General Cycling Discussion - Which is your favourite bicycle in terms of comfort and handling?

Mine is my Peugeot Demi-Course. But I haven't ridden many good bicycles.

Mine is the one I'm presently riding -- '05 Jamis Dakar XLT, custom parts pick.

It's sturdy enough to handle my 235+, and riding it is synergistic; "we" are like a team, rather than rider and machine.

That would be a RANS V3 (steel)

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z284/JanMM/start%20121909/V3BW.jpg

An HPVelo StreetMachine-
sort of has a regal feel pedaling along taking in the scenery.

My favorite is a Trek 7.5 fx hybrid bike. It is very comfortable, upright position, and wide enough rims and tires for the lousy roads.

I have three bicycles I ride. A 3-spd. from 1973-ish PUCH. A custom PUCH racer from 1982 I built. A fully customized Trek 7.5 FX frame/fork I really went to town on. All were stripped to the frames and built up with my choice of components - including saddles. All three are very, very comfortable and handle beautifully.

If they didn't, I'd keep working on them until they were.

Specialized Roubaix Comp or higher. I had a 2006 Comp model and really, really liked the bike. I sold it because I wanted a bike that could do everything from commuting, touring, off-road, road rides and could handle fenders. So I sold it. Idiot.

This is a trick question. I have 8 bikes and it depends on what kind of riding I am doing as to whether a particular bike is the most comfortable or best handling. Obviously, handling and comfort aren't necessarily related either. My freeride bike is the most comfortable and handles the best on ski-lift accessed downhill runs, but it would be really uncomfortable to ride on normal trails or on the road because it is such a pig (40lbs and 7 inches of suspension front and rear). My road bike handles great on the road, but sucks in the dirt. My cyclocross bike is more comfortable than my road bike because of the lower pressure tires, but it doesn't handle as well on pavement. The tables turn as soon as I go off road. And so on...

http://www.photoscene.com/kimandsteve/images/6054.jpg

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Probably my GT Timberline. I pretty much turned it into a hybrid with 26" wheels, then sold it to get something I could actually use for mountain biking. I do miss that bike.

Out of the bikes I have now, I'd say either my Trek 8000 (What replaced the GT) or my Sears 3-speed.

My Hybridized Alpine Monitor Pass MTB. Dispite the 1.5 inch wide tires it has a really plush ride.
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Depends on the type of riding, and where I am going. I have 3-4 go to bikes, only one has drop bars and is used for longer distances (>50 miles). I prefer an upright position on most of my bikes. If I had to choose one it probably would be my 1972 Raleigh Superbe.

Aaron:)

My Trek 7000 Hybrid tops the list of nine. I love that bike so much that if I were ever to have a child, I would call it Trek. Ha! Just kidding.

My 2007 Tarmac Expert.

MY Worksman PAV trike and My Schwinn World Tourist city bike. NO drops for this old man!!!!

My Easy Racer recumbents have taken me thousands of miles in extraordinary comfort. I'm going to sell off 4 of my uprights- they're just not getting ridden. My wife likes hers, too- take a look at her expression:

http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/diane-big.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/jeff-big.jpg

That'd be my M5 Carbon HighRacer. It's the comfiest chair I own, and it has pedals!

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e135/blazingpedals/bike%20ride%2011-08-09/DSCF0063.jpg?t=1262208176

My Azor Opa

The workhorse....

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x248/cyclaholic_album/all2.jpg

...since that pic I've swapped out the saddle for a Brooks B17

The best I've ever owned in the described terms of comfort and handling is the Cinelli Supercorsa.

Lemond Chambery :D


http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2587/4174546565_dc938ae46e_o.jpg

I normally ride my tourer bikes.. Being that most of my rides are errand oriented... I like my Surly, but it's clunky compared to a road bike.......so, Yesterday , I felt a need to take out my Klein race bike.. It's response, and my position. I actually felt like taking up the cadence... Now, I remember why I bought it.. Felt great...

My 2008 Norco Storm mtb. It's equipped to tour and its taken me on tours of B.C, PEI,Quebec, Washington DC, Idaho and it's heading by FedEx to Florida in Feb for a month and then in May to the Katy Trail. Equipped with front shocks, geared with a 11-34 cassette and granny of 24 it's a pleasure to ride.

Rivendell Samuel Hillborne bike (60 cm, 700 X 35 tires); Selle-AnAtomica, Titanico, Clydesdale saddle; Phil Wood Hubs, Mavic A119 rims and DT Swiss spokes. The rake on the fork makes it handle like a dream, and my butt believes the ride is dreamy.

That would be a RANS V3 (steel)

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z284/JanMM/start%20121909/V3BW.jpg
+1^^ I'm lovin' mine, too.

'86 Gazelle Champion Mondial. Reynolds 531c, 32-spoke box rims, and 25mm tires. Glides over crappy pavement and rock solid in a heavy crosswind. A classic bike and a bike for the The Classics.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y18/CalOso/Bikes/DSC02728-1.jpg

Schwinn Cutter. It still has that new bike smell (just got it for Christmas), but so far every time I take it out it feels like it was made just for me.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e341/Doohickie/09Cutter/1231091208-00.jpg

Much as I love both Radagast the Beige-and-Black (Giant Cypress WSD) and Orion (the Bianchi Premio Beanz and Gina gave me a year ago), I think my favorite is now The Black Pearl, the Trek Allant I recently bought. Such an easy ride!

My Easy Racer recumbents have taken me thousands of miles in extraordinary comfort. I'm going to sell off 4 of my uprights- they're just not getting ridden. My wife likes hers, too- take a look at her expression:

http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/diane-big.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/jeff-big.jpg

Well, I can actually feel how rewarding it would be to ride one of these bikes only by looking at these photos! I wonder where I can get one of these. I live in Lebanon and have never seen a bicycle like that!

I have 4 bikes, all for different type of riding. I guess my Trek 6700 is probably the most comfortable.

Fuji SLM 2.0. . .she's a Pure Athlete. . .nimble and reactive but kind to my 50+ bones and joints.

Mine is my Fuji Professional, but the only other bikes I've owned are a late 80s model Miyata and Raleigh.. They make me feel kind of cramped. I never realized it until I got my Fuji.

comfort isn't always obvious. I got a bike fit last week and have never been as comfy on this bike (or maybe any bike) as I am now. We moved my seat back 1cm and went to a 1cm longer and lower stem..

before
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd275/spridle22/Bikes/DSCN0122.jpg

after
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd275/spridle22/Bikes/IMG_1278.jpg

I have a dozen bikes and would not have any of these unless they were comfortable and it is hard to pick one that would rival the rest... I suffered a back injury several years ago and have sold off the bikes that I could not longer ride in comfort.

Sitting upright puts too much stress on my lower back so I need a more forward (touring) position... I wish I could ride a recumbent but that position is actually very painful.

In every case the saddle under my butt plays a major role in how happy I am... anything less than perfect support reduces my ability to ride any distance and set up is critical.

Although I can't do any intensive mountain biking I have kept my Rocky Mountain Blizzard as it is so extremely comfortable... it's a bike that could take me 100 km on the trail in absolute comfort so doing half that distance on the street / road is bliss as it has a great riding position and swallows every bump in the road.

There is a reason this bike is considered ot be the finest hard tail ever made...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/blizzardnew1.jpg

And going the other way... my 1955 Raleigh Lenton is incredibly comfortable and has taken me on many century rides before and after I fragged the back.

Again... another Reynolds steel frame (531), great saddle, and 26 by 1.25 tyres @ 60 psi makes for an exceptional ride.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/regnew1.jpg

No doubt that these recumbents are comfortable, but the question also asks about handling. So how do they handle? Just from the pictures it looks like the very long wheelbases make for sluggish turning.

http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/more_strange_bikes/12.jpg

Looks awesome for comroft, if not for handling...

nice sofa bike. is that a lazy boy?

for me the answer to this question is my '90 Bianchi Proto. best bike I ever rode. it handles great, with nice tubulars it is just as comfortable as a SL frame. I like it so much I went looking for a second.

Hmmm, that's a tough call. Depends on the job. Still, of all my bikes (http://www.veloweb.ca/mybikes.html) I'd have to say my most recent addition to the stable, (http://www.veloweb.ca/mybikepages/sportivo.html) a custom ti "sport tourer" is really wonderful to ride, especially on long distance rides (brevets).

No doubt that these recumbents are comfortable, but the question also asks about handling. So how do they handle? Just from the pictures it looks like the very long wheelbases make for sluggish turning.


Yeah, the Easy Racer style bikes are biased towards stability. They make great touring bikes.

That being said, I have no problem staying with most uprights until it gets twisty- but that's my problem on uprights, too! I'm 6-foot-4, 220lbs... I don't change direction quickly on any kind of bike. For "handling", I'd probably prefer a highracer type bike, like Jim Verheul's:
http://www.recumbents.com/wisil/racing2004/SanJose/JimVerheul_sm.jpg
Jim regularly joins his local criteriums. Here's some video (http://www.vimeo.com/6123320)of him riding in a SoCal crit.

Well, I can actually feel how rewarding it would be to ride one of these bikes only by looking at these photos! I wonder where I can get one of these. I live in Lebanon and have never seen a bicycle like that!

I've never heard of recumbent riders in Lebanon... I've heard from a few Israelis, but it's OK if you don't want to cross that particular border. If you ever travel to Europe, they're more common (although still rare) up there.

Look around on Bentrideronline (http://www.bentrideronline.com/) - there's lots of different recumbent bikes, lots of different people, and lots to learn. Don't be afraid to ask questions- there's no "one bike fits all" attitude.

Hmmm, that's a tough call. Depends on the job. Still, of all my bikes (http://www.veloweb.ca/mybikes.html) I'd have to say my most recent addition to the stable, (http://www.veloweb.ca/mybikepages/sportivo.html) a custom ti "sport tourer" is really wonderful to ride, especially on long distance rides (brevets).

The Ti "sport tourer" is a beautiful build. Nice job!

All of my six bikes are comfortable, but my favorite is probably my old 80-something Bianchi framed beater bike.

http://www.chipcom.net/bikes/bianchi_x.jpg

I've been in love with my 2001 Litespeed Tuscany since the day I brought it home. It handles well and is very comfortable on long rides. It's still my main ride. :beer:

http://web.me.com/ronhorne/Site/Rons_Bicycles_files/IMGP0712.jpg

My RANS Stratus is the most comfortable and the most fun you can have on 2 wheels.

The Ti "sport tourer" is a beautiful build. Nice job!

Thanks jdon! As you probably gathered, a lot of forethought and testing on my other Marinoni went into the decisions. You might be interested in a story of my longest ride on it (http://www.veloweb.ca/storypages/hatrick.html) to date. Comments on the page welcomed.

a hybrid converted as a road bike with drop bars; tires and saddle. the bike was always comfortable but now it is fast as well. Here it is with fenders and studded snows for the winter

I generally like anything with fat tires, but this is my favorite.

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I will probably put a new double sprung saddle on it, and a Milk Crate on the front rack. (Still accessorizing...)

I had a bunch of "normal" bikes over the years, but none of them were anywhere near as comfortable to ride as the Cycle Genius Falcon (http://www.cyclegenius.com/ltx.html) I have now. It is the long-distance bike, and would be the one I would keep if I could have only one.

I have a second bike, a RANS Fusion (http://www.ransbikes.com/Fusion10.htm), which is great for casual riding but not much good for going fast. It is the commuting/around-town bike.

I don't have any more normal bikes, I got rid of them all because I didn't ride them after getting the recumbent.
Although I will admit that I have nowhere convenient to ride off-road.
I loved riding the MTB's when I had them, but the nearest place to ride was about a 45-minute car drive away. If I had somewhere nearby to do that, I would still probably have a "normal" MTB.
~

I have an Electra Townie 3i that I have an xtracycle on and just adore.