Originally Posted by k71021
I received my Rocky Mountain
RC-70 about a month ago and it has been a great bike to date. I have been riding it almost every weekday since I got it and my journey is approximately 17 km per day. It has a nice ride and looks a little different too, unless you compare it to the Cannondale’s overpriced BBU, which does look similar. It is not on your list at the moment, but I don’t think it would hurt to check it out.
Main Benefits:
Non-Asian Frame (Canadian);
Hayes hydraulic disk brakes;
Nice drive train; and
You’ll also have no problem getting wider tires on the bike too.
P.S. The Burley Hudson does look like a great bike.
Very nice bike for sure.. but horribly short chainstays. I plan on using panniers with this bike and I'd really rather not worry about heel strike if at all possible. One big advantage to the Trek 7700FX is the 445mm chainstays compared to 415 on the RM, 430 on the K2 that I saw on the REI site and 425 for the Specialized Sirrus. The 7700 also happens to have eyelets for low rider racks up front. I doubt I'll ever use front panniers, but it's still a nice addition. However, the K2 is $350 cheaper than the Trek and has similar components. Seems like about the best deal of the bunch. As far as the Burley? A forum search turned up a price of $2100 or so. Way out of my price range, despite how nice it really is.