Originally Posted by wombat94

Dan,

I grew up in Cherry Hill, but we live in West Chester and have for the last 14 years. I've spent the last year looking for running routes around Chester County, and now I'm looking for biking routes. One of the great things about getting healthier and fitter is getting to know the area we've lived in for decades from a whole different perspective.

Okay - back to bike questions. I ordered Continental Town and Country tires for my bike last night. Should be here tomorrow.

As for my wife, one thing I didn't mention in the first post (it was long enough already) was that she has back problems. She has had back surgery and has needed several facet joint injections to reduce periodic inflammation in her back that was causing pain and numbness in her legs. At the advice of her doctor, she's pretty much given up the taekwondo and after a brief attempt to start running, decided that that was not a good idea either. He had recommended cycling as a good form of exercise.

She's not very comfortable with the position on the old Trek 800 (she's going to give it a little of a test ride this weekend, but isn't optimistic), so we are considering a new bike for her. We were at Bike Line last weekend when looking for a bike for my 11 year old and my wife tried the Trek Verve 1 WSD for a little test ride and REALLY liked the feel of the ride and the position and lack of strain on her back from the Verve.

I'm just interested in opinions on the Verve and other possible competing bikes in the same category - looking for a much more casual, upright riding posture to be compatible with possible back problems.

Thanks for the warm welcome and the advice.

Ted