[M_Six]

My expectations for my new bike may have been a tad overblown. I had a rough time adjusting to the new rig today. Mostly the shifting. My previous bike had thumb/forefinger shifters with a number scale and 24 gears (3 front, 8 rear). The new bike has shifters built into the brake levers and has only two front gears. With my previous bike, I had found the sweet spot of gearing to be middle gear up front and 2-6 in the rear. Using just those gears, I was able to keep a nice steady cadence without wearing out my legs or my lungs. I couldn't settle on a sweet spot on the new bike today. It seemed I was trapped between a gear that kept my cadence in the 60's, which wore my legs out, or put me in the high 80's, which winded me. There seemed to be that much of a difference between just two gears.

The stock saddle on this one has to go as well. The pain is in a different place than with the previous saddle, but it's no less severe. The LBS agreed to let me swap out saddle until I find one that I like, so I'll be taking advantage of that offer. But the one that Mr. Tonka posted about seems like it would solve a few issues. If I can't find one at the LBS, I'll start trying online suppliers.

My hands are doing better with the new bike, largely because I have a choice of positions where I didn't with the previous bike. I have the next 3 days off, so I'll have plenty of time to experiment and learn.