girlguineapig

DiabloScott,

What bike is the one you posted? Trek something?

I made another post two days ago but mods still haven't approved it...guess I'll write it up again.

Phil_gretz

^+1. Flat bars, even though they're a compromise for a commuter and not quite as sporty. This was good advice. There's a tendency for us to try to make one bike do too many things. You seem like the kind of folks who wouldn't accumulate a fleet of special purpose bikes. If you were to prioritize the features/uses of these two bikes, you might put (1) wider tires for stability and some non-paved riding, (2) ability to mount accessories as part of commuting (panniers, handlebar bags, whatever...), (3) fun to ride on weekends, (4) growth potential to haul little ones when they come along (5) ...


Good luck. I'm sure that you will enjoy what you eventually find.

ptempel

Saw he hasn't posted yet so I'll take a stab. It looks like the Trek Lync 3:

Lync 3 | Trek Bikes

DiabloScott

Yeah, that's the one.

I have a Trek District fixed gear that looks like the same geometry and riding position - it is really fun to ride - mostly for commuting but I've done some 50k charity rides on it.



When I had a trailer and a trailer-cycle, I was riding an urbanized Rockhopper

girlguineapig

Hmm, I still feel like we're more interested in the sportier bikes. I got the chance to try the Dolce Evo in one of the LBS and see a Fuji Jari at Performance Bikes (not my size though). After going through all of the previous posts and looking at bikes I'm looking most closely at the following four:

Jamis Renegade, Trek CrossRip, Specialized Dolce Evo (women's specific), and Fuji Jari

idiotekniQues

renegadeexpat

The Jamis Renegade Expat. It's steel and amazing for the price.

Bike Gremlin

Could a drop bar bike with relaxed geometry and perhaps a one size wider bars than shoulder width be almost as practical?

Darth Lefty 

I think the all-purpose road bikes like you've been posting are fine. I like hybrids for towing and kids. However, I would not buy a bike today targeted specifically for something I might be doing in three years.

DiabloScott

You could make it work of course. The issue is that the kid in the trailer or trailer cycle can wiggle around and the required steering adjustments you need to compensate for that are just easier with your hands out wide and facing forward. You get a more sturdy, confident feeling than you do on drop bars.

Darth Lefty 

Huh. I never had a problem with this. The trailer attaches by the rear axle which is probably about the most stable place on the bike. I can't imagine my kid putting a force into the tow bar that would be strong enough to upset my weight going down through the rear triangle to the contact patch, unless he was deliberately trying to rock the trailer off its wheels or something. It's certainly less upsetting to the bike than a kid seat. Surly trailers have a drop hitch that would make it even more stable but they only sell cargo trailers.

Bike Gremlin

Flat bars of my bike are 50 cm wide and it's stable for carrying the kid in the back seat (seat tube mounted one). But drop bars are not wider than 44-45 cm with hands differently positioned.

However, never thought that drop bars would be problem for that use - thanks for bringing that up. The reason I dropped the drop bar bike for a flat bar one was the unavailability of drop bar frames with enough clearance for 40 mm wide tyres with mudguards. Up to now, my plan was to grab a touring drop bar frame as soon as I find one at a low price (2nd hand, or a big discount). Now I'm not that sure it would be wise.

girlguineapig

Thanks everyone for all your input, especially for suggesting the Jamis Renegade which I never would have heard of otherwise. After going to several stores, we're planning on picking up a Jamis Renegade for my husband this weekend, and I'm getting a Specialized Dolce Evo (women's specific version of the Diverge). We're super excited to hit the roads with our new bikes.