oilfreeandhappy

I don't like these bikes. We got one free, a Trek model, through a credit card promotion. I know a few other people who have purchased these. Invariably, they seldom ride. I can see why. First, they're not very comfortable. Secondly, I don't think those wide saddles are conducive to long riding. Anybody have any experience with these bikes? Does anybody like them?

Sci-Fi

Just change the saddle. IMHO, comfort bikes are hybrids with 26" wheels/tires instead of 700c wheels/tires. Some people like the wider tires and the cushioning effects they provide. Change the tires to knobbies, and you can take it MTN riding. There must be demand for comfort bikes, otherwise the manufacturers wouldn't bother to offer them or enter the segment just to to fill a niche.

CommuterRun

I have a Townie3 and love it. Definitely my most stable bike, it gets the nod for towing my most awkward trailer, my canoe. The only thing I would change about it is the rear hub. The gears are kind of far apart on a three speed IGH. Another benefit to this bike is I can ride comfortably in any street clothes, even board shorts or boxers and jeans, negating the need to change when I get where I'm going.

But, it needs to be said that in my utility cycling I rarely need to ride more than ten miles at a stretch. I'd choose my road bike if I were going out to do a century.

East Hill

Bike manufacturers have spotted a niche which needed to be filled--bikes for people who don't generally have to travel more than 10 miles at one time. I have a retro Schwinn comfort bike, and I can tell you that I could ride all day on my road bikes with the right saddle, but I can't ride that comfort bike for more than 7 or 8 miles without doing some fierce squirming to get comfortable.

It's meant to get you to the store and back for a few groceries, maybe. Your mileage may vary!

East Hill

Nicodemus

is this what you would call a 'comfort bike'?


I checked the trek site (flash ), their comfort bike seems kinda similar in design. The problem isn't the bike concept, if you don't find it comfy it's either the design or you or both. There's a whole country here that lives on these things.

For the right lifestyle and the right design of 'comfort bike', this is heaven.

Dewbert

I have a Giant Cypress Hybrid that I use for family rides and some (very easy) MTB activities with my daughter, but I've never rode it more than 50 miles without a seriously sore butt. I also (just last week) bought a cruiser for rides around town and to the local dairy queen. I love both of these comfort bikes, but only for those purposes. Any long rides requires one of the road bikes.

wahoonc

I agree that comfort bikes are for shorter rides only. The town I live in is about 3 miles by 4 miles so you would be hard put to ride more than 5 or 6 miles without a stop somewhere. But per capita we probably have fewer bikes than most larger cities. As far as I know there aren't any road bikes in town, most of the riders I see are utility cyclists or kids on BMX bikes riding around the neighborhoods. There are two town eccentrics (adults) that ride regularly I am one of them on my Raleigh Superbe the other guy rides a Schwinn Deluxe 7 Cruiser I ride to the grocery store, the ice cream shop, the local department store, the hardware store, the pharmacy, the doctor's office, the hospital clinics, the lawn and garden center, etc, etc. One of these days when I quit my "real" job I will be car free

Aaron

East Hill

I think a lot of the discomfort could derive from the saddle. The ones in the US seem to be sold with wide 'seats' rather than saddles. I think Sci-Fi's on to something with his suggestion to swap out the saddle and the tyres.

Nicodemus, you could be correct about it being me not liking the fit of the bike. My back actually feels better stretched out (as when I am riding the road bikes), especially when it's over any distance. I can handle riding the mountain bike with the more upright stance, and I think it's partially because the MTB has a different style of saddle, and because it's not quite as upright as the retro Schwinn I've got.

East Hill

Siu Blue Wind

I changed my saddle on the Trek Navigator because as I pedaled, I found myself being "pushed forward" because the saddle was so wide. I have the bike because I use it when my bulging disk bothers me. That way, I'm always sure to be on a bike!

Dellphinus

I have a "comfort" bike- a Specialized Expedition Sport (not one of the new curved top tube ones, a 2004). Replaced the saddle with a Brooks, put a flat bar and clipon aeros on it, added powergrips pedal straps. Have ridden the MS150 twice, 8 centuries, and all told have about 5000 miles on it. Oh yeah, also replaced the 1.95 tires with 1.5 non-knobby tires. And the "suspension" fork with a fixed fork.

East Hill

Pictures?

East Hill

thebankman

Add a rack and basket in back and you have a truck. Change the tires and and it's a commute bike. Cover it in nasty stickers to make it ugly and thieves might think twice about stealing it. But you cannot put mountain tires on it and expect it to be a mountain bike, they just don't fair well doing that due to cheap/nonexistent front shocks, wierd geometry and 700c rims. My Crossroads is my beater bike, it could be a lot worse.

Ah also, change the saddle immediately. I've found that a Specialized Avatar wide seat fit me well and I could put in a century on this bike.

oilfreeandhappy

Wouldn't it have been easier just to purchase a Mountain Bike in the first place?

Nicodemus

Yeah I see these huge spongy gel seats and can't figure how sitting on a big marshmallow is good.

The right seat can make a lot of difference.

These 'old man bikes' I'm familiar with you can ride with your back pretty much vertical. I used to love the challenge of riding home from work in Delft (4th highest bicycles/person in the world ) without touching the handlebars. Those bikes really are their own flavour of awesome.

East Hill

My kind of comfort bike--I've fixed the handlebars just in case anyone is wondering! It's a low end Raleigh Reliant, but it works very well for the occasions that I want the more upright stance. It's also a good choice for hitching up the trailer (no pics of that yet--sorry!). The trailer is currently on the mountain bike.



Nicodemus, is your photo in the Netherlands? Or are those English canal boats?

East Hill

Dellphinus

sorry for the clutter...

Nicodemus

what, you mean the area or the bike itself?

Nicodemus

Nah, that was just some photo I grabbed off internet. I think it's Holland. Those look like the standard tour canal boats.

Here's the real Delft

East Hill

Dellphinus, in a strange way your bike actually looks rather comfortable.

In honour of this thread, I decided to take the Raleigh out and see if I could ride the 12 some miles of the local MUP without using the handlebars.

I discovered that using the handlebars is mandatory when going downhill, because that's where the brakes are located.

I also discovered I had to use them going uphill, because unlike the Netherlands, there is a considerable elevation change.

But on the part of the path which was level, I could manage quite easily to ride without using the handlebars. Because I was riding relatively slowly for this experiment, I was also able to take stock of spring flowers.

1) Western skunk cabbage is out in full force, meaning I kept wondering what fool was burning plastic on the trail .
2) Spotted only one salmonberry flower open.
3) Still no trilliums out.
4) Nettles just about the right stage for making into soup.
5) Dicentra formosa leaves are just coming up.

So, getting back to oilfreeand happy's original question, I think that with a saddle change the Trek could potentially be made to be much more comfortable .

Oh, Nicodemus--is that a current photo of Delft ?

East Hill

Nicodemus

pedal brakes - oh yeah

flat as a pancake - oh yeah

That was 2 yrs ago, we had snow for 2 days, I thought I'd capture the moment - very rare nowadays

BrooksD

I have a Sun comfort/cruiser bike. It is 7 speeds and has wide 26'' tires. The seat is comfortable on the Sun bike. I could ride this bike all day. I also have a Bridgestone R 4 road bike. The comfort bike has a more comfortable seat. The road bike is faster. Depending on how I am going to ride determines the bike I use. Both of these bikes are great bikes.

bkaapcke

The 'comfort' has to do with the more upright riding position. At some point, round about 50, many of us can't take leaning forward anymore. The lower back and wrists object quite loudly. For me, the 'comfort' position was just a transition to recumbent. No more pain now, and I ride a lot more. bk

Dellphinus

It is really comfortable. I can honestly say, that at the end of a century, my legs are tired, but that's about it. No sore butt, no sore back, no stiff neck. The only thing that I'm looking for in a new bike are drop bars, for more positions, and a little more lenght in the top tube. I feel a little scrunched- I've considered getting a longer stem, but I want the new bike.

It definitley gets a lot of comments/questions on the rides.
The suspension seat post is locked down- made a big difference on climbs; I just haven't gotten around to replacing it with a non-suspension post.

Dellphinus

Naw, the bike's not cluttered in this one. When it's cluttered, the rack and trunk bag are on the back, the Ortleib bag is on the handlebars, and the jacket is tied around the aerobars.