twahl

I agree with Al. My wife and I recently bought Specialized Expedition Sports, another comfort bike. I'm hoping that with some riding and some workout, she will be comfortable to ride a more traditional platform in the future, but for now, limited upper body strength and a history of carpal tunnel indicate weight distribution to the butt. I bought the same (although I had a green light to go to a Sirrus ) so we would be riding similar equipment so I didn't outride her, making it miserable for both of us. She's comfortable riding the bike...no, she loves riding the bike. That means that she rides the bike. They have front shocks and seatpost suspensions like the Raleigh, but the only time I really notice them is over bumpier stuff. We've done quite a few rides in the 30 - 35 mile range, having worked to that in about a month worth of riding 3 - 4 days a week. We plan to ride a metric century the 18th of this month, and I'm not concerned about being able to complete it, even though we know that it's going to be a fairly challenging course. We won't be fast, but we'll complete it in the time we have available.

As much as people talk about this type of bike being so far inferior to a road bike for comfort over any distance, I can't wait to get on a road bike, I should be able to do a full century the day I get on one without breathing hard. Proper bike shorts help a bunch, I won't ride more than a couple mile errand without them. In short, I'm happy with our bikes. They wouldn't have been my first choice but the circumstance made them the best choice for us to ride together, at least for now.