New Bike/What Kind?

I am looking to buy a new bike and was wanting some opinions on what kind to buy. I currently ride a Schwinn mountain bike. Most all my riding is done on the street throughout the city. I generally ride between 10-20 miles and my main purpose for riding is cardio workouts although I enjoy just being on my bike and would like to increase my distances once time allows. I prefer a upright riding position so I have been looking at Hybrid and Fitness bikes. Does anyone have any opinions on these kinds of bikes? Also what kinds(Trek,Cannondale etc.). Thanks for any help.

Consider a 'flat bar' road bike. You'll get the comfortable riding position of a MTB, as well as the MTB shifters, but with the right tyres, you can be on equal terms with the road race bikes in terms of maintaining a reasonable average speed out on the roads.

The ones to consider are:

Felt SR series
Meridia Speeder T series
Giant CRX (or FCR) series

Get a set a of Continental Gator Skin tyres and a good floor pump. That will keep you rolling swiftly. A good set of clipless pedals & cleated shoes is good also. I run a set of Shimano M324 pedals (dual purpose).

Good luck!

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Cheers,

Bloke on a bike
(Perth, Western Australia)

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2005 Giant CRX4 with:
Continental Gator Skin tyres - 700x23C
Shimano M324 pedals
Satori steerer tube extender
Selle Italia FLX Gel Flow seat
Vetta RT88 cycle computer
2 aluminium bottle cages
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Thanks for the info.

The Trek 7000 series hybrids are another nice option. I was riding my 7500FX between 20 - 30 miles a day until I "retired" it in favor of a lighter weight road bike so I could cover the distances at faster speeds (and lengthen my weekend rides).

A hybrid would be a good choice, But my Trek 7200 is heavy, probably from the suspension fork. I just ordered a specialized sequoia, which is more upright, and much lighter than my trek. For your type of riding, I'd opt out of a hybrid, and go with a trek fx model or the previously mentioned giany fcr. Remember you can easily add bar ends to a flat bar bike to gain more hand positions.

I purchased a Cannondale Road Warrior 500 ('06 model) "fitness bike" and added bar ends and swapped out the cage pedals for some Shimano SP-M324 pedals (SPD clipless on one side and a flat pedal on the other. I've done 20 mile rides with it without too much problems, the bar ends do help. However, the multiple hand positions of a road bike really cure numb fingers. I have Specialized Armadillos on and have been happy, I might try the Continentals that seem to get rave reviews while still reducing the chance of flats due to sharp pointy objects, natural or other. While I love my bike, I can see myself stepping up to a true road bike in the future.

Other similar bikes that I had looked at were the Specialized Sirrus Comp, Trek 7.5 FX.

I tried a couple of road bikes, Specialized Allez Triple and a Trek Pilot 1.0. When I tested them, I felt like I had less control over the bike, but that could certainly be due to my novice experience. I found the riding position a bit too stretched out for me.

Definately try both, flat bar road/hybrid and a road bike. There are some comfortable road bikes such as the Specialized Sequoia; I hear that some Lemond bikes (made by Trek, I believe) have a more upright riding position, too.

Fit is everything. Make sure the bike you buy is comfortable for you and your riding style.

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Regards,

Anthony

I tried the pilot 1.0 and giant ocr 2 before deciding on the sequoia. Bike shop reps seemed to think it was the most "comfort" out of the 3. I'm having a suspension seat post put on, and a shorter stem also. The handlebars are just about even with the saddle-I read another post mentioning the Profile Boa stems. Thing is I want a first time road bike, and want to be way upright like my hybrid. And I won't forget my B17! Pick it up today hopefully.

I agree that the Sequoia is a comfortable bike. I tried the Pilot 5.2 and strongly considered the Sequoia, Trek 5000, Specialized Allez,and Felt f5c before deciding on a Specialized Roubaix Elite. I road 150 miles over two days last weekend, and love the Roubaix.

Other bikes to consider are the Specialized Sirrus (similar to the Trek 7.x FX series) and Specialized Crossroads (similar to the Trek 7x00 series).

i was looking for a good commuting bike until i got it just this past wednesday. i got it used, its a marin sausalito but i dont think any component is original, it weights 24.5 lbs. i really like it, today was the first time i commuted with it. What i like about it is the mavic rims(light) wrapped in armadillo tires(dont wanna be late for work!) no suspention(lightness). shimano 105 cranks and really fast gearing, lx deraillers. It also has little bar ends that you grip and have a little indent on front where your thumb goes, grrrreat for stretching out and when you need power. Nothing lets you shift as fast as grip shifts either. i was in a similar position as you just 4 days ago so thought id share what like about my commuter/traffic/road bike. Also i heard that doing athletic stuff in the city, be it running or cycling, is really bad for you because of the air pollution from cars