Bicyclists.

[bumppkathleen]

It's Elle. I am sorry, I know I'm the most annoying person ever about this.

So, last weekend I went to buy the Madone. I confirmed it was properly sized - I apparently have freakishly long femurs - but it was so jumpy, and light, and just felt scary.

The store suggested a Trek 7.5 as a transition into road bikes. I went and rode the comparable Specialist and Giant bikes and liked the 7.5 better so I bought it. Frankly, even the 7.5 made me a little edgy since it has skinny racing tires (again, I haven't ridden a bike since I was 7). But then I rode it every day this week and am now really comfortable on it. So then I started thinking I should have just gotten the Madone and toughed through feeling off balance for awhile.

I am still in the return period on the 7.5 so I *could* try the Madone again. Or another road bike. WDYT?

Again, sorry. I need a lot of hand holding on this. DH, who bikes a lot, rides a mountain bike and thinks road bikes are awful so he's no help. I am riding on bike trails now (asphalt/cement) but I really do want to race eventually. If I keep the 7.5, I'll likely get a racing bike this fall and hang on to the 7.5 as an around own bike.

[sadlebred]

Do you want to race, do group rides, or do triathlons? Go back and get the Madone. If you want to ride on the local rail trail, ride with the kids, or work up to doing a charity ride, keep the 7.5. The 7.5 is NOT legal for road racing of any type (criteriums, road racing, time trials). For road racing, you are required to have a traditional "drop bar" road bike per USA Cycling rules. It would be legal for triathlons. Almost anything with 2 wheels is legal for tris. "Flat bar" road bikes are generally discouraged on the group rides. Keep in mind that you may not need a "Women's" or "WSD" bike. They are generally regarded as best for women under 5'8" or 5'9" although I'm 5'3" and don't own any "women's" bikes.

The Madone you tried may not be the bike for you if you thought it was "jumpy." Look at the Trek Domane series, the Madone 3, and Madone 4 lines, and Lexa SLX (the other Lexas have cheaper components that won't hold up to racing). Also, look at the Fuji Gran Fondo series and the Specialized Dulce line. All of these bikes are geared towards having a slightly more relaxed geometry and stabler handling than a true "racing" bike ("racing" bikes have slightly different geometry). They will also be less "twitchier." Twitchy is how experienced cyclists describe how a bike turns. The twitchier, the fast it turns. New cyclists probably won't noticed a difference between bikes (I can notice a difference between all of my bikes).

If you feel unstable on 23c size tires, you could run 25c tires on a road bike. They are slightly wider and may feel stabler. Have the LBS see what kind of tires you could run on the specific bike you are looking at. Many road bikes can't run much more than 27-28c road tires because of clearance issues (aka, the tires won't fit in the frame) unless it's a "touring" bike, which is not what you are looking for.

Of course as you said, you can keep the 7.5 now and get a drop bar road bike eventually. I'm of the opinion that it's hard to have too many bikes. I have tons of cycling and bike buying advice in my bio.

[bumppkathleen]

Thank you Saddlebred!!!!! I appreciate it.

[trigal]

Listen to sadlebred. She's very wise!!

Also, the number of bikes you need is always one more than the number of bikes you have!

[sadlebred]

[quote author=trigal board=hf thread=6497 post=98726
Also, the number of bikes you need is always one more than the number of bikes you have! [/quote]

This is so, so true...........

[Susie]

I had a Trek 7.2fx when I bought my road bike last year. I never would've dreamed of riding it on a group ride, or in tri's. I'd have gotten dropped before we left the parking lot. It's an "errands bike" for me. (I eventually gave it to my mom to ride, because I wasn't using it.) It's possible the Madone just isn't the road bike for you, if you're not comfortable on it. But I'd re-look at road bikes, and not a fitness bike like the 7.5.