Trek FX vs. Raleigh

Kent24 said:

I'm looking to park my road bike for the winter and find a bike to bum around town with.
The Trek 7.2 FX and the Raleigh Passage 5.5 are the same price and similar kit. Except the Raleigh has disc brakes.
The Trek felt a bit livelier, and the Raleigh was more comfortable and stable.
Lots of Trek owners out there, are there any Raleighs?

Kent

I ride a Raleigh Venture 5.0, very similar to the Passage, except wheel size, I think. Its a good bike, the hayes disc brakes are great.

Kent24 said:

I'm looking to park my road bike for the winter and find a bike to bum around town with.
The Trek 7.2 FX and the Raleigh Passage 5.5 are the same price and similar kit. Except the Raleigh has disc brakes.
The Trek felt a bit livelier, and the Raleigh was more comfortable and stable.
Lots of Trek owners out there, are there any Raleighs?

Kent

I ride a Raleigh Venture 5.0, very similar to the Passage, except wheel size, I think. Its a good bike, the hayes disc brakes are great.

I got a Raleigh trail bike without discs and rode it in the winter. The brake pads abraded the wheels badly when covered with salty slush mixed with road grit. Another season and I would have had to replace them.

I upgraded to Deore discs and it is great, though you have to keep the water and ice out of the mechanism. Salt affects the components not at all if you keep the bike clean.

My other solution, a coaster brake cruiser, turned out to be less than ideal because I did not repack it often enough and ruined a bb (they don't have sealed hubs or bb) but other than that it was great. A weatherproof brake, fenders, chainguard, and mild steel is probably more rust resistant than many grades of aluminum. However, in dry weather, a firm braking can take enough tension out of the chain to cause it to fall off later on.