Road Bike, Advice

[JHarris1385]

Ok so I didnt fork out the the $700+ for a better bike shop bike. I went ahead and bought the schwinn at question. My friend and I decided to both get it as a starter and progress from there. Luckily we are almost the exact build..6'1-6'2 200lbs or so. Before I go any further. I appreciated the knowledge gained from this thread and will revisit this when more question arise. I like that VX forums can be a one stop shop for sometimes more than just VX info. As soon as I was having troubles deciding I thought..good post for Vx.info.

So the Schwinn Varsity rides nice. I have over 20 miles on it in 2 days, from riding to work and back and to a store and back. I did an overhaul of the whole thing with my allen wrenches and screw divers, re adujusting, tightening and anything possible to make sure it was on right. It came in the box needing the front tire, seat post, shifters and front brake installed. I liked it this way. The only thing is the alignment was off but a simple fix. Only thing I needed was a computer and I was good to go. I hit a decent hill and did not have to stand up, but there more hills to come and quite larger. Shifters shifted no issues, I went through the whole line of 14 a couple of times. The tires at 100psi stayed. Only issue is maybe the handle bar is lower than comfort level?

As far as seats...is firmer better for a road bike? Any pointer to look for?

[MSHardeman]

Congrats!! Sounds like you're getting into it already. I hope I (we) didn't come off as a "bike snob", because I believe that it doesn't really matter what you're on as long as you're out there riding.

As for seats; it's really up to you and your tush as to what's right for you. I think you've posted about Selle Italia seats before, and they are great seats, but everyone's back side is shaped differently so what might be comfortable to you would just kill me.

Some people go crazy for Brooks Saddles ( http://bicycleseatreviews.com/category/brooks-saddles/ )but it's really just a piece of leather stretched over a metal frame...not terribly comfortable to me.

Others go for the modern version: http://www.bikesomewhere.com/bikesom...0597?i=default
Which is just a piece of carbon fiber shaped like a bike saddle.

If this will mostly be a commuter bike/ grocery getter you may want to look at a lower profile gel seat. Not the sleakest thing around, but very comfortable.

To start off I would probably look at something in the mid-size and mid-padded range. Not too hard, not too soft, but juuuuuust right.