Hybrid Bicycles - Looking for the fastest hybrid I can buy

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LesMcLuffAlot
08-24-09, 09:05 PM
How much do those run?

Well the pic is of some Sweet Onza bar ends from 1996, it was the first pic I found. They are out of business but made some sweet stuff back in the day. Bar ends have kinda fallen out of favour, so the selection is limited these days. Hard to find some sweet gucci bar ends. I had to order mine for my mountain bike. Some sweet magnesium ones.

Usually your LBS will carry some basic ones from 10-20 bucks. Not expensive at all and worth trying. It will make your handle bar narrower in a sense, since they slide over top and your grips and controls will have to be moved inward to make room for the clamp.

Yours in Hybridism,

LesMcLuffAlot


sh00k
08-24-09, 09:13 PM
I had a discussion with my bike nut coworker about why I cannot beat the tall skinny ******* on the roadbike (that rides wearing FLIP FLOPS) even pedaling like crazy downhill...he told me road bikes and hybrids are different. Hybrid bikes rely on torque, have bigger niches on the chain rings. Hybrids are designed for hauling stuff/general riding/??. Road bikes are meant to kick ass.

In short, I don't think there is such a thing as a "fast" hybrid, unless it has road bike-like chain rings?

i duno... i am sorta a noob with bikes and may not have an answer for this... but by the speed figures many have posted here, i thinkthe hybrids are 'fast enough' - for me at least. i know road bikes are capable of going much faster for much longer, etc, but i think the speeds that i have read here on the forum are good enough for me.... im looking to average betw 15 and 20 mph now and max out on the flats closer to 30..... some have posted they've hit 40mph on their hybrids... i cant wait to test mine out! i'll probably kill myself in the process but it'd be worth it to get the figures! LOL

i'll let you know when my bike comes in.. with more practice, as many have suggested, i should be able to go faster. but of course, this is limited by the upright position.

sh00k
08-24-09, 09:19 PM
the cyclocross bikes are definitely worth a look tho. for me, however, i didnt want the hassle of buying a brand new bike then swapping out a lot of the components to get a flat bar bike. i also ran some numbers and the conversion would have cost way more than the price i paid for my 7.7 anyway.... so this is the reason i went higher-end hybrid route.

i was looking at the trek x01 cyclocross bike... it's the lower end of the trek cyclocross bikes (they only have 2 i believe) and it came with bontrager race tires! looks like the perfect hybrid alternative for speed.


Luddite
08-24-09, 09:48 PM
I'm tempted to compare the chain rings on my hybrid and my Miyata, however, some tard swapped out the original chainrings for a biopace triple with....granny gearing. The granny gears put too much stress on the rear derailleur (so the mec guy told me) he suggested some day switching the chain rings back to something more normal. Anyway, I digress.

Ray66
04-15-12, 11:10 PM
Reviving this Thread .. I'm looking at a 2009 used 7.9 and 2012 7.7 .... The 7.7 at LBS wants about $1850 + tax. The used 7.9 is about $1300. Please advise. - Thanks !!!!

giantcfr1
04-16-12, 01:13 AM
Reviving this Thread ...

Why? Do you want to know which is faster?

Just take them for a ride and compare. If you are asking about price, $1300 is a lot for a used 2009 bike. Is it full carbon with dura-ace or something?

Galvatron1
04-16-12, 04:46 AM
wow, 2 years later & shook still never posted pics, that a long in due time. :lol:
I also have a white 2011 Trek 7.3 FX, live in Bklyn, NY & ride often on the west side greenway. Actually I ride all over, did '11 Tour de bronx, century & am doing 5 boro on my 7.3 FX. I too am looking to upgrade, by making it lighter & faster, but need advice on how to do it cost effectively. I too hate being hunkered down to a drop bar, although I do drop my elbows on the comfy isozone handlebar/gel grips to be more aero on long hauls. Here are some of the things I've considered, pls help me to know if it is compatible or a good idea for my Trek 7.3 FX, thnx!!

1. FSA SUPER ROAD 53T 130MM N10 10SP K-FORCE LIGHT(I was hoping to swap out my 48T crank ring, for 53T increase in speed. Will that work?):
http://d3d71ba2asa5oz.cloudfront.net/32001394/images/cr4153.jpg

2. 700C High Strength New Monocoque Toray Full Carbon Fiber Cyclocross Fork 3k 12k (compatible? lighter? same length?)
http://www.mailingfromchina.com/litb/233683/233683-2.jpg


3. 1180g Wheelset: (It's a 130mm rear axle wheel, my rare fork space is 135mm, will it fit? One of the many problems of UPGRADING hybrids, sigh.)
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Easton-EC90-SLX-Zipp-Tubulars-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqZHJEUE91-kzsv,BPg)4n4CIQ~~60_58.JPG

SlimRider
04-16-12, 07:23 AM
I could never comprehend great concern with speed, as it relates to hybrids. Riding in an upright postion, subjects you to greater air resistance.

Once you've entered into the realm of perfomance hybrids, I would think that would be sufficiently fast. When it gets down to being a second or two faster, I dunno....I mean, who reallys cares that much about that kinda time difference in hybrids?

That seems more like a road bike goal, to me...

Andy2302
04-16-12, 09:59 AM
Slim! I too would like my hybrid to go faster. I'm gaining strength and stamina on every ride and increasingly find myself in top gear wanting more. I'm so new I don't even know what the components are called.
I like the upright position on the hybrid and the smoother rides on our old roads. I'll never race but what's wrong with pushing my limits.

ChowChow
04-16-12, 03:11 PM
Slim! I too would like my hybrid to go faster. I'm gaining strength and stamina on every ride and increasingly find myself in top gear wanting more. I'm so new I don't even know what the components are called.
I like the upright position on the hybrid and the smoother rides on our old roads. I'll never race but what's wrong with pushing my limits.

Put on thinner tires. Like 23-25mm. I change the Kenda Road 28mm tires on my 2010 Fuji Absolute 2.0 to a set a Vittoria Pro III 25mm road tires and what a big difference. The Vittoria's is a lighter and thinner folded tires. Which I've notice increase speed, less rolling resistance and easier uphill climbing.

trustnoone
04-23-12, 07:16 AM
OK, against my better judgment, I'll bite:




1. FSA SUPER ROAD 53T 130MM N10 10SP K-FORCE LIGHT(I was hoping to swap out my 48T crank ring, for 53T increase in speed. Will that work?):
http://d3d71ba2asa5oz.cloudfront.net/32001394/images/cr4153.jpg

130BCD will not fit the likely shimano triple crank you have now. Best you are going to get is a 50T 110BCD.


2. 700C High Strength New Monocoque Toray Full Carbon Fiber Cyclocross Fork 3k 12k (compatible? lighter? same length?)
http://www.mailingfromchina.com/litb/233683/233683-2.jpg

It should work. Go to a LBS if you're serious about it. I wouldn't bother.



3. 1180g Wheelset: (It's a 130mm rear axle wheel, my rare fork space is 135mm, will it fit? One of the many problems of UPGRADING hybrids, sigh.)
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Easton-EC90-SLX-Zipp-Tubulars-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$%28KGrHqZHJEUE91-kzsv,BPg%294n4CIQ%7E%7E60_58.JPG

What's a rare fork? These wheels won't work for your rear drop outs. If they did they cost more than the rest of the bike which is cool if that is what you want but it's overkill on a 7.3

Bar none the cheapest way to get a faster bike is to get a faster rider. The second cheapest is to get a road bike. If you 'hate the idea of being hunkered down to a drop bar' which you may or may not know has multiple hand positions as opposed to your flat bar you will run out of bike pretty quick.

If I were to constrain myself to a hybrid I would 1. get a good set of 25 or 28mm performance tires. 2. 50T big ring. 3. Get a set of 700C Mavic Open Sports or open Pro rims hand laced to a set of light rim brake mountain hubs.

Then next year I would wonder why I didn't just buy a road bike.

SuperDave
04-23-12, 06:19 PM
Slim! I too would like my hybrid to go faster. I'm gaining strength and stamina on every ride and increasingly find myself in top gear wanting more. I'm so new I don't even know what the components are called.
I like the upright position on the hybrid and the smoother rides on our old roads. I'll never race but what's wrong with pushing my limits.

What the heck kind of MTB gearing does your hybrid run? My Coda has a gear which would put me over 45mph at a comfortable cadence, as if I could push that gear. Heck, I could hit mid-30's (again, as if) without using the big chainring. If you can maintain a 25mph running average on a flat-bar hybrid, you are a gorilla. Any old gearing should provide that. So, I'll approach from a different angle and ask, what cadences are you pedaling at? We measure that in revolutions per minute (rpm), and a fit rider should be able to maintain 120rpm. That's the cadence at which I calculated the speeds mentioned above. If you are not riding cadences at or over 90rpm, you are not even close to how fast you can be.

RollCNY
04-23-12, 08:24 PM
We measure that in revolutions per minute (rpm), and a fit rider should be able to maintain 120rpm. That's the cadence at which I calculated the speeds mentioned above.

Not to weigh in on a 3 yr old revitalized thread, but the bold part is non-sense. A fit rider should spin out at about 120, not maintain it for speed calculations. When Lance showed the value of spinning in the TdF, he was spinning with an average something like 110, and crushing the other pro's that spun at an average of 90 to 95. If you watched the big Ullrich battle, all they talked about was the difference in cadence between the two.

To tell someone on the hybrid forum that they should be able to maintain a cadence of 120 seems very wrong. The guys in the road forum don't even say that.

SuperDave
04-24-12, 05:32 AM
Not to weigh in on a 3 yr old revitalized thread, but the bold part is non-sense. A fit rider should spin out at about 120, not maintain it for speed calculations. When Lance showed the value of spinning in the TdF, he was spinning with an average something like 110, and crushing the other pro's that spun at an average of 90 to 95. If you watched the big Ullrich battle, all they talked about was the difference in cadence between the two.

To tell someone on the hybrid forum that they should be able to maintain a cadence of 120 seems very wrong. The guys in the road forum don't even say that.

My apologies; I hadn't realized. 90 is cruising cadence for me. I honestly thought this is how people do it.

EsoxLucius
04-26-12, 09:06 AM
I was going to suggest the Motobecane Cafe Century Pro. No Trek FX is going to touch it for $1300.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/cafe_century_pro_xi.htm


I also surmise that this is pretty illogical...
246802

sh00k
04-29-12, 06:12 PM
wow, 2 years later & shook still never posted pics, that a long in due time. :lol:

pics of what...? if it's my 7.3, i did post a couple of pictures somewhere in this forum... i forget where but it was like over a year ago :D