Ordered a girl's bike instead of an FX 3

[MickinMD ★]

I went to the bike shop today with my Honda Fit's rear "magic seats" raised so I could stand up a Trek FX 3 behind the front seats and drive it home.

Instead, I ended up ordering a Trek Verve 3 Disc Lowstep for almost the same price - I'll get it around March 29th.

Thanks everyone who gave recs. on Trek bikes when I asked and those who warned about bikes being hard to get - if I had waited until Spring I might not get the bike I wanted until Fall.

When I got to the bike shop, I pointed out I'm 70, there's not as much stretch in my legs as there used to be, and the XL frame recommended when I was there yesterday might be a little much. The seat on the XL-frame FX 3 looked like climbing Mt. Everest. How about me trying out a large?

Also, I like to have a foot planted flat on the ground when I carefully swing the other leg over the toptube and work my butt into the saddle.

So we took some bikes out to the big parking lot out front and I rode some bikes around - enough that my sore calves from walking Jake got a little sore (healthy sore!) again, got on & got off, stopped, got on, shifted gears, etc.

In the end I really liked one of the "lowstep" bikes (look like what used to be called a "girl's bike") - with a toptube so low you can easily step across the bike. It rides with the torso more upright than the FX 3 and I really liked that, too.  It's a Trek and has the exact same components as the FX 3: the Trek Verve 3 Disc Lowstep. I rode a medium frame around and that was big enough to get a good feel for it - I ordered a large frame.  It's 31 lbs vs 26 lbs for the FX3 and has slightly wider tires (and the presta valves I prefer on the tubes) that alllegedly give a more comfortable tide.

The only problem was that, unlike the FX 3, this bike was not in stock in a large frame.  The bike shop will get only ONE with a large frame on March 29th. I preferred the silver color and fortunately that's whats coming.  So I put a $100 deposit on it and will get it in March or, "sometimes they're a week early or late.  I didn't expect to do much cycling before April anyway, so this gives me time to order my Garmin Edge 530 and mount with heartstrap and cadence sensor, the soft saddle I want, the "Mirricycle" rear view mirror and other stuff.

It has ergonomic grips that you can rest your palm against - my fingers got numb after a few miles on my mountainblike's round grips until I got the similar Ergon GP-1 Grips for them so this is a big deal for me.

 

 

 

 

[jsharr ★]

congrats.  

[Parsnip Totin Jack ★]

Excellent choice Mickin! Did your shop show you how the handlebar stem pivots to bring the bars closer or further away based on your preference? With a 6 mm Allen wrench you can change that whenever you want. 

[Airehead]

I wish you many happy miles.

[Parsnip Totin Jack ★]

They’re not referred to as women’s specific anymore. Low step is the term for anyone with limited flexibility. 

[petitepedal ★]

Step through as opposed to step over..ditch the girl/boy line....Congrats on the new bike!

As a side I once ripped into a guy who was talking about this beautiful hand built bike by some reputable builder..when he went on to bemoan the fact that it was a women's frame. I said who the F are you to judge..if she can afford the beautiful hand built bike..she deserves it...don't  complain that it would have been better as a "mens" frame... 2 people backed the heck away from that interaction ASAP..that guy is still hesitant to converse with me...

It ain't about gender..it's about the bike that works for you!

[Longjohn ★]

Now just don’t start using the girls restroom when you make a rest stop. It’s a slippery slope.

[maddmaxx ★]

My WSD frame is a step over.  I guess the girls can do anything these days.

 

 

 

 

<runs>

[Parsnip Totin Jack ★]

6 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

Now just don’t start using the girls restroom when you make a rest stop. It’s a slippery slope.

Don't judge me! I do what I want.

[MickinMD ★]

17 hours ago, Old No. 7 said:

Excellent choice Mickin! Did your shop show you how the handlebar stem pivots to bring the bars closer or further away based on your preference? With a 6 mm Allen wrench you can change that whenever you want. 

Yes!  I really liked that!  You can move the handlebar closer or farther away and change it's angle, too.

I know this is an entry-level bike, but a lot of things are way beyond what could do with my $300 mountain bike.

I'm going to have a lot of fun with it when it arrives Mar. 29 plus/min a week.

[Longjohn ★]

4 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

I'm going to have a lot of fun with it when it arrives Mar. 29 plus/min a week.

It will work well too if you ever decide to wear a kilt when you ride.

[MickinMD ★]

It turns out all my bicycle accessories were gone with my bike in the house fire.

I just spent $723 on various stuff.  Being a data nut - and also wanting a close check on my health - $414 of it was on a Garmin Edge 530 with mount, heart strap/monitor and cadence counter. I previously had an Edge 510. I love stuff like the "virtual partner" feature so I can compare my current ride time with a previous one on the same trail.

I got a rearview "Mirricycle bar end mirror" that fits Trek Bontrager Isozone handlebars - with some road bikes zooming past me one trails, I loved the mountain bike version I had previously, a small air pump, a helmet, a couple pairs of padded bike shorts, another tool bag in which to put a Topeak Alien II Multi Tool, Pedro's Tire Levers, etc.

I'll be some of what I'm spending back from State Farm, but I'm getting some better stuff than before.

 

 

[MickinMD ★]

17 hours ago, Old No. 7 said:

They’re not referred to as women’s specific anymore. Low step is the term for anyone with limited flexibility. 

True.  My sister's one-step-above-Walmart bike is a lowstep and they called it a "unisex" bike when her husband was thinking of one.

[MickinMD ★]

17 hours ago, petitepedal said:

Step through as opposed to step over..ditch the girl/boy line....Congrats on the new bike!

As a side I once ripped into a guy who was talking about this beautiful hand built bike by some reputable builder..when he went on to bemoan the fact that it was a women's frame. I said who the F are you to judge..if she can afford the beautiful hand built bike..she deserves it...don't  complain that it would have been better as a "mens" frame... 2 people backed the heck away from that interaction ASAP..that guy is still hesitant to converse with me...

It ain't about gender..it's about the bike that works for you!

Damn right!  I remember when Deng took over as China's leader after Mao, moved away from strict Communism, and said about introducing some Capitalism: "I don't care if the cat is black or white, as long as it catches the mouse."

When I was in China in 2001, all the Chinese I talked to virtually worshiped the then-deceased Deng for greatly improving their standard of living.

I'm pretty much the same. I don't care what position the bike's tubes take: I want the one that works best for me!