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I was wondering how easy it is to pedal a road bike.

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

I was wondering how easy it is to pedal a road bike.

Old 10-15-11, 08:08 PM
  #26  
FastRod
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Originally Posted by AdelaaR
Depending on what you now have and call hybrid, there's going to be a small or hardly any difference.
Most of the difference comes from body position, something that can be greatly enhanced on a hybrid too by simply lowering your handlebar and optionally getting an aerobar.
The bike itself has very little to do with it.
If you want to go fast: get lower and HTFU and pedal harder.
Getting better tires and improving cadence will also help.
I doubt a drop bar is going to work on a mtn bike like frame, I've dropped the angle of the stem by reversing it and that has helped slightly. Being on a single speed gear ratio of 35 x 17 when I try to catch up to a lot of road riders I tend to be spinning to fast, thought of getting it changed to a 16 cog maybe.
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Old 10-15-11, 09:36 PM
  #27  
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OP, I'd advise you to go to a bike shop and test ride one. I did and ended up spending way too much money on a new road bike!
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Old 10-15-11, 09:49 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by LazinCajun
OP, I'd advise you to go to a bike shop and test ride one. I did and ended up spending way too much money on a new road bike!
Haha, that's interesting... maybe I should. Bad thing was I did try one but I couldn't go anywhere else except the carpark, didn't really get use to the drops either but it was light and accelerates lighting fast. Hmmm I should go try one again.
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Old 10-15-11, 11:45 PM
  #29  
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I echo everything RookieRoadie said!-- The comparison between road and MTB is N & D!! But no matter what you ride, it is nice to have a bike computer. It allows to push yourself when your ave is dropping over longer distances( i.e.: being more cognoscente of your wkout) and it's great for logging your miles & trip distances to and from places. You sound like you have the desire for one, so it'll just be a matter of time until you own one!
Originally Posted by RookieRoadie
Hmmm, you can go too far the other way though, maybe a little tighter wouldn't hurt? In answer to the original question, I found the difference between my road and mtn bike to be like night and day (my old bike was pretty cheap though ) acceleration, in particular, was much greater and I discovered that riding up hills at more than a snail's pace was indeed possible! You might find less of a difference between a road bike and your hybrid, but I'd expect it to be faster all the way around nonetheless.
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Old 10-16-11, 12:54 AM
  #30  
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It doesn't matter what you ride, going fast hurts.
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Old 10-16-11, 01:31 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by FastRod
I doubt a drop bar is going to work on a mtn bike like frame, I've dropped the angle of the stem by reversing it and that has helped slightly. Being on a single speed gear ratio of 35 x 17 when I try to catch up to a lot of road riders I tend to be spinning to fast, thought of getting it changed to a 16 cog maybe.
Who said anything about a drop bar?
This is my hybrid when I used it for a TT race:



I can assure you this is one fast hybrid

OP: make sure you do a couple of test rides on a dropbar roadbike before making the jump to buy one ... some people like 'em and some people don't.
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Old 10-16-11, 04:40 AM
  #32  
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3circles: Yea maybe I'll look back into cat eye for a simple cycle computer or something close to it.

Pdedas: Still going faster is always better, I love speed.

AdelaaR: LOL, awesome bike do you take it off road ever? or you just swap the wheels to bigger ones cause it seems like it would fit.
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Old 10-16-11, 06:50 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by ahsposo
You can keep it upright going that slow?
Yet another well thought out, informative, typical reply in the 41
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Old 10-16-11, 08:31 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by 4.11
I think you might find a bike computer will have you editing this post to transpose a few numbers. That being said, for the effort, my road bike is faster and will travel farther. Plus I just love that it is lightweight =)
You do know that if he transposes a few numbers, 21 becomes 12 and 12 kph is 7 mph. 21 kph seems pretty realistic.
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Old 10-16-11, 08:36 AM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by FastRod
AdelaaR: LOL, awesome bike do you take it off road ever? or you just swap the wheels to bigger ones cause it seems like it would fit.
That's my hybrid ... I now have a carbon TT bike and so my hybrid is always sporting the cyclocross wheelset now.
With those cyclocross tires I definately take it offroad
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Old 10-16-11, 09:56 AM
  #36  
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I'll echo 5-10% improvement based on my own experience switching from a road-style flat bar hybrid to an enduro-style road bike about 500 miles ago.
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Old 10-16-11, 10:06 AM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by ddimick
I'll echo 5-10% improvement based on my own experience switching from a road-style flat bar hybrid to an enduro-style road bike about 500 miles ago.
That improvement may be there, but most of it will be from altered position and not from the bike itself.
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Old 10-16-11, 10:43 AM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by AdelaaR
Dude, you have a triple and an 'aero bar'. Pick one.

The other has to go.









We're not even going to talk about the suspension...
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Old 10-16-11, 12:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Bob Dopolina
Dude, you have a triple and an 'aero bar'. Pick one.
The other has to go.
We're not even going to talk about the suspension...
Haha... I can do whatever I like because I believe there's a bike for every kind of person
I might put my discwheel on it just to annoy you even more
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Old 10-16-11, 12:37 PM
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Originally Posted by FastRod
Hi guys, I ride a cheap hybrid and it's pretty heavy, flat bar and not so skinny tires. I run toe clips on it and I average about 21km/h. I was wondering when you guys are pushing hard for 30km how fast are you guys averaging? just wondering cause I have thought of getting a road bike for long distances and pretty much for the speed =D.
Going from your current bike to a good quality road bike will be night and day. Road bikes are a pleasure to pedal. They are so light that they just surge when you put the power on.
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Old 10-16-11, 12:53 PM
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Originally Posted by AdelaaR
Haha... I can do whatever I like because I believe there's a bike for every kind of person
I might put my discwheel on it just to annoy you even more
Hahaha.

Your Gung Fu is not very good.

My Gung Fu is much better.
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Old 10-16-11, 01:05 PM
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Originally Posted by AdelaaR
Haha... I can do whatever I like because I believe there's a bike for every kind of person
Or, there's a saddle for every ass
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Old 10-16-11, 01:42 PM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by ntjp
Going from your current bike to a good quality road bike will be night and day. Road bikes are a pleasure to pedal. They are so light that they just surge when you put the power on.
Hybrids can be pretty light too.
Someone on the hybrid forum made a full carbon hybrid weighing only 8 kilos.
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Old 10-16-11, 02:07 PM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
$5 bucks, free shipping, I use two of them.


https://www.dealextreme.com/p/sunding...edometer-24075
I bought the same one on ebay for $3. It only lasted 2 months.
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Old 10-16-11, 02:30 PM
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OP~
Flip your stem angle down and move the spacers to the top. Get a 43 or 45 chainring, keep the 17 in the back. My Sirrus Sport (sold now... sniff sniff) was set up single speed, 43 x 18, and could cruise on paved roads in the 18 to 19mph, spin out in the low 20's (NOT KPH). A chain ring is way cheaper than a bike, at least in the US.

And cut your bar width down. For no reason other than you can.
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Old 10-16-11, 03:10 PM
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Originally Posted by FastRod
Hi guys, I ride a cheap hybrid and it's pretty heavy, flat bar and not so skinny tires. I run toe clips on it and I average about 21km/h. I was wondering when you guys are pushing hard for 30km how fast are you guys averaging? just wondering cause I have thought of getting a road bike for long distances and pretty much for the speed =D.
on a 30 pund montain bike you can go 27kph forever, on ur hibrid u shuld be able to go about 30kph forever, on a road bike u should be able to go 35kph forever.
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Old 10-16-11, 04:59 PM
  #47  
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Originally Posted by Don Gwinn
It can . . . but I've been riding a road bike for six years, and I just bought my first pair of clipless shoes yesterday. I have one pair of padde cycling shorts and a helmet; the rest of what I wear on the bike is just the shorts, pants, t-shirts and sweat shirts and golf shirts I would be wearing otherwise. Even my sunglasses and clear lenses are my shooting glasses.

Now, all that said, I did just buy those shoes, and I'm about to drop more money on cold-weather tights, shoe covers, and gloves. So, you know, maybe I should say you can hold out for awhile against the inevitable.



you will be assimilated, resistance is futile!!
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Old 10-16-11, 05:02 PM
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Originally Posted by AdelaaR
That improvement may be there, but most of it will be from altered position and not from the bike itself.
No argument there.
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Old 10-16-11, 10:53 PM
  #49  
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Interesting replied haha, yes I have flipped the stem and cut the bars by an inch because i found them too big for me. I was wondering if the height of your seat affect aero dynamics? Cause I was riding the other day with my seat at it's lowest position forgot to adjust. It was windy and surprisingly I found it easier to fight the wind. Just what I noticed got no proof to support my point lol.
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Old 10-17-11, 03:06 AM
  #50  
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O yes! You will be so fast that you'll soon get a parachute that says 'Meep meep!' as you speed away. Just watch out for acme anvils!
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