Over 20 years ago, the "trekking bike" saw the light of day as its own type of bicycle. It was supposed to be a universal sports bike, good on light off-road terrain and just as good on the road. A bike that combined the strengths of a mountain bike and a road bike. A bike ... for everyone. That was once the case. The term "trekking bike" now includes so many bike categories that the ancestor of the whole species was given the name "cross bike" to distinguish it from the rest of the market.
In the TREKKINGBIKE test, bikes in the price range up to 800 euros compete against each other. In this price range, noticeable compromises are unavoidable: A manufacturer who treats his bike to a good groupset no longer has the budget for a high-quality fork or hydraulic disc brakes - and if both are fitted, the frame has to be cheap. But what is important? That depends on the application. To make your decision easier, we have compared the most important components in the test.
The bikes in the test:
Bergamont Crosstec
Carver Topspeed 200
Gazelle XR-3
Ghost 5700
Marin San Anselmo
Red Bull Blackforest 2
Roba Crosslife Deluxe
Univega Terreno 500
The entire cross bike test from issue 2/2007 is available as a free PDF download.
