kmac27

I've found that I want a hybrid that has disc breaks. I go down a lot of hills and live in an area that rains constantly for 8 months. I am trying to find a bike in the price range of somewhere around $600 I'll be using it for commuting to college and will be locking it up for a good ammount of time. I've tried to find a bike in the 500-600 range and have found them but the bike dealers around me don't carry some of the bikes I've been looking at. One of the shops carries the kona dew series bikes which I like the specs but the reviews are not too good on it.

I also looked and found a trek Urban / SU 2.0 at $549. That bike would be perfect but I don't have a dealer that carries it.

I am just stuck and looking for advice, hope someone can help.

Jurgen

What reviews where? I just got a Dew Plus and have been very happy with it these past two weeks.

fender1

BRAKE= Thing on a bicycle that stops/slows you.

BREAK= I am on a break.

kmac27

lol as you can tell my grammer is horrible :-). I have heard when you turn on a dew your feet can hit the front tire. What model do you have and do you see any downsides? I was loving the bike and I know my dealer sells it but the reviews discouraged me.

unixpro

I don't know about the others, but I bought a Giant Sedona with disk brakes from the Cycle Center in Renton. It was in you price range and has been my daily commuter for 2 years. This year I've got about 6K miles on the thing.

dynaryder

That's called toe-overlap. Happens with alot of bikes. With geared bikes you learn to position your cranks. Fixies are another matter.

dynaryder

Had one. Used it as my commuter/bad weather/polo bike for a year and a half. Nice sturdy bike,but too heavy and slow.

jpfieber

I just ordered a Trek Soho 3.0 for winter commuting, partly due to the disk brakes. Should have it just after Christmas, can't wait to try it out! Have you tried the Trek website to locate a dealer? They have a handy search tool that lists them and even shows a map of their locations.

bwbass

I was asking the same question here this summer, and made a spreadsheet with specs and prices of a few: https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?k...ESXGkSl9re1gRA

I eventually got the Brodie Ocho which is great, but out of your price range. The discs in the rain (more or less the same area as you) work great.

ginsoakedboy

The Novara (REI) Buzz and Big Buzz are hybrids with disc brakes. I know a couple people who have had each of them and been happy.

Jurgen

Yup.

kmac27, go ride a Dew. It's a fine bike.

JeffS

You don't have a local Trek dealer? How is that possible?

Or do you mean that you don't have a dealer who stocks it?

kmac27

I have plenty of local trek dealers, None carry that many hybrids, MTB's are the most common bikes from one shop and roadies are the most commin in the other.

kmac27

My price range was 400-600 not because money limited me but because I would be locking it up on a college campus. Is it worth it to go for the 800 range bikes? or does it become too much of a target for thieves?

JanMM

Haven't ridden my Big Buzz much since I got a 'bent, but rode it a lot for 3 years and love the mechanical disc brakes. Bought replacement pads early, but they are still in the package.

jpfieber

They should be able to order what you need if they don't have it in stock. No one in town had the Soho I was looking for, so my LBS sized me on a similar geometry bike, and then ordered the Soho in the proper size for me.

jpfieber

Sounds like there aren't many models with disc breaks in that price range, so that alone may push you up in price a bit.

kmac27

I do know that, would you leave a $700-$900 bike locked up on a college campus while you were in several classes?

jpfieber

I work on a college campus, and no, I won't be parking my bike outside. I would guess any bike you get with disc brakes, regardless of cost, is going to stand out in that bike rack, making it a target.

kmac27

Well if I worked on a college campus too I would not lock it up. Are you saying I might as well ride a beater to college?

gregtheripper

I could leave it in my office most of the time -- but yes, I actually do/did that and know others who do the same, I would never leave mine for longer than 3 hours in one spot though, some people I know leave theres locked @ the library all day. Only people who end up getting their bikes stolen are the dumb****s with cable locks.

kmac27

Lol, So a preventative measure would be to move the bike inbetween classes every class.

kmac27

Woops I forgot I have a cable lock, almost useless and a huge chain lock, nothings getting through that one. When I head off to college on a more expensive bike I'll use a U lock with it.

MnIceBiker

[QUOTE=jpfieber;5809323]I just ordered a Trek Soho 3.0 for winter commuting, partly due to the disk brakes. Should have it just after Christmas, can't wait to try it out!QUOTE]

We just got these in at my shop. They are fantastic.

jpfieber

The waiting is killing me! I'm dying to take it out, and I'm constantly thinking about what modifications I'll make so it suits my commute perfectly. I'll definitely post some info on it once it arrives.