Gray wrote:
I'm in the market for a road bike. Given my limited funds, I'll
probably buy something off ebay. To keep from being overwhelmed with
too many options, I've limited my bargain-hunting so far to Treks,
which has led to the surprising discovery that Trek makes:
1. traditional road bikes (eg. (the 1000, 1500, etc.) marked by a
level/horizontal top tube, among other things, and
2. "comfort" road bikes (eg. Pilot 1.0, 1.2, etc.) with a supposedly
"more natural riding position," marked by a top tube sloped up from
seat post to headset, thus raising the handlebars relative to the seat
position.
Since my budget will limit me to either a Trek 1000 (traditional) or
Trek Pilot 1.0 (comfort), I wonder which way to go. In the last 3
months, I've put about 500 miles on a borrowed vintage (1983) Trek 620
touring bike, which obviously has a very traditional geometry. In all
that time, I've never experienced any discomfort or body pain while or
riding (despite not owning any padded bike shorts and the 620 being
equiped with its original seat).
Q. -- If I'm comfortable on the vintage 620, should I stick to a
traditional road bike (e.g. Trek 100)?
Q. -- Am I being short-sighted passing up a "comfort" road bike?
Especially considering that I don't see myself ever racing or trying to
ride for time.
BONUS Q. -- What brand other than Trek should I seek out to buy a new
or late model road bike? It's not that I am a Trek snob. I just have
found them more plentiful and easier to research.
THANKS IN ADVANCE.
Gray Strickland
Tulsa, OK
Comfort is one issue, but any bike can be comfortable if you get your
position correct. Another key difference may be the handling. The more
race inspired bikes might feel very twitchy and be difficult to keep in
a straight line. Perhaps the comfort series has angles more like the
touring bike you have been using which I assume has very stable
handling. I do race and ride for time, but not ever in races that
require quick handling (ie criteriums) so my preferences lean toward
straight line stability. I'd go for the Pilot.
I have no direct experience with them but Bianchi has a new series
called "C-2-C" (coast to coast) which is supposed to be a comfort type
of road bike:
http://www.bianchi.it/en/products200...oRoad_C2C.aspx
have fun!
Joseph