Hi

A friend of mine is considering getting a multi purpose bike that he will use for road training and also that would be suitable for some touring. One of the bikes that he has been looking at is the cyclocross Trek X01 (http://www.trekbike.co.uk/bikes/2004/road/cyclocross/xO_1.php) as giving him this option of dual purpose.

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this particular machine and what their comments may be on it? Or any other cyclocross style bikes for that matter.

Thanks,

Julian

Well, I don't know anything about th bike you mentioned, but I do know about the Raleigh Aspen. I just got one over a month ago and took it through Scandinavia for 800 km. Wow, what a great bike. Suitable for touring, lkong stretches on the road, and also handles great off the road. The tires are thinner than a mountain bike's but thicker than a racing bike. I can't say enough great things about it.

I just purchased the same model you are looking into. I have not ridden it on anything long but when I took it out on the trails, WOW it could climb. I road it on some very challenging single track and was very impressed. Its also a very comfy bike.