Trek Portland- anyone got one?

Tusher

If my Cycle to Work scheme at work ever gets off the ground (and we've been waiting over a year now), I intend to buy myself a new bike which has to-
-commute 14 miles a day with panniers (I am old, slow and fat BTW)
-tour in comfort in the summer including
-complete LEJOG in two years time (over three weeks)
-complete sportives without making a total fool of myself
-join in (gentle) local club runs " " " " " "




I am putting my loyal Raleigh Wisp (which I've up-graded over the years) out to pasture.

Have thought about buying a second hand road bike, a dedicated tourer and a commuter, but I would prefer just to have one bike. It must have dropped handlebars.

I like the look of the Trek Portland, and have tried it out on rollers in the local bike shop.

Can anyone tell me if it's worth it?



(Apologies if there is a nearby thread with all this info in it- I did have a quick look- and thanks to iPete in the Touring Forum for guiding me here.)

Eau Rouge

Tusher wrote:

It must have dropped handlebars.

Now that will go down well in these parts.

I've not come across a Trek Portland before, but it looks very interesting. It's a touch on the heavy side, but if you're putting panniers on it anyway that's not really an issue. I'm not convinced by disc brakes though. Hydraulic ones maybe, but these are cable-operated mechanical ones, which I'm told aren't up to the same level. Disc's also limit your options on replacing the wheels. Rim brakes do work, are lighter, and give you much more free reign when replacing wheels.
Other than that it looks a good bike.

Tusher

Eau Rouge wrote:

Tusher wrote:

It must have dropped handlebars.

Now that will go down well in these parts.

.

Oh dear. Hope I said the right thing.


Thanks for the advice, eau rouge.

roger_merriman

if you are are all weather, commuter then it looks a good weapon of choice.

Cable disks will not have the drop off in power that rim's do once wet.

always_tyred

Eau Rouge wrote:

Tusher wrote:

It must have dropped handlebars.

Now that will go down well in these parts.

I've not come across a Trek Portland before, but it looks very interesting. It's a touch on the heavy side, but if you're putting panniers on it anyway that's not really an issue. I'm not convinced by disc brakes though. Hydraulic ones maybe, but these are cable-operated mechanical ones, which I'm told aren't up to the same level. Disc's also limit your options on replacing the wheels. Rim brakes do work, are lighter, and give you much more free reign when replacing wheels.
Other than that it looks a good bike.

I wouldn't over state that. I have a cross with disc brakes also. There are an increasing number of 29er mtb wheelsets available. There's also nothing stopping a mtb hub being laced to something like an open pro rim. Even with a redundant braking surface, they can work out lighter than 29er wheels.

Roastie

There is nothing wrong with cable discs. Avid BB7s are the dog's nads.

ps. I love the Portland, really nice commuter.

Stuey01

Cable discs are very good, there are a lot of mountain bikers who swear by Avid BB's and won't use hydraulics. I have hydraulics on my MTB's, but I do have a BB7 on the front of my commuter hack and can confirm that it is the nadgers, and is a piece of piss to set up too.

UndercoverElephant

Looks nice, but I think I'd probably go for the Genesis Croix de Fer over it. Just because I like the look of it.

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/cro ... fications/

Jamey

Just looked at the Portland on Trek's website... Those wheels do not look very tough to me.

24 spokes at the rear? With non-uniform spacing between them? On a commuting/touring bike intended for use with panniers?

Jokes.

il_principe

I dunno, don't see the point of discs on a bike like that really. Just needless weight. What about a Dawes or a Ribble Audax?

jedster

IP,

Don't think you've used disc brakes have you?

J

Jamey

Il Principe wrote:

I dunno, don't see the point of discs on a bike like that really. Just needless weight. What about a Dawes or a Ribble Audax?

• You don't wear out your rims
• You can remove the wheel without having to un-hook brakes
• You never have to tighten the cable once set, just adjust with dials on the side.
• Dead easy to set up
• Better in the wet
• Pads last longer as the braking surface doesn't get so dirty
• Better stopping power

In fact, the only downside is price and a bit of extra weight which, on a bike with panniers, matters naught.

But seriously though, that rear wheel looks pants. It's going out of true on the first loaded ride, i reckon.

MrChuck

The wheels look similar to the original ones on my hybrid, and they did very well although I wasn't using them loaded. They lasted a good few years and it was rim wear that did for them in the end. In terms of going out of true I can't say they were any worse than any other wheels I've had.

Aidy

hmm, seem to have been a whole stack of disc brake equipped, rack happy, drop barred 700c road bikes of late.

I like.

il_principe

jedster wrote:

IP,

Don't think you've used disc brakes have you?

J

Not on a road bike no, I still think they are overkill especially with narrow tires. I can lock the wheels with rim brakes so I dread to think what I could do with discs...

Roastie

Il Principe wrote:

jedster wrote:

IP,

Don't think you've used disc brakes have you?

J

Not on a road bike no, I still think they are overkill especially with narrow tires. I can lock the wheels with rim brakes so I dread to think what I could do with discs...

This is where discs are so much better - where with rim brakes you quickly get from "the edge of control" to "lock up", with discs you have a whole heap of control between those two points. They are just so much more progressive, so you can use the grip of the tyre far better.

I've been running the last three weeks on 25mm Rubinos and have been specifically riding in town and traffic a lot. Two ped incidents have had me stopping endo style, but at no point was it grabby as rim brakes tend to be. The confidence I find it lends me, especially in the wet, it well worth it.

Just as an aside, when I raced the proto in Cross (very slick), I was battling with asthma so was running well down and got lapped by the front runners. The dude who came 3rd passed me just before the technical in-field - following him into there, I found that I was catching him big time into the tight corners on the brakes. Sure, he could lock up and slide into the corners, but with discs I was able to control the braking (and hence the bike) so much better the difference was ridiculous - it was painfully obvious why, despite the extra weight, discs were banned for being a massive performance benefit.

Tusher

My fondness for disc brakes comes after a near accident on the Wisp when my rim brakes just did not want to work in the wet.

Roastie- have you had your Portland for long?

il_principe

Well I guess I'll have to try sometime, but honestly I have no problems modulating with rim brakes anyway - I can lock up, but have never really done so in anger and I'm not convinced that the contact patch of a 23mm tire is gonna be helped with the power of discs! But yeah for CX, heavy tourers I get it...

always_tyred

Il Principe wrote:

Well I guess I'll have to try sometime, but honestly I have no problems modulating with rim brakes anyway - I can lock up, but have never really done so in anger and I'm not convinced that the contact patch of a 23mm tire is gonna be helped with the power of discs! But yeah for CX, heavy tourers I get it...

On my commuter, I have a pump, two lights, mudguards. I get on it with a bag on my back.

Do I really care about the extra 200g or so that discs represent? No.

I do care, however, about being able to make a set of rims last 2 winters and counting. You can get a set of rim discs to last this long, but I really can't be bothered to clean them every night, you know?

As for modulation, power etc... dead right - rims are fine, mechanical discs are not any better in my experience. But the pads and rims last longer and they are more consistent in te wet.

They will be on road bikes in one form or another in time.

cjcp

Always Tyred wrote:

I do care, however, about being able to make a set of rims last 2 winters and counting. You can get a set of rim discs to last this long, but I really can't be bothered to clean them every night, you know?

For me, this is the attraction of disc brakes on a commuter. I'm heavy on the brakes, have blown one rim, and worn at least three others. Yes, I probably don't clean the rims as often as I should, but there are so many braking or stopping points on the commute, that disc brakes make a lot of sense to/for me.

Stuey01

For me the real world advantage of discs is the performance in the wet. When it's properly chucking it down with standing water on the roads rim brakes are nothing short of scary, had a few brown trouser moments commuting through the traffic in heavy rain. With discs it simply isn't an issue.

roger_merriman

Stuey01 wrote:

For me the real world advantage of discs is the performance in the wet. When it's properly chucking it down with standing water on the roads rim brakes are nothing short of scary, had a few brown trouser moments commuting through the traffic in heavy rain. With discs it simply isn't an issue.

just out in the surrey lanes during the winter can be like that.

though i'm planning on getting some new pads to fight back with.

Roastie

Tusher wrote:

Roastie- have you had your Portland for long?

I don't ride a Portland, I just like the bike a lot. But my ride does have drop bars and discs (just not right now - see pic in sig ).

shinybits

Hope I'm not joining the party too late but here goes...

I like the look of the Portland. I too have been looking for a new commuter steed with drops, and discs would be a big advantage. My brake blocks were virtually ripped apart by the grit this winter. The only thing about the discs though is that to me they make the bike look a lot more 'bling' and hence more nickable! :-/

I've taken a shine to the Specialized Tricross - no discs, but plain, simple and rugged. Any views on this? My only grumble is that the 2010 bike has a silver chainset, whereas the previous models had black ones, which looked a lot better, imho.

larchitect

I have a Trek Portland that I have been riding since 06 and have close to 4000 miles on it. I really like it. I have had only 2 flats in all that time. The Bontrager tires that came with it are great. I have had a few problems with the wheels but nothing major. I just trued them for the first time, the other problem was when the bearings worked themselves loose in the first couple of months. The dealer took care of that for me though.

I travel with panniers some, but when I do I usually have a lot of weight in them either heavy text books, a laptop, or groceries. It has held up well.

I love the disc brakes. I live in western Washington and the winters are long and wet. I trained for an early season Ironman this year and rode this bike in some pretty heavy rains for long distances during the early part of the year. It worked well. the disc brakes stop me quickly in wet weather.

I did replace the stock fenders that came with it. They don't provide much coverage. They would be OK for an occasional rain shower I suppose, but nothing serious.