Thoughts on the 2009 Trek Soho
 

Have you seen the 2009 Soho?
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/urban/soho/soho/

It looks like the ultimate commuter bike to me:
- belt drive (no grease) with cover
- 8 speed internal geared hub
- roller brakes
- flat bars (great for high traffic commutes)
- 700c wheels with reflective puncture resistant tires
- aluminum frame (great for winter commuting)
- fenders
- a bumper on the top tube to avoid scratches on those nasty bike racks

In other words next to no maintenance, which is my ultimate goal in a commuter (as well as a comfortable fast ride). It just needs a rack, some lights and it's good to go. The price tag isn't that cheap, but for all those features it seems worth it. On the other hand I have yet to test drive it (has anyone?) and I have no experience with belt drive bikes (how long does the belt last and can you change it yourself like a chain?).

Thoughts?

I know the belts are supposed to last longer. I am looking at getting the Trek District myself for my new commute when I move to Seattle. I cant wait for the no maintenance smooth ride.

The negatives I've heard about belt drives have all been right here in the BF.net. Among them:

- Unknowns. We've been riding bikes with chains for 100 years. They are predictable, everyone can fix them
- How do you get the belt on? Some have said they worry the frame would be weaker because it has to be separated (usually near the rear drop out) in order to put the belt drive in.

Other than that, it looks like a fine bike. Fenders? Check.Braze ons for a rear rack? Check.

The only other negative? Not to be a Trek hater, but I will never buy a bike from them again. The hybrid I bought earlier this year had, in rapid succession, a failure of the chain, a broken tooth on the rear cassette, and a pedal that disintegrated under my feet. All failures nearly resulted in accidents while riding in traffic.

Just for balance- I ride the Swobo Dixon to work. THough it has a chain and no chain guard, it is $90 cheaper than the Trek Soho.

Looks like a spot-on bike for commuting, although im sure (soon) youll be able to buy a similar other brand bike for less. I'd also like to know how much clearance there is for wider tires.

Look's great to me. The belt...only time will tell, but I'm willing to be a guinea pig. I work at a shop and I've already pre-ordered the bike, should hit in December. I'm told the belts are used in motorcycles and snowmobiles, so hopefully they got the engineering right on this one. Since it's coming in the winter I'm going to start it's beating then and I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Edit: The one major drawback I can see in frame design is the bottom rack mount is attached to the removeable dropout...a potential disaster in case of a flat

a lot of people prefer drops for a commuter

i honestly dont see why these companies dont make two versions of the same bike.

in fact, they already do, but they are both flat bars....

also, to tell you the truth id have preferred disc brakes.

theres nothing wrong with a steel frame for winter commuting either, though trek isnt really into steel frames, i just wanted to point that out.

the belt drive intrigues me. i try to avoid trek because they are the evil empire of cycling, but they make nice bikes

Belts have been in operation at much higher rpm's in cars for years without issues..... Easily last 100,000 miles with avg. rpm's of around 3,000....... 300,000,000 revolutions.......... do the math and as long as Trek has similar technology on their belts you should be fine. Consider a 200 hp car is putting out 149,000 watts and a typical biker might put out 200, which is less than 1 hp.

I see it as a potentially great winter bike. I know the last time belt drive bikes came up in this forum there was concern about compacted snow building up in the cogs and throwing the belt. I was around snowmobiles some when I was young and they were belt driven. I don't remember that being a problem but it could be that the belts and pulleys weren't as exposed and that made all the difference. I'm guessing it wouldn't be an issue though.

It would need clearance for 35mm studded tires and I'd prefer drops. The big drawback for me is that $1,000.00 is a bit much for a winter beater and would pay for a lot of replacement chains on my current winter bike.

Finally, I know that tension is important when it comes to belts and maybe it doesn't matter as much in this application but I wonder how much of a hassle that makes it to change tires.

It's a decent bike for the purpose.

I'm sure they would have sold more if they could have managed disc brakes at the same price. Besides that, the only problem I have with it is the battleship gray color. Did they hire a designer from Surly or is blandness just the trend lately?

Some people seem to like these type of colors, but i hate them.

I agree. Everything seems to be satin/matte finish with little to no color contrast.

The SOHO is an interesting idea, I like "out of the box" design, but I won't be a beta tester either.


-R

Belts have been used as part of the drivetrain on motorcycles for years. The complaint in that world has been stretch but they last and no chain lubing!

My guess is the designers are going for a discrete color scheme that don't shout "steal me!" to potential bike thieves. The bikes are frankly pretty bland and boring, but I feel like if the main purpose is to commute and be left outside, you're last worry should be your individualism expressed through your bikes paint job!

I think you are right about the bland colour. For a little more bling, they have the District; the single speed version of the Soho. I'm not overly crazy about it as it seems like they are trying to hard. But for whatever reason I don't mind the colour design of the Soho.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...rict/district/

That's a nice package, even though the price is pretty much a grand. But they have the idea right. It's attractive enough to me that I want to test ride one.

Little OT but welcome to Seattle whenever you come =D

With no drop bars and an 8-speed hub, I am guessing that steep hills will be a drag with that thing.

+1. I have a 2008 Trek Soho S purchased in June. I it ride every day. The trips are short and the bike probably only has something like 500 km on it. In the past three days both pedals have cracked while I was riding along a busy city street. There was a loud snap each time and one side of the platform literally broke in two. The pedals are these open-platform plastic wonders that seem to me to be a little larger than usual, which probably means that the platform should be stronger than usual in order to be able to withstand the greater forces. No such luck with this plastic.

Otherwise I have quite liked my Soho S. Any recommendations on platform pedals?

Yah but the belt on the car is UNDER THE HOOD not exposed to UV. ON a bike the belt/chain is exposed to the elements and the dreaded UV. Yah sure the chain guard can help cover up ~50% of the belt but that's still another 50% exposed.

Looks interesting but for me I'm not hating on it but I'd stick to chains more because if anything went sideways I can find repairs in stores or LBS's without issues or try to fix the bike outside store hours. With a belt I hope you don't have any issues outside of business hours and know where all the stores in your areas that are able to fix the belt drive.

And under the hood it's exposed to 200degree plus temps, road contaminants, and oil. UV's a minor part of this argument.

-R

The dropout looks complicated, I'd like to know why they did not stick with a horizontal dropout found on single speeds. Anyone?

A spare belt will weigh next to nothing compared to a chain. Plus it can be folded into a tiny package you can stuff in your saddle bag minus the grease and chain link tool!

Overall it's a nice package. Wish I had room for one...lol. :twitchy:

I've got a 08 Soho 1.0 and I'm very pleased. Purchased it in June and have several hundred miles on it and zero issues to date. I use it for everything... short trips to friends, local watering holes, grocery shopping with Jandd rack and paniers, and rec riding.

I can't comment on the pedal problem, I changed mine out to some barefoot friendly platforms before I ever put a mile on it (lived close to the beach at the beginning of summer). I also replaced the stock stem and handlebar with a shorter RaceFace stem, RF grips, and Mary bars.

I would imagine it has to do with taking out slack that comes with belt stretch...

I love the coffee attachment :)

I'm totally cool with the belt;13yrs of belt driven motorcycles with zero issues. I'd prefer a SRAM iMotion9 to the Shimano Alfine. Killer is the roller brakes;discs for me thanks.

^+1,000

Though I bought my coffee mug separate (I don't have the Soho) and must say it's very good.