Originally Posted by
Bonts
I'm comfortable on anything with straight, mountain bike type handlebars. Ive had a Schwinn, Raleigh, and Superior. No clue what type they were, but they could be called mountain bikes to the uneducated. I've ridden (tried to ride) road bikes- anything with "ram horn" handlebars. They were all terrible. The dimensions don't look much different than "mountain" bikes, but I just cant ride them. It seems almost as different as trying a unicycle.
The reason I ask is cause my wife got us a Burley Duet of the "ram horn" style. The sporty seat is a big issue I think. I've always put on beefier, cushier seats. This one (common on all road bikes I've sat on) almost feels like there's no seat at all and I'm just sitting on the post.
I'm incredibly comfortable on previously mentioned "mountain" bikes. I can wheelie, jump, and slide. It doesn't seem like I'd be so incredibly uncomfortable on any bike. I have zero ideas:
IMHO, you don't want a road bike. You aren't alone as I see a lot of used road bikes come up for sale with oversized saddles and the drop bars rotated to an upright position. A good test ride would have perhaps been in order before purchasing. For what it's worth, if you replace the saddle or handlebars to try to get this to how you like it, save the old ones to preserve some resale value if you decide to move on from it. I've passed on a few bikes because I didn't want to procure the correct saddles, stems or bars.
Good luck.