Introductions - Hello everyone, Bill from New Orleans

Hi folks--brand-spanking new member here, and sad to admit, even at my somewhat ripe age, still fairly new to cycling.

I don't have much experience cycling; I used to ride quite a bit back in the mid-'90s while I was stationed in Southern Turkey with the USAF, but then lost the bubble.

Last year I got sort of grounded from running with some lower back issues, so I thought I'd try getting back on a bike again.

Thanks to a really helpful LBS, my wife and I picked up a pair of Trek hybrids, and I've been riding pretty regularly down here--no major distances yet, but going out for an hour or so at a time.

Well, last week, my wife who is active duty Navy, found out we're going to be reassigned to Sicily, and I decided to work harder on cycling to help fill the time and learn more about the country. So this week I traded my 7.3FX in on a 2.3 road bike--should have it next week.

Look forward to listening and learning here!!

Bill

Welcome Bill to Bike Forums.

Get your bike shop to Fit You on the bike and Ride as much as you can.
Come back when you have some issues.

67 y/o here and got in 15,900 miles last year.

Thanks!! I really like my LBS guy. The shop's fairly small, and to be honest somewhat brand-limited, but the guy treated my wife and I very nicely the first time we visited last Spring--he stayed about 90 mins past his normal closing time answering our volumes of questions. The way he treated us, and our satisfaction with the bikes we bought brought me back. Receiving what I considered a very generous trade-in on my 7.3 helped me make the decision.

I test rode a 56cm 2.3 on Sat, and really liked the feel of the bike on the road. It was my first real road bike experience. I'm a little at sea over choosing between the 56 and a 54--when I stand astride the 56, my co-riders can feel the top bar--not painfully, but there's definite contact there in bike shorts. I'm going back today to test ride a 54 (probably a 1.2, as he didn't have the 2.3 in a 54). I'm probably one of those guys who can go with either size (5'10", 31"), so I guess it'll come down to how comfortable I feel about the contact thing at a stop.

Hopefully the decision will be iced today, though if I do wind up going with a 54cm, it'll be the end of the week before I get the bike--he'll have to order it.

I searched and read through quite a few threads here, and it sounds like this aspect of the fitting seems to be a common issue for lots of folks.

When she arrives, I'll bore you all with pics!! ;)