I LOVE my new bike!

[Bike Writer]

Picked it up today, a Specalized Expedition Sport. I just love it! This is the most comfortable bike I ever rode. There is no getting used to it, it's a dream right out the door. The geometry makes the bike seem effortless to pedal, it's responsive, quick and just a tad bit aggressive. Shifting is smooth as butter and the front suspension plus seat post suspension will be so good for my arthritis and smooth out the ride. This bike will be gentle on my body and the larger range of gearing with a triple up front and a 7 cog cassette in the back has me pedaling up hills that I previously had to walk up.

The geometry of the bike has the seat tube at an angle and the cranks slightly forward, this takes a lot of strain off the knees without sacrificing power, great engineering.

Took her out on a nice ride today on a path considered hilly and somewhat challenging. She handled like a dream. Life is good.

Oh, the bike is white with brown accents on the grips, pedals, brakes and saddle. Color me happy :D:D

[DarcyInOregon]

You described the perfect bike for yourself. Congrats on your new acquisition! When you are that comfortable on the bike, you will have a lot of fun and ride more miles than you thought you could. You will have an amazing summer. Be sure to track the miles on the new bike because when the end of the year arrives, you will be surprised at how many miles you pedaled.

[Velocivixen]

Congratulations on your new bike.

That's how I felt when I got my bike 6 months ago.

[Bike Writer]

Darcy, I do track my mileage in an excel sheet. I record miles and time, I did it last year but only have part of the season as I got my bike mid way through the season. I also tracked time on the trainer this winter. It was great last year to watch the miles per ride and per week increase.

Thank you Velovixen.

[WindingRoad]

Pictures! :):):)

[Pax]

Pictures! :):):)

Yes, please! :D

[hebe]

That's wonderful! May you have many many happy miles on your new bike!

[Catrin]

Pictures! Without pictures it didn't happen :D

It is so good to hear your experience with the new bike is such a good one - I had the same feeling with my Gunnar. It is such a great feeling to feel like a new bike truly fits you from the first second - heavenly!

[Bike Writer]

I intend to put fenders and a rack on the back of the bike and when I do I'll post a proper photo, in the mean time here is a photo from the maiden voyage yesterday with my nephew at Kensington Metro Park. There's a bit more about the ride and the bike on my blog.

[Catrin]

Very pretty! Nice that you got a chance to ride with your nephew yesterday!

[pinsonp2]

Congrats on the new bike. Since you are doing the loop at Kennsington MP, you are doing GREAT!!!!!.

Enjoy that bike,
P2

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

How wonderful!
There are few things more happy than a new bike that rides like a dream. :D

[Roadtrip]

Love the basket!! Sending sunny sky wishes your way or many more miles on your new bike.

Shannon

[Miranda]

Awesome... a new bike day is a happy day... congrats!:)

[Bike Writer]

Thank you all, I had another great day of riding on the B2B (border to border) trail in Washtenaw County. Rode from Brandemere Park to Gallup Park and did the loop and back. There are a couple of good climbs along the way that I had previously walked up, not today. It's great having lots of gears.

We had rain overnight and in the morning by my late afternoon ride I know why I want fenders. All of a sudden puddles mean something. Issue is that I wanted to get white fenders and cannot find them anywhere. I've done a lot of searching on the net and have come up empty handed so far. The bike is white with black lettering and has brown accents. I really don't want to introduce another color here so I guess I'll go with black fenders and perhaps trim them out with brown or white pinstripe?

Shannon, the basket was from my other bike, it just straps onto the handelbars, it's from "the basket lady" she makes beautiful baskets.

[jelee1311]

Congrats on the bike!I do love the basket,glad you have good enough weather to finally ride. You look great and very happy.

[VeganBikeChick]

Nice wheels!

[Bike Writer]

It's taken some time and it's a bit of a story but I have my bike set up just the way I want it and now that she's all properly dressed up it's photo shoot time. Photos have detail on the fenders (notice the rear fender has a shot of the back cassette, I did say I cleaned my bike last week :D) and one with her pretty basket attached. I think I'll call her my stealth rider because she looks a bit heavy and cumbersome but she's really ready to rock and roll!

Quick funny story about the fenders, I could not find white fenders anywhere, bought off the rack standard ones, took them to a local auto body shop and had them painted and pinstriped, turns out the painter is a cyclist and when I picked them up he showed me his custom painted bike. Wow, it was a work of art. Serendipitious that he was also a cyclist so he treated the job with lots of love and respect.

[emily_in_nc]

Wow, your bike is really cool, and the fenders especially rock! What a neat, custom touch! :cool:

[sarahkonamojo]

Nice bike!
Great effort on the fenders. Worth the extra mile.
S

[Orange utopia]

Love the fenders and basket! What a great looking bike.

[Pax]

What a beautiful bike!!

[ASammy1]

LOVE those fenders! Great customization :D

[Tri Girl]

those fenders are FANTASTIC!! Are they plastic? Love the customization on them!

SUCH a purty bike! Looks like it's ready to take you places you've only dreamed of going by bike. :)

[Bike Writer]

Yes they are plastic. They were pretty nicely done before as there was a layer of foil sandwiched between two layers of clear and it had black pinstriping, too bad I didn't like the color of the original. I like them this way better and the pinstriping is brown. And one of the best parts of all of this is that I was only charged $20 for the paint job on the fenders, maybe because the painter was also a cyclist?

[jobob]

It's lovely. Hope you have many happy miles together.

[ciao_bella]

Love the way the bike looks with the customized fenders!! What luck to find that particular guy at the body shop!
Ciao

[gabriellesca]

CONGRATS - I adore my bike and can't wait to get on it! Nothing better! Its really beautiful! You'll have such a fun summer riding!

[tbl35]

Wow it looks amazing with those fenders! I am looking hard at the Specialized low entry bikes, yours is a beauty. :)

[KatzPajamas]

It is a beautiful bike, Bike Writer! I love tha basket too as do most of the people who ave already posted on your thread. Where or who is the "basket lady"? and where did you get the rubber coating on your pedals? I have flat pedals also, but they get slippery when my shoes are wet from rain or damp grass. :cool: Happy Trails!

[Bike Writer]

It is a beautiful bike, Bike Writer! I love tha basket too as do most of the people who ave already posted on your thread. Where or who is the "basket lady"? and where did you get the rubber coating on your pedals? I have flat pedals also, but they get slippery when my shoes are wet from rain or damp grass. :cool: Happy Trails!

Thank you, the basket can be found at http://www.basketlady.com/Utility/Bicycle-Baskets-c282/ , I purchased it online and the pedals came like that. The bike is a Specalized Expedition Sport and the color scheme comes with brown accents, saddle, pedals, handgrips (ergonomic) and there is also an insert like that on the brake levers. I love the grippiness of those accents, of course the saddle is smooth...

[Bike Writer]

Wow it looks amazing with those fenders! I am looking hard at the Specialized low entry bikes, yours is a beauty. :)

Have you done any test rides yet on one? The bike rides even better than it looks.