Bakammer

My wife and I haven't biked much in the last couple of years and recently moved to a house next to a 10-mile-long hard-packed gravel bridle trail that is flat and wide with a few roots here and there. I have a Cannondale Quick Disk 1, she has a Jamis Coda Sport.

My wife has always been partial to comfort bikes with upright seating. Since we will be riding the trail by the house almost exclusively I'm thinking of selling our bikes and getting bikes that are more upright and have fatter tires. Any thoughts on what bikes to look for or how much I should ask for a 2017 Cannondale Quick Disk 1 with @ 150 miles on it?

Leisesturm

Look on your local Craigslist and see what others are asking for the same bike. Why don't you and the wife mosey over to the local dealer(s) that carry Cannondales and see what they have in comfort bikes. Then see what kind of trade you can make. You'll take a beating on the price but selling things to the general public isn't exactly easy. I am a Trek loyalist so if I were to ever think <shudder> about a comfort model it would be along the Electra Townie line. Electra has a model called the Amsterdam that I am sure would work for you two but it is not a cheap bike.

Iride01 

In my area the prices ask for bikes on Craigslist are unreasonable and much the same as Ebay. And, I see the same bikes re-listed forever by the same people.

My Daughter-in-Law has found more reasonable priced bikes and other stuff on Facebook market place. So realize your price depends also on how long you want it sitting around your house unused taking up space. Not so much what it's "worth".

I also would be looking at the Trek Electra line of bikes for a comfortable upright position bike if you both intend to do leisurely or lower effort riding. Though if there are a lot of hills their weight might be a disadvantage for longer rides. Though they have some electric bikes in that line too.

Otherwise if you both are going to ride at a pace that breaks a sweat on a cool day I'd say look at some gravel bikes or cross bikes that will be lighter. Maybe if you compare geometries you can find some that have a slack seat tube and higher stack that will go well for your desire for a more upright position.

Packed gravel shouldn't need too wide a tire. Even a 32mm might be enough.

bargainguy

The Quick & the Coda Sport are already upright hybrids. I'm guessing you're looking for something more like a laid-back cruiser with wide gearing, like the various Electra models, Day 6, etc. These bikes come with low stepover frames, cushy saddles and the like. Certainly not as zippy as your current rides, but I get a feeling you're looking for the super laid-back experience.

m.c. 

I have an electra steel cruiser step through that is comfortable. I put Schwalbe Fat Frank tires on it and a taller stem. The tires can be used with lower pressure and absorb a lot of harshness from the road/gravel, etc.

A dutch bike like the Omafiets from Workcycles is a very good upright bike too, it may be a bit rough on the unpaved paths though. Its more of a true dutch bike than most of the copies in the US and built well.

My wife had a specialized upright bike with a suspension fork that rode well but the derailleur and cable had a lot of issues and the brakes had problems, though that may be the dealer more than the bike. It was similar to this photo.
She is now opting for a touring bike as she finds the upright position comfortable for short periods but not for anything over a mile or so around the neighborhood

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Steve B.

What you have now are "hybrids", switching to a different hybrid doesn't make sense. Change the tires to something larger. The C-Dale spec's say it came with a 32mm tire. You might be able to squeeze in up to a 38 or so, then just run less air pressure to increase comfort.. As well you can change the stem to a greater angle to raise the h-bar, a local shop could advise you with this stuff. It would be far cheaper than changing to a new bike.

Random11

I'm not against buying new bikes, particularly if it will inspire you to ride, but have you tried riding your existing bikes on that route? They might be as good for your purposes as new bikes.

terrymorse 

That's the paradox of the upright position, so-called "comfort" bike. It's not comfortable for very long. It forces all of your weight onto the saddle, and it's not easy to unweight the saddle to rest the bottom, so you'll feel every bump.

A touring geometry is still "upright" but it balances the body weight much better.

When we were renting bikes in the SF Bay Area, we rented Public bikes to people looking for simple transportation. This style is what some call a "city" bike.


Public Bikes V7

veganbikes

The whole idea of the "comfort" bike was never really a sensible idea for comfort, a generally heavy aluminum frame with near or at bottom end components and a heavy low travel suspension fork that doesn't use air or high end springs and a pogo stick seat post that makes your knees bend up and down. The geometry for short rides was fine comfort wise but everything else didn't quite make sense.

As people have said try a wider tire and maybe also look at a Kinekt seatpost which will add good comfort without screwing up the knees. If absolutely needed be you could change handle bars or stem and get more upright as needed. However since you haven't ridden your bikes in a while you might want to ride them a bit and get used to them and see what you want to change but wider tires are always a good thing and on the Coda at least you have a decent steel frame so it will have some natural spring to it that the comfort bike is unlikely to have.

t2p

this ^^^

I have a 2017 or 2018 Quick Disc 1 ; purchased this bike specifically for casual riding including paved and limestone / gravel trail riding

If you desire a more upright and / or comfortable position - consider the following :

stem : 'flip' current stem (up) or different stem (shorter and / or increased rise)

handlebar : riser handlebar

saddle : wider / more comfortable saddle

35mm tires fit well on the Quick Disc 1 - as will 38mm tires and possibly 40mm

the more upright comfort / cruiser bikes will weigh significantly more than the Quick Disc 1 (and also the Jamis Coda) ; any additional 'comfort' could evaporate after a few miles riding the heavier bikes

t2p

this ^^^

70sSanO

If you only have 150 miles on your 2017 Cannondale and your wife wants a different bike, just move on.

Check out different bikes and reviews online and go by local shops to see what is out there.

A word of advice, let your wife pick the bike from the short list of choices. My neighbor bought his wife a new mtb on sale a few years ago and she hated the color. The bike is pretty ugly and hasn’t left the garage.

I would also caution against skimping on your wife’s bike. Over 35 years ago I bought a new Cannondale to replace my old Sears bike. On our first ride together my wife was “not pleased” that she was stuck with her old bike. Went right down to the bike shop and she picked out what she wanted, including pink bar tape and brake hoods.

Since then her bikes have been lighter than mine and I’ve swapped out components to fit what she wants.

John

Flipper_

I am kind of in the same place, I currently have a great MTB for real trail use plus this for the gravel rail trails:


I take some issue with the description of Comfort Bikes as actually uncomfortable. I find this bike ridiculously comfortable for up to 1-2 hour rides. There is so much leverage from the Handlebars that you can actually over torque yourself out of the seat and push pretty hard in a weird kind of upright-row motion and regular cruising allows quite a bit of wattage, if you want, to be applied with a nice upper body component. I couldn't speak to comfort past that amount of time but you can see the seat is pretty plush. The bike was 430 dollars originally so it fits the mold of cheap, heavy, aluminum and bottom notch components but works quite well. Aerodynamics are predictably brick-like. Seems like the current Spec Crossroads/Roll are similarly configured, plenty of other options out there as well.

That said, I'm looking for a different bike for these trails so I can go a bit faster, maybe pass people on mountain and comfort bikes every once in a while.