Trek Portland is the answer.

The Portland's front end is copied straight from a cross bike, which also means it's a bit higher, or in marketing-speak, "relaxed". The rear end is longer like a touring bike. Rather making the bike schizophrenic, everything works together to make it an excellent all-'rounder.

It's equally as fast as my roadies, just not quite as quick. It cares not a whit that I load it up with 40-50 pounds of groceries every week. In fact, it seems to relish the task of hauling them home. It fits my 38mm studded snow tires just fine, likes its 34mm cross tires when we go off-roading, and it gobbles up centuries on its 28mm road tires. The triple makes easy work of climbing. Its only limitation is that the carbon fork won't take a front rack.

Don't let the aluminum frame scare you off. The ride rivals both my Litespeed Classic Ti and my Reynolds 853 steel Schwinn Peloton. Despite these other two fine bikes in the stable, the Portland remains my favorite bike.


I take it on vacation to my family's cabin in Ontario. I mount the cross tires and we do dirt and gravel road half-centuries every other day. The bike has as much fun as I do. Looks like we picked up a little mud there.


The triple made it my ride of choice when we went to Colorado back in 2008. This pic has been posted frequently here. That's us at the top of the highest paved road in North America. While not a great climber (the wheels are a bit heavy), it's an adequate one. Of all my bikes, it's the best descender too. I've had it up to 48.6mph and it was just as solid, and comfortable as at 20. Carves corners like it has a five-foot rudder sunk into the pavement.


And it fits full fenders over the 38mm studded snow tires.

It gets sunny day rides too, and it's my daily commuter.

Mine's an '06. Trek screwed up the component spec for a couple of years, but the '11 is re-speced with better components, and I've returned it to my recommended-buy list.