What kind of bike is right for my plans?

[PaulsBike]

I have never owned a road bike or anything really fancy. My current bike is a 12-13 year old Specialized mountain bike but it is not designed for what I do now or what I plan.

I currently live in a fairly flat area although there are some place locations with some small hills. I generally ride on concrete walking/bike paths and most are fairly short (3-8 miles in length) although I tend to ride around them many times. There are some longer paths that are concrete and a few more that are packed gravel and I envision myself riding on those paths once I have a new bike. I doubt I will ever race but I can see myself wanting to ride long distances at some point. However, the reality is most of my biking will be local rides of a few hours.

I have been looking at road bikes but recently a shop recommended that I consider something more versatile, like a touring bike. I looked at the Trek Crossrip, Trek Crossrip Elite, and Trek 520. The shop also had a few Surly bikes that seemed similar. There is another shop that carries Raleigh, Bianchi, and another brand but when I looked at that shop I was looking for road bikes so I am not sure if there are similar bikes to the Trek and Surly.

I would really like to stay under $1500 and the three Treks and the Surly ones met that preference.

Based on what I described do the Treks I referenced seem like the best choice? Are there any pros for one over the other? I plan to go test ride them today although I will wait a bit longer before purchasing one (we have an unusually warm day today but expect more normal sub-zero weather tomorrow!).

Thanks!

 

[vspa]

for what you describe i would choose the Trek Crossrip Elite, its a nice road bike with disc brakes, with eyelets for a rack and fenders if you need them, internal cables routing, an all purposes geometry and a good range of gears. That is the main difference with the Trek Crossrip, that comes with a triple chainring, you don't need a triple chainring for flat terrain and average or small hills. The Trek 520 is really a touring specific bike, for long tours of several days or weeks although it could also serve you for other purposes,

 

[PaulsBike]

VSPA

Thanks for the recommendation. I am leaning in that direction after today's test rides. I did not like the 520 and a Surly Cross Check(?). I disliked the gearing shifter on end of the drop bar. I tested something with STI shifting and much preferred that style.

I also test rode a Bianchi Volpe 2012 model. It rode well although the one I test rode was not quite sized right for me. I did not like the cream color and was not a big fan of the blue 2013 model. Of course, color is the least important concern.

I did not get to try a Trek Crossrip Elite. No one had it in a size that was right for me and the one shop with it in stock indicated that I would not be able to gauge based on the sizes they did have (I'm male and 5'4"; I'm short!).

The Bianchi has canitlever brakes while the Crossrip Elite has disc brakes.The Bianchi is a steel frame while the Elite is aluminum. The Bianchi is also about $100 more.

Is there any reason to pick one over the other one?

Thanks.

 

[vspa]

disc brakes are worth waiting the Trek for, what about weight ? did you asked them, since the Bianchi is made of steel ** it should weight a bit more, both bikes can be set up with wider tires for those gravel & concrete paths you plan to ride on, if you chose the Bianchi ask them if they would replace the triple chainring into a compact or a standard double chainring, you don't really need a triple as we noted on the previous post, ** the advantage of steel is that it can be failry easily repaired, in case of an accident, by oxygene welding for example, so it would be a bike for a lifetime,