recommend: solid road/touring bike under $1000

i am fairly new to riding, and am looking for a fast, solid
road/touring bike for seattle hills, roads, etc... i'm leaning
towards a touring bike, as the riding i want to do combines an
ocassional trail (flat dirt trails) and the ocassional steep hill,
along with curbs, etc... but most of the riding will be roads. and,
too, i want to be able to pull my daughter in a bike
stroller/trailer... and pure road bikes just seem a bit frail for all
the above... and hybrids, well, i dont like them much. so.. touring!

my budget requires that i stay under 1K. thoughts?

thanks.

In article ,
says...
i am fairly new to riding, and am looking for a fast, solid
road/touring bike for seattle hills, roads, etc... i'm leaning
towards a touring bike, as the riding i want to do combines an
ocassional trail (flat dirt trails) and the ocassional steep hill,
along with curbs, etc... but most of the riding will be roads. and,
too, i want to be able to pull my daughter in a bike
stroller/trailer... and pure road bikes just seem a bit frail for all
the above... and hybrids, well, i dont like them much. so.. touring!

my budget requires that i stay under 1K. thoughts?

Fuji Touring, approx $800 at an LBS, maybe a little less. STI shifters,
27-speed, 11/32 cassette and 52/42/30 crankset for those steep hills,
32mm tires for rough roads and smooth dirt/gravel. Sturdy, somewhat
heavy but very tough and stable steel frame. For riding in the great
northwest's wet weather, it also has eyelets for fenders, along with
plenty of clearance for them, even with the big tires. I got one last
fall and love it.

If you take off the rack (it comes with one) and put on smaller, high
pressure tires, it's got pretty reasonable performance if you don't need
the lightest possible weight. At that price, you could even get some
higher-performance wheels to save even more weight and aerodynamics and
still stay under your $1000 budget.

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On 7 Jul 2004 12:35:28 -0700, (raciere) wrote:
i am fairly new to riding, and am looking for a fast, solid
road/touring bike for seattle hills, roads, etc... i'm leaning

Users of this newsfroup report much satisfaction with Fuji Touring
and Jamis Aurora.
--
Rick Onanian

In article ,
says...
On 7 Jul 2004 12:35:28 -0700, (raciere) wrote:
i am fairly new to riding, and am looking for a fast, solid
road/touring bike for seattle hills, roads, etc... i'm leaning

Users of this newsfroup report much satisfaction with Fuji Touring
and Jamis Aurora.

Also, Bianchi's Volpe is another very similar model, at $849 list. It
has a suspension seatpost, but no rear rack.


--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
newsgroups if possible).

On 7 Jul 2004 12:35:28 -0700, (raciere) wrote:

i am fairly new to riding, and am looking for a fast, solid
road/touring bike for seattle hills, roads, etc... i'm leaning
towards a touring bike, as the riding i want to do combines an
ocassional trail (flat dirt trails) and the ocassional steep hill,
along with curbs, etc... but most of the riding will be roads. and,
too, i want to be able to pull my daughter in a bike
stroller/trailer... and pure road bikes just seem a bit frail for all
the above... and hybrids, well, i dont like them much. so.. touring!

my budget requires that i stay under 1K. thoughts?

thanks.

Among other suggestions-

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/s....html#complete

Jamis Aurora.

I'm a very very satisfied rider; I picked one up on clearance for US$
450, and have been very satisfied since.

-Luigi

K2 Mach 3.0

20.9 lbs, Richey and 105 components.

"raciere" wrote in message
om...
i am fairly new to riding, and am looking for a fast, solid
road/touring bike for seattle hills, roads, etc... i'm leaning
towards a touring bike, as the riding i want to do combines an
ocassional trail (flat dirt trails) and the ocassional steep hill,
along with curbs, etc... but most of the riding will be roads. and,
too, i want to be able to pull my daughter in a bike
stroller/trailer... and pure road bikes just seem a bit frail for all
the above... and hybrids, well, i dont like them much. so.. touring!

my budget requires that i stay under 1K. thoughts?

thanks.

(raciere) wrote in message . com...
i am fairly new to riding, and am looking for a fast, solid
road/touring bike for seattle hills, roads, etc... i'm leaning
towards a touring bike, as the riding i want to do combines an
ocassional trail (flat dirt trails) and the ocassional steep hill,
along with curbs, etc... but most of the riding will be roads. and,
too, i want to be able to pull my daughter in a bike
stroller/trailer... and pure road bikes just seem a bit frail for all
the above... and hybrids, well, i dont like them much. so.. touring!

my budget requires that i stay under 1K. thoughts?

thanks.

Cannondale T800. I bought one last summer and have been very
impressed. It's slightly above your budget but you may be able to
find one on clearance at REI. I used it for loaded touring on the
Lewis and Clark trail and it held up to everything I could throw at it
even with a full touring load.

Stuart Black

(raciere) wrote:

i am fairly new to riding, and am looking for a fast, solid
road/touring bike for seattle hills, roads, etc...

Trust me, you want one that's hollow. They're much lighter, and
almost as strong. ;^D

i'm leaning
towards a touring bike, as the riding i want to do combines an
ocassional trail (flat dirt trails) and the ocassional steep hill,
along with curbs, etc... but most of the riding will be roads. and,
too, i want to be able to pull my daughter in a bike
stroller/trailer... and pure road bikes just seem a bit frail for all
the above... and hybrids, well, i dont like them much. so.. touring!

my budget requires that i stay under 1K. thoughts?

You sound like a great candidate for a Surly Cross-Check. It's sort
of a cyclocross bike, sort of a touring bike, but with tire/fender
clearance that's unusual for either kind of bike. So you can run
anything from 700x23 rubber bands to 700x47 tires with fenders, and
thereby adjust the ride height and quality to whatever suits you best.
It's about the most versatile thing available that matches both your
mission profile and your price limit.

http://www.surlybikes.com/bikes.html
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/surly....html#complete

The Cross-Check is available to almost every single bike shop in the
USA. If you live in Seattle as you seem to suggest, I recommend
buying it (or any other similar bike) from The Counterbalance Bicycles
at 2 West Roy St. in Lower Queen Anne. Those guys serve largely the
cycle messenger community, whose bike wants and budgets seem to
correspond somewhat to your own.

Chalo Colina

David Kerber wrote:

In article ,
says...

i am fairly new to riding, and am looking for a fast, solid
road/touring bike for seattle hills, roads, etc... i'm leaning
towards a touring bike, as the riding i want to do combines an
ocassional trail (flat dirt trails) and the ocassional steep hill,
along with curbs, etc... but most of the riding will be roads. and,
too, i want to be able to pull my daughter in a bike
stroller/trailer... and pure road bikes just seem a bit frail for all
the above... and hybrids, well, i dont like them much. so.. touring!

my budget requires that i stay under 1K. thoughts?


Fuji Touring, approx $800 at an LBS, maybe a little less. STI shifters,
27-speed, 11/32 cassette and 52/42/30 crankset for those steep hills,
32mm tires for rough roads and smooth dirt/gravel. Sturdy, somewhat
heavy but very tough and stable steel frame. For riding in the great
northwest's wet weather, it also has eyelets for fenders, along with
plenty of clearance for them, even with the big tires. I got one last
fall and love it.

If you take off the rack (it comes with one) and put on smaller, high
pressure tires, it's got pretty reasonable performance if you don't need
the lightest possible weight. At that price, you could even get some
higher-performance wheels to save even more weight and aerodynamics and
still stay under your $1000 budget.

I second the Fuji, tho it's not perfect. I've had mine for a few
months, ride (commute) daily. Had broken spokes on the rear. Bike shop
is going to change the rear spokes for best quality DT spokes for a mere
$12.00 CAD. A great bit of customer service!
I did change the Hutchinson Globe Trotter tires for Continental Top
Touring 2000 , same size 700 x 32, but makes the bike feel like a
different bike! I love them.
Otherwise, saddle is a good fit for me, frame is strong all steel,
shifts like a dream, rolls fast and smooth, and very important, the ride
is stable as all get out. Many road bikes are twitchy and kind of
skittery on hard curves and turns. The Fuji is easy and stable. It is
very easy to push with just one hand on the back of the seat, and easy
to ride no hands. I know this is due to the geometry, but that is not a
subject I am well acquainted with, I just know how it feels.
The paint job looks quality and not flashy as well (dark green with gold
flecks and sand bands), which suits me. I think a touring machine
should be less flash than a racer.
Whatever you ride, have a ball! Summer is here, so get out there.
Best, Bernie