I brought this Schwinn Super Sports road bike not long ago. everybody riding road bikes at clubs so I really wanted one. So when I got into this great deal at a shop, I just brought it. Now that I try it, I know this kind of bikes not for me. The drop handlebars give me too much pain with my hands and back, and I just don't feel comfortable and safe riding it on the street. Now I have these options, I could change to a straight handlebar for about a 100 dollars, or I could sell it and buy another one. But what's the better option. These kind of bikes usually about $500 and up, this one was on sale at half price, because they said not many women buy this kind of bikes, So it was three hundred something with all the taxes. I need a lightweight road bike like this to some events and club ridings sometimes. Do you think I could get a better deal buying another Bike with straight handlebar, or it better to just change the handlebar?
Anybody want to buy if I'm selling it for $300, I just ride few times.
About Schwinn
Did you have a chance to get a proper bike fit?
I was amazed after I got my bike properly fit how much better I felt on the bike. A bad fit or a bike that is the wrong size for you could be very painful.
Getting your bike properly fit to your body would probably solve most, if not all, of your problems with the bike. A fit costs around $120-125, but it is well worth the money. Often it's not the bike or the seat or the handle bars, but the relationship of the pieces and parts to each other and to your body that makes a bike uncomfortable to ride. The shop will spend an hour or so with you and your bike on a trainer, measuring and adjusting. And they may even suggest you switch a part or two - I wound up actually replacing my handlebars, because I found out during the fit that the ones on the bike (which I bought used) were too wide for my body, plus the distance between the brake and bar in my drops was also too wide for my hand. (No wonder going downhill used to be such a scary experience!!!!) The shop should also provide you with the measurements, so you have the information you need about your basic fit when you purchase your next bike. Toga did a decent fit for me, and when I switched to road pedals from spds recently, Sids made a few more adjustments to the fit that have made the bike even more comfortable.
Good luck.
"""A fit costs around $120-125, but it is well worth the money.""
That's nearly half what she paid for the bike. Plus, we have no way of knowing if the bike is even remotely the right size for her, or is what she really wants/needs.
""Chainwheel"""
Thanks for everybody's advises . I think the bike size is right for me, it's small size so it's right for a small woman like me. I guess it's made for smaller men type frame, and they had a hard time selling it cause only big men buy those bikes. That's why it's half price. And I had told them to cut off some of the seat height so it fit me better. The problem is the drop handlebar and brakes kinda too far from my body, as I have a shorter torso than men. And I'm not brave enough to let go of the brakes and put my hands up at the handlebars, causing the hand and back pains, or you could say I'm just not right to ride in this position, upright position is better for cautious riders. I guess a straight handlebar and brakes that's closer to my hands is the solution. Course I would love to hear other people's opionions.
There are a lot of adjustment that can be made to make the bike fit better for you. For example maybe shorter stem , narrower handle bars , rising handlebars, etc . So, it’s probably worth giving some of these things a shot.
A good independent bike fitter will give you your ideal bike specifications.
Also for me personally every time I got a new bike it took a little time to get use to it. Every bike is slightly different , and minor adjustment need to be made to make it fit you perfectly.
Also make sure you’re not holding on the handle bars too tightly.
"Pam,
Two fundamentals:
1. Before you invest money in a fitting or new parts or a new bike or sell your bike at a loss, recruit a more experienced rider to ""eyeball"" you and your bike to see if you need adjustments, parts or a new bike, or nothing.
2. There's no ""requirement"" to have a drop-bar road bike for the kind of riding a new rider like you will be doing. People come to B & C rides with flat-bar road bikes, hybrids and mountain bikes.
That said:
Assuming your frame size is OK, if your top-tube is too short or long, you can replace the stem (the ""number 7"" shaped thingie that connects the handlebars to the headset) on your bike. There are even adjustable stems that evolve with your needs. If you bought your bike at a dealer, s/he should offer to do so at low or no cost. [however, while I believe that most bike dealers are dedicated and conscienscious, there are shops in NYC where I've seen salespeople BS the customers and have experienced one attempting to push a too-big frame on me.]
Comfort on the hoods and drops is a function of lower-back and ab strength (or so says coach Happy Friedman,) so this will come with time and effort. You can handle drop-bars at the hoods and the drops as well as the flat parts. You can add ""in-line"" brake levers to the flats (similar in purpose to the old ""extension bars."")
A ""cheap"" way to change your bike to a flat-bar is to install used parts. Ask on the board, ask a dealer or have ""recycle a bicycle"" do it.
Best of luck,
Isaac"
"At 5'0"" I'm a small woman also and there is no way I would be comfortable on an small or XS road bike that was not either a compact bike or one made specifically for a woman.
If the top tube is too long for your torso, then you really need a different/smaller bike. It also sounds like the handlebar width is too wide. But keep in mind that you don't have to ride with your hands in the drops in order to access the brakes. You can keep your hands at the top of the brakes and you can shift/stop from there. Your handlebars make need to be tilted upward in order for you to do this better.
The store that you bought the bike from doesn't sound very good if they sold you a bike that is so obviously too big and a bad fit. Sounds like they just wanted to get rid of it.
My suggestion is to sell the bike - try www.Craigslist.com - and go to better bike shop for another bike."
Pam, what year is your drop-bar supersport? The schwinnbikes.com site has the 2003 supersport as a flat bar road bike?
Thanks again for everybody's opionions, I don't know what year is it! there's none of these info on the bike, and I never asked the salesperson. I guess I jumped into it too fast without too much knowledge about bicycles, but it was a great deal and I wanted to try a bike like that. It's not really such a bad bike, it's lightweight with aluminum frame and elegant, I tried it few times actually i was better than the beginning, I tried to raise up the handlebar but always seem difficult to brake, but I guess I could never be comfortable without the brake more handy, adding some other brake on the bar seems like a good idea. I could check about that, how much they usually cost?
Geez! All these complicated question and answers, with all sort of assumptions!
Seems to me the most obvious thing to first attempt should be to bring the bike back to the shop and explain to them your discomfort. Chances are, a semi-decent shop will at least TRY to change some components to make it more comfortable, such as a shorter AND taller stem to raise the bar etc.
As someone else has suggested, come to a club ride and let the more experience riders help figure out if the bike can be changed to fit more comfortably. There's only so much one can ASSUME without seeing you on the bike. Isn't that the whole point of joining the club, so that you have clubmates who can help you?
