WTB: Hybrids

[mstone]

@rcannon100 88107 wrote:

I put extensions on my flat bar. Gives me lots of different positions. In traffic when I want to be alert, on the flat bar. On the trail cruising, forward in the extension in a nice comfortable hand position that also tucks my body down just a little bit more.

yup, the hand positions are extremely similar comparing bar ends and riding on the hoods. for me, the choice comes down to where you spend most of your time, and optimizing where the brakes/gears are in relation to where your hands are.

[hozn]

@mstone 88071 wrote:

Not really–an upright also needs body adaptation; there is no exercise in the world that you can just go full bore on without building up muscles. A person can hop on a beach cruiser for the first time in years and go down the boardwalk for a mile but they can’t hop on the same bike and ride a century just because they’re in a “comfortable upright position”.

Yeah, I didn’t say that they could ride a century. I just said that it’s a less unnatural position than road bike geometry. Would you not agree that going down the boardwalk on a cruiser is going to be more comfortable than going down that same boardwalk on a road bike? This seems completely obvious to me. Note that I was specific in saying “road bike geometry”; I’m not talking about drop bars here. If you’re sitting on the hoods with the bars as high as (or higher than!) the saddle, that isn’t road-bike geometry in my opinion. Perhaps the confusion here is just due to the way that we’re drawing different category distinctions. I feel that “road bike” implies a bike that favors aerodynamics and that is usually (always?) going to come at the cost of comfort.

But ultimately, there’s a reason why people starting out with cycling don’t start with tri bikes, so I think debating on whether one is more approachable to the human body than another is pretty silly.

[sethpo]

@rcannon100 88107 wrote:

I put extensions on my flat bar. Gives me lots of different positions. In traffic when I want to be alert, on the flat bar. On the trail cruising, forward in the extension in a nice comfortable hand position that also tucks my body down just a little bit more.

I was thinking of adding those to my “new” MTB for longer tow path rides but wasn’t sure how they work with the grips. Do you need different/special grips that fit or work w/ the bar end extensions?

[mstone]

@hozn 88113 wrote:

Yeah, I didn’t say that they could ride a century. I just said that it’s a less unnatural position than road bike geometry. Would you not agree that going down the boardwalk on a cruiser is going to be more comfortable than going down that same boardwalk on a road bike? This seems completely obvious to me. Note that I was specific in saying “road bike geometry”; I’m not talking about drop bars here. If you’re sitting on the hoods with the bars as high as (or higher than!) the saddle, that isn’t road-bike geometry in my opinion. Perhaps the confusion here is just due to the way that we’re drawing different category distinctions. I feel that “road bike” implies a bike that favors aerodynamics and that is usually (always?) going to come at the cost of comfort.

But ultimately, there’s a reason why people starting out with cycling don’t start with tri bikes, so I think debating on whether one is more approachable to the human body than another is pretty silly.

Of course I think that going down the boardwalk is going to be more practical on a cruiser than a TT bike, but not because of some inherent “comfort” as much as the fact that the cruiser is less likely to fall over if you’re going 2 or 3 MPH.

As far as what should be a “road bike”, take a look at http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/road This is why I say that arguing about “road bikes” is silly, and people should be more specific about what bikes they are talking about–that list has everything from the Venge (carbon aero bike) to the Secteur (aluminum “endurance” bike) to the Shiv (carbon tri bike) to the AWOL (steel commuter/everything bike). The only thing those bikes have in common is the fact they have two wheels and those handlebars that aren’t flat.

[rcannon100]

@sethpo 88116 wrote:

I was thinking of adding those to my “new” MTB for longer tow path rides but wasn’t sure how they work with the grips. Do you need different/special grips that fit or work w/ the bar end extensions?

I think simply you just need enough room. My flat bar is pretty big. The extensions clamp on at the end of the bar – probably taking a bit more thank 1/2 inch of space. And yes, for rides where your hands take a beating, it is wonderful to have different positions to put your hands in (if you are really touring, a butterfly handlebar is also an option). My extensions look like this

I have them going pretty much straight forward. When I use them, it is almost like putting my hands in the hoods. I see some mountbiker types that have them pointed straight up; I think that is insanely dangerous. If you go over your handlebars, you could catch on those in a nasty way – like having your wrists get caught in them.

[sethpo]

@rcannon100 88119 wrote:

I think simply you just need enough room. My flat bar is pretty big. The extensions clamp on at the end of the bar – probably taking a bit more thank 1/2 inch of space. And yes, for rides where your hands take a beating, it is wonderful to have different positions to put your hands in (if you are really touring, a butterfly handlebar is also an option). My extensions look like this

Sorry to be dense. I’ve never changed MTB grips before. The ones on the bike now go all the way to the end of the bars and then have a larger rim to keep your hands from slipping off. I assume I’d need different grips that can push in far enough to leave room for the extensions. Is that right? Or do you just trim the grips to give room for the extensions?

[rcannon100]

If I recall, well, no I dont recall. It was a long time ago. I know I have trimmed grips. And I have put new grips on. Its not hard (use hairspray).

On my Cannondale, I have lots of room, and it was just a matter of making adjustments.

On my Trek, there was not enough room, so I swapped out the handlebar for a butterfly.

If I remember, I will try to take a photo of the setup.

[dasgeh]

@mstone 88118 wrote:

Of course I think that going down the boardwalk is going to be more practical on a cruiser than a TT bike, but not because of some inherent “comfort” as much as the fact that the cruiser is less likely to fall over if you’re going 2 or 3 MPH.

Personally, I have a preference for which bike is best for each different kind of ride: short trips to the store: dutch bike; long trips to work: “road” bike; long trips when I’m not feeling it: ebike; hauling kids and stuff: bakfiets, etc, etc. Hence n+1. I don’t think any one kind of bike is inherently better than any other kind of bike, they just have different optimal uses. That said, I think for most people, non-e-assisted upright bikes (dutch style, MTB or hybrid) have an outer bound of time/distance where they’re comfortable. I think that boundary is different for different people and probably for different bikes, and is, of course, gradual — you don’t hit 3.5 miles and say “ugh, it suddenly hurts to be on this bike”. But when you look at it from that perspective, you realize that only having a hybrid means that you’re going to be uncomfortable for rides > X miles/minutes. So if you start to realize that you want to take longer rides/be on the bike longer, less upright bikes might enable that.

In other words, different strokes for different folks, but for many, getting a “road” bike will enable more riding.

[mstone]

@sethpo 88121 wrote:

Sorry to be dense. I’ve never changed MTB grips before. The ones on the bike now go all the way to the end of the bars and then have a larger rim to keep your hands from slipping off. I assume I’d need different grips that can push in far enough to leave room for the extensions. Is that right? Or do you just trim the grips to give room for the extensions?

You can cut the ends off, or cut a hole in the end and slide the grips further onto the bars for bars that clamp on. Alternatively some grips (e.g., ergon gp3) have integrated ends, and some bar ends have an expanding plug and go into the bar rather than around it (in which case you only want to put a hole in the end of the grip or use a clamp-on grip).

[sethpo]

@mstone 88127 wrote:

You can cut the ends off, or cut a hole in the end and slide the grips further onto the bars for bars that clamp on. Alternatively some grips (e.g., ergon gp3) have integrated ends, and some bar ends have an expanding plug and go into the bar rather than around it (in which case you only want to put a hole in the end of the grip or use a clamp-on grip).

I sprung for the $10 on these so hopefully that will work out. Thanks.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5883[/ATTACH]

[lordofthemark]

@vvill 88100 wrote:

That said, in terms of practicality, an overweight bike can be a burden if you need to carry the bike on stairs, on vehicles, or say, lift it up to store it alongside 5 other bikes.

I lift my Kona Dew onto the bus bike rack, and off it, twice each day that I commute with it, plus on some recreational rides. I think this helped me to build upper body strength.

[lordofthemark]

to add – so far I am happy with my choice of the Dew. A. I am not sure I would feel comfortable riding in traffic or even on the Eye Street lanes in a drop bar position (though of course I do regularly see people doing that) B. I like that I’ve never gotten a flat, including when I rode on the gravelly section of the GCCCT. Also I would not want to ride the GCCCT on anything less comfortable C. The weight as far as lifting the bike does not bother me D. The longest I’ve ridden on it was about 30 miles, I think, and what I was feeling was leg pain and general windedness more than discomfort in backs and hands. I think I have felt SOME discomfort in back and hands, but I don’t think that was the limiting factor. E. I don’t go fast enough for aerodynamics to matter F. I occasionally do bail to sidewalks where to ride safely and politely, I need to go pretty slow, so anything that made slow riding harder I wouldn’t want.

OTOH -A I can see the limiting factor changing when I do longer rides, and when I get fitter so my legs and general conditioning can take more. B. on days with really strong headwinds I wonder if a more aerodynamic position wouldn’t be a very good thing. C. I do wonder if a lighter bike wouldn’t help with speed and on hills.

In summary at THIS point, I feel like the way to go faster and get better on hills is more about riding more and getting stronger. I could see the next bike being a road bike though (or whatever category, but with those characteristics – more aerodynamic, more hand positions, and lighter)

[ShawnoftheDread]

@sethpo 88133 wrote:

I sprung for the $10 on these so hopefully that will work out. Thanks.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5883[/ATTACH]

Link?

[cvcalhoun]

I’m 60 years old, and regularly lift my 64-lb. bike up onto the bike rack on my car (which is pretty high, since I have a minivan), and onto the bus racks. I just figure it provides a bit of strength training to go with the cardio.

@vvill 88100 wrote:

That said, in terms of practicality, an overweight bike can be a burden if you need to carry the bike on stairs, on vehicles, or say, lift it up to store it alongside 5 other bikes.

[sethpo]

@lordofthemark 88135 wrote:

OTOH -A I can see the limiting factor changing when I do longer rides, and when I get fitter so my legs and general conditioning can take more. B. on days with really strong headwinds I wonder if a more aerodynamic position wouldn’t be a very good thing. C. I do wonder if a lighter bike wouldn’t help with speed and on hills.

One of the more expert-y types should weigh in, but my understanding and experience (I think) is that a more forward aggressive position isn’t so much about being aero as about activating more (or better activating) all of the leg and buttocks muscles. I know that I MUCH prefer riding my 19-mile commute on a road and/or CX bike simply b/c I feel like the position is a more efficient application of power to the pedals which over a longer ride translates to less fatigue / faster speeds.

When I do ride in the drops it’s almost entirely just to use my legs muscles differently and even more efficiently and not b/c I feel like I am somehow cutting the wind better. I’m sure that aero matters at the higher speeds and at the margins where smaller fractions matter but for normal flat or uphill riding it’s about power to the pedals.

Now, maybe I just read that somewhere and internalized it and have come to believe it to be true but…well, that’s what I believe to be true now.

Oh, and that doesn’t apply to fast downhills where I am fairly certainly that being forward and lower equates to more control and stability but in my experience that doesn’t matter until you are talking like 35 mph or more.

[Author]

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