Commuting - commuting bike

Hi, I'm commuting in Madison, WI with a retro fitted (the local bike shop put this strange combo together... a Trek hybrid frame, 7500 or 7700, something like that, and outfitted it with drop handlebars and road gearing.

Well I paid $500 for it, took it back because of all the rattles in the gears and they said given that they were using road handle bars and had to gear it for road, this strange combo made it hard to adjust and I would always have problems.

Blah. I want to replace it. I want a comfortable ride for a 15 mile round trip commute, but I want to be able to get enough speed to keep up with my Mr. Road Bike 2300 husband.

Any suggestions? I'm lost. I know that I'm okay with Chrome moly, and I really don't want to pay more than $1000. I love the drop handle bars, but I'm probably more comfortable in a more upright position.

I just broke my third spoke on my rear tire, and I think rather than muck with new tires, it's time to replace it and make the right choice... if I knew what that was.

Diane

First off, Diane, find a better bike shop! If they put your current bike together and sold it to you knowing you would have a lot of trouble with it, then they are not trustworthy in my book.

If you like the drop bars and a bit more upright position, I would suggest looking at a light touring bike.
Trek 520 (http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/road/520.jsp) , Lemond Big Sky (http://www.lemondbikes.com/2004_bikes/big_sky_slt.shtml) , Bianchi Volpe (http://www.bianchiusa.com/volpe.html) , Specialized Sequoia (http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkFamily.jsp?sid=04Sequoia&JServSessionIdroot=9wm50cnm4f.j27005) . To name a few.

You may also want to look a female specific road bikes.

Hope this helps.

Bob

Thanks for your response. I realize that people ask dumb questions like this on these forums all the time.. what kind of bike should I get?

The problem is, I don't know! And I hate it when I get in the store and they assure me this is what I want, like my hybrid/road cross, and here I am a year later, out $450.

I will try another shop. I rode my old hybrid in this morning and found that I've gotten used to the speed and distance per revolution of the crank (if that makes sense) of the road-like gearing. I have a shop near my work that sells bianchi, and of course Trek is sold locally. Can't much afford the Treks they actually make here though.

So I'll check out bianchi, and see if I can get me a road bike that doesn't rattle in all but 1 gear :)

The above are great suggestions for drop bar bikes. As for straight bar bikes, take a look at:

--Giant Cypress SL or SX (lower models more comfort than performance)
--Jamis Coda (sport, comp, elite)
--Specialized Sirrus line

I ended up with the Giant Cypress SX. It retails for $600, though since it's the end of the season you should be able to get it for $550 or less. I've been riding it for about a month and so far it's been perfect. This bike was rated best in this category in Consumer Reports, and for once I think I agree. It's got excellent components for the price including 105 rear derailleur and is fairly light in this category at 23 lbs. I really like the grip shifters that this bike has. Pretty much all of the other bikes listed above have Shimano rapidfire shifters made for road bikes. I love my XT rapidfire shifters on my mountain bike, but these shifters feel cheap and the triggers too far apart. You almost have to remove your hands from the grips to shift. I added bar ends, Planet Bike hybrid fenders, an old blackburn mountain rack and panniers and I ride to work every day (17 mi r.t.) on a sweet looking and riding bike.

While the Cypress SL is sweet, I just couldn't justify the $800+ price for a commuter. I see no reason why I'd change at this point.

Performance Bike shop sells Giant and Jamis, and if you are a member, you get back 10% in store credit, so the Giant ends up being less than $500.

Oh, did I say it's fast? It came stock with 700x28s and I regularly pass roadies despite my bike's higher weight and equipment.

Do your hands ever get tired with the straight bar bike? Did you put handlebar extensions on, or doesn't it bother you?

My old hybrid really felt like a tank this morning :) It's heavy, and I was working hard, going nowhere. Took me more time to get in!

My r.t. is 15 1/2 miles.

Diane

The hybrid frame/road gearing bike I bought that they had assembled here in Madison has those Shimano shifters. I have to admit they are great. I could probably, if I knew what I was doing, buy a road frame and put my road equipment on it.

That'd probably be the cheapest route.

Does anyone know anything about Felt? I see an ad for a bike shop that is closing out the Felt F90 for $500.....

Do your hands ever get tired with the straight bar bike? Did you put handlebar extensions on, or doesn't it bother you?

My old hybrid really felt like a tank this morning :) It's heavy, and I was working hard, going nowhere. Took me more time to get in!

My r.t. is 15 1/2 miles.

Diane

My hands were getting a little tired with straight bars. So I lowered the pressure in my front tire a little and that seems to have solved the problem. I was inflating to 90 when the max pressure was 80. Made it pretty hard. I have left my rear at 90 with no problems. I added bar ends with foam grips and ride 90% on these. If I still feel it down the road, I may switch out the alum handlebar for a carbon one. They are supposed to be pretty vibration resistant.

My hands do the same thing on my road bike (steel frame, carbon fork) as well, so I think I probably just grab too tight or don't move my hands around as much as I could/should.

The good thing about this bike is that since it is relatively inexpensive, upgrading a part here or there is no big deal.

Does anyone know anything about Felt? I see an ad for a bike shop that is closing out the Felt F90 for $500.....

It would be interesting to see what you thought about the ride of the Felt. It's an alum bike with alum fork. Most would say that you'll feel everything the tires ride over (i.e. the hands problem). Most alum road bikes come with a carbon fork, which greatly reduces the vibration.

To me it seems like one of those bikes you'll just end up upgrading down the road. And upgrading drivetrain components is more expensive than just buying the better component level on a stock bike in the first place. Sora and Tiagra components are OK, but 105 component level and above are much better for not a ton more $$. Also, at 22.7 lbs, that's a pretty heavy road bike these days. 20 and lower is standard.

Why not get a cyclocross bike? That is the route I am heading and honestly, you will find a much better price as far as the entire build or even piece meal with Soul. I looked at a Bianchi Axis; but bang for buck I am getting a whole lot more. ;)

I just visited the Bianchi dealer, and of course I loved a $1400 bike. It was a Bianchi Vigorelli, so light, and the Ultrega components were very nice. This is much nicer than anything I've ever owned.

I think I'll look at Trek too.

The only drawback to a nice road bike is that they don't even put braze-on's on, so no panniers there! I carry a back pack anyway.

The Jamis Quest is a mostly Ultegra level bike that lists for $1269, but can be had for probably under $1100. Has braze-ons, steel frame. If you know your components, there is no bike with this quality level of components for this price. This bike has zero no-name components (except the headset-who cares!).

http://www.jamisbikes.com/bikes/04_quest.html#

wow. Nice price. I've never heard of it.

How can it be Had? E-bay?

Which bike shop sold you this bike? I'm guessing it was either revolution or budget, everyone else seems to deal exlusively in new bikes.

How can it be Had? E-bay?

You can go on the Jamis web site and find dealers in your area. I think most Performance Bike shops sell Jamis as well. The $1100 is close to the normal selling price there. Here are the 2 in your area:

Micheals Cycle
3742 Speedway Rd
Madison, WI
608-231-1101

Revolution Cycles
2086 Atwood Ave
Madison, WI
608-244-0398

I would expect that since it's end of year generally for road bikes, they are on sale. No snow belt bike shops like to carry road bikes through the winter it seems.

Revolution doesn't really sell new Jamis bikes. They will order them for you, but they have told me that they are more of a service shop than a retailer. I was just in Micheal's the other week looking for a new Jamis Nova, but they were out. But the guy there told me that they were getting the '05 Jamis bikes in early October, so I'm holding out until then to get a new bike.

It was Budget. hate to bad mouth. I was a Trek hybrid frame with shimano 105. The shifters don't seem to want to work smoothly with the dropped handlebars.

The repair shop told me that I should either outfit back to a hybrid, or I suppose, I should buy a road frame. It's a bummer.

I bought from an ex-boyfriend of a co-worker. I feel like I'm pretty dumb walking into a shop, with "Use ME" written all over me :D

Sooo you have a road geared Trek hybrid, with 105 components, on drop bars....ummm, if I'm not mistaken 105 components ARE road, and should work GREAT on drop bars. Sounds like a deraileur problem, and not the the components at all.

On the other hand, if you are mistaken on the 105 components, why would you upgrade this bike? It's geared for road, has nice components, is probably reletivly light(upgrading a bike may shed a few ponds only), and only needs new spokes? Or a proper tune up?
I'd visit another LBS, and get some opinions on REPAIR costs. I wouldn't mention a new bike right away, just get info on the bike, set up and adjustment costs. It sounds like it has the potential as a good commuter! Plus you can buy a ROAD bike to ride with your husband , and not trash it commuting. :D

Budget is really good for their niche - selling bikes to college students. I just can't ever figure out which budget to go to when I need something (they have like 5 storefronts on one road, each of which sells/does different things).

Before plonking down money for a new bike, I'd try taking it somewhere else. I've been getting stuff done at Revolution, and I really like them. (http://www.revolutioncycles.net/) They don't really have new stuff to sell, so they won't tell you to get a new bike unless you really need one. They're great about fixing stuff up rather than buying new stuff.

Out of curiosity, where does your commute take you? I live on the near east side and I work pretty much right on the other side of Lake Monona, by South Towne and the Beltline.

I needs at least 1 new wheel, I'm on my third broken spoke. I've taken it to several shops for truing, even the local so-called "truing expert." I get off the saddle on bumps. This wheel is one year one month old!

But as far as the noise, this is where my stupidity shows. I took it back to the repair shop of the place I bought it from and asked them to stop the deraileurs from rattling, which they do in all gears except the very fastest. They told me that the only way to fix that (they said they couldn't adjust it and that they have this problem with this bike all the time) would be to put flat handle bars on it. Maybe they were feeding me a line of crap, don't know. I just know the front deraileur is noisy. Maybe they said I need new deraileurs too. That seemed like a lot of trouble to me. I can't remember. I just remember the guy shaking his head at it.

I know I hate to buy a new wheel for the dang thing that is noisy. They quoted me $100 for a wheel, so now I've got $550 into a noisy bike. I guess I just hate to throw good money at it, only to have the deraileur still clankin'.

And sure, now that I rode the Bianchi, it's a pretty sweet bike.

I'll check out Revolution. Thanks for the tip. I like the idea that they don't do the sales thing.

I live out on the SW side of Madison. I ride about 3 miles, including up one VERY steep hill, which goes on forever (off McKee), then take the SW bike path the rest of the way in. I work in the downtown, right beside Williamson bicycle :) I got a Univega (the Tank :) ) there when I moved to WI in 1987, and I use that mostly for the Rails to Trails rides.

I love Madison, WI. The SW bike trail is just gorgeous, especially this time of year. I've been commuting 3 years now, I don't go in the really cold weather, but my day is not complete without my ride!

:) Diane

I like the advice about not trashing a good road bike commuting. This one I've only had a year the hybrid/road cross is kind of trashed already. The chain kept dropping off the lower deraileur and ended up taking most of the paint off several tubes more than once. It looks like it's 10 years old already. Been caught in the rain too. I'm not so good about scrubbing off the mud ;)

I have been commuting on a Cannondale T700 for close to 15 years now. I have ridden in the rain, the mud, traffic, woods, etc. I have carried panniers on most of the commutes. It is without a doubt the most comfortable bike I own. I rinse her off to keep the grit out of the drive train, and she just keeps going. At 4000 miles I had to replace the bottom bracket, but other than cables and other routine items it is what I bought from the bike shop. They don't make a T700 anymore, but they do make the T800 http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/05/cusa/model-5TR8.html

Allen

I needs at least 1 new wheel, I'm on my third broken spoke. I've taken it to several shops for truing, even the local so-called "truing expert." I get off the saddle on bumps. This wheel is one year one month old!

But as far as the noise, this is where my stupidity shows. I took it back to the repair shop of the place I bought it from and asked them to stop the deraileurs from rattling, which they do in all gears except the very fastest. They told me that the only way to fix that (they said they couldn't adjust it and that they have this problem with this bike all the time) would be to put flat handle bars on it. Maybe they were feeding me a line of crap, don't know. I just know the front deraileur is noisy. Maybe they said I need new deraileurs too. That seemed like a lot of trouble to me. I can't remember. I just remember the guy shaking his head at it.

I know I hate to buy a new wheel for the dang thing that is noisy. They quoted me $100 for a wheel, so now I've got $550 into a noisy bike. I guess I just hate to throw good money at it, only to have the deraileur still clankin'.

And sure, now that I rode the Bianchi, it's a pretty sweet bike.


I am not a bike mechanic.

That being said I can not fathom how the shape of a handle bar will affect the soundness of a derailleur. That is definitely a load of crap. If the derailleur sounds like it is rubbing the chain while you are pedaling, that can be adjusted out if the derailleur is right for the bike, and in good shape. Alternatively a deore front derailleur is cheap, easy to set up, and fits a wide variety of frame sizes.

I completely agree with the poster that wrote keep this as your commuter and get a road bike for fun. $100 is not unreasonable for a quality rear wheel, but deals can be had. I got a deore/rhyno lite wheelset (front and rear) for my mountain bike for about $110 from my local bike shop. I also got a dura ace/open pro wheelset for my road bike for $200 from an on-line shop. If you had more details about the equipment on your bike, I am sure people here could help you out.

I would recommend that you do not go back into the bikeshop that wanted to put flat bars on your bike for anything ever again. They not only sound incompetent, but they should be able to explain to you what is going on with your bike so you can understand it. From the sounds of it, they either do not have teh knowledge or patience to do so.

Have a great ride.

Yeah, I'm going to take my bike to the local store the Madison biker recommended. Maybe I can get the front deraileur fixed or replaced and a new wheel and be okay, at least for the rainy days.

Then I think I'll watch until I find a deal I can't resist on a road bike, and treat it well :D I don't think I have to ask anymore though, should I get a hybrid or a road bike... I think there's a place for both. I was surprised at how much I liked the Ultegra components. I tried the Campy model they had too. Both would be very fine indeed.

However, I'm not looking forward to my much slower ride home tonight on the trusty old hybrid. I guess I'll just have to go slower and enjoy the scenery.

Revolution doesn't really sell new Jamis bikes. They will order them for you, but they have told me that they are more of a service shop than a retailer. I was just in Micheal's the other week looking for a new Jamis Nova, but they were out. But the guy there told me that they were getting the '05 Jamis bikes in early October, so I'm holding out until then to get a new bike.

Hey, is there a place to test ride one in Madison? Are the '05's usually highly priced when new? What do you think you'll pay for one?

That being said I can not fathom how the shape of a handle bar will affect the soundness of a derailleur.

Have a great ride.

Shimano mtn bike shifters don't work with road derailleurs and vice versa. Shimano now has out flat bar shifters that work with rear road derailleurs and one front derailleur, the R443 I think they call it. You can look at the specs on the Giant Cypress SL and Jamis Coda Comp/Elite to see how they are doing it.

So, if dmiller91 has road ders and shimano mtn shifters, then there is probably a problem shifting.

But there is always SRAM Grip Shifters, which apparently work equally well with road or mtn ders. A set can be purchased for less than $20. If you want to spend some more money, you could go that way. The shimano road shifters are considerably more, and like I said before, I don't like the way they feel. If you have smaller hands than I, you might hate them even more.

Makes me wonder why the world is so Shimano-centric???

Rumor has it that SRAM may come out with road components soon. Looking forward to some downward price pressure on components.

Here are some web prices for Jamis bikes over the last few years:

http://www.bicycleblowout.com/jamis.htm

Shimano mtn bike shifters don't work with road derailleurs and vice versa. Shimano now has out flat bar shifters that work with rear road derailleurs and one front derailleur, the R443 I think they call it. You can look at the specs on the Giant Cypress SL and Jamis Coda Comp/Elite to see how they are doing it.

So, if dmiller91 has road ders and shimano mtn shifters, then there is probably a problem shifting.

But there is always SRAM Grip Shifters, which apparently work equally well with road or mtn ders. A set can be purchased for less than $20. If you want to spend some more money, you could go that way. The shimano road shifters are considerably more, and like I said before, I don't like the way they feel. If you have smaller hands than I, you might hate them even more.

Makes me wonder why the world is so Shimano-centric???

Rumor has it that SRAM may come out with road components soon. Looking forward to some downward price pressure on components.

alright, heres the deal. the front derailleurs on shimano do not work with drop-bar components. This is becuase of the shape of the front derailleur. if you think about it, mtb chainrings are smaller, and therefore, need a derailleur with more of a curve in it. since the original poster put a road crank on the bike, it is in need of a road front derailleur. the rear derailleur should work fine as is.

as for the clanking in the drivtrain, have you lubed it in a while? I dont mean to insult your intelligence, but this is somthing that i have seen many roadies COMPLETELY neglect. also, dont cross-chain. this means big/big and small/small gears. that causes the chain to hit the derailleur cage, causeing noise. you can trim the front derailleur a bit from the small/middle chainring by pushing on the big lever a bit (dont push it all the way, it'll shift) and that might move the derailleur cage out of the way of the chain, relieving some noise. one more thing, when you installed the crank, did you buy a new bottom bracket? if not, your chainline might be off. if the new crank is a triple, then make sure that the middle ring is aligned with the middle of the gear cluster otherwise, you'd have chain-angle problems...again causing noise.

so, there are some things to check out. i recommend not buying a new bike, what you have can be fixed with not a while lot of dollas. get that new wheel, check the chainline, get that new front derailleur. have the shop tune it up, and give it a go. try trimming. try not cross-chaining. try to have a good time riding. good luck.

I stand corrected. I knew there was something about mtn shifters & road ders. Thought it was both.

Either way, if dmiller goes to a good bike shop that knows shimano components and their ideosyncracies/incompatibilities, she should get it ironed out.

Hey, is there a place to test ride one in Madison? Are the '05's usually highly priced when new? What do you think you'll pay for one?
Michael's on Speedway is the only place I know of. Someone else posted the address, and they got it from the Jamis web site. I'm gonna wait until the get in the '05 Jamis bikes, which is early October, to get one. But, damn, it's hard to wait!

Okay, here's what it is:

frame, Trek 7500
shifters Shimano Sora Flight Deck Triple (brakes/shifters)
deraileur front says shimano, rear says shimano 105
drop handlebars

What about that set up would make a mechanic say it's odd and hard to get the noise out of it?

I think I'm going to take it to Trek for the new wheel. They are closer. I do have to stop finding excuses for wanting a $1500 bike!

[QUOTE=Phatman]alright, heres the deal. the front derailleurs on shimano do not work with drop-bar components. This is becuase of the shape of the front derailleur. if you think about it, mtb chainrings are smaller, and therefore, need a derailleur with more of a curve in it. since the original poster put a road crank on the bike, it is in need of a road front derailleur. the rear derailleur should work fine as is.

as for the clanking in the drivtrain, have you lubed it in a while? I dont mean to insult your intelligence, but this is somthing that i have seen many roadies COMPLETELY neglect. also, dont cross-chain. this means big/big and small/small gears. that causes the chain to hit the derailleur cage, causeing noise. you can trim the front derailleur a bit from the small/middle chainring by pushing on the big lever a bit (dont push it all the way, it'll shift) and that might move the derailleur cage out of the way of the chain, relieving some noise. one more thing, when you installed the crank, did you buy a new bottom bracket? if not, your chainline might be off. if the new crank is a triple, then make sure that the middle ring is aligned with the middle of the gear cluster otherwise, you'd have chain-angle problems...again causing noise.

Hi! I can be insulted. I never cross chain. I also lube the chain and the derailleur's periodically. The front is just that noise it makes when it's not in alignment. I thought they could just adjust the cable. Shows you what I know. I don't think I bought a new bottom bracket, although I'm not exactly sure what that is. If I tighten up the little adjuster thing next to the shifters, I can get the noise to stop, but then the shifting becomes hit or miss, meaning it won't always make the change when "asked".