Okay, still at it, and since we're having a mild winter so far, we've been able to go at least once a week, 14 to 18 miles each. The Trek is pretty much the same except those little Shimano platforms are just too much trouble - every time I take my foot off a pedal, like at a stop, I have to search for the correct side of the pedal. So, I bought a cheap pair of basic plastic pedals and had the best ride so far - should have done this long ago. I still have that other bike I bought and I have decided to 'throw good money after bad' and make a few mods to it so I can start using it. Its a hybrid 'comfort' bike with spring fork, a Shimano Nexus 8-speed hub and Shimano juice brakes. The main thing is the low gear is not low enough, so I need to put a slightly smaller chainring on it. There's plenty of high gear in it so I'm not worried about spinning out. I'll also replace the 27.5 x 2.2 tires with some 1.5s and do a few other things to possibly lighten it a little but that spring fork and Shimano hub are heavy. Guess I'll just have to get used to it because I really did love the fork and the incredible brakes the one time I rode it. Some parts of the trail have rough bridge approaches, rough washboards from root intrusion (they're repairing them) and other jolts which the fork soaked up beautifully. The Trek is a boneshaker on those spots. Having the geared hub instead of derailleurs is pretty cool and you can shift while stopped.
Actually, I'm going to put the narrower tires on first to see if the reduced overall diameter results in enough of an improvement in the low gear. It will make some difference but I doubt it will be noticeable.
