The Historian: Thanks for the pictures. I'm nowhere near as upright as you, even in the pictures before the handlebar riser. I think our bikes are different in that mine's pretty much a straight racer and yours is a tourer. That does make me feel better about buying a touring bike with the typical curved handlebars like a Long-Haul Trucker or a Salsa Casseroll or a Masi Speciale Randonneur.
Originally Posted by
slowandsteady
Don't give up just yet. Adjust your fit. It makes a huge difference. Also, feel free to switch back to regular pedals until you get more comfortable on the bike. I remember the first month or so on my road bike. Wow, was it a strange feeling compared to the MTB. It did take some getting used to. Now I almost never ride the MTB despite riding it for nearly 15 years.
Once you adjust the fit, find a good saddle, and get used to traffic, it is a really, really fun way of exercising and exploring the area.
I have a Brooks B72 and it is insanely comfortable. The stock saddle was a torture device. I raised my bars nearly 3 inches with the stem riser and haven't looked back. It is a cheap and easy way to get a more upright and relaxed geometry without spending a ton of money on a new bike.
A new saddle is on my short list after I figure out whether or not I'm keeping the bike. Right now I'm leaning more toward keep, but I'm still not sure.
Originally Posted by
slowandsteady
My friend uses these instead of clipless. They give you a nice foot hold on the pedals but are much easier to get out of for an inexperience clipless user.
Again, just 20 bucks. They are called power grips. I have use them myself and they are easy to use and give you a pretty darn good grip on the pedals. I still love my clipless SPD pedals, but I think the power grips are a good alternative.
Bookmarked. I think I'll be giving these a try - these really seem like best of both worlds.
Thanks for all your help guys, this is the single bestest place on the whole darn Internet.