So, I bought a bike kind of unintentionally...

Got a new bike completely not trying.

Went to the store to buy a saddle for my MTB. Finally settled on the idea of a road saddle on my MTB. Went for more expensive model of saddle since it was on sale. I measured in the widest class of saddles. So, I grab that. And, since the BF was talking about cross bikes again (and everyone here is telling me to suggest ones), I wanted to see what they had in their sale. So, I go over with the sales guy and he says they don't have anything in a 58-62 range. However, they had a tiny little Surly Cross-check. FML. It was a 46 and the bike I've probably been eyeing for at least 2 years. Problem is no one ever has that size bike so I can't actually try anything.

Well, so I said, "I don't need a bike" but then I began thinking and came home with bike catalogs. My father told me to go for it because, after all, he's heard me go on and on. I called him asking for advice because if I pulled the trigger, I was trading in two bikes for one, which I kind of thought was good but it was a big change. The BF was like "sleep on it" because he's practical, but he told me to go ride it. So, I did. And, of course, I LOVED it. The Salsa bars on it were beautiful with my tiny hands, the standover height was perfect, it was far nicer to get up and down on than my trek. It just seemed a better "fit". They told me they had a Crossrip in my size but they'd need to build it up. So, they did. I came back and rode them both (with the BF who quite literally left his wallet at home so he couldn't buy anything) and so did he.

We both liked the steel better. And, while the shifters are more like my old steel roadie I used to have, the bike reminds me of my Dad's old steel roadie that I zipped around on all the time growing up. It's also the bike I really need and now I can simplify! I figured out this year that what I really wanted was something to do long charity rides, some commuting, and maybe a cyclocross race or two. I got it for less than MSRP because I talked it down to basically the price of the Trek it was competing with. And I got a good value on the MTB trade-in.

Ahhh! So excited! Now I just have to sell my old road bike because the trade value wasn't as good as the MTB based on what I know I got for a similar bike (a giant) in the past. It shouldn't be hard, especially this time of year. Pics to follow after the second ride tomorrow (I've already commuted to/from campus on it today).

Yayyy! What a happy story. Enjoy!

Congrats on the new bike!!

Thanks! I can't wait to ride later :) It's going to be a beautiful day and I can't wait to surprise the BF with a ride to a different winery than we normally go to on bike haha.

Congrats and that sounds likea fun day.

Congratulations! Sounds like the perfect fit, and you HAVE been thinking about this for a period of time so you can't say it was spur of the moment. It was a moment for which the time had come :cool:

A few years ago I was having a new saddle fitted on my bike when the LBS fit expert/manager told me I'd be more comfortable with a different bike. In my case he was recommending a carbon WSD road bike over the aluminum men's bike I had at the time. I figured he was just being a good salesperson. But a week or so later I thought about it while doing a hilly metric century, and by the end of the ride I decided to try the new bike. And he was right, I was more comfortable. I've never regretted getting it.

Congrats!

I also bought my first road bike "unintentionally". I was in my LBS getting my Hybrid serviced when I lifted a women's road bike that was my size. Yep, my Specialized Amira. Unfortunately, that was only 3 months AFTER I had just bought my brand new, "what I thought was really expensive" first bike in 20+ years. That was the start of my "I better keep biking or my husband will kill me for how much I am spending on my bike".

Thanks for the moral support. It's good to know I am in good company here. I am probably going to sell the roadie in the next couple of days. I have TONS of interest on CL, as suspected. And while it's sad to see my first "real" bike purchase go, it's nice to know I have found a great bike that does everything I want and more.

Once we got the PSI figured out on my tires (max PSI is really preferable to me), I did great. We had a ton of wind and I now know I want to do something different with my saddle (it needs to go back a tiny bit). That's what this first long ride was about. Climbing was great with the new bike but it wasn't so light I felt like I'd fall over. On the roadie that would have been a thing. We had about 25 mph winds on a flat stretch of trail and a bridge that lasted about a mile. Oye. But I did it coming back just fine with wine glasses and a bottle of wine from our tasting in the pannier. We did about 31 miles all told (31 for BF's 31) and really enjoyed our day out. Here's a picture of me with the new ride from our "landing" at Boonville:
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that's a lovely bike! if you're using it for commuting, i hope you got a decent u-lock to go with it! if not, i highly suggest getting one (onguard brute or kryptonite evolution 4, for example) and googling proper locking techniques to make sure your bike remains your companion for times to come :)

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Originally Posted by brigada

that's a lovely bike! if you're using it for commuting, i hope you got a decent u-lock to go with it! if not, i highly suggest getting one (onguard brute or kryptonite evolution 4, for example) and googling proper locking techniques to make sure your bike remains your companion for times to come :)

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Yes, of course, this is very important! I always have a hefty Kryptonite u-lock with me but I think I am going to bring two for commuting purposes when I move up to my summer digs in Ottawa. If only the BF would listen to me about proper lock technique and locks. He is SURE his crappy cable lock will do the job but I assure him he needs something better. He doesn't commute, though. And on my commute, the bike stays in my locked office. I'm blessed with that.

I just sold my other bike in less than 48 hours for better than blue book price on Craigslist to another short lady and her hubby. I had to spend about 10 minutes replying to others interested that it was sold. I hope my Trek lives on with them for many years to come. The lady and her husband seemed like nice bike people.

Was that picture on the Katy Trail, Colorisnt? I was supposed to ride it a couple of years ago, but got sick and had to cancel. Still regret it.

Yep. The stop in Boonville. We rode there, did a wine tasting and back. We ride on the Katy at least weekly and take the connectors here daily. We just finished 12 miles on connectors alone tonight!

The Katy is AWESOME. The thing is, though, the prettiest part of it is apparently right here so most of it is not this cool. The BF and I would LOVE to bike the entire Katy next year, though. I keep saying if I get a job and we are moving, we need to do it to say "goodbye".