Hi all. 1st post here - please be gentle! As per my title, I currently have an Avalanche Tundra which I recently started riding again - really just for fitness and fun. The bike has slicks on it because I have only ridden it on the road (no particular desire to go off-road either!) However I've found that my hands get badly numb. I spoke to some colleagues that cycle and they said it was probably a fit issue. So I took it to a store to get some advice and it seems that the reach is too far but because the bike is quite old there isn't much I can do except ditch this one and get a new one. The saleman suggested a few - on the less expensive side my options were Axis A90 or 70 (R3k and below), on the more expensive side the Momsen Al129 or the Trek Marlin (in the 6K region). However I'm not completely convinced (1) that I'm ready to spend that much money and (2) about the need for me to have all these fancy shocks etc. If I'm only going to ride on the road for fitness it seems like serious overkill? And then there's the 26 inch versus the 29 inch story - another complication! I must also mention that I went to the shop thinking along the lines of a road bike so that's another factor. Perhaps the fact that I am fairly hefty (losing weight is one of the big reasons I want to get more into the sport) is why the salesman steered me away from roadbikes.. ? Anyway I would appreciate some input on this situation, given where I am coming from and what I am likely to be using the bike for.. I'm sure there will be suggestions to buy second hand - I suppose once I have a better idea of what to look for I can do this but then I run the risk of buying a lemon or spending even more on getting it adjusted to work for me whereas if I buy new at least that aspect is taken care of. Oh and perhaps I should mention that I'm in my mid 40s and female. Randburg area FWIW! Thanks - I look forward to your comments.
