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Old 04-28-09, 08:18 AM
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BigPolishJimmy
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Location: Southwest Michigan
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Bikes: Fuji Monterey, Schwinn Traveler, Fuji Special Road Racer, Gitane Interclub, Sun EZ-1, Schwinn Frontier, Puch Cavalier, Vista Cavalier, Armstrong, Raleigh Sports, Schwinn Stingray

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Torn on what to do

Has anyone here had one of these: http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...allant/allant/

I saw it in the LBS the other day and much to my chagrin it called to me. The thing is I'm 6'4" 285lbs and lanky with a bad back. Last season I got into biking and did regular 10-mile rides with my wife and youngest son. I built up my endurance and was ready for longer rides but my back was having none of it. I was running out of back before running out of energy or *$$. I'm having difficulty finding a good fit and almost always feel cramped on any bike. To combat this I put a lay-back seatpost and stem riser on my motobecane road bike and it's more comfortable. In fact it felt better than I've felt on a bike since I was a young child, but my back is not happy at all. I have a very mild scoliosis and get an obnoxious clicking noise/feeling in my lower spine when my back shifts position.

I also have a frankenhuffy mtn bike set up with ape hangers that allows me to ride upright, but it stinks riding into the wind, plus it has knobby tires on it. There's just something about gliding on the smooth pavement on a road bike that's so soothing and relaxing and/or thrilling when you're pushing 20mph. I guess part of what appealed to me on the Trek was the amount of air space and tire available, perhaps I'd get fewer pinch-flats and the tires still looked narrow like road tires. The thing is I went in there to drool at recumbents which are out of my price range. If I sold all of my extra bikes I could probably get this trek but still not get a recumbent. I'm wondering if I should pursue this or try to buy/sell/flip a few bikes and just hold out for the recumbent next year. Of course to complicate this, I've never ridden a recumbent and might have difficulty with the whole look forward to maintain balance thing as I ride to get excercise and be out enjoying the scenery and check things out along the way.
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