50 plus Clyde and his wife - first post here
 

So, I just finished the first decent ride, 6 miles, on my new bike, a Specialized Crosstrail Sport Disc, and I can truly say that this time I made the right decision, this is one nice bicycle!! I'd originally bought a Specialized Expedition after the salesgirl at the first store mis-diagnosed what I needed. It only took 3 rides on that bike to realize I'd made a serious mistake. Unfortunately this particular store has a no return policy on any bike they sell, so when they said "...you can't return the bike." I replied "...then I guess I can't return as a customer and you lose any and all goodwill that I may have given to everyone I know." Fortunately I think I have several folks interested in the Expedition who are only interested in cruising around their neighborhoods as opposed to riding the extensive trail system that we have in mind.

The Crosstrail is definitely the nicest bike I've ever had. My first bike was a Schwinn 10 speed that I got for Christmas way back in the early 60's, and I've gone through several similar bikes since then. 15 years ago we did the MTB thing as a family and thoroughly thrashed the things. Now we're both overweight and in our late 50's/early 60's and definitely going to benefit from getting back onto some decent bikes again. Gotta say I really like the disc brakes, took me a few minutes to get accustomed to the sound they make when you apply them, but they sure do a great job of stopping you! I did have them change a couple things on the bike at the LBS I now go to, I got a set of Ergon gp2 grips and they are amazingly comfortable, a lot better than the stock grips, I also had them swap the standard seat for a Specialized Sonoma saddle in the 175 size as I'm definitely a wider person than what the stock 145 seat fits. They discussed fit with me and because I'm short of leg and long of torso, they moved the saddle further to the rear of the seat rails and it's a lot better that way. this setup is working very nicely, which is, again, a good thing as you'll soon know if you made the wrong choice of saddle.

So we'll keep you posted as our adventures continue, our goal is to build up our strength and stamina, lose more weight, and definitely increase our mileage. My personal goal is to eventually utilize one of the trails and ride this bike into town, where we have several clients we handle who all live in the same general vicinity.

cheers,

the Millers

Good choice. Specialized makes some great bicycles. Did your wife get a new bike too? Welcome to BF.

Congratulations and welcome to the nuthouse! :D. Getting the right bike is great. Riding with your spouse is priceless. Walking out the door right now to ride with PhotoJoanne. Enjoy every mile....and may the both of you have many, MANY more!

Welcome to BF! Don't forget to post pics of your new ride.

Welcome to the Bike Forum, good to here from another 50+/60 couple. My wife and I ride together several times a week, although mostly on paved surfaces. Hope you all enjoy it as much as we do.

Welcome to the tribe. I would highly recommend that you seriously consider doing something. Either visit, or write a short letter to the owner of that first bicycle shop explaining, in a respectful manner, your unhappiness with the recommendations of that sales girl and the way the shop treated you, post purchase.

That lady should either not be selling bicycles, or should receive additional training in ascerataining the needs of her clients. To not say anything is a disservice to other "new" cyclists to whom she will influence purchases. That shop will not be in business for long if they continue to sell inappropriate products to an unspecting consumer. That does not mean we should go in there uninformed. Ultimately, we ourselves are responsible for our own purchase decisions. But, she is not helping.

If you do follow up, be nice and respectful about it, but also firm. The ol' "honey attracting bees" thing.

Replace your metal pads with organic pads and you're squeal will be diminished greatly. Congrats. Stick with it and keep your heart rate rockin and you'll just get fitter and fitter...

I find myself wondering if the people in this shop really know anything about fit, if that was their solution to giving you more reach for your longer torso. The ONLY right reason to move a saddle back is to place the knee in the proper position over the pedal spindle. More reach is obtained by a longer stem, or a bike with a longer top tube.

...giving me a bike with a longer top tube would only raise the stand over height, which for me on most bikes, is sketchy at best. Trust me, after they moved the seat back an inch, when I tried it out it felt great, seems to fit like a glove now. They use the fit system that Specialized has set up for their authorized dealers. My inseam is only 28 inches, if my legs were proportional to my torso I'd be 6'2" instead of 5'8", so fitting me can be a challenge - good thing I don't want a road bike...!! To make the long story short, the bottom line is the bike feels great and works marvelously, I'm a happy camper.

...so I did go back and talk with them, they apologized and said the girl was a new employee who only works on weekends or holidays - which is when we were there - and she is still learning the ropes. We don't have to worry about the bike she sold me as we've already sold it for more than we paid for it as it was last years model on clearance. We've left on good terms, but the store where I bought my Crosstrail will be where I go for service from now on...