Option 5- Rent a high quality bike?
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I have a Trek 1100 road bike from 1994. A friend of mine wants to pedal the Great Allegheny Passage from Cumberland to Pittsburgh (150 miles on a railtrail). I have ridden this bike on our local rail trail. It goes ok, but handles poorly in the loose gravel. The fit is not optimal--I think a shorter stem would help. My neck aches during the ride and I don't have a comfortable hand position.
Option 1: See if I can get wider tires and adjust the stem on my existing Trek 1100. Any thoughts on how much this might cost? Is it worth it to upgrade the old bike?
Option 2: Buy a new bike designed more for the rail trail. I would have to buy a cheaper ride since I just bought a Madone last summer. I know, I know. Suggestions for this option? Local brands are Trek, Cannondale, and Specialized. I would also use this bike around here on rides with my son.
Option 3: Don't spend money, just suck it up and deal with my current ride.
Option 4: 150 miles is too far. Stay home and mow the lawn instead.
Thoughts?
Option 5- Rent a high quality bike?
Even though I'm a newbie, I do know to not attempt that distance on an ill-fitting bike.
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Also watch Craigslist to see if anything comes up that would fit you and the ride.
Trek Madone 4.7 WSD
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Agree with the craigslist suggestion or buying a new cheaper bike. I got a bike on craigslist for $100 and it served its purpose.
I think #3 is not an option as 150 miles would be torture if your neck and hands are hurting on shorter rides. Good Luck.
If you have a good shop they could do a fit and tell you if swapping out the stem and tires will be enough to make the old bike work for you. Because if it is $120 might be about what you would spend. I also like the Craigslist route to a comfortable bike
Rent or buy an appropriate bike for the trail. It's not just wider tires you need. You arguably need fenders, too. Having done a long trail ride myself last year (the Katy Trail) fenders really help on crushed limestone when it's raining. Plus, you're probably going to need at least a rear rack. I have a Jamis Aurora. It was a great bike for the trip.
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Just to fill the duty of enabler... you need a NEW BIKE!!! Maybe not for this ride, but you need one. Good time to demo something you might buy. Be comfortable on the ride. 150 miles can be brutal.
Well, the Trek 1100 is a road bike and you are going to be limited in tire size. The trail you are going on is packed crushed limestone and not paved so I don't think that bike is going to work out well. I would ride either a hardtail MTB with 2.0/2.1 semi slick tires, or a comfort bike with 32c or so tires.
My experience on shorter stems on road bikes to make up for too long a top tube (bike too big) will make the handling more twitchy, which would not be a + on a crushed limestone trail.
So either rent or buy a comfort/city/touring bike with tires in the neighborhood of 32c. $120 bucks is a good chunk of a nice city bike and you can also use it on those rides with your son that you mentioned.
The Trek 1100 is a really nice bike, a classic, but about as good a choice for that trail as your Madone.
Tzvia- rollin' slow...
Specialized Ruby Expert/mens Bontrager Inform RXL
Specialized SWorks Safire/mens Bontrager Inform RL
Giant Anthem-W XT-XTR/mens Bontrager Inform RXL
Fuji Newest 3 commuter/mens Bontrager Inform RL
Novara E.T.A commuter/mens Bontrager Inform RL
The Trek guy tried wider tires, but alas! they don't fit because the fork is too narrow. Or something. I didn't actually listen to the voice mail, but DH gave me the gist of it.
I'm keeping an eye on Craig's list, but I live in Nowhere, PA, where the selection seems to be Walmart kid's bikes.
My husband talked me out of renting, because he thinks it is silly to spend $120 on a temporary solution, given that I ride on railtrails here. Of course, I'm using my 1100 on these rides.
Which leaves...[drumroll]..the possibility of a NEW BIKE. Like you all didn't know where this was heading.
I feel your pain--there's not much of a used bike market here. Actually, there's not much of a bike market here period, unless you go to the wealthier areas.
Surly Cross Check, if you've got a Surly dealer within a reasonable drive?
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2009 Giant Avail 3 |Specialized Jett 143
2013 Charge Filter Apex| Specialized Jett 143
1996(?) Giant Iguana 630|Specialized Riva
Saving for the next one...
Surly Cross Check, around a thousand bucks: http://surlybikes.com/bikes/cross_check
Soma Double Cross, sky's the limit (frame only): http://www.somafab.com/frames
Jamis Aurora, around a thousand bucks: http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/thebik...12_aurora.html
Kona Dew, around 500 bucks: http://www.konaworld.com/asphalt_com...fm?content=dew
Existence is empty, but I am full of myself.
Hey, thanks for all the recommendations! We don't have Jamis or Surly dealer in town, but they are within a 60 minute drive. I'll keep an eye out for the other models. I guess that will be a weekend project. Tomorrow I will rescue the Trek 1100 from the LBS. I'll see if he has anything in stock that I can test ride (I think I saw one FX, but I didn't check the size).