bike recommendations appreciated

[yanskasso]

Hello,

I'm looking for road bike advice.

I've been an on again off again avid cyclist for my whole life. The last 10 years I've had a Bridgestone mountain bike. That thing is a workhorse and has more miles on it then my car does. I've ridden 5 California Aids rides on it and much more. Don't really do off roading. Mostly on the road. That said.....

Now I want a road bike. I've been reading all the other posts and the info is good but it raises a lot of questions too.

I've been looking at the Specialized Sequoia and Sirus and Roubaix. The reason I am looking here is they say they are designed more upright like a mountain bike but light like a road bike. The website says they are designed for comfort on long rides.

I have a lot of aches and pains all the time but I ride anyhow. My biggest problem is my upper back. After a long ride or after several consecutive days of riding I have such severe pain between my shoulder blades that it feels like there is a knife jabbed in my back. So I think (although I'm not sure) I would not do well with a low back position.

I'm 5'6" and I think my legs are average but my torso is a bit on the long side so I tend to feel cramped in the upper body area on a lot of the bikes I ride. I have my seat pushed as far back as possible on the mountain bike.

I am wondering what type of components and what type of material you all recommend the bike be made out of if I plan on riding three or 4 times a week. I tend to do 50+ miles a day on the weekends if I have time. I also try to take yearly biking trips where the mileage is longer and you ride for 7 days in a row. My goal is to cycle all around the world (except Iraq and Nebraska). The Specialized bikes I am looking at have several different levels of the same model and I'm not sure what the difference is but presumably it's better components. I think the frames are the same though.

So if any of you have advice please send it along.

Thanks.

[yanskasso]

OK actually two questions.

One other pain I have is my hands have nerve damage from so much computer use over the years. Does anyone have any tidbits of info of how to prevent hand/arm numbness while riding? Or anyone know the easiest types of shifters?

Also... ok this is weird but if I ride in cycling shoes my feet go numb but if I ride in hiking boots they don't. I have been looking for cycling boots but I can't find any. Anyone have any recommendations here?

OK maybe with all my aches and pains I should switch to crocheting or something but you don't cover that much ground or get the wind in your face while crocheting.

[Veronica]

Which Bridgestone do you have? I'd love to get an MB 1.

Have you considered a Rivendell? They are a rather small company in the SF Bay area. The founder used to work for Bridgestone. Their speciality - in my opinion - is making a good looking road bike that's comfortable. Here's a link to them.

http://rivbike.com/html/bikes_rambouilletframes.html

It's hard to tell from the bikes you listed what your price point is. A Riv may be more than you want to spend. I know I'll be putting a hundred+ miles a week on mine for more than ten years. That made the price a lot easier to swallow.


Veronica

[yanskasso]

Hmmm,

That's an interesting site. Wordy for sure. It says it takes a year to get that bike made. Maybe that could be my next bike. I'm in the I want it now now now mode.

Also it's steel. I thought no one wanted steel bikes anymore.

I'll have to read more when I'm less blurry eyed from fixing computers all day.

The prices of the Specialized bikes I'm looking at (to answer your question) are between $700 and $1700.


Thanks for the info.

[Veronica]

I'm not sure why steel is not more popular. I rented an aluminum bike in Hawaii. My Riv is a lot more comfortable. It's a bit heavier, but that doesn't keep me from riding. I could ride a bike that was five pounds lighter, but I'd rather just lose 5 pounds off me. Personally I think a lighter frame really only matters if you are fairly light yourself or racing. In addition my Riv so well constructed that I won't need to replace it until I'm too old to get my leg across it and need a recumbent or a trike. Should I crash I can get the bent forks or tubes replaced. You can't do that with aluminum or carbon fiber.

I don't know about the wait time. It only took me about a month to get mine.

Veronica

[massbikebabe]

I guess my question would be...What kind of riding do you intend to do???

I happen to LOVE the feel of carbon. I have been on a bike for
many a year and I personally think that my carbon bike has made me a better rider. I love the way it climbs, and gathers speed. Plus, it shelters me from some of the harshness of the road surface. I have a Trek 5200, but must add I saved for many years before I made the jump. I was a long time steel junky on a Bianchi and then a Terry before I went to carbon. My husband recently went back to steel...he said he just likes it better...and that's o.k. it does come down to personal preferance. I also recently made the decision to keep my "old school" Terry and convert it to Ultegra so I would still have a "touring" frame in the house.

I have seen and test rode all the Specialized bikes that you mentioned. My son is thinking about the Robaix. I find this to be more of a racing machine than all of the other Specialized out there right now. We have an Allez which I often head off to the store or the bank on, and that is fun ride, however it is aluminum
so that makes the ride a little harsh...much more so than carbon.
I believe the Robaix has mechanisms in the fork and rear triangle to give you the "best ride" To be very honest I did not like the Sirrus. I thought it was kind of "junky", but many of the women who ride them here love them.

The secret is...decide what you want to do with the bike, then ride as many of them as you can until you find THE ONE. Belive me, you will know when you have found THE ONE.

bon chance,
karen

[Barb]

Just to add my two cents.... I got a Bianchi Eros Donna this season. It has a Carbon Fork and I love it. The bike is just plain comfortable to ride. The Campi components shift really great. I'm gradually building up my distance. I hope to do my first century in the spring (if I don't get it done this fall!)

[annie]

yanskasso,

You said that your worst pain is a sharp, shooting pain between your shoulder blades. Usually that's caused by too long a reach to your handlebars. Over a long distance, it can cause severe pain! Even a short distance, if it's windy and you're gripping the bars tightly can cause pain and tightness. A shorter stem might help. Is it possible that your frame is too big for you? Whatever bike you get, be absolutely sure that it is a good fit for you. A less upright position is not necessarily going to be a bad thing for you. What you want to avoid is being too stretched out and putting too much pressure on your hands and arms. You need to be able to keep a bit of a bend in your elbows and be able to comfortably reach the bars. That helps absorb road shock. Another option you could try would be aerobars........... they do give you different positions for your hands and might help relieve some nerve compression for you.

As for the shoes vs. hiking boots, I don't know what to tell you. Are the hiking boots you wear wider than the cycling shoes? Maybe your feet need more room and you could find a wider cycling shoe? Normally, people have trouble with numb feet if they're NOT wearing cycling shoes. Maybe someone else will have some ideas for you on this one. Lots of experience on these boards......

Good luck on the bike search. I certainly understand the "I want one NOW!" feeling.

annie

[Dogmama]

I ride a steel bike & I love it. It is custom, so the fit is perfect BUT I find that the road feel is superior, the cornering is more precise and it will bend before it breaks. The new steel is lightweight and responsive. I haven't heard that steel is out of fashion.

It sounds like you need to be fitted by your bike shop. Ask for somebody who rides and tell them what is going on with you. They can put you on rollers and look at your riding habits. You may need a more upright position to alleviate the pain between the shoulder blades, but it's hard to tell without watching you.

Components - I ride Chorus Campy because it seemed more female friendly - the gears were easier to shift than Record and I much prefer Campy over Shimano for quality & precision shifting.

I also love Continental tires. They have a nice road grip without sacrificing rolling resistance.

BTW, we're about the same size - I'm 5'5".

[yanskasso]

Hey everyone,

I really appreciate all your wisdom. I have been to 4 more bike stores and no one has the Specialized Sequoia in my size. I did see them though which is a step in the right direction. I might have to travel to San Francisco (oh darn) to test ride one.

I've been reading some other boards and just like this one everyone has a different opinion but I'm gathering that people fear the weakness of carbon but love the comfort. But a guy who owns a bike shop said he has sold bikes for 10 years and out of all the thousands he's sold only one carbon bike got a stress fracture so he feels that carbon is fine.

So I will just ride them all as soon as I can find them. Someone suggested a Giant TCR and the Trek 1300c.

Interesting feedback about needing a shorter stem. I have swapped out my stem twice each time going higher hoping that would help my shoulder pain and it doesn't so maybe I should try shorter. Who knew!!!

All in all I think I just have a bad back and no matter what I ride it will hurt so I'll just deal until I'm in a wheel chair. Then I'll find a board to post to asking about carbon or titanium wheel chairs.

When I cycled in France the evening wine and cheese seemed to help my back problems so maybe I'll fill my water bottles with a nice merlot.

I'll let you all know the results of my test rides if I can ever find one to ride.

Thanks again.

[Barb]

I had stabbing pain between my shoulders on my last bike. Turns out that the stem was too short AND the bars too narrow. If you have been back and forth with the stem, check out the width of your bars. I am short (5'4) with short arms, but I have fairly wide shoulders so my WSD bike fit well everywhere only after the stem was exchanged for a higher angle and the bars swapped out. Good luck!

[Dogmama]

Also, as somebody already suggested, if you have a death grip on your handlebars, you'll get pain between your shoulder blades. I don't see how going higher could make it worse - I would think that the pain might come from cranking your neck up too far.

One thing I've done for neck/upper back pain on long rides is write the alphabet with my nose. It makes you move your neck in all different directions. Of course, I argue with myself, if I'm going to write in block or script (ha!) It really does work.

Sounds to me like you need a good massage therapist Oh double darn! A trip to SF and a massage! You poor dear!

[bounceswoosh]

Do you have any LBSes that do full bike fits?

I just had one done -- it took three hours. Two major things: one, they helped correct my riding posture and technique, and two, they adjusted my bike. I ended up with a much shorter cockpit than I ever thought would be comfortable, but with a proper posture, it's just right.

They also helped increase my pedalling efficiency, which is not a bad thing.

[yanskasso]

Thanks. I didn't realize there was that severe of a bike fit opportunity.

I've been reading a lot about bike fit and what is correct. I live in LA so I would think I could find a shop that does that but over the past few weeks I've been to half a dozen shops and they basically say to me, "you want to be about 2 inches above the bar when you are standing on the ground."

I tell them that is so old school and they just jeer at me.

I'll call around and see if I can find a place but so far no luck other then the basics.

I like the writing the alphabet idea. (I wonder if I'll look like a bobble head) Funny because I count in French when I am cycling to try to keep my cadence steady and to practice my French (which ain't so good). I wonder if I can pull off a Rain Man and count in French and write the alphabet at the same time.

I can see the headline now. Woman wearing beret under her bike helmet crashes bike on side of road. Admitted to psyche ward babbly her ABCs.

I do have a good massage therapist and an acupuncturist too. Without them I'd look like Shrek all the time.

Maybe my new bike should be a unicycle.

[bounceswoosh]

Standover height is one thing to look at, but there's a lot more to fit than how far your crotch is from the bar!

Here are some things from a mountain biking perspective, but most should apply ...

* Your wrists shouldn't be bent when holding the bars

* Fitters will measure the angle of your knee and do something with a plumb bob to make sure you're able to pedal properly

* The angle of your hips to your feet makes a difference -- in other words, whether you sit in front, on top of, or behind your cranks. Don't ask me what exactly it does, though.

My fitter did things like test my flexibility, measure the position of the ball of my foot relative to the rest of my foot, check the amount of bend in my spine ...