Feature Comparison

Comments

Bruce and Erik were nice enough to let me ride their bikes on various long (> 40 miles) trips recently, and I was able to compare the STI and bar end shifters. Right now I'm leaning towards the STI shifters because you can actuate them from multiple hand positions.

I've found out that shopping for a touring bike is difficult. With the explosion of interest in mountain bikes, most bike shops don't stock touring bikes. I called almost every bike shop in San Diego, and so far I found a Trek T520 at Bike USA in La Mesa and a Raleigh R300 at Quality Bikes in Clairemont. I haven't been able to find the Cannondale T700 or the Fuji Touring.

I was previously considering the REI Viaggio, but I was less than impressed by the helpfulness of the staff in the REI bicycle departments. I called several stores, and most of the time the response was, "Huh? Dude, what's a touring bike?" Sorry REI, even though your bike sounds cool, you're no longer in the running.

I rode the Trek T520 at Bike USA in La Mesa, and I was very impressed with it. There's a hill (Glen Street, I think) just south of the shop, which I rode up and down. The bike shifted very smoothly, and the gearing allowed me to easily ascend and quickly descend the hill. I would have purchased the bike on the spot, if the frame hadn't been too small. I think this bike was a 1998 model, because it had a horizontal top tube. The 1999 model has a slanted top tube. The bar end shifters worked very smoothly, but I rode this bike before I borrowed Erik's bike, and now I'm leaning towards the STI shifters.

I'd really love to try out the Cannondale, but I just can't seem to find it. It has the same gearing as the Trek T520 (including the 8-speed cassette).

Soon I'll try out the Raleigh R300. This bike sounds promisming, but I'm not too happy with the gearning. The low gear is the highest of the bikes I'm considering, and the high gear is the lowest (tied with the Fuji) of the bikes I'm considering. The bikes with 8-speed cassette (Cannondale and Trek) have that extra low cog, which helps at the low end, and they have a 52-tooth chain ring which gives them a huge top end. Erik's bike has a 52-tooth big ring, and his bike cranks (no pun intended). Update: The Raleigh R300 described on Raleigh's web site is actually the 1998 model. Quality Bike had just received the 1999 model, which had a better set of chain rings, and an 8-speed cassette in back. At $150 less than the competition, this bike is very attractive.

The Fuji sounds very promising, but again, the gearing isn't what I want. It has the lowest low gear (even lower than my 10-year-old Mongoose mountain bike), which is good, but the high gear is too low. The big problem with Fuji is that there are virtually no dealers in SoCal.

I can change the chain rings on the Raleigh and the Fuji, to improve the gearning, but I have a (perhaps unfounded) fear that the bike won't work as well if I start mucking with it. I'm probably being silly because Erik changed out the chain rings on his bike, and it works fine.

Between the Raleigh and the Fuji, the choice seems to be Aluminum vs Steel. The Cannondale is also a strong contender, and I don't have to muck with the gearing.

The Raleigh and the Fuji have horizontal top tubes. The Cannondale and the Trek have slanted top tubes. Aesthetically, I like the horizontal top tube better. I have no idea if there is any technical advantage to one geometry vs the other.

Right now, the top two contenders are Raleigh and Cannondale. Trek is in third place because of the bar end shifters, cost, and the non-aesthetic frame. Fuji is in last place because I can't find a dealer.

Final report: I ended up buying a 1999 Raleigh R300 at Quality Bike. The owners of the shop were very helpful in sizing and customizing the bike. I replaced the cassette with an 11-30 cassette, and the bike now has the same gearing as the Trek 520 and the Cannondale T700. As I'm writing this, I've already put 104 miles on my new bike, and I'm very pleased with it.