Any opinions on Trek Crossrip vs Surley Cross Check?

[fallstoclimb]

I'm looking for a bike to use on my daily commute (not long, ~8 mile round trip), around town, and on week long tours. I've been using my Trek 7.2 FX but have never loved it and would like to upgrade to something that is not a hybrid. I got a lot of suggestions from the crowd in another post, but now that I've started shopping I've lowered my price point a bit to max out around $1250.

As I suspected, no one carries touring/cross bikes in my size (road bike is a 48 Specialized Dolce), so shopping has been tricky. I haven't been able to test ride anything but from reading/talking to people am intersted in the Trek Crossrip and the Surley Cross Check. I can order a Surly Cross Check but will have to put down a deposit that will turn into store credit to do so, which will tie me to a specific bike shop. I've been hoping that something used would turn up on Craiglist but the pickings are slim in my size.

I can order the Trek Crossrip for free to try, so I think I'll do that. Apparently its smallest size is a 49 which may be too large for me (at 5'2") but there's no harm in ordering. I am leaning towards aluminum since I'll be leaving the bike out in the rain during the day -- I know there is Frame Saver but even still I think alumninum might be better in my case?

I do know the Trek Crossrip is speced low for its price. I can't decide if I care about that or not. The lowest end model has a triple, which would be good for touring, one model up (+$200) has a double but disc brakes. Would that be worth it? We have a stable of bikes at home but none have disc brakes so I don't know much about them. The shop put in a mass order of Trek Crossrips for a charity ride and may have an extra one for me to buy, which would be the lowest model but would be much cheaper than normal so I may end up going that route.

Part of me is still wondering about the Surly, though. Bike shops have steered me away from it but my husband has wondered out loud if the profit margin is just slimmer on those. They are heavy, though, and I'm mostly looking to make my bike commute a little more fun on a bike that would also be appropriate for touring.

TE mentioned the CAADX which I believe is just in my price range but none of the shops around here have suggested them or seem to carry them.

[Eden]

The Trek is very likely to be too large for you. Cross frames have higher bottom brackets and thus shorter seat tubes (which is what the "size" is measured from) so a 49cm cross bike is usually closer in actual size to a 52cm road bike.

[fallstoclimb]

I think you're right. This bike search has been so frustrating. We even have a women-specific shop nearby (well, its one half of a "normal" shop) but they basically only carry road bikes and hybrids.

[fallstoclimb]

I think I'm priced out of the Vaya. It just seems silly to lock an almost-$1500 bike up outside on a frequent basis. I realize $1400 is only a little more than $1250, but then $1500 is only a little more than $1400 and suddenly I'll start looking at Space Ghosts, etc.

This is also surprising to me because my road bike only cost about $950. I didn't expect that all the touring/cross bikes would be more expensive.

[Jolt]

How about something like a Surly Troll built with drop bars and smooth tires? Would be an excellent commuter. Should have better stand over than a cross, anyway. And is available as a frame set so you can build exactly as you want. It uses 26" tires, which could be an advantage in fit. (Or maybe a Salsa Vaya, the size 50 has a 50 cm tt, and fits a lot of more petit TE'ers well). They aren't aluminum, but I can't think of any aluminum equivalent that might fit. (Unless, check Kona maybe?).

Any of those old-style rigid mountain bike frame sets could work as a converted cross with lower clearance.

Vaya is available is three builds and frame sets at different price points. Cheapest is about 1400, most expensive 3.5 grand.
http://salsacycles.com/bikes/vaya

Well, if you're looking at setting up a Troll with drop bars, why not just get a Long Haul Trucker? That comes with drop bars already, will probably be a lot more efficient to ride on roads (never ridden a Troll but that bike seems to be more off-road oriented and probably not as much fun to ride on pavement) and comes in small sizes with 26" wheels to fit short people without having toe overlap. I am a little under 5' 3" and ride a 46 cm. Another nice bike that seems like it would suit your intended use is the Bianchi Volpe, which also comes in small enough sizes for shorter people (I test rode the 46 cm which fit well). It has 700c wheels but I don't remember noticing major toe overlap during the test ride. However, it is another steel frame which you said you weren't sure you wanted.

[fallstoclimb]

Oh the Volpe does look nice though....

[Jolt]

Oh the Volpe does look nice though....

There is also a less expensive version called the Lupo with lower-end components, depending on your budget. Then you could always upgrade those parts later as they wear out.

[fallstoclimb]

Test rode the Trek Crossrip, felt too stretched out and it wasn't really a ton of fun. They had a 50 cm Long Haul Trucker in stock, which wasn't the right size at all, but I took it for a short spin just to try out the steel and was really happy with the ride. I ended up ordering a Surly Cross Check in a 42, and if it's too small I can return for store credit and order the 46.

I'm a little bummed I didn't test ride the Bianchi Volpe, but the only local Bianchi dealer is pretty far away, and I really like the shop I ordered the Surly from.

Was SUPER excited right after I placed the order, although now I am transitioning into the predictable buyers-fear stage. It will probably go away once the Surly comes in and I get to ride it. And if it doesn't work out, we will get the deposit back as store credit which we will spend. The Surlys seem so customizable and durable which is really attractive.