I’m a former road cyclist who had enough friends hit by cars that I sold my bike and quit cycling all together about six years ago. My wife and I have since moved into a house that is a quarter mile from a rail trail that extends about 30 miles to the north in one direction, and then links with other trails 8 miles to the south that can get us to some nice villages and into downtown. After three years here we decided to get some hybrid bikes to take advantage of this trail system.
Being a former road cyclist I was looking for a bike that would serve two purposes: first take nice casual rides to the villages and downtown with my wife, and second provide a good platform for me to bomb around the trails and get a real workout in. I didn’t want to tempt myself getting back onto the roads, so while a road bike was off the table I still was looking for something I could set up to fit and feel like a road bike.
I did a lot of test rides and after being discouraged with the general geometry in the hybrid category, I got online and stumbled upon the FastRoad models. They were exactly what I was looking for as far as looks and geometry was concerned. The only issue was nobody near me had any to test ride. I live in Florida so I was looking for gears spaced tight enough that I would have plenty of spin options in the flats and headwinds. When I saw the 2024 models were going to 1x, I had to source a 2023 model sight unseen from an out of state shop.
I got my 2023 FastRoad AR 2 in this week. I’m 5’11 and went with a M/L frame to avoid having too high of a stack. After a short test ride I flipped the stem to get more of a drop and slid the saddle back an inch to give myself a slightly longer reach. I took it out for a 25 mile ride today and everything felt absolutely fantastic. The location of the gear levers is going to take some getting use to, but I was very happy with the amount of gear options I had to match whatever cadence I wanted to spin. This is also my first tubeless bike, and I didn’t feel as much resistance from the tires as I thought I would. The Sora components are a downgrade from the 105 I had on my old road bike, but shifts are still very snappy and they will serve me well until I wear them out and have an excuse to upgrade them. When I’m fighting a headwind and want to get more arrow, moving my hands closer together on the handlebars allows for an efficient and controllable tuck position.
All in all, if you’re a roadie or a retired roadie looking for a similar setup, I can’t speak highly enough about the FastRoad. Just don’t go too big on the frame because a higher stack will negate all of this feedback.
