return to biking - advice, please?

[Catrin]

I have nothing constructive to say - but wanted to say congratulations on your improvement and being able to get back on the bike!

[jessmarimba]

My therapist was a little unhappy at the prospect of me riding ANYWHERE without full suspension right now. But honestly, I'm not going to fork over that sort of money for a bike that I may never be able to ride off-road.

I guess I might be a little impatient...but sheesh, I'm tired of doing nothing!

Thanks guys I might give it a spin this weekend & let you know how it goes.

[malkin]

I think this is a Harry Truman quote:

Try it, and if it doesn't work, try something else.

Best wishes for a good ride!

[emily_in_nc]

I think it's a very reasonable plan. That's exactly what I did when I was recovering from a fractured pelvis. Before I even looked a road bike again, I first put slicks on my hardtail MTB and rode her on the trainer. Then I took her out out on the road for awhile. Finally I graduated to my road bike, but since it's a Bike Friday with 1.3" tires, and steel, it's not too extreme or harsh. Riding the mountain bike, I didn't aim for speed, just to try to regain some fitness and get over some of my fears of getting back in the saddle in a semi-relaxed way.

Good luck!

[yellow]

FWIW, I found full suspension more uncomfortable at first; too much movement. I can't remember which vertebrae you had fused, but mine were super low (L5-S1). I did (and still do) better on my commuter which is more upright than my road bike and has 32c tires. It's just so very heavy!

What hurt me the most was trying to push big gears. So using your mtb with slicks would probably be better than trying to ride a road bike with standard gearing. You could always get a road bike built with lower gears, but since you already have the mtb it makes sense to me to use that.

Good luck and take it easy.