Stopped by the shop Mike recommended on my way home. Salesmen was an older guy which was nice. Told him what I was wanting to do, price range, etc. and he directed me to a completely different type of bike than I had considered. It's a class called Comfort Bike and this is the one I rode / liked:
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkM...d=08Expedition
He recommended this version due to the higher end tires and rims for the weight issue. Double walled rims and "Armadillo" tires that he says can go as high as 100 psi.
I rode this as well as a couple of mountain bikes and these are the things I liked better about it:
- Seatpost shock as well as front fork ... nice ride
- You're seated in an upright position. Most of my weight is in my gut and I tend to have lower back issues due to that so my thinking is that the typical hunched over position could cause issues with that. In a word, it was more comfortable.
- Had smooth tires already. He said they are the bike version of an all-terrain tire. Not as knobby as mountain bike tires but not totally smooth like a road bike. Which will be good for when I take it with me camping and there are rough surface roads, etc.
Anyway, interest on your thoughts on this bike and Comfort Bikes in general. They wanted $470 for it, which I see is MSRP so I'd try to talk them down and/or find it cheaper online (or another bike similar to it).
It's a good thing I sold my pickup or I might have brought it home.
