[wild]

Originally Posted by topgun514

put your but bones on the hard parts, get the right geometry and right seat. Thats all

That sounds good but for me my big belly gets in the way if I ride a road bike. A strate bar bike is ok and I am riding a Quick 6 more than my comfort bike Explorer 2.0 lately. I like the triger shifters and the 30/39/50 12-27,10 spd setup on the Fuji Absolute 1.0 the tire size 70x28c so I will probbly get one around Dec. the bike shop said thay would have one infor me to try I have road a 2.0 and I would get that if the 1.0 was not comeing out soon.

[Glyn]

I, like you wanted something comfortable but a bike that would be suitable for long rides.
I settled on a Giant Rapid Advanced, it's basically a carbon fibre road bike with flat handlebars fitted with bar ends. I also fitted flat pedals in place of the original clip in ones.
It's a fabulous bike and I am achieving huge increases in performance over my old mountain bike. There are five different bikes in the Rapid series.

[London]

Originally Posted by Glyn

I, like you wanted something comfortable but a bike that would be suitable for long rides.
I settled on a Giant Rapid Advanced, it's basically a carbon fibre road bike with flat handlebars fitted with bar ends. I also fitted flat pedals in place of the original clip in ones.
It's a fabulous bike and I am achieving huge increases in performance over my old mountain bike. There are five different bikes in the Rapid series.

The problem with this kind of bike is you start to go faster and like it. Then you start to ride more. Now you discover the biggest drawback to hybids: the lack of hand positions and the discomfort that brings. A road bike with drops is much more comfy in the long run. This seems illogical at first, but in time you will see why the drop configuration has lasted since its inception. There is no better bar system for long-term comfort. Especially if you first raise the bars to a high level. In time you can drop them further and get the full aero advantage when your body in ready for the more bent over position.

[Engyo]

For a different kind of option, take a look at my long wheelbase recumbent bike (the Rans)............

There are a wide variety of recumbent styles which offer speed and comfort. Some folks may give you grief over making this sort of choice, but my skin is pretty thick.

[Glyn]

I don't disagree and you are probably right, I just didn't want to make the leap from a ten year old mountain bike to a full on road bike. The rapid is a road bike apart from the pedals and bars. I will change to clip in pedals eventually and no doubt in a couple of years I might go the whole hog and get a road bike.
You are right about going faster and liking it, I am averaging 120/150 miles a week over 4/5 days, about 30% up on my mountain bike and I've only had the Rapid a couple of weeks. I can see the point when a 30 mile run will become my minimum.