xoxoxoxoLive

I'm sure you will do fine, excited to hear how it goes..

Crankykentucky

Wow, we want some follow up info on this! I would love to do a challenge like this, but I am only in the 20's tops so far this year.

road1bike

Great day yesterday, Rode two miles each way to and from the event, 34 mile challenge for a new personal best of 38 miles ridden in one day. I normally ride on a tail but this ride left the trail and entered the city streets. I have never ridden hills before! Wore me out. Some riders were walking, but I stooped when needed but rode the whole way. Bike performed well, but at times I was wishing I had a road bike. Hands hurt bad. I changed the grips, used gloves, and the heels of both of my hands are sore to the touch. I do not know the next move but if I don't solve this riddle my cycling career will be short. I don't know Quads are a little sore, a good sore. a about mile 28 my butt started to hurt. Not from the saddle but my underwear. Feel good about the ride, felt funny about paying $45 to ride on city streets!

xoxoxoxoLive

That is a awesome ride report, I'm glad you made it, plus some.. I've never had the hands hurting that bad before, but all my bikes tend to give me an upright position, more pressure on my butt, and less aerodynamic so average speeds are slower. There are lots of guys on this forum, that could offer advice and hand position. Post a NEW thread with that title so they will know to look. Congrats again on completing your ride, I'm guessing the money went to a charity ?

waynesworld

Hand pain can be a fit issue. Different grips may help. Hybrid bars don't offer a lot of hand positions, which can be a problem.

road1bike

https://www.cucamongachallenge.com/wh...riends-of-pet/

Looks like the money helps support the upkeep of the trail.

Crankykentucky

Road1bike, did you have the bar ends on your Escape? Did they help during the 38 long miles? When I visited my sister in Colorado I found that I could double my normal ride miles using an older Giant MTB with a butterfly type of handlebar.

road1bike

I have Ergon GP2's installed, When I use the alternate grip it is often too late, I'm already in distress. I also feel like my arms are too far apart. They are outside of my shoulders, so I do not fel as nimble. What are butterfly type bars?

xoxoxoxoLive

I have narrowed a set with a band saw in a few minutes, and you could never tell.

Crankykentucky

I've only seen these on a bike, never used them. I am sure there is a better link:

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=262972

road1bike

I rode 23 miles today. Still problems with the hands but not as bad. I made an effort to stay more upright on the bike. as I ride I have a tendency to move forward. I'm wondering if I raise the handlebars will this bring the bar closer to me? Can't you add spacers? I also thought about a smaller/shorter stem to bring the bars closer?

I keep thinking if I had purchasd a more expensive bike I wouldn't have these problems.
//

Tandem Tom

I have an Escape and have ridden it literally thousands of miles. I just installed, last week, Ergon 3 bar ends on it as I do get a bit of numbing in my hands. As far as a more expensive bike I don't think that is the answer. You might need a shorter stem.Also how is the overall fit? Is your saddle too far back?
I work PT in the LBS and we are a giant dealer and cannot keep Escapes in stock as they sel out so quick. In facti had my wife come up yesterday before closing and got her fitted on one of the last ones and had her take a test ride. we are buying one this week to replace the Schwinn we bought at Performance a few years back.

road1bike

Thanks Tom, I think the stem also. I just feel like i'm pitched too far forward, and it is easy to put too much of my weight on my hands. Overall I love the bike! it just bothers me that I cut my rides short because I'm not comfortable.

How do I know how much shorter of a stem to buy?

JPMacG

I tried bar ends first on my Giant FCR3 then went to a trekking bar, which I feel is definitely better, although it looks a bit 'unusual'. It is a plug-and-play swap. It takes about 20 minutes.

Here is what I have: https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...2_175533_-1___

Crankykentucky

Is there a photo of this trekking bar installed on a bike? This is fascinating.

I like the folks at my original Giant dealer, but I might have to switch to another Giant shop for possible fit issues with my Escape. I know I have a knee condition, but when I tested out bikes from two other shops I realized my knee wasn't acting up. One of the dealers is a Cannondale shop and they measured me before I took a bike out for a while.

JPMacG

Here is mine. This is a Giant FCR3, which is similar to your bike. The only difficult part was finding a mirror that would work with the trekking bars.

road1bike

Another 23 miles today. The bike spins great! I kept moving my hands so the fatigue was not as bad. I noticed if I sit up straight the bars are about 1/2 inch out of reach so I think i'll try to move the seat back a 1/2 inch. The seat height and handle bar height are about the same. Seat is level. I jus t find that if I do not concentrate I find myself with my weight unevenly distributed to my hands.

tholyoak

Do you all still like your new bikes? I'm seriously considering getting one because they just opened up a paved trail that I can take from home to work, and I'm not sure I want to use my mountain bike to ride 20 miles on pavement every day (I tried some "hybrid" tires, but I am not impressed with their performance on unpaved trails).

rumrunn6

nice score with the fenders and rack all done!

tholyoak

I ended up going ahead and buying one last week, and have been riding it back and forth work work (about 12 miles each way) ever since. I got tired of having a sweaty back from a backpack, so I got an Avenir Excursion Rack-Top Bag from Amazon. It seems like a nice bag, with lots of room (since it's expandable), but I have 2 complaints. It goes right up to the back of the seat (the plus side of that being that I can feel that it's still there), and I'm having a hard time keeping it from moving over on one side.

But the bike itself is great. I've already put in over 100 miles since I got it.

rumrunn6

I rarely under-load my rear trunks so they all get a bungee cord. in fact when I under load them they still get a bungee cord to help keep them compressed and aerodynamic as possible. I often add extra stuff like clothing or sandals on vacation and the bungee, sometimes 2, help keep it all in place. the trick is getting the right size bungee and using the right amount of tension. I sometimes buy a few and wind up using a favorite. on vacation with 4 bikes 4 trunks and trips to the beach etc all bets are off and we bring all the bungees I can find.

also when riding in rain I wrap the whole thing in a compactor bag then put it on the rack so it's only the bungees that keep it in place.

nice bag btw!

tholyoak

Thanks, those are some great ideas. I've also found that twisting the velcro around the bars once helps hold the bag in place better (it's actually kind of hard to explain, unfortunately).

However, today I ran into a problem where I could hear something bouncing around whenever I went over a bump. It turned out to be the bike rack - the screws had come out of the bottom where it attaches to the bike on both sides. I should be able to use some zip ties for now, but I'm going to need some replacement screws. Since they're both gone, I have no reference to what should be there. Can someone tell me what it came with? Screws/washers/nuts even, maybe? Thanks!

no1mad 

Not sure the exact size, but you could always go to your favorite hardware store (I like Ace), remove one of the top screws, and take that inside to hunt. Once you find the right diameter, the replacements should be a bit longer than the one you took off the bike. The extra length will be used for washer(s) and a locking nut.

loneviking61

What kind of mirror is that? I'm saving up for an Escape city and will be putting the Trek bars on it. I'd like to fit it out with a mirror like that.

memebag

My LBS just ordered one of these for me. They had the 3 in stock, so I got a feel for it. Very sweet ride. I keep looking at pictures of them on the internet. Can't wait til next week.