Yep.


At first I was just pleased with how much money I could save, but then as I got more into cycling/utility cycling over the last 3 years, it dawned on me that they have heaps of great items that I had never seen before.

I have not been on BF for a bit and just noticed your post. I just converted my wife's ZW85 to a flat bar and it made a huge difference for her. She just could not get used to the drop bar after 3 years and made her not want to ride it. The only thing I didn't expect to have to change was the rear derailleur.http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/...psrj9xomch.jpg

Any idea what your total expenditure was for this conversion? Curious as to why you had to change the rear derailleur when Shimano make flat bar shifters for the 105?

I got the shifters, brake levers as new take off parts from a mountain bike for $50, the derailleur was 45, and the bar+grips was used for $20. These are Canadian prices.

What size tires are on there?

Perhaps he was right? I ride road on hybrids and they are great exercise machines. Slower, but with their wider tires they are more surefooted. The other day I came up behind a group ride that was bunched up at a red light in an industrial area. I just went up a driveway, around a short dirt track and on my way. It took them quite a few minutes to pass me again, hybrids aren't that slow.

I think the most important part of cycling is getting out there and riding, What bike you ride is irrelevant, just ride.

the rims are 700c with 25mm armadillo tires. No room for anything larger though

I'm strongly leaning towards a hybrid with 3-4 models under consideration. Might still change the Z85 fit and keep it, not sure.

Having a hard time finding these locally but considering the following models in a hybrid / fitness bike:

Cannondale Quick Disc 3.
Felt Verza Speed 30.
Fuji Absolute 1.3
Specialized Sirrus Sport.

Seems like there is a shop about 1:45hrs from me that is likely to have 2-3 of these in stock but locally I'm striking out - seem to be finding above and below but not exact matches.

These are hybrids, but just. They are actually classified as flat bar road bikes and a lot of that comes from the tire size, 28mm. You might want to consider some other bikes in you list as well, ones with wider tires. I only say this because of your references to twitchy steering. That comes from the steeper geometry for sure but also from tire size. perhaps you could test ride two separate bikes at the same shop, one like the Fuji 1.3 and one with much wider tires? Don't worry about the tires slowing you down either, running high pressures makes them almost the same so the science has shown.

Yeah, my Giant Cypress is promoted as a flat bar (or upright) road bike. I've always though of it as a hybrid.

Cannondale Quick Disc 3: 700 x 30
Felt Verza Speed 30: 700 x 32
Fuji Absolute 1.3: 700 x 28
Sirrus Elite Sport: 700 x 32

Trust me, tire size is going to weigh heavily in any purchase decisions.

Edit: the line between flat bar road bike, fitness, and hybrid is so blurry the terms are nothing more than marketing-speak. Manufacturers list bikes under multiple categories and use language and terminology strictly in their own self-interests. The descriptions on their sites are pure fantasy and the web sites, on the whole, are pretty awful.

You can guess, but you won't know for sure how a bike feels until you ride it. Ideally this means, maybe a couple of test rides of 15, 20 or even 30 minutes, maybe with the bike shop making adjustments before sending you back out on more test rides. Sadly, you didn't get this treatment when you bought your Felt.

Before you go off and buy something, find a local shop that will take the time to address your likes and dislikes, and see what they suggest. Maybe they can remedy your problems with some mods to the old bike, maybe they have a bike that better suits your riding style.

Curious where you got the idea that any of this is a guessing game or that a purchase will be considered without riding several bikes?

If you are convinced that you have to do something now before gaining fitness, flexibility, strength and bike proofing your butt, in order to be able to ride in order to gain fitness, etc...

I would suggest getting the hybrid instead of cannibalizing the Felt.

Odds are, after a few months to a year when you have achieved your goal of "improved fitness and health", you may end up back on the Felt.

Either way, get out there and ride. Lots of this stuff becomes much clearer once you have some miles and experience. :thumb::thumb::thumb:

It's kind of a catch-22 isn't it? lol. You have to be a bit of a masochist and very dedicated to biting off small chunks, gradually increasing as (hopefully) the suffering decreases. Hard to do that when you're just not having any fun.

The backstory that prompted this discussion: I gave into the nagging of a friend who has been after me to come and ride in a spot 100 miles from me where we rode regularly over 40 years ago. It was a beautiful day, not too hot, etc, etc. About halfway through the ride I managed to fall over a curb and tumbled over a conveniently placed fire hydrant. Thankfully the only damage to the bike was a broken bottle cage and the only damage to me was a sore back for a couple of days.

I get it ... hydrant, hybrid.... Makes sense now.

What's your goal? If it's to see if you save $$ and make the Felt work for you, I think you can do that pretty easily and relatively cheaply with spacers, new stem, etc.

OTOH, if you want a new bike....:)

Sorry about the crash; glad you weren't damaged.

I think the goal is wider tires, brakes that I can ride with my hands on, a sense of security and a more upright riding posture to take the pressure off my hands and neck. Doesn't have to be completely vertical just not the road bike position at least until I get stronger and healthier. I may very well pursue some changes to the Felt as well.

Thanks!

I also have a Z85. I love it. I do agree that it seems pretty racy for an endurance bike. My hands used to go numb, but new bar tape, adjusting the stem and 25c armadillo tires really helped. Your stem should have a black wedge insert at the bottom that you can remove or rotate 180 degrees to allow you to fine tune your ride.

Yes, thanks, I know about the insert and the different angles available on the stock stem. Trying to say that we may be a bit beyond relatively small changes in fit.
I'm afraid with the current state of my body there is a choice between a long slow process of riding a little bit more each time or a more upright / stable / comfortable bike that might just get ridden more. (yes, I get that the stability problem is partly me, lol)

Yeah, I agree with the others that I wouldn't hack apart that bike. I would either give it time and slowly adapt. That's just me though.

I would get what you want, which seems to be a hybrid. Nothing magic about road bikes. If you don't like it, ditch it. Don't see the point in suffering for who knows how much time so that you can 'adapt' to your current ride.

Thanks for that. I'm not much into masochism and some days it is hard to get outside let alone ride a bicycle so any excuse not to ride becomes quite easy to accept.

I keep coming back to all the things that can be done to the Z85 still won't make it quite what I want - there are limits to what tires I can put on, the cost of proper brakes and shifters, etc.
I may test the waters with the Z85 up for sale soon, we'll see.

Heard that if your hands are numb, strengthening your core muscles to help you achieve the desired position is key, else you put all the weight on your hands.

I believe that is correct. Unfortunately that's only one issue and I'm trying to solve perhaps 3. All inter-connected I'm sure.

I tend to not want to agree with Pepe, but the guy is right.

Yeah, this guy has a really nice bike---for Someone Else.

if after all these posts he still doesn't want the bike, maybe the rest of us should read the title---he does not like the bike he bought, is the sense I get.

We all know the fall-back position: get a mid-'90s rigid MTB ... :D :D

I used to like motorcycles, and well being all draped over the tank is cool, after a while, in traffic, or in terrible weather I wanted to be sitting absolutely bolt upright.

It is just another option ... one that can be had on a bike as well. If that is what the OP likes .... he needs to go buy one.

Seeing as I supported him i think he ought to give me his Felt, though ... friendly gesture. I will pay shipping.

What bar tape did you go with?

I knew there was something about your user name and I couldn't remember if it was from here a few years ago or what but without revealing any personal details I think we have a few mutual friends on Facebook and none of them are from the bicycling world.
Looks like you saw Rebellion run at Petit a few years back? Me too.

Some Specialized Roubaix stuff the shop had. He said it was a little plusher

The best bike is the one that gets you motivated to ride. So sell your road bike and go with an hybrid. There is nothing wrong with that.