2010 Trek Soho - My wheels to work!
The time is November 2010 – the scene, Bike World in San Antonio, TX.
I’m killing some time looking at new bicycles (always a dangerous past time) and see a 2010 Trek Soho, in my size, with a price tag indicating $550 off. Oh no! I hear a whisper in my ear, “Buy me…”. Then the rational (kinda rhymes with financial but believe me that’s where the similarity ends) part of my brain kicks in and says, “Dude…the Gates Carbon Drive is almost $400 all by itself…it’s like getting the bicycle for $200-300″.
So I pulled the trigger. The Trek Soho became bicycle #5 in my bicycle barn and was immediately put into service as my commuter bicycle (which migrated my Trek Valencia into the spot of “beloved bicycle touring steed”). Just a few days ago, I passed the 1,000 mile mark on the Soho and thought I’d share some of my experiences.
- The Shimano Nexus 8-speed internal gearing system has been a fun journey so far. I’m now obsessed with how damn cool planetary gears are. The ability to shift gears while at a standstill has come in handy and has high utilization for a bicycle in the commuter role. About 300 miles into this relationship, however, the Nexus started having regular conversations with me. It would snap, crackle and pop. I payed a visit to Bike World where they disassembled the hub and serviced it by giving it a nice grease bath. A recent article in Bicycle Times magazine featured a bike mechanic that commented about how all too often, some internal gearing systems are shipped from the factory with insufficient lubrication. A little TLC at the bike shop and my Nexus went on to deliver another 700 miles of relatively quiet operation (“relatively” because almost all internal gearing systems make some noises, especially in certain gears).
- The Gates Carbon Drive replaces the traditional bicycle chain with a super strong polyurethane belt. I’ve had no issues with the belt to date.
- Between the internal gearing, internal drum braking system and belt drive system…the bike really has lived up to it’s billing as a nearly maintenance-free ride. Other than airing up the tires and every once in awhile checking the cable tension for the Nexus 8 (which uses a little sight window at the top of the unit to let you know if all is well) there’s not much else to fiddle with and for a commuter bicycle, that’s a nice, big PLUS!
As I continue to ride the bicycle, I’ll share my experiences. At the 1,000 mile mark, the Trek Soho has proven itself a reliable commuter bicycle that’s been a true joy to ride!
Hub gearing is the future. However, there are only two hubs really worth it.
Rohloff, allowing your own oil changes and designed to withstand 100,000 km. This one is prooven technology and on the market for 10years plus.
New Shimano 11-gear hub, less range, but as well with oil change (i.e. no bike shop). Also not rated for heavy loading (Tandem, MTBing, etc.) therefore has to be seen how it will perform.
I am about to post my first impressions with my new CoMotion Americano which has the Rohloff – wow…what an amazing piece of equipment. The gear range is INCREDIBLE.
We’ll see how many miles my Nexus 8 has. I know that hub has received some bad press from time to time but so far it’s been great once we solved the issue of coming from the factory “under greased” which is apparently a common problem for some of the lower end hubs.
I just bought a soho with disc brakes and gates drive for $200. I’m pretty sure that was a steal. I’ll put it to use on my short commute come tuesday. I’ll try to come back and let you all know what I think about it.
Mike – you definitely got a great deal on that Soho! The Gates carbon drive continues to prove its worth on my Soho. Quiet and maintenance free so far. I’ll be at 2,000 miles on the Soho soon.