New Terry Bike Inaugural Ride

SO I finally got my new Terry Symmetry out for her first ride. What a blast!

The weather was great, I was out with my gf (who I thought would drop me on hills) and her dh watched the boys for us. We were riding through the great Wisconsin country side, over the rolling hills, telling the ladies (cows) "hi", with the smell of fresh manure in the air - ahhhhh, spring in Wisconsin :D

For the bike review. My first problem was with the pedals. They came with a combination platform/spd pedal. The problem? Couldn't get clipped in. My gf's dh is an endurance rider and good mechanic and the only way he could get my foot hooked in was to force my shoe on it personally. It was as loose as it went and I could NOT get either foot hooked the entire time. Bummer, cuz boy were those hills fun with a real road bike! I felt like I was flying down the roads on this ride.

I liked the shorter length top tube because of my short arms. The problem I had with it was that my knees occasionally touched my handlebars when I stood to climb a hill:eek: That kind of weirded me out.

My hands and forearms got sore from the differnt position the road bike puts you in compared to the upright hybrid position I'm used to. I'm sure time and miles will take care of that. It came with a Terry Butterfly saddle, and on a relatively easy 15 mile ride, my girly bits were a little sore the next day. I may have to put my dolce on here and try that if it doesn't get better.

I had technical difficulties with my tires. This was the first time I'd seen presta valves and did not have an adapter to inflate the tires so I only rode with 60 psi in both tires. Did I mention I still felt like I was flying? Can you imagine what I'll feel like at - say - 95 psi? All that and a bag of chips I'm betting!!

Overall, I liked the ride but am concerned about my knees being too close to the handlebars. My right knee was a bit sore when I got done, but I couldn't get clipped in so was mashing for most of the ride. Do you think that may be from my saddle height? Oh, and my gf had a very hard time keeping up with me! I know it's bad, but I felt so good about that! I didn't think my training was coming along very well so that just goes to show I made progress on my trainer this winter.

Well, I'm curious about the knees/handlebar thing, too.

Your hands/wrists will adapt to the different position a lot quicker than you'd think- I went through that same thing.

Girlie bits could be sore if you were moving around a lot instead of sitting still, (because of feet not clipped in) plus you're probably down on them more than before. I'd give that a little time, or, if you love your other saddle, just switch!

Sore knee could be from saddle height- exactly where did it hurt?

Nanci

My knee hurt on the outer side of my right knee (right side). I figured my hands and forearms would adjust to the new position too. My back did pretty good - I was impressed. I thought that would be plenty sore.

I brought her to work today so we'll take a spin at lunch. I figured out the problem with the pedals last night. I needed to switch my shimano cleats and use the ones they sent with the bike. They looked the same but the new ones actually clip in easy and they are ok to use with the ritchie pedals on my hybrid. Go figure!

I discovered the cleat problem when I bought new shoes - apparently (according to my LBS), Shimano has slightly changed their cleat design so that you can't use spd clones with their pedals. ARGH!!! Not a good feeling to have clipping in/out problems...

Congratulations on your new bike! Sounds like you will have many, many happy miles together!

Pictures! We demand pictures!!