New Bike or Old?

[roo4]

I have a Trek 1100 road bike from 1994. A friend of mine wants to pedal the Great Allegheny Passage from Cumberland to Pittsburgh (150 miles on a railtrail). I have ridden this bike on our local rail trail. It goes ok, but handles poorly in the loose gravel. The fit is not optimal--I think a shorter stem would help. My neck aches during the ride and I don't have a comfortable hand position.

Option 1: See if I can get wider tires and adjust the stem on my existing Trek 1100. Any thoughts on how much this might cost? Is it worth it to upgrade the old bike?

Option 2: Buy a new bike designed more for the rail trail. I would have to buy a cheaper ride since I just bought a Madone last summer. I know, I know. Suggestions for this option? Local brands are Trek, Cannondale, and Specialized. I would also use this bike around here on rides with my son.

Option 3: Don't spend money, just suck it up and deal with my current ride.

Option 4: 150 miles is too far. Stay home and mow the lawn instead.

Thoughts?

[Kiwi Stoker]

Option 5- Rent a high quality bike?

[murielalex]

Even though I'm a newbie, I do know to not attempt that distance on an ill-fitting bike.

[roo4]

Option 5- Rent a high quality bike?

Hey now! That's not a bad idea. I just did a quick google search and I can rent a bike for $120 for the week. Maybe I'll see what $120 will buy in terms of an upgrade and go from there. Thanks!

[goldfinch]

Also watch Craigslist to see if anything comes up that would fit you and the ride.

[jyyanks]

Agree with the craigslist suggestion or buying a new cheaper bike. I got a bike on craigslist for $100 and it served its purpose.

I think #3 is not an option as 150 miles would be torture if your neck and hands are hurting on shorter rides. Good Luck.

[Hartmame]

If you have a good shop they could do a fit and tell you if swapping out the stem and tires will be enough to make the old bike work for you. Because if it is $120 might be about what you would spend. I also like the Craigslist route to a comfortable bike

[indysteel]

Rent or buy an appropriate bike for the trail. It's not just wider tires you need. You arguably need fenders, too. Having done a long trail ride myself last year (the Katy Trail) fenders really help on crushed limestone when it's raining. Plus, you're probably going to need at least a rear rack. I have a Jamis Aurora. It was a great bike for the trip.

[sarahkonamojo]

Just to fill the duty of enabler... you need a NEW BIKE!!! Maybe not for this ride, but you need one. Good time to demo something you might buy. Be comfortable on the ride. 150 miles can be brutal.

[tzvia]

Well, the Trek 1100 is a road bike and you are going to be limited in tire size. The trail you are going on is packed crushed limestone and not paved so I don't think that bike is going to work out well. I would ride either a hardtail MTB with 2.0/2.1 semi slick tires, or a comfort bike with 32c or so tires.

My experience on shorter stems on road bikes to make up for too long a top tube (bike too big) will make the handling more twitchy, which would not be a + on a crushed limestone trail.

So either rent or buy a comfort/city/touring bike with tires in the neighborhood of 32c. $120 bucks is a good chunk of a nice city bike and you can also use it on those rides with your son that you mentioned.

The Trek 1100 is a really nice bike, a classic, but about as good a choice for that trail as your Madone.

[owlice]

Just to fill the duty of enabler... you need a NEW BIKE!!! Maybe not for this ride, but you need one. Good time to demo something you might buy. Be comfortable on the ride. 150 miles can be brutal.

This!

[roo4]

The Trek guy tried wider tires, but alas! they don't fit because the fork is too narrow. Or something. I didn't actually listen to the voice mail, but DH gave me the gist of it.

I'm keeping an eye on Craig's list, but I live in Nowhere, PA, where the selection seems to be Walmart kid's bikes.

My husband talked me out of renting, because he thinks it is silly to spend $120 on a temporary solution, given that I ride on railtrails here. Of course, I'm using my 1100 on these rides.

Which leaves...[drumroll]..the possibility of a NEW BIKE. Like you all didn't know where this was heading.

[Owlie]

I feel your pain--there's not much of a used bike market here. Actually, there's not much of a bike market here period, unless you go to the wealthier areas.

Surly Cross Check, if you've got a Surly dealer within a reasonable drive?

[BodhiTree]

Surly Cross Check, around a thousand bucks: http://surlybikes.com/bikes/cross_check

Soma Double Cross, sky's the limit (frame only): http://www.somafab.com/frames

Jamis Aurora, around a thousand bucks: http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/thebikes/road/aurora/12_aurora.html

Kona Dew, around 500 bucks: http://www.konaworld.com/asphalt_commuter.cfm?content=dew

[roo4]

Hey, thanks for all the recommendations! We don't have Jamis or Surly dealer in town, but they are within a 60 minute drive. I'll keep an eye out for the other models. I guess that will be a weekend project. Tomorrow I will rescue the Trek 1100 from the LBS. I'll see if he has anything in stock that I can test ride (I think I saw one FX, but I didn't check the size).

[roo4]

I gave the Trek 1100 to a young woman that wanted a road bike, but didn't have a lot of cash. She gave me twenty bucks, which I intend to use for wine and dark chocolate. I'm happy about this because I think she will enjoy the Trek for the summer and then will move up to something else in a year or two. At which time, the Trek will be sitting in her garage, not mine! I could have asked for a more reasonable amount, but it was nice to see her excited. She's worked hard the last couple of years.

And to fill the empty space on the bike rack, I just brought home a Cannondale Quick 3. :)