I've been riding a Trek Navigator 2.0 for eleven months now, it's a great bike, and it does it's job for what it's designed to do. But after a lap-band surjury on Feb 16, 2010, and a 76 lbs weight loss Im really hooked on riding, with the Trek I ride 15 miles a day 5 days a week and on Sunday I now ride 28 miles, so on the advice from my doctor who did the lap-band surjury, and who also races bicycles, and competes in triathalons I purchased a roadbike. He told me with a road bike I could go faster, farther, and spend more time on my bike thus burning more calories and getting into better shape.I purchased a Schwinn Le Tour Sport, it's a really nice entry level roadbike, it's really lite, and the components are good, Shimono 105 rear end, Shimono Sora front, and shifters, and a carbon fork, and seat post. I took the bike out for the first time this morning, I always check the hourly forcast before I ride and everything looked good, 2 mph wind from the south and no rain, and a nice cool 75 degrees. Well about 15 mins into my ride the sky opened up, and I got drenched, I turned around and pedaled home as fast as I could I did'nt want my new bike getting all crapped up form the rain, and wet roads. The short time I was on it I was amazed, that thing is fast and nimble, it's a breeze to ride and loades of fun to boot, it felt like a fighter jet compaired to rideing my Trek Navigator. I guess a better compairison would be like driveing a big SUV, and driveing a Vett. I did'nt think the seat would be comfortable, and I was'nt on it long enough to make any judjments on it yet but for the short time I was on it the seat felt pretty good. The only thing I don't like about the bike is the pedals, the straps I think are nylon, and for me they're hard to get my feet into, I think thats where Schwinn cut corners on the bike, if any of you can recommend a decent set of pedals with either straps or strapless I would really appriciate it. Im really looking forward to tomorrow to do it again and hopfully it wont rain and ruin my ride, and all the fun that goes with it.
Im really excited about this new bike,
Paul

Congrats on the new bike.

IMHO the pedals you have are death traps. I quit using those things in 2000. When you get comfortable on the bike take a look at clipless pedals. Everyone here will recommend a different type of pedal (SPD, Look, Speedplay, Candys, etc.) so do some research and ask your cycling friends what they like.

Like you, my first bike was hybrid. And my first road bike was an entry-level model, similarly equipped as your Schwinn, although mine was a used fixer-upper.

When I rode that road bike for the first time, my reaction from the very first pedal stroke was "Whoa! I like this." When you pedal Things Happen! The hybrid, by comparison, felt like it was chock-full of the "inert" portion of inertia.

I now have four road bikes, and still ride that first one at least once a week.

Good luck with yours!

Oh, all companies skimp on pedals because the expectation is you'll be replacing them with the clipless of your choice. Higher-end bikes don't even bother with including them.

Thanks for the advise, Im going to the bikeshop today and talk clipless pedals, and shoes with Bryan, the owner of the shop. I just can't tell you all how excited I am about my relativly new found sport/hobby, I can't think of a better more healthy activity. When I first started riding my Trek I never thought I would get so much into rideing, and in my wildest dreams I never thought I'd be looking into getting special pedals, and shoes, it may cost a few bucks to get what I need but really not expensive at all, many years ago my hobby/sport was setting in the bar slugging down brewski's all night, now that got very expensive, this is a far better use of my time and money.
Paul

As has been stated already, practically everyone on the forum will recommend the pedals they use and they'll all be different... If you know someone personally whose judgement you trust (or if you trust an LBS person) that's who you should ask...

I used toe clips on my mountain bike/hybrid for maybe 2-3 years tops. Switched to clipless in 1995 and never looked back. If you don't have the money right away to replace your pedals and get shoes for them, take a look at PowerGrips. They're fairly cheap, can be installed on most platform pedals, they're light, and they're fairly easy to get in and out of. Platform pedals (with or without toe clips or PowerGrips) have their advantages, like being able to jump on the bike anytime without changing shoes.

My pedal of choice for the last 10 years or so has been the Speedplay Frog. They work great for any type of bike/riding, the cleats work on a wide variety of shoes, they're easy to get in and out of and there's lots of float (meaning you can turn your heels a bit without popping out of the pedal). You can also get the pedals with cleats for $100 which isn't bad. There's always a bunch of used ones on eBay too, averaging around $75ish.

I always like to hear about people who (re)discovered biking and love it. That's the most important thing is liking doing it as it will keep you doing it.

Oh and as for your seat, if you do look at replacing it, I recommend Serfas. Shop for used ones too because lots of people try a half dozen saddles before they find one they like. I have Serfas saddles on my mountain and road bikes and like them a lot.

I have had adequate results with store-brand SPD copies from Nashbar. They work fine and you can get them for around $20. I took one apart after about a year of occasional use, and found a bit of pitting on the spindle, but I am 220 and a fairly strong pedaler.

I also liked the way crank bros. smarties work but one of mine developed a fault after I had had it for a while, and there's no service available. I think I may be able to repair it with a hardware store e-clip, but it did go bad.

Congrats on the successful lifestyle change! Here's to many years of happy riding.

I just bought a new Masi. Almost a 42" wheelbase,it takes some getting used too.I was pro fitted in 1980 for a 23" inch. I like a 60" al lot better.Its a Special Randonneur. With 2 22" seat tube. I'm still getting the seat tube perfect,but with 32MM tires,its on heck of a smooth ride.