Dilema? Flat or Drop bars?

cannondalecraze

I currently have a cannondale bad boy '08, that has been slightly addapted with shorter bars and hydrolic disk brakes. Although its a very nice bike to ride, i find it fairly uncomfortable on long distance routes.
After visiting a branch of evans cycles i was given a quote of £200 plus to convert it to drop bars, i considered that a bit excesive?
Does anyone have any faster and more comfortable ideas for me?

Charlie.

unixnerd

i find it fairly uncomfortable on long distance routes.

In what way?

200 isn't worth it. You'll end up with something that isn't really a road bike either. I paid 400 for a barely used Cannondale CAAD5 with a good groupset two years ago!

These days you can get something like this for 449 new! :
http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/canno ... _2010.html

cannondalecraze

the pain is mainly across my back (i feel alot more comefortable lower down).
It also feels it could be faster?

Charlie

itchieritchie

Sell the C'dale and get a proper road bike. The bastard-child hybrid you're considering could well make things worse...the dimensions, angles, positioning and set-up are all wrong for drop bars. Yeah it'll work but it's simply not designed for that. Bikes are generally made with a specific riding position in mind. I can't believe a bike shop would actually allow you to think this is a good idea. They're just after your money I reckon.

If you must have something that'll cope with a bit of the mucky stuff, I think you could do a lot worse than getting a cyclo-x bike. I don't own one, I'm a roadie but for sheer versatility, it sounds to me like there's not much to beat them. Plus, the geometry is of course designed for getting low down when you need, with cross-top levers for more upright work. And it'll outpace the C'dale every time.

Maybe you could get some recommendations on which one to get in the Advice Section...? Good luck

cannondalecraze

thanks for your help.

will get myself onto some sites very soon.

Charlie

unixnerd

the pain is mainly across my back (i feel alot more comefortable lower down).

That's very odd. Normally the pain is worse if you go lower down. Maybe your saddle is set up wrongly? I'd be inclined to work out WHY you're having those pains before getting a new bike in the hope of solving them. Maybe see a doctor or a physio first.

chrishd883

Nobody can say what's wrong without a lot more info.

But +1 for checkng your geometry on the bike.

As regards saddle height general rule of thumb is
too high = lower back pain and too low = knee pain.

But there are factors
- cleat postiioning i(if you wear clipless shoes / pedals)
- muscle imbalances, if I start high intensity work outs, s/s riding, then I can develop lower back pains - which then requires plenty of stretching, etc

But first - get your bike position sorted!

maddog 2

the problem might be your back, not the bike