Willbird

And within the "Road Bike" category are "endurabce" geometry, and now they are talking about "gravel bikes" somewhat. IMHO "endurance" has wider tires, often 700x25 or 700x28, and the gravel bikes I have looked at seem to come with 700x32 but even bigger will fit. The 700 part of the tire size talks about diameter, the 32 is the width.

Wider tires have a higher wind drag at higher speeds, but many entry level people will not see those speeds on flat level ground for a few years...and the wider tires give a more comfy ride

The Felt V100 is one example of a Gravel bike....looks like it will actually fit maybe up to 700x38 tires.

V100 - Felt Bicycles

I would expect them to sell a LOT of gravel bikes, and for other makers to jump onto that bandwagon too :-).

Sullalto

Or a decent MTB or two(HT vs FS).

Just to give a contrasting anecdote, my former cat 1 racer dad kills it on a cheap 21 speed hybrid. With a prodigious aero-belly, too.

...but yeah, me personally, I totally 'graduated' to a road bike after a few months on a cruiser. Long seatpost+flat handlebar in an attempt to match hybrid geometry didn't cut it.

Wanderer

This is about as short sighted view of the situation, as I have ever seen!

dr_lha

I'd say long sighted. You'll be happy on a hybrid for a few years as a beginner, maybe for the rest of your life. But if you really get into road cycling, you're going to want a road bike at some point. I have nothing against hybrids, I just bought my wife a Jamis Coda Sport yesterday in fact.

nkfrench 

From what I've seen, "fitness road bike" is a code phrase for "cheaper". Think aluminum frame with lower-end components, easier gearing, softer saddle, and set up for a slightly more upright body position. It will be a suitable bicycle for somebody whose goals are to ride for an hour maybe 3 times a week.

"Endurance geometry" in my usage is a road bike that will be comfortable for multi-hour rides, but without the cargo carrying and wider gearing of a touring bicycle. Components can be higher-end and accommodate stronger faster riders.

sseibert3

Don't buy a Specialized Bicycle. I just purchased a Cross Trail Sport Disk and damaged the front rim. I contacted the company in Colorado for a matching replacement. They don't have any and can't get any. No replacement parts********** Should have bought another brand.

Jarrett2

Specialized has one of the better warranty track records in the biz. Did you buy the bike new? If so, take it to the Specialized dealer that you bought it from and they will handle.

If you got it used... there is (of course) no warranty on used bikes. Wheelbuilder.com - Handcrafted Precision Custom Bicycle Race Wheels and CUSTOM HAND BUILT BICYCLE WHEELS Built By Professionals - Prowheelbuider.com are good resources for new wheels that aren't covered under warranty.

bassjones

How did you damage the front rim? Wheels break. They have to be replaced. If you're a heavier person (heavier than about 165), the wheels on a road bike or cross bike WILL break. Plan on buying wheels and put it in your budget.

Judi

I've noticed some disdain here for people whose goals are to ride for an hour maybe 3 times a week, but for anyone who has been basically sedentary and is looking to add exercise to their life, especially someone with some physical challenges, exercising for an hour three times a week is a worthy goal.

Personally, I think of cycling as an exercise I do, not my sport. When I started, it was the only exercise I could do. I couldn't even walk around the block because of all the hardware in my ankle. It took me 45 minutes to ride 3 miles. I'm the kind of person comfort bikes are marketed toward. It's nice that bikes for people who don't want to go really far or fast exist. I probably will never own a road bike, although I will be ready to get something a little faster than my Townie at some point soon.

nkfrench 

I'm sorry if you read my post as condescending. It wasn't intended to imply that one type of cycling is superior to another type of cycling. Your goals are your own.

No matter how you ride, the best experience is when your bike is designed for your style of riding in mind.
It's also nice if your choice makes rational use of your budget.

dr_lha

I think it's wrong to equate road bikes as being for "sport" as opposed to "fitness" or "exercise" honestly. I know plenty of people who ride road bikes who have no interest in racing or even going that fast, they just like getting out and riding. At the end of the day, however, ride whatever bike makes you want to ride.

americanrecluse

Welp, I went bike shopping yesterday and tested the Specialized Expedition. Turns out my range of motion issues are such that my knee can't bend enough to allow me to pedal the full circle. Almost, but not. Very disheartening. I'm digging into the link that was posted earlier re: shorter cranks for range of motion issues, so I haven't given up. But it does seem that I'll wind up buying a bike without much of a test ride.

Wanderer

Did you try riding with your seat a little toooooo high ??? That might help, and it will just limit you to spinning lower until you get a little more ROM. You might also ask the dealer to swap some really short crank arms on there for a test ride. Less "size" of the circle will also assist in not having to bend it quite so far..... consider trying a smaller framed bike with the seat all the way back to push the pedals away from you.

On cool days, it takes me about 1/2 mile of lifting me out of the seat with every revolution, until it bends far enough to sit comfortably ---- the longer the ride, the more ROM for me. Soooooo, consider a longer test ride, with more standing until you get it lubricated.

Don't give up - just prepare to do more. "No pain, no gain" is the motto of physical therapy, aka, The University of Pain and Torture!

You can also experiment on an exercise bike, to see if time and distance helps you.

americanrecluse

Thanks for the encouragement, Wanderer!

I tried the medium and small with the seat in different spots. I'm going to jot down your suggestions for the next shop I go to. Just 10 minutes of trying to ride with a too long crank yesterday caused my knee to be swollen and dodgy today, but I'm researching shorter cranks and trying to stay positive. I do recall that PT motto from my time in the torture chamber!

americanrecluse

I test rode (to the extent possible, given my knee) the Trek FX 7.2 yesterday and I'm in love. I'm actually going to get the 7.3 if I can (there are stock issues - back ordered to February and I won't wait that long).

Beachgrad05 - thanks so much for suggesting it! It looked like "too much bike" for me, so I wouldn't have tried it without your encouragement.

Now fingers crossed I can find a 7.3 because that pretty blue is calling my name.

americanrecluse

I forgot to say - I found the place I want to be my LBS! The shop I went to yesterday was wonderful, as was the dude who helped me. I didn't want to take too much of his time since I knew I wouldn't be buying that day, but he was relaxed and easy with me, asked a lot of questions. The shop has a lot of support for new riders, too.

Beachgrad05

What size did you need? I currently work at a Trek dealer (Jax Bicycles in Long Beach) and I can see what we have.

Edit: I just looked at Trek online and saw the blue....have not seen that one in our store yet. But will look into it when I get to work

Edit 2: I just got to work. Checked our Trek warehouse for the 7.3 WSD 2015 in the Seaglass Mermaid blue. Looks like they are available to be shipped to us with exception of the 17.5 with the stagger top tube (more stepthru). If that is the one you were looking at...then yes....availability looks like Feb.

I know you have issues with knee but do you need the more pronounced step thru? Reason I ask is the normal version is available in 17.5

americanrecluse

You're a champ! I need the 17.5 and the WSD version. Some websites (although not the Trek site) show both a regular WSD and a low step version. The regular WSD is fine for me. I did find a store in Santa Monica that has one, but I'm not ready to buy until my Christmas money comes in, in about a month. So for now I'm just crossing fingers and hoping no one wants it!

Beachgrad05

From what I saw on our supplier site...there were PLENTY available that we could order. So if not in store when ready to buy...LBS should be able to get in within a week or so.

americanrecluse

What a relief. Thanks!

rick458

Try the Domane, it does a very good job of eating bumps.
You can tie the map my ride app to my fitness pal, for integrated cal exercise accounting.

americanrecluse

The Domane is waaaaay outside my budget, but it sure is a sexy bike!

I'm looking forward to getting my bike and using Map My Ride. It's going to be hilarious when the first few rides are mapped in a tiny circle in some parking lot somewhere. Ha!

rick458

Every pedal push you do is one more than now. Like eating an Elephant, one bite at a time.

OrionXavier

I'm 42, 6' 250 lbs. Not overweight. I'm also using a Trek 7.2 FX. I wanted to comment on the knee issue. I had extreme pain in my left knee due to repetitive stress injury at work for the last 2 years. But now my knees are 100%.

What I found was that my legs did not have enough muscle, particularly my left which had atrophied somewhat due to sitting or standing at work or home. Biking fixed that. You need enough lean muscle to provide balance and support to your knee, particularly if you're much heavier than your body can handle (aka "healthy" weight).

The other thing I used and it's a big factor to my healing, is MSM. MethylSulphonylMethane. It's a sulfur based compound that the body utilizes to heal connective tissue, and improve their elasticity. I take 4.5g/day and notice a big difference when I stop taking it for 24 hours. (BTW don't be alarmed by the sulfur description, it has none of the sulfur side effects/odors) The only downside is that it WILL make your hair and nails grow a lot faster. For me it's the facial hair and nails grow at least 3 times faster. It's also very cheap, about $10/bottle which will last at least 2 months. I use the "NOW" brand (bought from Amazon.com), but there is some contention on the purity of other brands.

You're also probably right in that it will be painful to bike for awhile. It took me about a year to recover but all my pain was in walking when the weight was placed on the knee. Pedaling was tolerable in pain.

Your comment about people breezing by you on the stairs, reminds me of a girl on a bike that breezed by me going up a steep hill. I was standing on the bike going as fast as I can, which was probably 3 MPH. She flew up that hill in a seated position going at least 15 MPH... That's when I discovered the existence of electric bike conversion kits. Because there was no way that was humanly possible to ride up that hill that fast. So that's something else to consider if you have trouble getting around. I'm thinking of getting one because there are some days I have to face a 25 MPH wind the entire commute, and I don't want to have to leave an extra 30 minutes early to make it to work on time.

OrionXavier

I also forgot to mention that, as we both are similar in weight, you would definitely benefit from a 36 spoke rear wheel. You could get away with a typical 32 spoke, if you don't go over any large bumps at a fast speed. I was hitting some very big bumps at 30+ MPH (typically going down big hills) so I ended up breaking a spoke every 6 months. The 36 spoke wheel I have now is great and after a year has only 1 loose spoke.