Originally Posted by backinthesaddle
that's an amazing ride, I'm really impressed.
and riding a steep downhill in the rain on a rented bike honestly scares me -- that's almost more impressive than the climb
this is a great forum, would never know you could do this if wasn't reading it here.
The bikes were in tiptop condition. They were lubed, adjusted to our fit, tires aired and Donnie made sure we were equipped to make the ride just as though he was taking us on the tour....except for matching jerseys and shorts and support vehicle. The bikes had rain tires and it looked as though the brakes and tires were barely used. The guide on a tour had a Litespeed. The back tire was worn almost flat....almost ready for replacement and they were repairing a slight cut with superglue. Hey, it was the guides bike and they have a support vehicle with them. Oh, yeah, if you do their tours they provide you with Litespeeds. The Scotts are the unaccompanied rental bikes...not too shabby!
The bike fit me and since I was not used to the saddle they provided me with a multi-tool should I need to do a micro adjustment..which I forgot to give back until the next day. It was a good excuse to have lunch at ?Charlie's?...great fish sandwich in the little historical town just before the turn off to Haiku. Their claim to fame is that is where Willie Nelson dines when he is on the island.
I do admit having my own bike would have made me much more comfortable...It's steel; the Scott is aluminum. I use a Brooks B17 saddle or a fizik. I don't even remember what this was...too soft, IMHO. I am a big guy..6'5" and around 220. I had no problems with knees or hand numbness. I did have to mess around with my seated posture to accomodate the diifferent type of seat. It bothered my back when I finally got comfortable on the sit-bones. The carbon seatpost and fork ate a lot of the road imperfections.