Hybrid Bicycles - Trek Allant

The salesman called it the Trek equivalent of the LHT, but the Trek website calls it a commuter. Whatever. I liked the looks of it. Anyone else seen it? Tried it? Whatcha think?

The salesman called it the Trek equivalent of the LHT, but the Trek website calls it a commuter. Whatever. I liked the looks of it. Anyone else seen it? Tried it? Whatcha think?

I think it's nothing like a LHT. This is... http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/520/520/

The Allant is not an LHT... The 520 is the only thing comparable...

That said, the Allant looks like a rather nice bicycle for its price. Not a big fan of the 7spd drivetrain, but that's not a deal breaker.

I work in a Trek dealership and love these bikes. They offer a lot of bike for the money, with metal fenders painted to match, and racks on both models. They'd make great commuters, but most are sold as city bikes and all-arounders. I've seen them on top of cars, and parked at the library. As a commuter bike, they lack lighting. They are priced similar to models in the more sport oriented FX series, and comfort oriented 7000 series. And fall somewhere between the two. No suspension, and some downgraded components like the 7sp shifting, to allow for extras like the racks and fenders.

One reason I really like them are that they represent huge value compared against any of Trek's other, similar urban bikes like the Soho or the Fisher Simple City 8 bikes. Kind of an orphan among other offerings, and often overlooked, some people really fall in love with them when they see them.

This year, they'll totally be eclipsed by the new Belleville bikes, and will continue to be a vastly underrated model.

That is really slick, great looking bike.

Part of what draws me to it is the upright position. I. Do. Not. Like. Drops.

I like!!

http://www.geocities.com/alicestrong@sbcglobal.net/allantblack1.jpg

I think it's nothing like a LHT. This is... http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/520/520/




I love that they're making it in that metallic root beer color. It reminds me of my 80's Centurion.

My LBS has one I've ridden. Very upright, and very comfortable. I prefer a more aggressive ride, but even I have to say it's a nice bike for the $

That's really a nice bike! There's nothing I dislike about it, just the way it comes from the factory!!!!

Yes, I was really disappointed that the only ones they had in stock at that particular Jax store (Long Beach) was the 20".

So during my wanderings today, Orion took me over to Jax's Fullerton store, where they have the diamond-frame Allant in the 17.5". Took it for a test ride while the wrench on duty changed Orion's front tube (beautiful timing: it went mushy as I was turning into the adjacent parking lot). I. Am. In. Love. And those funky looking grips are actually quite comfortable.

Condorita - did you buy the Allant? If so, how do you like it? I'm seriously looking at the WSD version for spring.

You can see a great pic of it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bike/2768710523/

I've had an Allant for about 9 months now. I love it! I put a Gamoh King Carrier on the front with a Sackville Shopsack in it and a couple of Basil Cardiff baskets on the back (I wanted the Kavan IIs, but was afraid they would be stolen) and threw on a pair of Delta Cruisers in cream. I can haul a lot of stuff on it, and have fun while doing it. I like it so much that I sold my car - didn't really need it any more (to be fair, I barely drove it anyway.

IMO the Allant is a great compromise between a fun bike, and a practical bike. I highly recommend it if your budget limits you to the sub 1k price range.

This is very encouraging, thank you! I really like the look of the Allant and I'm ready for a more upright position when pedaling on errands around town. Now I have to find one on a store floor so I can take it for a test spin.

Did it! I'm now the very happy owner of a 17.5" Allant WSD! Took it out for its first spin yesterday. 10.8 miles and it felt great! Next ride will be to the supermarket, an 18+ mile ride. Hopefully the upright seating will be okay for me on that distance because I'd really like to use this bike for most of my errands and they're usually around 15-20 miles. Per Trek's customer service, the weight limit on the WSD mini-rack is 25 lbs. That's totally acceptable. I plan to mount a wicker basket on the rack and use that to carry small items. DH can't get over the steel fenders. I think he has fender envy. Pics to follow.

If anyone is torn between a comfort bike and a sporty hybrid, they should definitely check out the Allant!

Okay - here are pics of bike parked outside the post office.

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w257/wkpickett/Cycling%20Pics%202010/Allant2.jpg

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w257/wkpickett/Cycling%20Pics%202010/Allant3.jpg

My wife has this same bike^^^

She really likes it, but we did change the seat out to a gel seat and now on long rides she doesn't complain about her tush hurting anymore. I actually looked at the Allant for me, but went with the fx series instead. I knew that I would swap the seat to a brooks b17 that I have if I bought it, I didn't much care for the seat on the one I rode. The seem like decent rides and she is happy with it, its very comfortable around town (it also didn't break the bank).

My wife has this same bike^^^

She really likes it, but we did change the seat out to a gel seat and now on long rides she doesn't complain about her tush hurting anymore...

What is a long ride in your case? I plan to use this bike for 15+ mile errands on a regular basis and would be interested to know what distance other Allant owners have traveled in one outing.

Also, the bike has a bottle cage mount but the spacing between top tube and down tube seems to be a tight squeeze. Anyone have opinions on what type of bottle cage will work in there?

We regularly ride 20 miles in a trip down an old railroad trail.

That space between the top tube and down tube is really too small for a water bottle, we have a pump mounted there. You can just strap a water bottle cage to the top tube, but we have elected to go the camelback route or just put water bottles in the bag that she mounts on the front rack. I had this same issue with a 15.5" Specialized Stumpjumper, I just never put water bottles on the bike and resorted to the camelback.

Thanks RJM! I did two rides today for a total of 27.9 miles and the bike handled and felt fine the whole way. It was a blast!

P.S. DH mounted a cheapie bottle cage on the bike and my 21 oz bottle fits fine.