"comfort road bikes"

Original post

badhat

Archived post

15 July 2005, 19:26 UTC #1

my folks and i are gonna chip in and get my brother a bike for his birthday next week. he's of the impression that he wants a hybrid,
according to his wife:

"what ever would be useful to run around town (las vegas) with but might also work if he wanted to do longer road rides (out to the lake or something). Also, whatever would also work well in Colorado when we eventually move back in the next year or so."

but knowing him and knowing what kinda shape hes in (turning 26, hes a fireman and former rock climber, occasional MTB'er, overall rather fit), and having seen him drool an fondle hoods and drops almost obsessively everytime he's mounted one of my road rides, and knowing my own personal experience going from mtb to hybrid to road bike, i'm inclined to want to get him something more along the lines of a "comfort/ergo road bike" than a hybrid, just because i think it will comfortably suit his needs should they stay very recreational, but wont be AS limiting if he gets back to colorado and wants to tackle some colorado style road riding. A a big thing for me when i moved here was that the FS hybrid that i had relied on in chicago (no hills) made rec riding in the foothills needlessly difficult and made riding up in to the mountains less than pleasant.

in otherwords, i think the ergo road would last forever if he stays a neighborhood rider, but he wont out grow it quite as fast if he develops into a roadie. (and i'll cop to the fact that i'm hopeful that he does become a little bit of a roadie cuz it'd be a great way to spend time with him when he moves back to CO.)

so having said all that and done a little research, the two rides i've come up with are the Trek 1000c and the Specialized Sequoia (entry level model). the trek lists at around 720, the sequoia at about 900. a quick overview of the specs reveals they're pretty close to identical, have adjustable stems, brazons, suspension seat, and decent tiagra guts.

i would say the treks price makes it the more likely option at this point (despite my affection for specialized, as the doting father of a new allez comp) but just wanted to appeal to all of yall for any annecdotal experience with either ride, or any insight into other, similar themed rides, or maybe tell me that i am projecting my roadie obsessiveness onto the poor guy and i should just let him get a damn hybrid.

i'm off now to the LBS to ride both and compare and prod, but wont be buying for a few days.

heres links to both bikes:

www2.trekbikes.comindex.php

specializedbikes.comSBCBkModel.jsp

thanks in advance

p38lightning

Archived post

15 July 2005, 21:21 UTC #2

How about a Cyclocross bike? Essentially a road syle frame usually with 175MM crank arms for more leverage, some what wider tires/rims, and suitable gears for moderate off road and very good on road performance. They're in the "slot between hybrids and road bikes.

badhat

Archived post

15 July 2005, 21:28 UTC #3

certainly an option, but could i get a decent cross bike for that same price range- $700-800 ish? and also, do cross bikes typically have brazons?

another thing i like about the 1000c is that it has an adjustable stem so he can start off as upright as is comfortable and get more aero as it suits him.

ouo

Archived post

17 July 2005, 03:11 UTC #4

I'm riding the Specialized Sequoia right now, bought it last week actually.
I also went from riding a MTB.

The bike is fairly light for the price. I find it to be more comfortable than my MTB.

One thing, the bottom bracket on my Sequoia was too big, so the gears weren't working that well after I took it home. Luckily, the nice boys at the shop replaced the bracket for me for free.

Your brother might enjoy riding the Kona Jake, I know a lot of people who fit your brother's description that enjoy the Jake.

wineandkeyz

Archived post

19 July 2005, 16:06 UTC #5

badhat said:
the two rides i've come up with are the Trek 1000c and the Specialized Sequoia (entry level model). the trek lists at around 720, the sequoia at about 900. a quick overview of the specs reveals they're pretty close to identical, have adjustable stems, brazons, suspension seat, and decent tiagra guts.
i would say the treks price makes it the more likely option at this point (despite my affection for specialized, as the doting father of a new allez comp) but just wanted to appeal to all of yall for any annecdotal experience with either ride, or any insight into other, similar themed rides, or maybe tell me that i am projecting my roadie obsessiveness onto the poor guy and i should just let him get a damn hybrid.

Hey badhat,
Here's a vote for the Specialized Sequoia. One of my neighbors bought one -- a Sequoia Elite -- in 2003, and loved hers. Within a year, my wife and another neighbor got 2004 models of the same bike. They all checked around and tried out different models, but couldn't beat the package in terms of price, features, and comfort.

One suggestion: If you can swing the extra $$$, your brother would probably be happier long-term with the Sequoia Elite, as it has Shimano 105 hardware, instead of the Sora and Tiagra stuff the base model has.

"comfort road bikes"

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