Conrad283

Hey everyone, jumping on a bike for the first time in a long time with hopes of being able to commute the ~17 miles each way to work in beautiful Colorado by end of summer.

I picked up a decent beginner bike, a Scott Speedster S50. I didn't want to get too crazy at the beginning since I had a back injury (bulging disc L5-S1) and I don't know how it would handle the position.

Here's the bike with a few modifications already:





-Andrew

10 Wheels

Hello Andrew,

Welcome to Bike Forums from Texas.

The forward lean on a road bike will help with your back problem.

Nice bike.

Kembs

Hi Andrew, I'm buying the same bike here in France I think I can only get it in white I love the black though. What mods have you done? I'm sort of new to this as I've been biking but on a 1988 road bike a decent one though but nothing new so this will be big change for me I think. I also have a bad back. Have you had any problems with the bike in the transmission dept.?

Zephyr11

Welcome to Bike Forums! Nice bike!

Conrad283

I like the bike. I haven't been able to be on it as much as I would like, but I do have some insight towards the bike. It is an entry level bike, and you do get what you pay for. I believe that the front controls lag a little bit and don't change the gears every time. I don't like how I have to use my thumbs to change gears as well as on the brake levers. The chain clicks sometimes if you're in a funky gear combo. The seat was awful at first and I got a better seat to replace the stock one.

But since I'm "new" to biking this will do for the time being.

Andrew

Zephyr11

Conrad, if the gears aren't changing quickly, it may be a matter of it needing to be adjusted slightly. In my experience, even entry level stuff shifts well...it just doesn't stay in-tune quite as long as the expensive stuff.

Chain clicking could be due to cross-chaining (big ring on front and biggest gear in back, or small ring in front and smallest gear in back). If you can, try to avoid running that gear combination (you can get the same gear without using those extremes). That might make the chain rub the front derailleur, which could be causing the clicking. Cross-chaining won't destroy your bike, but it does make the drivetrain wear out a bit faster.