Ready for a new bike
 

I've been riding my Trek Verve for several years. I got serious 2 years ago and now have done 2 different 300 mile 5-day trips. I put about 1200 miles on the bike each year for the last 2 years.


I feel that I'm ready to advance past what my bike store called an entry-level Trek hybrid. For a challenge, I am going to ride a 100 mile ride in August, in addition to my 3rd 300 mile 5-day trip.


To try out a road bike, I found a several year old Giant road bike on craigslist. ...I'm not so sure that I like it. I've taken it on a couple 12 mile rides and have made a visit to my bike shop for some fitting advice. The positives, it is so efficient vs what I ride now - I get up to speed quicker, I climb a little easier, its so nice and lightweight. BUT the negatives: 1. my wrists hurt I just can't seem to get comfortable on the handle bars. 2. I can't reach the brakes easily I have to reach and stretch. 3. My neck gets achy ... all you people that ride road bikes and look up are ok with this posture??? 4. My crotch hurts (the front part not my butt bones) 5. It's so stiff any little pebble is a jarring experience. .... In general I am uncomfortable physically and a little uncomfortable mentally.


I would like to buy a new bike and am leaning toward a hybrid instead of a road bike because of my experience with the Giant. I think I need some of the comforts that a hybrid offers me.


I'm a 57 yo female in ok shape.


Thoughts?

Or you need a road bike that fits you.

You say you took the Giant to a shop for a fitting. what did they say?

As for your specific complaints. Sore wrists and hard time reaching the brakes suggest the reach to the bars are too long, or the bars are too low relative to the saddle. That would also explain the sore crotch and sore neck. When the bars are too low, and your back isn't flexible enough, you rotate forward at the hips, putting excess pressure on the hands and wrists, and putting too much weight on the crotch rather than the sit bones, where the weight should be.

If you get the bars a little higher, you should be OK. Also, check the width and shape of the bars. Different folks favor different shaped bars depending on where they put their hands and how far they need to reach to pull the brake levers.. In any event, the hands should rest lightly on the bars in whichever position you ride in.

I'd recommend trying a number of different bikes from your local dealer. Some people like drop bars and some people don't. That's okay -- you're not required to like them! Something like a Trek FX or a Giant Escape may be to your liking. These are what are sometimes called "performance hybrids" or "flat bar road bikes", whereas your Verve is a "comfort hybrid". As you've experienced something like a Verve can be completely comfortable to ride, even for serious distances, but it's not going to be as efficient as something that puts you in a slightly different position. An FX or an Escape will be less upright than a Verve, but less racy than a typical road bike with drop bars. It may be the happy medium you're looking for.

I just replaced my flat-bar hybrid (Fuji Absolute) with a drop-bar gravel bike (Fuji Jari), and I really love the extra hand positions (the main reason I made the switch). But I wouldn't try to talk anyone else into or out of a road bike, because it definitely has a different feel. Before you decide against it completely, though, make sure it's sized and set up for you correctly.

I first test rode my new bike a few weeks before I actually bought it, and I loved it. In the mean time, others test rode it so the set up changed. When I went back in to purchase it, the guy in the bike shop didn't quite get it set up right for me. After my first ride, I was wondering if I'd made a mistake getting it because my back really hurt (more than just getting used to the new position). But a few tweaks made all the difference - I lowered the saddle height a little more and adjusted the saddle angle (made it level). Bingo - no more pain.

Again, not saying a road bike is right for you - it may not be. But those are two things to try.

If your bike has been good so far, why replace it? Why change to a full on road bike if you're not comfortable? Perhaps maybe a comfort/fitness type hybrid bike, where they're basically a road bike with flat bars?

Achy back means you may need to build up your core, both abs and lower back muscles. Google "active bridge exercise".

Achy hands/wrists may go away with your newly built up core, since your core will be supporting your upper body weight, and therefore be putting less weight on your hands.

Achy neck will probably go away once your neck and shoulder muscles get built up over time from leaning forward and supporting the weight of your head and helmet. You may also want to invest in a lighter weight helmet. 4 oz lighter can make all the difference, it did for me.

Achy butt could be easily fixed with the right saddle, though finding the right saddle is sometimes anything but easy.