road or hybrid

HalfWheeler wrote:The

HalfWheeler wrote:

The difference between cycling on a hybrid compared with cycling on a road bike is like the difference between running in a pair of Doc Martens and running in a pair of trainers.

Fairly true, but I hate the false impression that people have to have the latest shiny kit in order to do something. If getting fit is your aim, then time on any bike is the important thing.

cbrookes75 wrote:JeevesBath

cbrookes75 wrote:

JeevesBath wrote:

Just did a 60 mile sportive yesterday on a £500 Rapid 4 hybrid from Giant. Average speed was about 14 mph, which included quite a few uphill bits where I overtook some people on regular road bikes.
Unless you’re obsessive about going as fast as you can at all times, I’d say a hybrid is just fine.

I see the Rapid 4 has a straight fork, whereas the Carrera hybrids generally have suspension forks, I assume this is where most the weight is added? Before getting a road bike I did contemplate replacing the Suspension fork with a normal one? Would that be possible?

I actually have both styles of hybrid, the Giant and also a Trek with suspension fork which I tend to use more for commuting and cycling with the kids etc. I am not technical enough to know if you can replace a suspension fork with straight fork, but have to say that the whole package between the two is completely different, not just the type of fork. The Giant Rapid is much more road oriented (imagine almost a low-end road bike with flat bars) in terms of frame and gearing, and the brakes are noticeably more effective.
Having said that, I use my Trek for the commute to work (15 miles each way) just fine.

JeevesBath wrote:Just did a

JeevesBath wrote:

Just did a 60 mile sportive yesterday on a £500 Rapid 4 hybrid from Giant. Average speed was about 14 mph, which included quite a few uphill bits where I overtook some people on regular road bikes.
Unless you’re obsessive about going as fast as you can at all times, I’d say a hybrid is just fine.

Just did a 60 mile sportive
Just did a 60 mile sportive yesterday on a £500 Rapid 4 hybrid from Giant. Average speed was about 14 mph, which included quite a few uphill bits where I overtook some people on regular road bikes.
Unless you’re obsessive about going as fast as you can at all times, I’d say a hybrid is just fine.

I too have the Carrera 2
I too have the Carrera 2 subway(£150 off fleabay) – it’s a good commuter bike. I put SPD, ChargeSpoon saddle and Schwalbe Kojaks on and it rolls quite fast on the flats and downhill. I’m 5’10” currently 232 lbs / 105 kg. So I’m a bit of a clydesdale. And the bike is not the lightest in the world. The ride is silky smooth on the tyres, which is good because I have lower back problems so like to keep shock to a minimum.

I will treat myself to a 2nd hand CycloCross bike when I lose another 14 lbs. and throw some wide slicks on it (looking to spend £300-400 on something originally priced around the £1K mark and has been well looked after).

I’m hoping that when I do I will get maybe 1-2 mph increase for the same effort.
although if I change bike now I might get some positive re-inforcement from going a bit quicker, and thus ride harder. It is a bit of a drag being last up the hills in my cycle club, but I suspect my weight is more of a factor than the bikes weight. But every little bit helps! Decisions decisions ….

I went from hybrid to road
I went from hybrid to road bike and lost 15kg (2 stone 5 pounds) in weight and counting.

There were a lot of factors.

Aerodynamics are better but as people say above, this can be achieved on your hybrid if you remove the spacers from under your stem, flip your stem so that it is downwards angled, get a stem that is more angled and point it downwards, (and as not yet mentioned) get some aerobars
e.g.

but I prefer
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/HBCISPIN/cinelli-spinaci-bar-extensions
and get a longer stem perhaps (good for most other than downhill and being too strung out. When you look down your handlebars should obscure your front wheel axle), cut of 1/2 inch or so from each end of your handlebars so that your bars a little narrower than your shoulders or at least no wider, and get lycra on your legs.

The SPD pedals will make a difference too. Try not to fall off -unclip when you slow down even if you do not intend to stop. Shoes with a hard sole (ideally carbon) and a ratchet to pull your heal into a cup improve power transer.

And I upvote thin slick tyres and at least higher tyre pressure for reduced rolling resistance. Tyres are not the place to get a softer ride.

A hollow saddle (SPD Selle, Cobb, Ism) takes pressure off your perineum – the soft bit in your crotch. This is important when you are heavy and yet want to get forward and lower.

With your lowered more aero position, putting weight on your hands, bike gloves are a must.

But I think that the biggest difference for me was that my hybrid bike was made of aluminium and my road bike is made of carbon. Bike shops and this web site seem to suggest that the difference between aluminum and carbon is that the latter is lighter, but for me that was irrelevant. I was carrying two bikes worth of flab. The important point about carbon is suspension. When you are heavy then suspension is important. It was the choclately smooth flexibility of the carbon frame that made me want to ride and lose all that weight.

If you look at cyclists on the road you will notice that there are a lot of people (half?!) that are on mountain bikes. Do they ride trails? I guess few of them do. I used to think that they were wallies who liked the macho look of big tyres. But then I tried a mountain bike and got it. Mountain bikes with their big tyres and shock absorbers provide suspension too.

I am not sugesting you get a mountain bike (unless you are more than about 4 stone overweight) but a carbon bike will provide the suspension, and be lighter than your hybrid.

Finally, unless you are rich, I would recommend you stay away from local bike shops, who generally sell expensive famous named bikes, and get an unfamous carbon road bike online e.g. from Ribble, in your current hybrid bike size. When purchasing a carbon road bike (with Shimano Tiagra or pref Shimano 105 or above parts) the price differential can be pretty enourmous. When I decided to get back into cycling I wasted about a year and 1200 UKB on another harsh aluminium hybrid while being flattered and wowed by lBS jaron.

If you are mechanically minded you could swap your hybrid bike frame for a carbon frame, and even put road bike handlebars on in. You can get carbon frames from about 250UKP online.

PS
I see that your bike is well reviewed
http://reviews.halfords.com/4028/960138/reviews.htm
And if it is the “commuter” version it has an adjustable stem. As well as slamming (removing the spacers from below the stem to above the stem) try adjusting the stem so that it points downwards.

You need a new bike.
Everyone
You need a new bike.

Everyone knows that new bikes have magical powers that give the rider
a energy boost, enables them to travel further and faster than ever before, and make them look darn awesome to bystanders.