CSam49

Hi everybody. I'm recently retired, I live in New England and I'm looking to buy a new Trek 7200 Hybrid in the Spring of 2008. I've always rented bikes while on vacation, since I never knew there were decent places to ride around here. This year I borrowed a 1999 Trek 800 mountain bike and rode it all week on my vacation in Nantucket. I found it to be somewhat heavy, but a nice, sturdy bike. I'm 6'4" tall and weigh 225 lbs, so it wasn't big enough for me. I prefer to ride a 25" bike. I've had 2 lower back surgeries, so I need a bike that is more upright. I borrowed my brother's ancient Schwinn 10-speed (I don't know the model name) for 2 days of riding a month ago. We went 25 miles the first day and 30 miles the next day. He showed me some really well-groomed bike paths that I never knew about in this area (near Hartford, CT). They are former railroad lines. One is paved and the other has a hard-packed clay-like surface. I was able to ride both with his skinny-tired 10-speed, even though I was in great discomfort. I like to get a good workout and after those 2 rides, I vowed to never ride another 10-speed with the handlebars in the down position. My neck was so sore after each of those rides, that I couldn't hardly move it. I joined this forum to supplement my bike research with some testimonials of what works for different people in the biking community.

jyossarian

Welcome CSam. Check out the search function to look for what people have to say about any of the bikes you're researching and feel free to drop into any of the sub-forums to ask specific questions. Good luck!

East Hill

Hello CSam49, I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with the Schwinn (as I am a vintage steel fan), but when your back says 'no', it means 'no'...

The Clydesdales/Athenas forum may be able to give you a 'heads up', so I would check them out, and then perhaps the General Cycling Discussion forum.

Welcome to BF, and good luck!

East Hill