On 26 Sep 2005 17:22:36 -0700, Bleve wrote:

Having ridden an Avanti Blade Sport today and suffering this arvo
(possibly) as a result, I'm even more inclined to buy something a bit
softer.

Out of curiosity (now I've read the rest of your followups, and
the neck injury), what does your physio say? Most bike riding

It depends on which one I talk to :-) Honestly, I haven't been to the
physio too much lately - I bought a SpineMelter 2000 chair from HN, and sit
in it every day, and it achieves about the same, and costs a LOT less. (As
well as being on call 24/7.)

positions will load your neck up, unless you're pretty-much
bolt upright. A light weight helmet may make things easier
for you, and obviously as upright a position as possible. You may
also benefit from a suspension seatpost - as you become more upright,
you can't flex your back as much to absorb bumps, so a suspension
seatpost may make a measurable difference - maybe more than suspension
forks, depending on the ratio of your weight that's being carried
from arms to arse.

All good points.

About the most expensive I can run to is an 05 Innova ($700), unless
someone can convince me a Revive or something else is REALLY worth the
extra :-)

A $700 hybrid will be one very flash bit of kit.

You'd hope so, eh?

the Blade is about $400, but I don't want to buy it and then spend the rest
of the difference optioning it up, trying to get it to the same as the
Innova.

Ah well, I'll head out this morning and look at/try a few more.

--

cheers, mic (yes, the email address works)