Advice on Commuting/Trail bike
 

Am looking at getting a bike to commute to work and so I can just grab it in the afternoon and go for a ride. Have a road bike now and with all the gear and the clipless pedals, it just is not convenient to go for a ride as often as I would like.

I think I want to get something that is primarily going to be easy to get to work, about 4 miles with some hills and a few potholes, that I can also throw a pair of knobbies on and do some easy trail riding. Nothing technical, just something that can get thru the woods once in a while.

I was at my LBS and was looking at the Specialized Crosstrail. I was also looking at the Kona Dew Plus. Am looking for advice on similar type setups and recommendations. I have a Trek now for the road, wondering if they have a setup that fits this bill as well.

Thanks in advance,
Joe

Forgot to include that I am looking to be in the $400-$650 range.

Honestly it sounds like you need 2 more bikes. You have a nice road bike. So get something setup for commuting and quickie rides. I like old-school steel 27" 10-speeds. You can beat the cr*p out of them and they'll keep running. They're cheap to buy and fix and wheels are easy to come by. For trail riding, find a decent used MTB. So instead of buying 1 new bike - go find 2 nice used bikes! :-)

If you think putting on your clipless shoes is inconvenient, why do you think you'll "throw on a pair of knobbies" when you want some off-road fun?

Here's what I think: buy a slightly cheaper beater and buy an extra set of (also cheap) wheels. (Ebay is full of cheap wheelsets.) Keep road/commuter tires on one and knobbies on the other.

Changing wheels is way easier than changing tires.

With the clipless pedals, I meant that they can be a little tough when crossing traffic from a stop. Mine are one sided SPD and they can be a little tricky to clip into under pressure. Top heavy.

I think I am going to go back to the shop and test ride some of these. They have a big sale this weekend. See what feels right.

Shimano M520 FTW

Consider getting some "campus" pedals: you can use them with clipless shoes or normal shoes. Lots of commuters love them.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg

Those are on my list.

I think these two quotes are related - if you're having trouble with single sided spd's, you're also going to have trouble with single sided spd's that's a platform pedal on one side.

I'd suggest you go with double sided spd's. If you really really want "campus" style pedals, I've heard better things about this style being in a predicable position when you put your foot back on the pedal:
http://www.rei.com/product/764688

http://media.rei.com/media/x/1385430.jpg


As for the bikes, general advice as well as my own opinion is that a cheap bike with front suspension is pretty crappy - they can't put a decent suspension on it at that price and other components are crappier in exchange. You're better off with a rigid frame but big tires, like the Kona Dew Plus you mentioned or a Specialized Globe Vienna.

Though I think that if you're used to riding a real road bike, you may find any bike with bigger tires annoyingly slower.