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Old 08-04-14, 07:30 AM
  #18  
benda18
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 458

Bikes: LHT + FreeRadical

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Originally Posted by ze_zaskar
How would you compare them?
It's to your benefit to ride both and see which one you like better - I can't describe how they compared in words that will probably mean anything to you. For a period of 3 years I owned both a CC and LHT at the same time. Here come the meaningless words:

The CC just felt more responsive. Like every pedal stroke was deliverying all of my energy to the road. It was fun to sprint off the line at a traffic light. It felt fast; responded to inputs quickly. I could bunny-hop if necessary. It wasn't comfortable to ride all day, and if I needed to carry a ton of stuff it just didn't work for me. At least at the time the CC didn't come with front rack braze-ons, so cargo capacity was limited. I just used a messenger bag.

The LHT on the other hand is just comfortable. Riding it is like taking a long walk with your grandpa - whether I give 100% or 10% I feel like I'm going the same speed. I end up sticking towards 10% effort and thus don't even feel like I've ridden very much at the end of the day. All those sprints from the traffic light... gone. When you stand up and hammer on the LHT it just feels wrong, like you're wasting time and energy. I hardly ever stand and sprint on it. Also, it actually rides better with a ton of cargo on it.

Because most of my miles as an adult have been commuting or city riding, I just gravitated to the LHT. I have a freeradical on it now and it lets us as a family take my son, a stroller, a picnic basket, a couple of blankets and a bunch of other stuff across town without issue. I could probably gain a more versatile bike out of a CC + xtracycle but the LHT is just so comfortable. I don't ride to win, or even to smile. I just ride to get where I'm going and not feel bad about using a car for the 5 mile trip.

The main difference I found owning the two is trail riding (or CX). The CC was much better at that stuff, probably owed to the good feedback. As this was one of the most important criteria for you, I think the CC would probably meet your needs better in time.
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