hokiefyd 

Congrats on the new bike! I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I generally find Bontrager saddles to be pretty comfortable. Actually, Bontrager stuff in general is usually pretty good.

You mention the Trek club...I never owned a single Trek until I bought a 2015 Verve 3 last year. Ever since then, they just seem to follow me home. We're now up to 4 Treks in the house (2015 Verve 3, 2006 7100 WSD, 1997 850, and 1997 750). We also have a Raleigh and a Specialized, and enjoy both of them also. The Treks just seem to find me, though.

Scooty Puff Jr

I was looking forward to see what you bought, and I'm glad you found the right bike that fits you well ! Its exciting to hear when someone has done their homework and finds the bike they wanted/needed. Trek dealers are pretty good, I've noticed a lot of consistency when I visit different Trek "shops".

Now we need a pic or two, and hear some fun bike riding stories.

ad18

Will see about the pictures asap. I got the black one so what is on web page is how it looks. As stated I was pretty surprised with how much different the various bikes felt. The Norco dealer had the VFR in 20 and 22 inch, plus brought out a 20 inch Indie as an additional option. Indie did not work at all and the 2 VFR's bounced back and forth with "I like this on this one, but not the other" and vice versa. Same bikes, same geometry, same saddles, etc, why are they different? I dunno, but they were. As soon as I hopped on the TREK though, it was immediately "ya like this one", even before I rode it. The dealer hooked me up to some kind of device to measure for proper saddle height and a couple other things and diddled with the seat a bit before I rode it, but everything I did with the bike just fell into place naturally. The brake levers where in the right place. The grips and bars were at the right angle. The gear shifters where right where they should be for my fingers. Everything was either spot on where it should be and felt best or was very, very close. I've pondered it a lot how the various bikes could be what appeared on paper to be pretty much identical, but where so different in person. Kind of neat really. Now hope to get out today for a real world ride and shake things out. Will see

mcours2006

Congratulations on your new bike! Enjoy it!

These things can be adjusted easily on any bike to suit the rider's preference. Sometimes it takes a few rides to figure out that something isn't quite spot on. You are lucky to not have to do that, but things may change the more you ride. For example, as your fitness improves you might lower the stem or move the saddle further back to get more aero when riding in the wind.

The size and geometry of a bike are the most important factors for how comfortable a bike rides. Everything else you can pretty much get used it.

hokiefyd 

The game of ergonomics really can be measured in millimeters sometimes. In the automobile world, vehicles with similar head/hip/leg room can feel dramatically different sometimes. It can be "stacking" of small differences in each measurement that add up to a lot in the end. Or, it could just be the way things are shaped -- sometimes even a 5 degree backsweep on a handlebar (vs a straight bar) can make a bike feel completely different.

You bought your bike the right way. Go in with an open mind (and an open wallet!) and let your body show you to the right bike.

ad18

Well, the maiden voyage is complete and didn't have any Titanic issues, which was good. Initial impressions are excellent. Bike handles like a dream, way better than the old MTB. Corners smooth as silk. It's way faster because of tire/wheels combo I suspect. No way the old MTB 26 inch knobbies keep up. Quite surprisingly the seat was almost perfect. A little tender between the sit bones, but not on them. Suspect that will go away as I ride more. Climbs hill real good, although the hills I hit were more rollers than local hills. Bike is super quiet in everything it does, ride, gear change, and braking. That was real nice. I rode non stop for 14 miles in about 1 hour 12 minutes. Average speed was 14.10 mph and phone app (Endomoto) says average pace was 4 minute 15 second miles. I'll take that for an old, newbie fella. And it was really FUN riding it. Only 2 issues were the grips started to make my hands go numb about half, three quarters through ride. They have sort of a flat, paddle type end to them, wondering if they need replacing. Old MTB grips never did that. Shook hands out a couple of times and that helped. And lastly, doing pre ride checkup found out the tubes have some Presta valve instead of old school car tire type. Called bike shop and they said they have some adapter that will allow me check tire pressure and add air with my normal air compressor/pump. Two bucks so won't break the bank. Neither the grips or stem are a big deal, think I'll keep her. All in all I really like my bike. A joy to fly around on, literally. Wanna go again right now, but back side and a few leg muscles are WHOA, maybe later old fella. Can't wait!!!

hokiefyd 

Great to hear! Those ergonomic grips (with the paddles) are supposed to alleviate hand pain by supporting your wrists for proper hand placement. It could be that they're not adjusted quite right, and the "paddle" is too high or too low. One thing I do on all of my bikes is install bar ends. That allows you to use different hand positions. Check out the Origin8 Ergo-Sport bar ends as one example; I have those one one bike, and I just won an eBay auction today for a set of Ergon GP-3 grips with integrated bar ends. I'll see how I like those.

mcours2006

Bar ends are great. When I had my hybrid they provided some relief from the standard hand position on the bar. You can get ones that are shorter so as to not look too cumbersome.

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ad18

Thanks for the tips. I may head up to shop and get some extras this week and see what they have for bar ends. May also ask where the paddle on current grips is supposed to be for best comfort. I need a patch kit, tire levers, mini air pump, and the air/stem adapter I talked about above first. Maybe a small saddle pack to carry the stuff above too.

hokiefyd 

This is how Ergon say the paddle should be positioned:

GP1 ? The Original ? ERGON BIKE

It's more or less supposed to facilitate getting your wrist in the correct position, but you're probably not supposed to have it so that the paddle is supporting the weight of your upper body.

ad18

Perfect. Thanks for the link, will have a look at positioning asap.