Looking for new road bike - standard road bike or comfort - suggestions?

I am looking at getting back into biking and have been looking at new
road bikes and I am looking for advice. I am looking to ride for
fitness and distance riding (centuries, etc).

I own a '93 Specialized Sirrus Cro-Moly bike - I have never felt
comfortable with it - which is the main reason I quit riding - I felt
"beat" up by the bike - numb hands, sore rear, etc. I have had it
adjusted many times with no relief. Also, the Suntour components have
been a pain...

I have been looking at the newer comfort bikes like the Specialized
Sequoia Comp and the Trek 1800C(04) / 2200C(03). I was also looking
at the Specialized Roubaix - more into the performance end but the
sales guy said that it would probably be more comfortable than my old
Sirrus....

Are the newer comfort bikes all that they promise? Or is it better to
go into a lower end performance bike? Also, any other brands/models
that I should look at? I started with Specialized and Trek because I
am the most familiar with them.

Thanks
Mike

On 31 Jan 2004 22:03:29 -0800, (Mike) wrote:


Are the newer comfort bikes all that they promise? Or is it better to
go into a lower end performance bike? Also, any other brands/models
that I should look at? I started with Specialized and Trek because I
am the most familiar with them.

have you ridden a new and see what you like? the sore rear is a seat issue. that
is only solved by trial and error. the rest is mostly fit. so you need to make
sure you get the bike well fitted. go with what feels good first of all.

--
Knight-Toolworks & Custom Planes
Custom made wooden planes at reasonable prices
See http://www.knight-toolworks.com For prices and ordering instructions.

"Mike" wrote in message
om...
I am looking at getting back into biking and have been looking at new
road bikes and I am looking for advice. I am looking to ride for
fitness and distance riding (centuries, etc).

I own a '93 Specialized Sirrus Cro-Moly bike - I have never felt
comfortable with it - which is the main reason I quit riding - I felt
"beat" up by the bike - numb hands, sore rear, etc. I have had it
adjusted many times with no relief. Also, the Suntour components have
been a pain...

I have been looking at the newer comfort bikes like the Specialized
Sequoia Comp and the Trek 1800C(04) / 2200C(03). I was also looking
at the Specialized Roubaix - more into the performance end but the
sales guy said that it would probably be more comfortable than my old
Sirrus....

Are the newer comfort bikes all that they promise? Or is it better to
go into a lower end performance bike? Also, any other brands/models
that I should look at? I started with Specialized and Trek because I
am the most familiar with them.

Thanks
Mike

If you're planning on doing centuries, you're probably going to end up being
more comfortable, in the end, on a racing-style road bike. But you need to
have someone who knows what they're doing help you out with getting the bike
fit properly. And it's a little like a golf swing. What actually works
best may not feel quite right to you the first few times.
Go to www.coloradocyclist.com and carefully read the section on their
website about bike fit. If you didn't follow these guidelines in setting up
your old bike, it's probably got a lot to do with why you were never
comfortable on it. Also, keep in mind that proper fit is so important that
serious, high-mileage cyclists and racers can tell if they get their bike
back from the shop and, say for example, the saddle is 1/4 inch too low or
the bars are tilted up 1/4" too much.
You have three contact points on the bike ... your hands, your feet and your
butt. Proper fit will balance the weight distribution between them so you
don't get numb hands or a numb butt and so that your knees don't take a
beating as well. Most "comfort" bikes will have you too upright. They'll
be comfortable for 10 or 20 miles. They absolutely won't be comfortable for
100 miles.

Bob C.

psycholist wrote:

If you're planning on doing centuries, you're probably going to end up being
more comfortable, in the end, on a racing-style road bike.

I'd say, instead, that you'd be more comfortable on a touring-style road
bike.

Most people doing centuries aren't trying to break five hours. I think
most century riders would benefit more from a little more comfort,
rather than a little more speed at the expense of comfort.

There's a spectrum of bike styles, from super-comfortable sit-up-and-beg
bikes for slow trips around the block, to nose-to-the-front-wheel bikes
for contortionist racers. But I think the most comfortable bike for a
century ride is a touring bike - something with a bit higher handlebars,
but still drop bars; with a little more stable handling, so you can
relax a bit; something with low gears for the killer hill at mile 90.

Most people approach a century like a tour, not a race. For that use, a
touring bike is better than a racing bike. And even if you wanted to
ride it fast, if you lowered the handlebars and installed skinny tires
on your touring bike, you'd be as fast as if you were on a racing bike.

But you need to
have someone who knows what they're doing help you out with getting the bike
fit properly.

Absolutely true, no matter what type of bike you ride!


(Of course, there's that other style of bike that starts with the letter
"r", but I won't go there.)


--
Frank Krygowski [To reply, omit what's between "at" and "cc"]

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I have been looking at the newer comfort bikes like the Specialized
Sequoia Comp and the Trek 1800C(04) / 2200C(03). I was also looking
at the Specialized Roubaix - more into the performance end but the
sales guy said that it would probably be more comfortable than my old
Sirrus....

Are the newer comfort bikes all that they promise? Or is it better to
go into a lower end performance bike?

In a post yesterday, I covered some of this-

Out of curiosity (unless you prefer not to answer), how many mid-level
road bikes are sold for every high-end road bike?

That's going to depend upon the shop and the marketplace. There are bicycle
retailers that don't even sell mid-level product, just high-end stuff, just
as there are shops that only sell road bikes below $1200. As an industry,
I'd guess (and this is *only* a guess!!!) that twice as many road bikes are
sold below $1200 as above. I have been looking at the newer comfort bikes
like the Specialized

Road bikes tend to skew towards higher price points because most shops don't
do much regarding fit on moderately-priced bikes, so they don't feel
terribly comfortable when people ride them. This is a tremendous
discouragement to sales, and the "answer" from the manufacturers has been to
come up with screwy designs that "force" the fit many customer want by using
shorter top tubes and goofy-looking stems... creating a greater likelihood
that the stock bike is going to have the fit they want. There's nothing
wrong, per se, with the "comfort" road bike designs that have hit the
market. It's just that they usually don't accomplish anything that couldn't
be done with a standard road bike, if only the shop cared to do so.

The better road-bike shops discovered long ago that miraculous road-bike
sales levels can be achieved by simply fitting the bike to the customer,
using shorter and/or taller stems, choosing a bar with a different forward
reach, and paying attention to how they looked when actually riding.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

In article ,
says...
I am looking at getting back into biking and have been looking at new
road bikes and I am looking for advice. I am looking to ride for
fitness and distance riding (centuries, etc).

I own a '93 Specialized Sirrus Cro-Moly bike - I have never felt
comfortable with it - which is the main reason I quit riding - I felt
"beat" up by the bike - numb hands, sore rear, etc. I have had it
adjusted many times with no relief. Also, the Suntour components have
been a pain...

I have been looking at the newer comfort bikes like the Specialized
Sequoia Comp and the Trek 1800C(04) / 2200C(03). I was also looking
at the Specialized Roubaix - more into the performance end but the
sales guy said that it would probably be more comfortable than my old
Sirrus....

Are the newer comfort bikes all that they promise? Or is it better to
go into a lower end performance bike? Also, any other brands/models
that I should look at? I started with Specialized and Trek because I
am the most familiar with them.

A lot of people *really* like the Sequoiahs, so you probably won't go
wrong as long as it fits you properly.

--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

"Mike" wrote in message
om...
I am looking at getting back into biking and have been looking at new
road bikes and I am looking for advice. I am looking to ride for
fitness and distance riding (centuries, etc).

Look into the Bianchi lineup. Their Eros is their best seller for the type
of bike you are describing. I have a Veloce and it has been great.

Pat in TX

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article ,
Mike wrote:
I am looking at getting back into biking and have been looking at new
road bikes and I am looking for advice. I am looking to ride for
fitness and distance riding (centuries, etc).

I own a '93 Specialized Sirrus Cro-Moly bike - I have never felt
comfortable with it - which is the main reason I quit riding - I felt
"beat" up by the bike - numb hands, sore rear, etc. I have had it
adjusted many times with no relief. Also, the Suntour components have
been a pain...

I have been looking at the newer comfort bikes like the Specialized
Sequoia Comp and the Trek 1800C(04) / 2200C(03). I was also looking
at the Specialized Roubaix - more into the performance end but the
sales guy said that it would probably be more comfortable than my old
Sirrus....

Are the newer comfort bikes all that they promise?

_ Probably not. Bicycle comfort has more to do with fit
and fat tires more than anything else. Since it's next to
impossible to get both with most "road" bikes these days,
I'd look at touring bikes.

_ There's lot's of good info about what makes a bike comfortable
at the Rivendell site.

http://www.rivendellbicycles.com/

_ Booker C. Bense


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"frkrygow"

wrote in part:

Of course, there's that other style of bike that starts with the letter
"r", but I won't go there.

I thought you were already talking about Road bikes. Oh wait, you mean the
*other* "r" word. Never mind. g

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Which bike did you end up getting?

I'm also looking at the Specialized Roubaix and I'm anxiously lookin
for some reviews. Thoughts comments from anyone??!

Think this bike is appropriate for triathlons? Esp. the geometry an
body position? Comfort is more important to me than speed.....if I nee
to lighten up I'll loose weight first


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