Hey all! I've been posting here over the past few days and I'm really enjoying the forums. Since I started biking earlier this summer I've put nearly 600 miles on my bike - not bad since I'm using it primarily to commute. Right now I've got a trek 820 mtb, I love the thing. However, as I get better, I'm noticing some things.
First, my hands do get tired on the uphills. This wouldn't be a problem except they start going numb, which leads to all kinds of fun. Plus, I'm noticing that the bike is extremely heavy for what I'm using it for.
Like I said, I primarily use my bike to commute from work, college, and my house. The majority of my rides are very short (~1-2 miles and back). However, our town is based around a mountain. The entire area is nothing but large hill after large hill, which combines with pretty heavy traffic to make road riding not all that desirable, for anything but commuting (but I enjoy it still). Using the mountain bike has been awesome since its trained me, and my legs, to be able to handle the hills fairly well. I still get tired, but I'm getting better. Plus my quads have gotten ripped! 😉
Because I can handle commuting with non-prime conditions on the bike, I've been considering getting either a hybrid, or a roadie. I'm very hesitant to get a road bike, simply because I do ride on sidewalks occasionally, and some of the sidewalks are worse than the logging trails I used to ride on back home. I have a feeling it would spell disaster for a good road bike. A hybrid seems like it may work, but I've never ridden one before.
I've also been checking out the new 2007 trek Soho city bikes. They seem like they might work really well too.
Can anyone reccomend a mid to low end bike for my purposes? I'd like to go a little bit higher quality than my 820, but I'm not looking for something at a pro-level. I'm looking to spend 600 more or less. Plus, what type of bike would best suit my purposes? Thanks all for any help you can offer.