Originally Posted by
stapfam
Whatever bikes you currently have-Ride them. It will take a while to get your fitness back and if you work hard enough should be by the end of Summer. Keep the bikes running and decide what you need in a bike- different size- different style- better components.
Then come Autumn and the 2012 bikes will have to be shifted by the dealers at a good price for you. By that time you will have found out that your current bikes do the job you want from them- OR NOT.
Thanks for the reality check. You are correct that it may take several months to get back to where I was even 2 years ago, or even 4 or 5 years ago. Your advice also reminded me of a group ride I did about 4 years ago back when I was much fitter. That summer, I did a Saturday group ride every weekend over the summer. I consider it a point of pride that I finished every group ride I went on, including one particularly hot day we set out on a 40 mile ride when some of the folks in high end road bikes seemed to have been snake bitten, with one guy giving up because of 2 flats, and the rest (including the group leader) cutting the ride short because of the hot weather. Ironically it was a small group of us riding the "slower" hybrids that actually finished the ride. The group leader sent us ahead, telling us the faster road bikes would catch up down the road. It wasn't until we were more than 15 miles out that we realized that they weren't coming.
It isn't just the gear, but rather also the rider.