I've had my hybrid just over a month.. already want a road bike!

[Running Mommy]

lots of good advice, just going to add a couple of things..

Save up and wait until you can afford something that is not considered entry level. You will not regret it. Sometimes patience really is a virtue.

Be careful about buying misc parts here and there unless you REALLY know what you are buying.
We get people in here all the time with their "scores" that end up to... well... not be. Not compatible, wrong size, speed- whatever. We see it all the time.

[sarahspins]

Save up and wait until you can afford something that is not considered entry level. You will not regret it. Sometimes patience really is a virtue.

I think this is my plan.. if I am looking to buy, it probably won't be until spring at the earliest because it will take me that long to save up enough.

Be careful about buying misc parts here and there unless you REALLY know what you are buying.
We get people in here all the time with their "scores" that end up to... well... not be. Not compatible, wrong size, speed- whatever. We see it all the time.

Oh, I agree.. and I am worried about getting the "right" parts if I do anything significant. The bars I've ordered (Soma Sparrow) should work with the MTB shifters/brakes that are already on my bike, and the stem is the same size too, so it should just be a matter of switching out the bars. At most, I see myself possibly swapping out the stem if I feel like I need more/less reach with the new bars... but that I won't really know until they're here.

[PscyclePath]

Sarah:

Just be careful... You bring one bike home, and fall in love with it, and the next thing you know, it gets lonely. So you bring home a companion to keep it company...

Now, you're in for it... It doesn't matter whether you anthromorphosize your bikes as male, female, or maybe one of each. They are bike-sexual, and they'll start to multiply until they fill the space you have to stash them in.

As Zen and others have noted, don't say you weren't warned

[Kano]

Hmm, PsyclePath, so THAT's how we suddenly have three little bikes in the garage besides our grown-up ones -- DH's and mine are reproducing!

Karen in

[sarahspins]

Bars are here!

After a few test rides up and down my driveway and along the road in front of my house, I'm 99% sure I have the brakes/shifters where I want, so I went ahead and taped them up.. I will really get to test them out when DH gets home from work, but they already feel WAY better, both being narrower and putting my hands at a much more comfortable angle



My only disappointment is that my light blue tape is much lighter than I expected (I was expecting more of a medium-light blue, not pastel blue)... but tape is (relatively) cheap, I can replace it later if I want (and maybe do a better job of taping the bars, too!)

The tape isn't adhesive so I can pull it back gently and still get to the screws to tweak the angle of the brakes and shifters a bit if I need to... they are as far "up" the handlebars as they will go, since once the curve starts on the bars, they won't go any further.

[sarahspins]

Well I'm not sure anyone REALLY cares, but my 7.6 mile test ride was a success... MUCH more comfortable overall, and is it my imagination that it feels like I'm working slightly different muscle groups now? I felt it in my triceps/upper arms and more in my quads than usual... not in a bad way, just in a "hey, we're getting more of a workout now" way Could that be because I'm in a bit more "forward" in position now? The reach is fine and I'm not uncomfortable at all (my hands and upper body are lower, of course).. and I got no numbness in my hands, though I did get a cramp in my left thenar muscle (palm), but that tends to give me trouble from time to time anyways (I nearly sliced through that muscle completely with an ice skate 15 years ago, and it's never been the same since) so I'm not sure I'd call it a problem just yet. It could be a glove issue.. I dunno. It didn't happen until about a mile from home. I'm not too worried about it just yet.. I'll take a cramp I can feel over numb hands!

[Cataboo]

Sarah - yes, if you're leaned over more, you use a slightly different set of muscles than you do upright...

The sparrows look really neat - let me know in a month or so how you like 'em and maybe I'll stop being cheap