Greetings, I'm glad to have found this place. Nice to know I'm not the only weirdo who likes to strap camping gear + a few things to the back of the bike and take off!!! What better way is there to travel, really...

Anyway, I am looking for a new bike & decided I wanted something nice--my previous bikes have been low-mid price hybrids and before that, the old 10-speeds of the 1970s (Remember those?) Today I test-rode a yr. 2001 Trek 7500 fx hybrid. Really liked it--faster and lighter than I'm used to & the price is OK since its last years model. My biking is commuting (every day as long as theres no snow on the ground or heavy rain) & touring in the summer (on paved road & cinder trails) so this seemed a good all purpose bike.

But now I'm wondering if this bike would work for all the situations I would want to use it. Like..... how do the skinny tires do on cinder trails? How easily are those tubes and tires replaced if youre stuck in some sleepy little town w/ just a hardware store or something, no full service bike shop?

I would also worry about it being so... nice! My last bike was stolen (someone sawed thru the cable apparently) and so Im a bit paranoid... Obviously I need to get a better lock... but I wonder if even that would be enough to stop a determined thief? This may be a dumb question, but is there ever a point where your bike is just too attractive to theives to risk leaving it outside, like when youre at work or something? I do need a bike that will get used heavily almost every day under various circumstances and that I don't have to be too paranoid or fussy about.

Any advice or thoughts about what kind of bike to get would be most appreciated, or feedback from anyone about this particular model. Bike purchase is a huge decision!

Thanks,
Catya