New Bike Dreams

Yup, I have a problem.  I love to acquire bicycles.  Especially over the winter.  Now I'm eyeballing this Trek.  The SoHo.  Why?  No good reason.

My Cannondale has been performing flawlessly as a commuter.  Ridiculously low gears, big smooth wheels, disc brakes.  Rear rack with awesome Arkel panniers -- they're Canadian! -- for hauling my stuff.  No complaints.

But the Trek has a freaking BELT DRIVE!  How cool is that?  Maybe not cool at all, but I must experience it myself to find out, right?  And it has an 8-speed internally-geared hub.  I like that.  No derailleur hanging out in the wind, waiting to get crunched.  No ice buildup in the winter jamming the chain.

The Trek has one potentially deal-breaking flaw.  Roller brakes.  Back in the day, roller brakes did not have a good reputation.  Hopefully they've improved.  Or maybe I can sweet talk Trek into building me a version with disc brakes, or at least conventional caliper brakes.  Anyone out there familiar with the new Shimano Alfine/Nexus roller brakes?  Do they work?

If I do wind up buying a new commuter, the C-dale will likely go.  And maybe the IRO singlespeed.  And I should probably pawn off one or two others, just for good measure.  Fortunately I know a guy who pawns stuff on eBay, because I'm too lazy to do it myself.