Speaking of wheels, the Lime comes with removable rubber covers over the front and rear hubs that are available in a variety of colors. There are also three other removable, and colored, rubber pieces: one on each handlebar grip and one on the top tube. This makes for changing the colors on your bike pretty simple.
Ride Observations
The three-speed Shimano Coasting System works off a front-wheel speed sensor and a small gear box under the bottom bracket. There's no battery to change; it's simply a generator that works off the power you create when pedaling.
While you can adjust the speeds at which the bike shifts, it's not something you can do on the fly. You have to use a small, flathead screwdriver to make the adjustment from slow to fast on the very small dial below the bottom bracket. Since the dial isn't marked with labels, you have to assume that turning the dial clockwise makes it harder--which is correct.
I originally thought it would be more of a cadence sensor, but it's not. The gears shift only as I go fast enough. So, for example, if I preferred a higher cadence when going slowly I can set it for shifting sooner, but it's never going to change to a smaller gear ratio when climbing a hill. Remember, it's only a three-speed.
What this means is that the bike isn't really designed for climbing hills. I have a very steep hill behind my house and found that if I really torqued the cranks, I'd hear a little clacking-like sound in the gear box as if something was about to break. It's about an 8-percent grade and difficult enough on a light, carbon-fiber road bike.
So the true test and observations have to be centered on flat riding. And, for this purpose, the Trek Lime performs flawlessly. All sorts of neighbors came out and tried the bike over several different weekends. The consensus was totally awesome from many of the moms or dads who hadn't jumped on a bike in more than 10 years.
Moving the seat up or down to accommodate different people was accomplished through a quick-release lever on the seat post--essentially the same concept mountain bikes use.
"How cool that it shifts on its own," or "I had no idea they were doing this sort of thing with bikes" was what most people said. The non-cyclists loved it while the cyclists were a little disappointed that it wasn't too great at climbing hills.
The fact the bike had such a very clean and classy look also turned a lot of people's heads. This was a bike you didn't have to think about or learn anything in order to ride around the neighborhood. Just hop on, turn the pedals and let the bike worry about the shifting.
Shimano and Trek have developed a bicycle that appeals to those intimidated by gears, cables and hand brakes, and they did a terrific job. Without exception, every one of my neighbors that hadn't been on a bike in years said if they were to buy a bike, this is what they'd get.
At a suggested retail of $599, the Trek Lime is a good reason to pick up cycling again. For complete details, visit http://www.trekbikes.com/lime.