Quote Originally Posted by danadear View Post
Looked at one in the LBS on Saturday and fell in love. I was dead set on getting a Touring specific bike but this reallly sounds good. LBS owner has two employees that did the entire Southern Tier on this bike with no problems. I'd love to hear some other opinions if anyone has one.
Yes, I have one, it's a 2008 model with triple crankset. Great bike, and I do enjoy it. I bought it as my first "road" bike in March of last year. I didn't know if I wanted a road bike or something more flexible to use on the gravel trails in my area. It seemed like a good fit. It was a great starter bike, and I'll use it from time to time instead of my road bike. I competed in a few cyclocross races last year too.

It's my secondary bike now (I have a true road bike, Madone 5.2 WSD). If I were doing touring or commuting, I'd use it more often than the Madone. My hubby uses his Tricross sport for commuting. I know there are mounts for rear panniers, but I'm not sure about up front. You might want to check that if you plan on any long touring rides.