Hello all,

I'm a recent convert to the cycling lifestyle. I bought my first bike, a Trek 7.1 FX back in May and it's been a decent bike. Though, as it was my first bike, I didn't know what kind of riding I'd enjoy doing, or what each bike was built for, so I bought what the shop recommended. I now have a much more firm grasp on what I want in a bike, and the 7.1 isn't fitting the bill.

Wants:
-Ability to fit larger tires
-Rigid or remote lockout suspension
-Light touring capabilities(300-400 mile trips)
-Needs to be able to take hopping on to and off of curbs regularly.
-Needs to be able to go over things like wooden bridges without shaking my neck off(I have experience)
-Able to handle light-medium duty off road(gravel/dirt fire roads)
-~$900 budget before accessories

I've been looking at a few bikes, some are above my price point a bit, but I'm hoping I can get them down for 2015 models

2016 Giant Toughroad SLR 2
2015 Trek DS 8.5/8.6
2015/16 Marin Muirwoods 29er
2015 Specialized Crosstrail Elite/Sport Disc

Anyone have any other recommendations? I'm planning to go and take a few of these out on test rides over the next week or so, any words of advice?

Every bike on your shortlist is an excellent example of its type. Ride them and choose the one you like, that fits you best, and that is associated with a shop (LBS) you really like.

Others will be along to tell you why you should choose according to their preferences.

Why do you want a suspension on a hybrid? Adds significant weight, and if you just regularly want to curb hop, you might be better off with a bike like a Surly Ogre or Troll with balloon tires, which will handle that kind of riding just fine without the weight penalty of a suspension setup.

I'm a big fan of the Crosstrail series, because I have one, and I love it! It answers to all of your requirements. It's a great do it all bike!

I'm not saying I need suspension, in fact I said I wanted something that was either rigid or had a remote lockout. I'm definitely looking for something with some degree of off road capabilities though, I do prefer something rigid, but I think I should definitely consider hardtail hybrids.

The troll and ogre are both out of my price range and the local surly dealer doesn't have any to markdown, otherwise I'd consider a touring bike like that.

I find the FX fine for my riding, which is like yours without the curb hopping, since I don't ride on sidewalks. You could make a big difference with a tire change on your current bike.

I don't know how large a tire a 7.1 FX can handle, but my 7.3 FX came with 32 mm slicks, and I am currently riding Clement X'Plor USH 35 mm tires and they ride wonderfully on whatever surface I ride, usually rail trails with crushed stone, gravel and a few wooden bridges. I was able to squeeze on a set of 40 mm Kenda Happy Medium (60 tpi model) but I had to deflate the rear tire to install or remove the rear wheel, they were also very nice to ride.

Depending on how large you are, you may also be able to just lower the pressure in your tires to get a smoother ride. The maximum pressure on tires is not necessarily the ideal pressure, unless you are an exceptionally large rider like me. Even though I inflate to maximum pressure on the rear tire because of my weight, I keep my front tire at about 90% of my rear pressure in order to help cushion things like gravel and wood bridges.

It's not so much riding on sidewalks as taking shortcuts down grassy hill with a curb in between and occasionally having to hop on the sidewalk to avoid obstacles with traffic on your left. As far as Tires, I'm running Kenda Happy Mediums in 700x35c(I couldn't get the 40mm to fit). I have tried messing with the pressure on the tires, and while it helps some, it doesn't solve the shaking issue.

OK. Some people are more sensitive to certain things than others, so I thought I would toss you the easy possible solutions.

There are also some riding techniques to deal with short term issues, like the wooden bridges, and that is to do the opposite of what you would think, and lighten your grip. When I ride across rough stuff, I slow a bit, and my hands are barely touching the grips...

In my looking, I think any of the bikes listed above would be a nice upgrade for your type of riding, so I would suggest test riding them each, and find the one that speaks to you... Hopefully you can do a long enough test ride to be able to ride on the various surfaces you ride.

PS - My preference would be the Giant Tough Road, since I prefer rigid to a lockout... But that is me, and knowing the type of riding I do.

Yeah, the reason it hurts my neck so much probably has something to do with when I injured it playing HS football a few years back, I'm sure it wouldn't bother most folks as much as it does me.

Unfortunately, it seems the Toughroad won't be available for test riding for a good bit since it's so new, wondering if it's worth waiting a mont in order to test ride that as well.

I own the crosstrail comp. I love it. that is all.

So, after doing some test rides, including a test ride of a Surly Ogre. I'm probably gonna wait, save a bit more and get an Ogre since my long term goal would be to do the Continental Divide in 3-4 years and it seems like it would be capable of making that trip, something I didn't think I could find at that price point. Still gonna test ride the Toughroad when it comes in just to see if it blows me away, but it would be hard to beat the Ogre at this point. Thanks for recommending the Ogre [MENTION=410612]ShortLegCyclist[/MENTION]

The Ogre and Troll have a lot of fans and you can count me among them! In the event of an earthquake or Mt Rainier erupting causing the temporary breakdown of highway and other infrastructure, those are the kind of bikes I would reach for.

In the zombie apocalypse, though, it would be a Pugsley!