Hi everyone, 1st time poster. Over the weekend my wife and I purchased 2 bikes, she the Crossroad Elite ladies and myself a Crosstrail Sports Disc. We are only looking to ride mostly on paved bike trails. My main concern is how would the bikes handle dirt road? Not all bike trails are smooth roads correct? I am kind of regretting the purchases because perhaps we would have been better off with just a cheaper mountain bike as it may be more practical and durable? We will not be commuting with these bikes. I have been reading on disc brakes and it requires more maintenance?

I have no experience with biking and the trails out there. Are the bikes at least decent and will it last us a good while? The bike shop where we purchase does not offer free service. I'm afraid we overspent and not researched before buying. Any advice?

You did well, welcome to the forum. & enjoy your new bikes Built for efficient recreation, exploration and fitness, the Specialized Crosstrail Sport Disc 2013 Hybrid Bike is made for how, where and why you ride. The Crosstrail Sport Disc features reliable components like the 60mm-travel SR Suntour fork, Tektro Draco hydraulic disc brakes and Specialized A1

You've made a couple of really great choices. You should not regret your bicycle hybrid purchases. However, I am concerned as to why you're not entitled to free maintenance and mechanical services for some specified time period. Though, you guys do have such great bikes, you most probably won't even be in need of mechanical services for many months to come.

Good Luck!

THanks, thats good to hear. THe bike shop gives a free tune withing 3 months I believe. So what is the main advantage with the bikes I bought vs a mountain bike? The sales guy really didnt give me a straight answer.

You bought a couple of great, do it all bikes. You will love them for your kind of riding. I also have a crosstrail, and I'm jealous of your disc brakes.

Enjoy them, and ride them often, and far.

Great choices!

Sounds like a great bike for what you want to do. Heck, it sounds like a great bike for lots of different kinds of riding. Enjoy!!

The main difference between mountain bikes and hybrids, is that mountain bikes generally have wider tires and a suspension fork. However, there are some mountain bikes with rigid forks and there are some hybrids with suspension forks. The wider or "fatter" the tire, the more capable the bike becomes in overcoming such terrain challenges as, protruding rocks, roots, and road irregularities. The wider the tire, the more apt the bike becomes in traversing uneven and difficult pathway surfaces. Since hybrids usually have wider tires than road racing bikes, but tires not quite as wide as mountain bikes, hybrids seem to fare well on most dirt trails, wooded pathways, and country roads. Of course, mountain bikes do even better on the more challenging country pathways.

Hybrids tend not to do as well as mountain bikes, on loosely packed gravel, muddy terrain, and rocky roads.

Since you guys are mostly on "paved biked trails" and sometimes traversing the dirt trails, it would appear as though you have chosen the perfect bicycles for your type of cycling. Hybrids!

Cfiber is correct. For your purposes, mountain bikes would be heavier and slower, and you (or your wife) would soon be wishing for a faster, lighter bike on pavement. Your hybrid bikes will be able to handle the dirt and gravel paths just fine that you're likely to ride. And will be faster and more comfortable on pavement. You're choice was fine, I think you would soon regret mountain bikes if you had bought them.

Specialized makes great bikes! You might pay a little more than for other brands out there, but you get what you pay for. The first tuneup free is the typical service with bike purchases. Any more free service is icing on the cake.

Thank you everyone for your inputs. This eases my mind a bit, of course maybe I'm just dealing with stickershock. Now to search for bike racks for the SUV, any suggestions? I thought I can easily pop out the front wheel on my crosstrail, but it has disc brakes which seems more complicated. Would like a rack where I can easily remove so it will not stay on the SUV all the time. Price is factor for me, thanks again.

Check online at Nashbar, Performance Bicycle, or visit your local Performance. They put lots of stuff on sale at really good prices. Also check Craigslist under the bicycle section.

Disc brakes make wheels marginally easier to remove because it is not necessary to first open the caliper (which isn't a huge deal because that's takes 1 second). Installing the wheel may require a bit more precision because you have to slide the disc into the small caliper opening though.

The only thing to be careful of with disc brakes is that if they are hydraulic actuation you should not pull the lever without the disc in place because the pistons may come out too far. With the pads in place, it should not be possible to eject the piston I don't think, but if that happens you'll have to bleed the system.

You may have been provided with a plastic piece to slide into the caliper opening to keep the caliper open during transport in case the lever is pull. If not, you can probably slide something around 1.5 to 2.0mm thick inside to prevent the caliper from accidentally closing. Just make sure whatever you use is clean of any oil. Probably you could stack a couple gift cards in there held on with a rubber band.

Something to note for discs if you're going to be pulling the wheels on and off. When you pop the quick release,count the number of turns you loosen it. Then when you reinstall the wheel,do the same number of turns to tighten it. This will ensure you're properly centering the rotor in the caliper. You should actually do this on all bikes,but on disc bikes it will be more noticeable.

I mention this because there was a posting recently where someone had this issue and got his shop to replace the bike with a different one under warranty. From everything I read,I don't believe there was anything wrong with the bike,it was prolly just user error.

THanks again everyone, lots of great info. Very great community here. With the front wheels, I think it may be a bit too complicated for me, we'll see. I do feel a bit better about the purchases.

There are always a few bike carriers for sale on our local craigslist....... at good prices.

A good separator for disc brakes is a spring clothespin, taken apart. It's a wonderful wedge, and long enough to grab onto.

Just count the number of turns you screw/unscrew the QR and insert a wedge. Not complicated,you just need to pat attention to what you're doing and you'll be fine.

Just a couple more things. For now, we've been riding around the neighborhood. It's somewhat hilly, so does coasting downhill with the brakes wear out the tires and brakes a lot quicker? No bike rack yet so mostly riding around our area. Also I notice when switching gears on the left side, sometimes it doesn't seem to register and the chains sounds loose until I switch to another gear, is that normal? THanks

If you drag your brakes down the hill,it'll wear the pads quicker. As you gain experience,you'll be more comfortable going fast downhill and won't need to drag them.

Perfectly normal for the front rings to need some finagling. This is because of the big jumps in teeth between the rings. All front(left side) shifters have the ability to 'trim' the rings;unlike the rear shifter,you don't just do one click to chain gears. When upshifting you pull the lever until it gets into gear right. This can be a little different depending on what rear gear you're in. Also note,it's normal for the shifting in a new bike to get sloppy. This is due to the cables 'stretching' as they get pulled and the twisting wire gets wound a little tighter. Most shops offer free tune-ups for a certain time because of this. If the bike consistently shifts funny,have the shop tweak it. If you want to learn how to do it yourself,there are vids on YouTube,or check out Park Tool's site.

I ride a 2013 Specialized Crosstrail Sport Disc and use a Hollywood Racks B2 Baja 2-Bike Trunk Mount Rack on my 09 Hyundai Elantra hatchback to transport it.

Personally, I would prefer to load the bike in the vehicle since it’s a bit of nuisance to remove, secure in vehicle and eventually remount the rack when you arrive/depart an isolated trailhead. However the bike is a tight fit, (with the front wheel removed) in the vehicle so I utilize the rack. The rack is very sturdy and easy to install and remove with a little practice. If interested, you can check with the manufacturer to determine which rack fits your SUV.

Enjoy your new bikes.

Bold is for emphasis not entire postings.

Thanks again for the response guys. Ed702, what is your main use with your crosstrail? Nice pic btw.

Thanks, wasn’t intentional.

I ride mainly on paved surfaces, with occasional use on gravel or dirt trails.

Would I be able to put in mountain bike like tires for a more smoother ride on the sports trail?

Nice bikes.

congratulations on your purchase!
Ok so, as for the free tune-up. As someone mentioned, the cables will slack after a short while so make sure you take it in so the mechanic can adjust the cable tension, etc to keep you shifting and braking well.

When you shift gears if you look at the front sprocket (the triple) and the cassette (the cogs attached to the back wheel) try to keep the chain somewhat straight. For example, if you have it on the small sprocket on the cassette and the small ring on the crank.. you'll notice that the chain is at an angle and will grind at teeth and in some cases might not shift properly. Try to stay somewhat linear between the front and the back as you shift. That should keep you shifting well and eliminate any grinding you might be hearing.