| Re: Trek 7500FX or 1000C?
I've ridden high mileage on road bikes, and hybrid bikes, and mountain bikes
with road tires. Yes, conventional wisdom is that road bikes and road bars
are more comfortable.
Balderdash. Horses for courses.
For high mileage, in low traffic at the highest possible speed, nothing
beats a road bike with drop bars.
As soon as the traffic gets heavier than a road bike puts you in a
compromised position for seeing the road. As soon as road conditions get
bad the skinny tires become flat prone.
For heads down racing and club riding at the highest possible speed, a road
bike is required. For touring, moderate distances (100 miles or less) and
moderate speed, a mountain bike with road slicks or a hybrid bike (so long
as you add bar ends or some alternative for varying your position) is going
to be more comfortable, provide a better view of the road, provide less
worry about flats, and be less jarring. You won't go as fast, and the extra
weight will make hills a bit more tiring, but you won't be nearly as tired
from struggling to hold your head up in order to see where you are going,
and you'll be a lot more relaxed not worrying about flats.
I've ridden thousands of miles on road bikes, but for most riding I find
that I reach for a mountain bike with road slicks.
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