LesterOfPuppets

Marin Stinson is pretty close to what it seems like you're shooting for, somewhat lighter, and probably more comfortable with its crank forward design. It doesn't have as many mushy bits, which I would consider a bonus. You could probably get some fatter tires on it to get some of the mushiness you're looking for.

JonBailey

What I really want is a 1970's Schwinn Varsity that is in all original and mint condition without one single scratch in Kool Lemon. I would have the optional chrome fenders. A rear carrier. Ape hanger and fat seat.

Saddles are for horses and jackasses, anyway.

JonBailey

I like the thinner tires that are stock my bike for easy rolling on asphalt. Less drag, easier pedaling. My Schwinn fat seat slides rearward on its frame which I did to make the pedals slightly more forward.

LesterOfPuppets

In my experience, until you get up into the $400 range in suspension forks (fork alone, not entire bike), suspension from fatter tires is better. To get suspension fork on a sub-$300 bike, you're looking at a sloppy 6-pound coil fork with no damping.

There are low rolling resistance wide tires that will fit a Marin Stinson if you've got the dough.
https://www.compasscycle.com/shop/co...itchback-hill/

dedhed

I want to hear more about the fine italian shotgun

Maelochs

Everyone here has said it already, but ..... Because most people buying hybrids are not you?

Fact: bike companies sell what people buy.

Fact: people buy hybrids.

Fact, but only a personal observation: Not a lot of people who buy hybrids put big, ape-hanger bars on their bikes.

You want a very upright riding position and don't want to put a lot of weight on your legs---you want your butt to hold you up.. Great.

But that is a very inefficient cycling position, which will cause a world of pain if you try to ride ten or 20 miles. And not everyone who wants to buy a hybrid wants to ride around the neighborhood a at ten mph for fewer than five miles.

To be clear: There is nothing wrong with any way of riding a bike which doesn't injure or endanger other people. Absolutely nothing wrong with relaxed rides around the neighborhood on comfortable bikes. Lots of folks ride cruisers, trikes, whatever ... for just that sort of riding.

However, a lot of people use hybrids as urban commuters and/or all-around bikes for roads, paths, and light off-road (MTB) trails. For those riders, the big, soft seat and tall bars would be the first things they complained about, and the first thing they changed.

Because you want different things than most hybrid customers, you either have to modify a hybrid or buy something else entirely.

One could as well ask, Why do you want to use a hybrid for things most other people don't?

But that is a silly question. But I wonder how much you really thought about the original question?

Other respondents have suggested bikes which might better suit your needs.

bcpriess

RANS bikes might be what the OP is after.

BABK0030 - ALTERRA 29

Maelochs

Because you don't buy tens of thousands of bikes a year to justify the production costs. You do realize bike companies make bikes to make money, right? Unless you happen to own the JonBailey Bike Company or go to a custom builder, Nobody is building a bike for any individual.

That's like asking why all clothing manufacturers don't make a special line of clothes in exactly my size.

As a person with cardiovascular issues I can definitely say that this is another factor unique to yourself. For the entire rest of the human race, leaning forward does not cause heart problems.

By thwe way … your hands hurt because when riding a hybrid-style bike you are supposed to be supporting the majority of your weight with your legs. Because you want to be sitting on a sofa, not riding a bicycle, you put too much weight on your hands and buttocks and they hurt.

Basically … for a hybrid, You Are Doing It Wrong. You really don’t want a hybrid---or rather, you want a hybrid of a hybrid, and because not many other people want those … you have to make your own.

I don't want to say something like, 'Well, this is a proven hypothesis"---oh, wait, I just did.

fietsbob

Maybe go to a Bike Trade show in Taipei,
Hub of the bike biz, these days..
Put up a bunch of your own money,
sign a production contract, with money on the line..
have a number of bikes made to your specific, requirements,
and see how fast they sell. .. to dealers.. then to customers




other than that, work with your bike shop,
the crank forward styles is a good start,

the shop can change components add longer cables for high rise bars ,
and all that , to the one bike you will buy,

more realistic than whinging about a whole industry

Not mind reading your desires before you walking the bike shop door..


In short, They at the factory level need a bigger order than one bike just for you,
now if you are ordering 10 thousand and have a line of bank credit behind you to pay for the lot,
Then 'They " can take care of your desires..

Submit a Parts pick list and CAD drawings for a batch cost estimate
and make a wire transfer of the funds , will get that started..



....

Maelochs

One last suggestion: Instead of coming here complaining, "Why doesn't everyone live their lives to make my life easier?" .... How about a different, less whiny approach?

How about, "Check out this cool modified bike I built! It is super comfortable, and perfectly suited to the type of riding I do!" Include lots of pics. People here eat up those threads.

Another approach might be, 'This is what I am riding now--a modified Discovery set up with a fat seat and ape-hanger bars. I like to do this certain type of riding (insert description.) Does anyone have any suggestions for a bike which might be really well suited to this kind of riding?"

People love to help ... but when you come out here whining about silly things, and then get all defensive because people point out the stuff you should have figured out on your own (like how a business works, or how a stock hybrid bike works best) people sort of respond to your confrontational approach and then we have what seems almost like a troll thread.

You could even try, "Man, nobody sells the bike I really want to buy: a sort of hybrid with front suspension and a suspension seat post, a sprung saddle, and an completely upright seating position." If you don't say it like you deserve to have such a bike built Just for You, and everyone is insulting you personally by not building one, then probably people who know a lot of different bikes would make suggestions about bikes you might like to consider.

Just trying to be helpful. No reason you cannot try the same post with a different attitude and get much more useful responses.

Kedosto

BrocLuno

I'm over 65 and can see the OP's point. As you age, it gets harder and harder to do a Brooks saddle (or equivalent). I get the reason so many older bikers use recumbents. But, then you have to worry about leg-suck and broken bones (happened to a friend). He went back to a diamond frame.

I rider older modified mountain bikes for casual rides, cruising, trail riding, etc. Sold my last real roadie a few weeks back (Peugeot du Monde Record). Just can't do it anymore.



Finding the right saddle is paramount - and it ain't easy. I've been trough maybe 8 saddles as I get closer to best fit/support/comfort. Younger folks do not know how tender sit bones can get. I had to sell my Saab because I could not drive it anymore. The seats were fine for everybody but me - too painful for me. I can sit in the wife's Jag all day. It's very individual ...

I dunno about Ape Hangers ... Had some on my old Schwinn 26 from back in the day. That would be to upright for me, maybe OK for you ... But, being a long time motorcycle rider where fitting bars by personal preference is very common, I chase the bar fit occasionally. The bike above got three bars before it settled down to what I ride now. That's my old stand-by do-everything bike. I have a few others.

I have a new favorite, a 1999 K2 4000 (Pro-Flex) with aftermarket air suspension on both ends. That helps take the big shocks out like pavement heaves and RxR crossings. I run nearly city tires and gets around just fine. Has a Velo Plush ergo seat that seems to work pretty well.

I'm kitting out a rescued (bought cheap, as in busted) Specialized Hardrock Sport (hardtail) to be an e-Bike (TSDZ2 mid, TQ sensing PAS only) and it'll get a "thud buster" under another Velo seat. The bars will be about 4" above the seat line on an up-stem with a built-in rise (Sunlight alloy bars). I need to be able to get 25 miles and still walk. No more centuries for me ... But I ain't ready to lay down and die just yet

JonBailey

What makes me think so is that I personally suffer from such medical issues riding bent over to reach a low front bar. I don't just think so: I know so. I know that I can breathe much easier now that I have my tall bar and I don't experience chest pains and heart palpitations as I used to especially on longer rides. Leaning forward onto the low front grips also cut the circulation in my arms. I know my own body. I know the modifications to my bike which have alleviated all those issues. I have asthma (aggravated by extreme hot or cold weather) and a heart condition to boot. I am age 54. I am obese, 255 pounds, 5-10, white male and working on exercise, diet and weight reduction. I don't smoke, drink or do drugs. That big belly of mine also makes it uncomfortable to lean forward. Modifying a bicycle's parts for sitting posture can be a boon to some people with health issues. Apparently, people who design bicycles for new retail market are young, strong slender athletes who don't experience old-age health issues. Yes, fat or old people are more likely to suffer from the way most store-bought bikes are configured. There doesn't seem to be a geriatric class of affordable bikes on the market. Those recumbents are expensive and dangerous being that they are low to the ground and are not very visible to motor traffic. You can't wear a backpack while riding a recumbent machine because of the backrest. I need the backpack to pick up a few groceries at my local store. I have a car but I like to ride my bike for close-by errands as much as possible and weather-permitting. It helps get me in shape and saves the expense of car driving.

JonBailey

Well, it's too late. The damage is already done. I am not damning people here. I don't know why people here take offense to my thread unless they have stock in the big corporate bicycle industry. I bi_ch about the automobile industry too because nobody builds one especially for me anymore as Oldsmobile used to claim in the 1970's. I'm disheartened by all these shiploads of China-made products on the market these days unmercifully dumped upon my American soil like it's nobody's business. Junk that is causing our landfills to fill up fast and stealing money from American consumers who have to shell out money to constantly replace this crap that doesn't hold up for long. They don't last long and are cheesy. The best consumer bicycles were SCHWINN, Chicago-made, in the 1970's. The best washing machines were FRIGIDAIRE made by General Motors up until 1979. My grandmother had one that went 20+ years without an issue. The best cars and pickup trucks were and still are TOYOTA though new Toyotas are so expensive with so little options and paint colors for configuring one's pickup.

seamuis

indyfabz

It's not even winter in the NH yet.

Phil_gretz

Your question can be answered by other questions: "What percentage of the market demand for upright bicycles do you believe would be served by having the specific modifications that you have made to suit your specific needs? Does this number of bicycles justify the production of a different model?" Those are your answer.

As to your second comment quoted above, well, some things simply speak for themselves...

livedarklions

So to recap, most hybrid bikes should be built to suit the oddly specific needs of Jon Bailey.

I have weird feet that make clipless pedals impractical, therefore all road bikes should come standard with platform pedals. Also, the frames should just come in my size.

BlazingPedals

I remember Schwinn Varsities. One of my brothers had one. It was a typical road bike of its time, except for the fact it weighed 42 pounds. It did NOT have ape hanger bars.

Most of us are not taking offense at your questions, it's just that, well, as they are saying, there's not enough demand for anyone to offer a bike that meets your specs. But it should be pretty easy to modify a bike. All the parts are available; you just have to realize that it'll be a custom build.

indyfabz

Yeah. I don't know what the OP is talking about with the whole Varsity thing.

Gyro

https://bikehistory.org/bikes/varsity/ No ape hangers.

https://bikehistory.org/bikes/varsity/#1970-varsity

nomadmax 

OP, the more you ride the more you will understand that what is considered to be immediately comfortable on a bicycle or motorcycle is not comfortable in the long run. In fact, it may even make things worse. If your bike suits you and your riding style; ride the wheels off it.

prj71

These 2 items are not what makes a bike comfortable to ride. Especially the spring seat item.

prj71

None of this is true. All of that is bike fit. Not ape bars and spring seat.

Elvo

You can get a recumbent with a visibility flag and panniers.