New ride, new challenges

[Owlie]

My bike's aluminum. It's what I could afford.

It depends on your susceptibility to road buzz and the roads you ride on. My aluminum road bike doesn't give me a problem on the roads and bike trails back home. It's a bit more of a problem on the roads here (which are ill-maintained), and when I rode the equivalent (unisex model, I think, and a few years older) on chip-seal roads... I now know why they invented carbon fiber.

There's nothing wrong, per se, with aluminum. Like many other things, frame material is a personal choice. You need to balance performance, comfort, and cost.

Bike Chick: Beautiful bike!

Alisha: I know other people have answered your questions, but I sort of want to throw in my two cents:
1) No, you're not crazy. One of my friends went on a sixty-mile ride with NO cycling experience. (Longest ride before that: Four miles.) Now, that's crazy.
2) I'm planning on doing a century one day on my $750 (USD) road bike.
3) A bike's a bike. Riding can't hurt you (unless you overdo it, of course!)
4) For that distance, I'd want to be clipped in (if you mean clipless). I don't know that I feel more secure on descents (that's something I'm working on), but what I do know is that ability to pull up takes some of the work off my quads, and I was grateful for that during my last really long ride.

[Catrin]

I am one of those who feel the aluminum "road buzz" and it vibrates right up through that carbon fork on my Trek 7.6 (seat stay as well, but that isn't carbon)...my tires are inflated properly I just am one of those who feel that "buzz".

I love my steel Surly LHT - and it cost the same as my Trek (prior to converting it to flat bars but that doesn't count). Still $1,100 though. It is great for long rides - I met someone on a group ride who put it perfectly - that it is a great "all-day-long bike" and that pretty much covers it. He isn't a speed-demon, but the longer the ride the better I feel on the bike.

If your Trek is comfortable to you then there is no reason why you cannot ride it for long as you like. You got a great deal on it, for sure, and if you can ride it for 50 miles comfortably then try it for longer rides and see what your body feels like.

As far as clips are concerned, that is a very personal choice. I tried them in March before I was ready for them and went back to my BMX pedals - and I've no problem with long rides and hills with them. My feet stay on the pedals and so forth. I understand, however, that clipless are more efficient and allow you to go further with less effort since you can power the full pedal stroke and are at least some help in hill climbing. Just saying that you do not HAVE to go that route if you are not comfortable with it. I will try again, in time.

Welcome to TE!