Korina

morgothaod , how goes it? Did you get the Jamis to fit? As for adjusting the saddle, remember that when you're sitting on it and the pedal is at the bottom, your knee should be not quite straight. It looks like your stem is adjustable; you could try lowering it a bit so you're not quite as upright. It could also just be a matter of miles and your body getting used to the new bike.

ETA: If you want to return to some vintage steel, I found some interesting bikes in your area (can't help it, had to look): a Trek 750, not cheap, but an excellent bike (I may be biased), just change to swept handlebars and you're golden (but 700c wheels, not 26"); a Peugeot Sport that needs some work -- maybe you could talk them down to $100; and a Trek 700, equivalent to your 800, overpriced, but in decent shape, you might be able to talk them down.

veganbikes

Such snobbery on bar height...

In terms of the bike you may have had a better position for you on the Trek, it could have been the wider tires and the steel frame giving you comfort as well. It could also have been familiarity that can play a big role in comfort sometimes. A new bike with different components may feel different.

I find personally that a lot of the bikes marketed as "comfort bikes" are not all that comfortable unless you barely ride it. The basically said raise up the bars, lower seatpost, add the widest seat you can find and make it out of aluminum with low cost components. I don't think any of these companies really did much study of bike fitting before designing those bikes they just listened to what people who aren't bike fitters said. Sometimes that can be good but the people who actually study the human body and how it relates to bicycles might be a better choice than a few people who spend little time on the bikes.

morgothaod

Even after adjusting the seat height, I still find the ride to not be as fun as the mountain bike

No, I don't but I'm 5'7" so I think the frame is small enough for me? Would the two different width wheels be a problem- "New front tire (2.1 inch) and newer back tire (1.95 inch)"

Thanks, but I think those bikes are too big for me. I think the max I want to pay is $250.

70sSanO

Nothing wrong with wider front tire. That was typical old school setup for mountain bikes.

The surface rust is the thing to look at, as well as shifters, brarings, chainrings, and derailleurs working well. For an older bike, finding decent 7 speed triggers are tough. Replaceable maintenance items, brake pads, chain, etc. are not a big deal.

John

morgothaod

I missed out on the Trek 820 so I'm still looking. I may even consider a road bike (Never been on one but being able to go fast sounds like fun). I only ride trails though because of bad drivers in my state.

ckindt

Sure. I'm a fan.

mstateglfr 

meh, its ok. most here are into cycling as a side hobby, but their main love is message boards.

Ross520

Buy a gravel bike. Problem solved.

I think I'd rather go for a run than ride either one of those bikes. And I hate running.

Now I understand that this will come-off as being quite rude, but it has to be said so you can start to really enjoy cycling.

Imagine going into a car dealership, and asking for something that feels sporty and responsive. The salesperson nods, and dissappears for a bit to retrieve a car from the back of the lot.

While you're waiting for him, you observe a goofy old van with fake wood paneling pulling up to the front on the lot. Looking at van, you just know that vehicle is the antithesis of sporty, without even having driven the thing for a second.

Right behind the van, is a light-used 911 driven by your salesperson. You see that bad-boy and immediately feel a chill go down your spine. You know you're about to have some serious fun in that machine.

Just get the 911 and stop messing around with the grandpa vans. You will thank me, eventually.

Phil_gretz

I have to shake my head. Two thoughts. 1) You should have measured and written down key dimensions of the Trek before selling it. Saddle height and horizontal offset from the bottom bracket spindle. Handlebar height and horizontal offset from the same reference point. As starting point, those dimensions should be the target for the Jamis. 2) Those two bikes in the photos are not set up the same. At all.

What gives?

70sSanO

While this is not going to give you your old setup, you can take the picture of your Mountain Track, measure it, and get a rough idea based on the published Mountain Track specs; such as the top tube length.

You'll never get the Jamis to act like the Mountain Track geometry, and that suspension fork will make it feel even slower, but you can at least figure out the handlebar height, stem length and seat position.

John

morgothaod

I'll either try to find an older mountain bike or test ride a road bike. When I was on the Jamis, I found the ride to be a little bit more fun when I rested my forearms on the handlebars (Leaned forward). I'm not sure how to lower the handlebars so they are still in the same position as the photo.

morgothaod

I remember just being able to touch my feet on the ground when standing over the top tube of the Trek. I have a 30" inseam, so maybe my bike was a size 18.

70sSanO

You can get the stand over height if your Jamis online (17” is 29.57”). If the stand over height is about the same, then you had an 18” Mountain Track.

All you are trying to do is figure out if your handlebars are 2” higher or you seat is an inch further back and then try to get your Jamis close to your Trek and try it. You might like the bike more, or not, or find a happy medium and decide you really don’t want the old Trek setup or your current one.

Keep track with measurements of where things are from a fixed point... headset/stem bolt to seat, top tube to seat, center crank to seat, top tube to stem, etc. Whatever gets you numbers that you can get back to. If you find a good setup, write those down.

John

morgothaod

I tried lowering the stem some more but it wouldn't go down. I was able to make it taller though. What gives? I put all my weight down on the stem and it still wouldn't go down any. I was able to lower the handlebars though. This is what my bike looks like now.

sledgefisher

You will be able to lower the stem about 10mm by moving the reflector and adjusting the stem lower into the head tube.

70sSanO

Quill stem have a wedge to tighten it to the steerer tube. Sometimes loosening the bolt doesn’t free the wedge. It just raises the bolt head. You can test this buy loosening it and pushing the bolt head back down. If it doesn’t move a slight tap with a plastic/rubber hammer or tap a block of wood between the bolt and a steel hammer. you just want the loosened bolt to drop back down and did-engage the wedge. If you get it to move, taking the reflector off as suggested above will drop it a little more.

This exercise may not work. Or if it is close, you may need a shorter stem to bring the handlebars closer to you. You just want to see if you can enjoy this bike before spending money on a different one.

John

morgothaod

After loosening the bolt with a hex wrench, I tapped the wrench with the palm of my hand and with a regular hammer but it still wouldn't go down. The new handlebar set up did make the bike feel more like my mountain bike however I feel like on the mountain bike I could go faster with less effort (Even though both bikes are 21 speed). So, I get more tired and ride less on my Jamis. Feeling slower makes the bike less fun too.

70sSanO

Did you buy the bike new? If yes, take it bake to the shop and have them loosen it the stem so it can be adjusted.

I don’t know why it is harder to pedal and you get more tired on the Jamis. It could be a slightly dragging brake pad on the rim. One time I was mountain biking with our son and felt quite proud of myself that he wasn’t blowing me away on climbs. Then he noticed a broken spoke and the rim brushing against the brake pad. So much for deflating my ego.

John

morgothaod

I was looking at a two road bikes online. Not sure if they would fit me. I'm 5'7"

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Jamis-Ventu...0AAOSwmCVY9DEJ


https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...9590182074455/

There's a place by me that does a bike fitting but I don't know if it's a waste of money since they have online calculators.

"Introductory Bike Fit~$100 The best choice for people who are brand new to cycling, who may or may not be clipping in at first, but who are interested in trying out cycling and are pursuing that with some interest yet are not ready to invest in a comprehensive fit initially."

CyclingFever

Nope. Can't stand the sport.