fizzafarian

Hello All,

Will soon be moving house to an area much better suited to cycling and decided to give it a try! I haven't cycled since my teenage years and so am completely out of touch (and shape). The primary uses for this bike will be:

1) Riding around the neighbourhood, usually with my dog to the park and back. Will be purchasing a "Walky Dog" for her. She's a 55 pound pup so am leaning towards wider wheels.
2) Sample some of the nearby dirt trails leading down to a river. These are relatively flat and simple

So I began looking for a bike that can do on-road and some light off-road. The advice so far was to stick with buying from a local shop as a first-timer and the models with potential i've come across so far are:

Trek DS 2 @ $630
Giant Toughroad SLR2 2017 ($870 - $50 disc = $820)

I also tried what seemed to be a full-on mountain-bike, the Trek Marlin 7 for $780

From the above, I really liked the Toughroad's aesthetics and expected it to ride the best. Much to my surprise when I tried it, it was very rough and the gears didn't seem to shift as seamlessly as the Trek (despite being higher end). Not sure whether this was to do with tire pressure or the seat or the lack of suspension?

In either case, appreciate your advice on the choices above or recommendations on other bikes I could be taking a look at. I live in Las Vegas moving towards the Lake Las Vegas / Lake Mead area.

Thanks!

coominya

The SRAM gears on the toughroad do have a clunky sound but they are fine gears so I wouldn't be concerned about their quality. That said I can't even begin to comment on what style of bike you should get with a dog pulling you around. Defiantly one with wide tires and long bars I would say.

You do realize though that you are putting yourself behind the 8-ball. Getting proficient on a bicycle on roads and sidewalks, safely passing pedestrians, avoiding cars and potholes etc is one thing, having a dog in tow at the same time is a whole other world. I'd clock a few miles up on the bike and get my sea legs before taking the beloved puppy in tow if it was me.

Have fun either way, and welcome to the forum
Frank.

idiotekniQues

I could never ride with my dog on a leash. One squirrel and he would be off to the races no matter what leash he was on. ZOOM!

fizzafarian

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't actually noticed they were SRAM (as opposed to the Shimano's I had tested on the Trek earlier) but the sound had made me uncomfortable. Good to know that's not necessarily an indicator of quality.

In the end, I stooped by REI yesterday and was eventually convinced to purchase a clearance Ghost Panamao X4. For the money, the components seemed a lot better than the alternatives and I enjoyed the ride (very similar to the Trek). Salesman assured me I could return up to a year if I was later dissatisfied with quality or ride. Can see it here: https://www.rei.com/product/883667/g...-x-4-bike-2016

I rode the bike for a couple of hours after purchase and so far so good The neighborhood is gated and pretty contained, not as many hazards as on the public roads. Living in Vegas, I have less "Squirrel" type issues as the wildlife is minimal.

I did a quick test run with my dog by wrapping the "bungee" style collar I had for running just under the seat. She was comfortable very quickly and learned to adapt to my (slow) turning. It's working out very well so far, much easier than I expected to be honest. I just ordered one of these for walking the pup: https://www.amazon.com/Walky-Dog-Exe...ustomerReviews

Will try take a video / photos later, in-case anyone is interested in trying the same

fizzafarian

Lol, to be honest I had the same hesitation There just aren't that many squirrel type distractions in my neighborhood (Vegas). On my second test run this morning, we did run into another dog she didn't particularly take a liking to. But I stopped as soon I saw them to let them pass, otherwise I suspect I would have been skidding along the pavement Will have to pick "slower" times to ride.

For the trail, I think I may need to re-evaluate or pick much more carefully Took her to the mountains once and she took off after a deer. No idea what she planned to do upon catching it ... but it was a pretty picture with a deer darting away followed by a little dog a split-second later and a not-as-fit-as-expected human gasping a couple of seconds after that.

saint mucus

Hello from AZ, I'm not that far from Vegas weather is great now and will be for a long time I just started riding a couple weeks ago, I love it, I may be riding too much. Nice looking bike congrats

fizzafarian

Thanks! Same as you, just starting out and loving the weather / riding combo so far I ended up having to return the GHOST as it was not sized properly (too large). Bit the bullet with a Trek DS 2 and was fully measured / fitted. So far so good, some pics.