Thanks - will check those out in a store when I'm ready.
Originally Posted by
Mondo734
I second the idea of a flat bar road bike like the trek fx or the specialized sirrus (I highly recommend the sirrus).
As for cyclocross I think that would be another good option. Check out the Specialized Tricross w/disc brakes and the Cannondale quick cx. All are great bikes and should be more of what your looking for.
P.S I wouldnt consider any of these bikes a real downgrade simply a change of bike type.
I agree with you, but still feel like I should be riding something setup less aggressively - that would better suited to the kind of riding I want to be doing, i.e. slow and cautious like you say. As I mentioned I had also largely dealt with the wrist issues, I started using my core a lot more, change my saddle position and bar height, and had much less pressure on my wrists.
Originally Posted by
009jim
Being less-aggressive, and less likely to have an accident is not related to the bike. It's the rider's frame of mind. I suggest you keep the bike and ride slower and more cautiously. If drop bars cause your wrist pain, just keep your hands on the upper bar.
One of the reasons I got rid of my Trek FX Hybrid last year was hand numbing as well.
Originally Posted by
DeanB
I've had more hand numbing on my Trek FX than on my Allez. Being able to switch up hand positions every 45 minutes or so helps a lot.
Beaker and eric - I'm not really looking into getting into this again, please read the rest of the thread. I think I crashed primarily because it was my own fault. I could have handled things better and I do take responsibility. Other factors that contributed to my crash were stray/careless pedestrians and cyclists, overcrowding on the path forcing me off the curb, my extra twitchy relatively unstable super-light bike with skinny tires that skidded in the dirt and grass, getting off balance after successfully unclipping my pedals instinctively (had I been wearing sneakers or other shoes I might have been able to maintain my balance better), and yes a bit of crap luck and a bad day (they do happen to everyone!). Bottom-line is I don't have a need to ride a CAAD 10, I would be perfectly happy riding something less racy and if that along with being even more careful in the future convinces me that I am reducing my chances of crashing and suffering nasty injuries by even 10%, that is worth it to me personally. I cannot avoid bike paths in NYC if I want to ride for fun. Thanks for reading.
Originally Posted by
Beaker
I'm sorry to hear of your injuries, but I'm trying to understand why riding a different bike would make you less likely to have crashed?
Originally Posted by
ericm979
Sorry to hear of your injuries, I hope you heal fast.
There is a lesson to be learned from your crash, and it's not that you need a different type of bike. It's that you need to pay attention to what you are doing. Its like if you crashed your car because you ran out of gas and then decided that meant that you need an airplane. By blaming the type of bike and "luck" you're avoiding addressing the actual problem. Replay the time right before the accident in your head and think about what you could have done to recognize a hazardous situation, and then what you could have done to make it less hazardous.
The answer to that may be "don't ride bike paths". They're often quite unsafe due to unpredictable pedestrians who are not paying attention to their surroundings. While the roads are safer than they appear to the uninitiated, in part because larger vehicles change direction more slowly.