Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - a ton of questions

i'm not even sure if this is the right forum;

i'm 6' tall and 220 lbs. barring a below freezing wind-chill, i ride somewhere between 15 and 30 miles every day at a 15mph avg. i ride solo. i don't plan on riding competitively. i started last may just to get into shape. i'd like to take cycling to the next step (for me). i want to start riding long distances. more accurately, i'm not concerned about distance as much as time. i want to spend the weekends on a bike. i'd like to start riding 5+ hrs per day on the weekends. eventually, i want to take a 3 or 4 day weekend and ride my bike to see some friends 150 miles away.

i have a trek 7300 hybrid and suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. a little over 2 hours on the bike is about all i can handle. gloves help delay how long it takes before my hands go numb. sometimes my feet go numb too. i upgraded my saddle and kept tweaking the angle/height. that helped. however, i'd like to move into a bike that is more comfortable for longer rides. i'd also like the option of taking this bike on bike paths.

so the questions begin...

do you think i should just focus on cross bikes? i don't plan on "touring" so i'm not worried about braze-ons for racks, etc. the 2 cross bikes that i've been eyeing are the felt f1x and the specialized tricross comp. i've looked at the kona's as well (esp. the "major jake").

are there relaxed geometry road bikes that could be modified to ride on crushed limestone paths? i've looked at the felt z65 and z35. the trek pilot 2.1 looks promising but i'd like to try a different brand this time around. i've even been looking at the orbea onix tdi.

vibration seems to bother my carpal tunnel as much as putting weight/compression on my wrists. would a cf bike be a good choice for someone my size? should i stick with steel or aluminum? would a cf fork be a good idea? should i just stick with a flat bar?

i'd appreciate any feedback. i've been to over half a dozen lbs's and i get totally different answers to the same questions. i'm more confused than ever.

The only problem you might have with a road geometry bike is that they put more weight on your hands than hybrids or mountain bikes.

Having said that, if I were you, I'd check out a carbon Specialized Roubaix. Have them put some wheels on there that'll handle 28's. That's probably as comfortable as you'll easily find in a road bike. The 28's will handle hard packed dirt no problem using gatorskins tires (or the like). You won't fly, but you'll get there. At your weight, carbon is not a problem.

I'd stay away from aluminium, it's generally the harshest ride of the 3 materials.

About the wrists, at what height are your handlebars in comparison with your saddle? If your handlebars are quite low, you might want to raise them.

About the bicycles, you might look at something that is a "sport touring" type of bicycle ... sort of a cross between a touring bicycle and a racing bicycle.

i have my stem adjusted up high. my grips are a couple of inches higher than my saddle. in addition, i regularly adust my seat-post up and down to work different parts of my quads.

what makes/models are sport-touring bikes?

also, if i'm going to spend the $$$ ($2k is my limit), i want at least 105 components. the orbea i'm looking at has entry-level campy components. another thing i'd like are the 2nd set of brake levers on the top part of the drop handlebars (i've noticed a lot of cross bikes come with them). i'm on flat roads and i think i'll have my hands there instead of on the hoods most of the time.

i'm not even sure if this is the right forum;

i'm 6' tall and 220 lbs. barring a below freezing wind-chill, i ride somewhere between 15 and 30 miles every day at a 15mph avg. i ride solo. i don't plan on riding competitively. i started last may just to get into shape. i'd like to take cycling to the next step (for me). i want to start riding long distances. more accurately, i'm not concerned about distance as much as time. i want to spend the weekends on a bike. i'd like to start riding 5+ hrs per day on the weekends. eventually, i want to take a 3 or 4 day weekend and ride my bike to see some friends 150 miles away.

i have a trek 7300 hybrid and suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. a little over 2 hours on the bike is about all i can handle. gloves help delay how long it takes before my hands go numb. sometimes my feet go numb too. i upgraded my saddle and kept tweaking the angle/height. that helped. however, i'd like to move into a bike that is more comfortable for longer rides. i'd also like the option of taking this bike on bike paths.

so the questions begin...

do you think i should just focus on cross bikes? i don't plan on "touring" so i'm not worried about braze-ons for racks, etc. the 2 cross bikes that i've been eyeing are the felt f1x and the specialized tricross comp. i've looked at the kona's as well (esp. the "major jake").

are there relaxed geometry road bikes that could be modified to ride on crushed limestone paths? i've looked at the felt z65 and z35. the trek pilot 2.1 looks promising but i'd like to try a different brand this time around. i've even been looking at the orbea onix tdi.

vibration seems to bother my carpal tunnel as much as putting weight/compression on my wrists. would a cf bike be a good choice for someone my size? should i stick with steel or aluminum? would a cf fork be a good idea? should i just stick with a flat bar?

i'd appreciate any feedback. i've been to over half a dozen lbs's and i get totally different answers to the same questions. i'm more confused than ever.

It's not clear what your bike paths are like. If they have gravel, then you are likely to do best on a cyclocross bike.

On the subject of wrist pain, I'm presuming that you have a good set of gloves. I have a set of pearl izumi ones with a bit of gel in them, and they make a measurable difference. You would have more options with hand position on a drop bar, and for some people that makes a big difference. It may also help to make sure you aren't too tight on the bars, and you might consider doing more exercises to strengthen your core and back muscles - that can take a fair amount of weight. You also might think about bar-ends on your current bike - I did that on my hybrid, and it gave me some good improvements.

On the subject of materials, a carbon fork will help, but a full carbon frame will do the most to get rid of "road buzz". This is somewhat depending on the way the frame is designed - some frames will absorb more vibration than others. You may find it hard finding a carbon-framed cyclocross bike.

Oh, and ther's no reason somebody your size can't ride a carbon frame. You may need to ask some questions about the wheels.

Hope that helps.

i'm not even sure if this is the right forum;

i'm 6' tall and 220 lbs. barring a below freezing wind-chill, i ride somewhere between 15 and 30 miles every day at a 15mph avg. i ride solo. i don't plan on riding competitively. i started last may just to get into shape. i'd like to take cycling to the next step (for me). i want to start riding long distances. more accurately, i'm not concerned about distance as much as time. i want to spend the weekends on a bike. i'd like to start riding 5+ hrs per day on the weekends. eventually, i want to take a 3 or 4 day weekend and ride my bike to see some friends 150 miles away.

i have a trek 7300 hybrid and suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. a little over 2 hours on the bike is about all i can handle. gloves help delay how long it takes before my hands go numb. sometimes my feet go numb too. i upgraded my saddle and kept tweaking the angle/height. that helped. however, i'd like to move into a bike that is more comfortable for longer rides. i'd also like the option of taking this bike on bike paths.

so the questions begin...

do you think i should just focus on cross bikes? i don't plan on "touring" so i'm not worried about braze-ons for racks, etc. the 2 cross bikes that i've been eyeing are the felt f1x and the specialized tricross comp. i've looked at the kona's as well (esp. the "major jake").

are there relaxed geometry road bikes that could be modified to ride on crushed limestone paths? i've looked at the felt z65 and z35. the trek pilot 2.1 looks promising but i'd like to try a different brand this time around. i've even been looking at the orbea onix tdi.

vibration seems to bother my carpal tunnel as much as putting weight/compression on my wrists. would a cf bike be a good choice for someone my size? should i stick with steel or aluminum? would a cf fork be a good idea? should i just stick with a flat bar?

i'd appreciate any feedback. i've been to over half a dozen lbs's and i get totally different answers to the same questions. i'm more confused than ever.

Can I be the first to suggest you consider a recumbent? I did, not due to capal tunnel, back issues or other but rather because of the comfort I could enjoy on centuries and doubles, without sacrificing speed and fun. During my first test ride, I thought, "this isn't for me" but I persisted and after a few more rides I bought my first bent and I'm not going back. Maybe not for everyone, but worth a look. And btw, the right bent can be set up for whatever your riding intentions are.

There are some nice relaxed geometry road bikes out there. I have a Gunnar Sport. It's steel and has room for big tires and fenders and has a higher head tube.
You could also double wrap your bars with soft tape.
Some people use clip-on aero bars where they rest their elbows on pads (tri-bars).

For a more comfortable ride, you want a bike with larger, lower pressure tires. This will do more to reduce vibration than any particular frame selection. So, you should be looking at a bike that will support wide tires. Your current bike, being a hybrid, should work fine for this. Assuming you have 32mm or wider tires, try inflating them to about 70 psi. Most people inflate their tires to the maximum on the sidewall. With wider tires, this is usually not necessary and results in a harsh ride. A little less pressure (~10%) will give you a smoother ride without risk of pinch flats and very little, if any, increase in rolling resistance.

If this is not sufficient, then you may need to look at getting a suspension fork for your hybrid. Going to a cyclocross frame is not likely to help. Many Trek hybrid frames are already cyclocross geometry with flat bars instead of drops. So, buying a cyclocross bike will probably not help.

I highly recommend you see an experienced bike-fitter before you buy. Get a short list of bikes that fit your intended purposes (this thread has already suggested a few) and go see a reputable bike fitter. You'll get your measurements taken, and then let the pro's tell you what will fit best based on frame geometry and your dimensions. All this gets your posture and weight balance perfect.

Merely changing stem height or length is merely palliative care. You, especially with carpel tunnel, really need someone to get your into the right posture.

I'm speaking from experience because I did this very thing. Had an idea I wanted a Soma, then went into shop and found out that Soma's frame spec were a very poor match for my body geometry. Turns out there were some way better options for me, and it didn't mean necessarily spending more $$.

Good luck!

I'll try to answer a few questions from personal experience:

I own a touring bike 1983 Trek 720 (modified as my long distance bike), a cross bike(my dirt road bike), a Road bike and a Mountain bike.

For most riding including limestone trails the touring bike works fine. I usually use 28mm wide tires on the 720. The longer wheelbase with the wider tires creates a very smooth ride but without a huge weight penalty. I use the touring bike for about 80% of my long solo rides.
I use the cross bike when the weather turns nasty and I use 30mm cross tires - the cross bike has a higher bottom bracket and a shorter whellbase so is not as compliant as the tourer but is quicker. I also use the cross bike when I want a short, high intensity workout. If I had to choose between the 2 I would select the touring geometry.
Re:the carpal tunnel syndrome - I think that the multiple positions on the drop bars would be an improvement over flat bars - also having your palms facing each other is more natural. One position that helps is to hook your thumbs over the brake levers and keep your fingers loosely dangling. One thing that you will notice with the drop bars is that it is you legs, not your arms or seat that will be taking most of your weight.
I noticed that you mentioned changing saddle heights - this may not be a good idea as this could lead to knee problems.
I use the road bike for group rides and find that the quicker responsiveness and lighter weight is a decided advantage (but when I am on my own I do not experience a large difference in average speed between the Road bike and touring bike). And although my Road Bike, a Lemond Zurich, is less stiff than most road bikes, I can definitely feel the difference in comfort between the Lemond and the Trek. Psychologically, if you are with a group and working hard you don't notice all the little bumps, but on my own I start to feel them at some point.

My favorite route on my Trek 720 has 2 miles of dirt roads, 14 miles of limestone paths, 13 miles of paved trails and 29 miles of roads.

So I guess that I would encourage you to look into a touring frame.