tlong

I am a stay at home mom, so I can't really ride to work, but I load my 2 and 3yo's up in the trailer and ride evrywhere we can. We go to the playground, friends houses, grocery store (coming soon...yay!) etc by bike nearly every day. I try to take the long way around to put in at least ten miles round trip.

I bought a Giant Sedona and Burley D'Lite about two months ago and we have been pedalling away ever since! Now, I am going on 25 mile or so group rides 2 to 3 times per week and am working toward an MS 150 (two 75 mile days). I bought a road bike for these rides. I weigh about 200lbs as I had some health problems during my first pregnancy that caused a lot of weight gain. I can see my body beginning to change in shape with our new hobby.

Now to the question....the Sedona seems a little clunky. The upright comfort position that I loved so much when I first bought it now feels awkward. My neighborhood is VERY hilly and I don't feel like the bike puts me in the proper position to pedal up the hills. We also ride paved bike paths in a neighboring town. They are a little bumpy from roots etc. Most everyone uses front suspension. I am leaning toward a bike without out. I have ridden and loved a Trek 7.5 FX WSD, but my LBS doesn't carry Trek. They carry Jamis and Giant. I like the more nimble feel of the Trek FX and it is geared well for pulling the trailer up hills. The Giant FCR costs a little more and is geared wrong for my use. How hard and how expensive would it be to have them change the chainrings and cassette to better suit our needs? The Jamis Coda series looks pretty good, too. Finally, for my uses would a MTB with adjustable front suspension and skinnier tires suit better? I am kind of interested in trying a six-hour solo race next spring, but don't really have any MTB trails around here to try...

Finally, I really want to support my LBS as tehy have gone above and beyond in helping me get started in this sport. I strayed to another store for the road bike and have felt horrible about it ever since
Thanks for your help!

tulip

I'd say that you're definitely commuting! Take a look at Jamis, too, if your LBS carries them.

newbojeff

You are commuting. Also, don't feel bad about liking what you like. If your LBS is good, you should be able to tell them what you like about the Trek and they will work with you. If it still does not feel right and you still like the Trek, then get the Trek. Jamis and Giants are good bikes, though.

ken cummings

Stay-at-home mom is your occupation so any travel related to Mom and home keeping certainly counts.
I count errands and to and from the start of club rides. Whatever replaces the use of a motor vehicle.

legot73

That is your job, those are necssary trips, and necessary transportation by bike = commuting.

My wife is a stay at home mom, too. Commuting with kids in tow will make you very strong. You should see encouraging results.

tlong

Hi guys. Thanks for the encouragement. I have read up on the Jamis Coda line and it sounds pretty good. I am going to try to stop by the LBS and check one out tomorrow.

shakeNbake

Thumbs up for you!

CigTech

Would this not be business travel? Just kidding. To bike commute is to bike to a place often with a purpose. So yes you are commuting. This will make you very strong in a very short time.

HereNT

Kind of splitting hairs, but I would call that 'Utility Cycling,' not commuting. To me, commuting is too and from a seperate workplace from where you live. Home - work. Work - home.

One small aspect of how you can really integrate the bicycle into your life. You're taking it to the next step by doing your shopping and errands on the bicycle too. It's a really good thing, and you're starting at a place that a lot of people take time to get to.

Keep it up!

(Sorry, can't help you on bike selection. My bikes are all old steel bikes with only one gear...)

sauerwald

I spent some time where I worked from home, I couldn't not ride, so I would usually put in 20-30 miles early morning before work. My wife claimed that I had the longest commute of anybody who worked at home.

Seriously, in terms of the bike selection, what you describe is mostly utility cycling, almost all of which is on paved surfaces. For that I would not want suspension, which just sucks up energy while doing nothing to get you where you want to go, and would not go with an overly knobby tire. I have not logged many miles with a trailer in tow, but I would go with what the LBS says and what feels good as far as selecting a bike. My utility bike/commuter is a touring bike, with panniers which hold groceries etc. It has drop bars, but could easily have a flat bar, I just like the drops. For the MS150 you will be most comfortable on a road bike - those are designed to eat up the miles. If your goal is to prepare for the MS150, you might want to use a bike which is close to what you will ride for that as your Sport Utility Bike.

DataJunkie

If you have not already done so, you can PM koffee brown to join the female cycling forum.

legot73

As far as bike selection, I think you're on to some good ones already. As for your Burley and more road oriented bikes, I wouldn't avoid them. So long as they don't have a high-geared racing cassette, you will be fine with the Burley as it is very stable and won't affect the handling of a narrow profile road tire significantly. You may want a triple chainring to give you some tractor gears if you have hills. You don't need to settle on performance just to pull you're Burley.

If/when you get a trail-behind bike, that is a different story. The lower on a seatpost you can attach it, the better. That is where a mountain bike or low rise hybrid will shine.

tlong

Hi guys thanks fo rthe tips. I don't really think it counts either, but this looked like the best forum for my question. I rode the JAmis Coda this morning. I'd love to go with one of the higher end ones (Sport or comp), but I just bought my roadbike about two weeks ago-this is addictive! Hehe!
Anyway the Coda feels great and they are willing to give me a good price for my Sedona. Have to talk it over with hubby, but am hoping to have it in time for a twenty miler tonight...I'll let you know how it goes!

Heraclitus

I love to learn about people who pick up cycling with such enthusiasm. That's very cool that you hooked into those group rides. It is also great that you seem to have a bike shop you really like. I am happy for you! Good luck sorting out the new bike. (I had a friend with one of those Sedonas, and it seemed really heavy and unresponsive.) It's a wonderful addiction because you get to feel good about indulging in it.

tokolosh

sure that's commuting. you're doing a job that requires you to travel to various locations during the day, and you do it by bike. textbook, if you ask me

i've had a bottom-of-line coda for about two months and completely love it. no regrets whatever, except maybe wanting a kick-stand on it - it seems to slither sideways from anything i lean it against. when i was test-riding 'real' bikes, i got shown a lot of comfort/hybrid bikes in the same kind of niche as the ones you seem to be looking at. i found that upright position to be a real deal-breaker in everything - it just felt wrong in all situations and particularly any time there was work to be done. but the coda has been a total joy, and to me it feels very nimble and sure-footed. mind you, that could be partly because i was riding a clunky box-store faux-mtb before then.

fyi, my ride is 9k each way on roads/mups, with grocery-hauling and a little bit of every kind of grade. i'm not exactly the strongest cyclist around, but the gearing on the coda has been fine for me through all of it. it seems to have a lot of range in those 24 gears, compared with my old bike.

oh, and ps in case it's relevant to the feedback: i'm a woman too.

Patriot

You go girl !!!

kuan

Oh yeah you're commuting! Having kids is work. I have only one and I do the same thing. Two paper grocery bags fits perfect in the back of the Burley!

tlong

Well...I couldn't help myself. After much research (I think I have now read EVERY thread regarding trailers, hybrids, Codas etc ), a test ride and a long talk with a husband who doesn't understand why we NEED a different bike, I picked up my new Jamis Coda last night! They gave me a great trade in price on my Sedona.

I was going on a group road ride last night, so I decided to try it out. We only went about 16.5 miles, because we had some new riders with us, but I thoroughly enjoyed the bike! It is very comfortable and puts me in a great position. The gearing seems great for my use.

Well, gotta go get the kids dressed so we can go for a ride! Thanks for all of the great feedback!

tulip

The Coda is a GREAT bike! I ride mine everywhere. Congratulations!

huhenio

Whenever you replace a car trip with a bike trip counts/

tlong

I have ridden 36 miles over the last 24 hours...that's a record for me. I rode on the road with it last night, pulled the kids to the playground this morning and went for a group ride on the paths tonight. I think this bike is perfect for what I was looking for!
BTW, velogirl and tokolosh, I read a lot of old posts by the two of you that helped me choose this bike. Thanks!

Summer23

Does that forum still exist? If so, what username should I PM? I tried "koffee brown" but it told me there was no such person. Searched the members, but only came up with a "koffee black" which seemed likely but only had one post, so I don't know whether that's right.

CommuterRun

Commuting? Utility cycling?

I think the criteria is overlapping. You can accurately call both, either.

Great job.

The great thing about a first bike is it helps you figure what you want in a second bike, which helps you figure out what you want in a third bike, etc.

donnamb 

Try Stacey.

DataJunkie

Koffee brown was the mod to contact. She had a thing......
Anyhow, contact stacey .