Looking at picking up a new bike and wondering if I'm on the right track.

Right now I have a hybrid and a 29er. Looking to replace the hybrid with something a bit more road specific and either get rid of the hybrid or turn it into a winter bike.

I live near a local park and get out daily on 8-10 mile rides. Once a week I'll get out for 40-50 miles and once or twice a month I'll get out for 100+ mile rides.

Usually once a month my wife and I will do camping trips which are usually 3-4 days long doing approx 50-70 miles per day.

I also use my bike for most local errands where I don't have to carry anything too big. Looking to start commuting with my bike as well (13 miles each way)

I like the idea of a road bike, but would like the idea of something a little tougher as I like the ability to take shortcuts across the grass or hop curbs. Some of my local trails are gravel as well. Also a lot of the road bikes I looked at won't accept a rack for camping trips.

Looked at touring bikes, but thought that may be overkill for us only doing multi day trips once per month tops.

Thinking a cyclocross bike like the Trek Cross rip LTD would be a good fit for me. Took a test ride and liked it other than the reach was a bit longer than I would like (Easy fix with a shorter stem??)

Rode a trek Crocket and absolutely loved it and thought the fit was perfect, but it won't accept a rack for multi day trips.

So am I on the right track with the Cross rip LTD?


CrossRip LTD - Trek Bicycle

When I was a bike commuter I rode a CX bike. Great for hauling stuff, rugged and can accommodate racks, fenders, etc.

Honestly, My touring bike is far and away the most versatile bike I own. I have ridden it off road in the snow, using cyclocross tires and was able to keep up with others on dual suspension mountain bikes. I ride it often in the spring when the roads here are frost heaved and potholes are plentiful. My mudguards ensure that I am not drenched by dirty water on the roads. A touring bike will match any cyclocross bike on the road and will almost always be better at carrying a load. Cyclocross bikes that are good as commuters are usually touring bikes in disguise. Touring bikes have fallen out of fashion, doesn't mean that they are not viable for your needs

It comes down to taste. I mostly commute and this year I bought a Charge Plug from Performance Bicycles. It was a special package for Performance and kinda slots between the Plug 3 and plug 4. I call it a semi-tourer because it's a longer wheelbase than my roadbike, but not quite as long as an LHT or Vaya. It's also a little lighter than a typical steel touring bike, but still steel. My wish was for a steel frame with a longer wheelbase and relaxed geometry for more self-steering, more stability, and less twitchyness than my road bike or my MTB-based commuter. Mission accomplished! However, I still like to occasionally ride on the roadbike when its dry because it's nimble. And the MTB-based commuter is more solid and is more adept at curbs, potholes and unpaved loose stuff, but still quicker to maneuver due to its quick steering. You can almost always add racks and fenders to bikes not designed for them, so it comes down to taste. A traditional touring bike will be more comfortable and less twitchy than a road bike while a cross or gravel bike may be just as sturdy as a tourer, but lighter, more responsive and most likely more sporty.

Either a touring bike or a cross bike is a great choice. Personally I'd opt for the cross bike as it will be a bit better for most of the riding you do. Keep the hybrid for touring and/or winter commuting.

The CrossRip is not a cyclocross model, though, it is listed by Trek as a fitness bike, meaning an all around road bike.

Cyclocross bikes are often geared quite a bit more narrowly than your standard road bike, commonly 46/36 because the steepest hills in cyclocross you are supposed to carry the bike up.

So the CrossRip may be a perfect fit for you, but not because it's a cyclocross bike, because it's not... the Crockett is though.

The only bad thing I've heard on the CrossRip models is they are a little pricey for the level of componentry they have.

Check out 2016 Felt f65x just purchased one, great bike, reasonably priced

Take a look at the Cannondale CAADX, too. I really like mine. It has mounts for a rack and fenders.

Some companies like Jamis and Felt now offer a newer type of road bike called "adventure road". Not quite specific for cyclocross competition, but designed for all-day riding, with clearance for wider tires. Might want to check out those bikes.

Jamis makes the Renegade series, which they just moved out of the "road" category into the "adventure" category on their website.

Felt makes the V- series (eg. V85).

Thanks! I'll check those out. Was thinking of buying in the next few days, but now looks like I have more test rides to do

LBS called the cross rip a cyclocross, but looking at the choice of tires and gearing it's pretty obvious it's not. If I went the route of the cross rip, would it be tough enough for easy to intermediate single track? I have my 29er for single track, but would be to have a different bike to take out on easier to intermediate stuff every now and then for a new challenge.

The only drawback I see with CX bikes is if you are doing heavily loaded touring in a mountainous area, the stock gearing might be a bit too tall.

I'd look at a Gravel Grinder bike, rather than a cyclocross bike (but there may be a little cross-breeding between the two). Do a google search on "gravel grinder bike review".

Here's a good article that lists a few of what they consider to be the best of this line: Buyer's Guide to Adventure and Gravel bikes. These are the type of bikes recommended by GS above.

Here's a specific review on the Specialized Diverge. I'm sure that a lot of aspects of this bike are also true of other Adventure and Gravel bikes.

GH

Yeah, ColaJacket is right on, if you want to do intermediate single track, a gravel bike is the way to go rather than a Trek CrossRip.

A new breed of bikes built for 'gravel grinders' - LA Times

I had recently been searching for a versatile, multi-purpose bike as well. The variety of uses you described are very similar to mine. I ended up buying a Salsa Vaya II. So far (after a few hundred miles) I like it a lot.

Categories get fuzzy on the edges Hybrid with drop Bars without suspension falls in there .

Full competition Cyclocross Bikes will have No Need for Water-bottles Racks and mudguards

So have No provision to fit any .. the race is only an Hour long at most, and does repeated laps around a course.

A touring bike is probably going to weigh a little more than a cx bike.

I'd go for a touring bike. A cyclocross just feels a bit heavy and bulky in comparison. I bought a cyclo cross 4 years ago. It has sentimntal value to me, otherwise I would buy a touring tomorrow.

I've used my Crossrip on a fair number of singletrack. I have also used in in CX races, and I use it for my daily commute (16 miles). I have also done a few half-century gravel rides (not fit enough for the century yet) with it, including lots of mountains. It is very versatile. However, I would agree with the price vs. components argument. I bought mine half off from a guy on Craigslist, but knowing what I know now I don't think I would've have paid full price for it, but I am also really cheap (I have the Elite with SORA drivetrain). I think the Crossrip would be absolutely perfect for you, if you don't mind the price tag. You can always change the tires and put a shorter stem on (that's what I did). That style of bike is great. I also have some 28c tires for my road rides, and it soars.

I would look at the Kona Sutra, speaking from personal experience. Touring bike with all the goodies (gearing for climbing, braze-ons galore, and big tires/fenders/rear rack/Brooks come stock), but it's essentially the same geometry as their CX model (Rove). I have one now and use it for everything (commuting, bit of off-road, touring, fast rides).

I got a KHS CX300 cyclocross bike for riding in town and on some relatively smooth trails. It doesn't have provisions for a rear rack, but that was easy enough to solve--Bontrager makes a rear rack that uses a long skewer to mount the bottom end--the BackRack Lightweight--and all you need to do to mount the top end of the rack is get a seat post clamp with bolt eyelets--Bontrager makes one too, as does other parts manufacturers.

I'm surprised that the Crocket doesn't have the eyelets.

I've mounted a rack on my old Colnago years ago. It has Campy style rear dropouts which take a Blackburn adapter, and then P-Clips at the top, and the rack is as secure as any rack with eyelets (except for the slight angle in the fit, which I may fix sometime).

Anyway, if I was buying a new bike, then I'd get one with the eyelets. However, I wouldn't stress over it if I found a good used bike that was short the eyelets.