a fairly short time. The 50 mile ride persuaded me that the generic bontrager blokes saddle wasn't for me, so I've just swapped it for a (ridiculously expensive!) gurlz one. And I'm not 100% convinced about the racelite hardcase tyres, so I'm thinking about changing those at some point.
She really, really likes nice smooth tarmac. Not so hot on loose surfaces and, compared with my old gas piper mountaing bike with squishy knobbly tyres, the potholes really make your fillings rattle in your teeth.
But I love my bike
