Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - How much will a new bike help me?

Right now I have a Trek 7.2fx hybrid and the max I can do on it is about 50 miles in one day. There is no way I can push it further than that unless I am on completely flat terrain. I did lots of 40+ miles rides last summer but I always start giving out at around the 40 - 45 mile mark then go downhill fast.

How much would upgrading to a more expensive road bike actually impact my distance, or will it hardly matter? I dream of doing a century some day but maybe it's not in the cards :).

For me, at about the 40 mile distance is where paying attention to how much fluids and calories you are burning and taking in will start to matter. Basically I can hop on and ride 40 miles without any consideration to what I've eaten, how much fluids I have with me, etc. But to go much past that, I need to pay attention to food and fluids during those first 40.

You can't keep going if your gas tank is empty. I doubt a change in bike will help at all, if the rest of the system isn't considered first.

I ride a lot of centuries with a friend who rolls on a Specialized Stumpjumper with a locked-out front shock and 700 x 25 tires. Work on fueling the motor before buying new machinery. I agree with barturtle: You're probably not eating/drinking properly if you're conking out that quickly.

I went from a Giant Cypress in 2008 to a Soma Cyclocross bike in 2009. Changing bikes was one of several changes I made in my cycling, but it was a key change, IMO.

Regular riding distance in 2008: 20 to 40 miles
Normal speed range in 2008: 13 to 17 mph

Regular riding distance in 2009: 35 to 55 miles
Normal speed range in 2009: 16 to 19 mph
More than 6 century rides in 2009.

Changes that made a difference;

Clipless pedals & stiff bike shoes
Bike computer with a cadence function
Road bike with drop bars and 700c X 28 slicks

Work up to century by increasing your distance by 20% each month.
Ride at a higher cadence.
Ride with faster riders.
Ride a century once or twice a month.
Ride 500 miles/month.

You will need to push your mental and physical limits by working at it.
The right gear can help.

Michael

Personal order of importance for going long:
HRM
Learning food and drink
Clothing, including shoes and clipless pedals
Bike

That said, so you have an HRM and know how to pace yourself, you've learned what you have to eat and drink to keep rolling, you're comfortable in all weather and you've gone clipless . . . A light real road bike will make a huge difference in enthusiasm. It's a lot more fun to keep going faster the harder you push on the pedals. You're more likely to feel like keeping at it if you feel your bike is helping, rather than hindering your progress.

Although there are masochists among us, who feel like they need to ride fixed with platform pedals, or MTBs with knobbies, so they can really overcome some obstacles, instead of cheating with a 15 lb. carbon road bike.

Thanks for the advice! I admit I am not always the best at keeping myself properly fueled up. I often do these rides right after work at 6ish without drinking anything at all before I leave. I do always pick up some water/gatorade after 15-20 miles though. So I'm normally ok about liquid but I generally don't eat until the very end of my ride, and I really scarf down my food at that point.

And if it means anything I'm never tired overall- it's mostly my legs that don't want to go on. I've heard that if you keep going you'll get your second wind but I've never really pushed myself to that point.

What type of bars/food would people recommend carrying around on a long ride?

Make sure your seat height, position fore and aft, and tilt are correct. If your seat is too low, you might not be able to get a lot of power into your pedal stroke, and if your legs don't extend they will tire more quickly. Don't raise it too high or you could injure yourself. I haven't seen you ride, so for all I know your seat could be at the perfect height.

What type of bars/food would people recommend carrying around on a long ride?

I'm an advocate of real food vs. bars and gels. For long rides (100km and up) I'll keep a gel and a Clif Bar in my bag in case I need a quick energy booster, but not for general fueling.
I like a salami and chese sandwich on wheat pita bread for lunch during century rides. I'll also snack on bananas, apples, oranges, potato chips, Snickers bars, Pepsi, beef jerky, and pretty much anything else from a gas station to keep the furnace stoked.

I think it will help. Even though I'm not an advocate of buying your speed I must admit that going to a road bike will help your speed (distance) in the following ways. Less rolling resistance with thinner tires and lighter wheels. Less weight overall. Less wind resistance (once you get used to the lower profile). The excitement of new equipment may encourage you to ride more and may encourage you to train harder. With a road bike you will be able to ride with other roadies who are stronger than yourself. Something that is more difficult on a hybrid.

How much would upgrading to a more expensive road bike actually impact my distance, or will it hardly matter? I dream of doing a century some day but maybe it's not in the cards A new road bike might be the only way you will ever do a century ride. But it doesn't have to be.

Typically, high pressure tires, fully pumped up will make the efficiency difference between a hybrid and a road bike so small that most people would finish a given century on either setup. Of course, as you might guess, buying a lighter road bike may be the only way you can create the confidence and incentive to perform.

I've ridden dozens and dozens of sub-five-hour Centuries, but never on a hybrid bike.

I have had my bikes fitted and it did wonders for my times and comfort. Less expensive than new bikes too. I like the fuel advice on this thread I plan to follow a few of the suggestions. I also keep fit with cross training activities. I weight lift, swim, run etc. Fun activities. If I cannot make to the gym I do my push ups, sit ups and pull ups at home. BTW if you own an ipod touch you can go to itunes and get the 100 Push Ups application for $1.99. I find push ups are a super way to increase upper body tone, strength and endurance.

...I've ridden dozens and dozens of sub-five-hour Centuries, but never on a hybrid bike.

That's cuz you haven't tried hard enough! ;);):)

Actually I haven't either but I don't think it would be a whole lot more difficult on a properly set up hybrid.

i love these threads.

There's only 3 reasons that people can't ride beyond 50 miles:
1. They are not fit enough.
2. They develop pain and discomfort.
3. They get bored and lose interest.

You have to address each of these issues to handle long rides.

I don't think fitness is a really big factor to ride 50 miles, you'd have to be in really, really, really bad shape to not be able to ride 50 miles. I suspect that the average person who doesn't normally ride a bike could just get one one and ride 50miles. They will most certainly be sore but they could do it. Heck, I know a guy who did PBP (1200kms) without even touching a bike except to do the qualifying rides. My son did his first century with a friend on their own bikes (during RAGBRIA) when they were 8yrs old (pretty easily actually), so you have to be as fit or fitter than an 8yr old...

Really the main issue is between the ears...:thumb:

btw, my sons friend did the century on a box store bike!

My son did his first century with a friend on their own bikes (during RAGBRIA) when they were 8yrs old

Given the size and stature of an 8 year old, that's like 300 miles for an adult! Good job!

Shoot 50 miles of single-track on the rim of the Colorado river gorge on Kokopelli's (http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ut/moab_fo/campgrounds/trails.Par.28014.Image.300.225.1.gif) trail or 50 miles of east-bound US 54 in the middle of Kansas on bright and windy spring day - it's all the same, 50 miles is miles......

How much would upgrading to a more expensive road bike actually impact my distance, or will it hardly matter?

It matters a great deal. Lance got a new bike each time he won the Tour De France. You could convert your FX to drop bars and that would be a big improvement over the flat bars. I converted my 7.7 Trek FX and it's much faster in head winds.

It matters a great deal. Lance got a new bike each time he won the Tour De France. You could convert your FX to drop bars and that would be a big improvement over the flat bars. I converted my 7.7 Trek FX and it's much faster in head winds.

What?

road bike with drop bars and high pressure slick tires will get you further down the road

I've done a century on a flat-bar hybrid, but it wasn't the most comfortable. I've got a road bike now, and the extra options for hand placement make a difference to my neck stiffness and hand numbness. Climbing seems easier, too. On the hybrid, which is about 12 pounds heavier, I always got pretty winded climbing with the group, and then had to stand up and/or brake not to pass them on the downhill. I haven't exactly done any time trials to compare the two bikes, but I do seem to find it easier to keep up with the faster people when I'm on the road bike.

In 97 I bought a Proflex Beast FS bike with knobbies and rode that down to my inlaws cabin in Sweden.(Around 110 miles) I do it a lot faster on my roadbike but it certainly is doable if you just take your time. I think both eating enough and being trained in using your own fat as fuel is vital to going on for several hours. The Swedish Professor Bengt Saltin is an advocate for this viewpoint. Train low, compete high is his motto; ie. don't eat or consume sportsdrinks on shorter trainingrides and fill up properly on the big rides.

An upgrade in bike should help. but I don't think it's going to make the difference between riding 50 miles and 100 miles, either. Experiment with nutrition, see if that's the problem (I don't get all that hungry on long rides, myself, but other people seem to collapse if they don't get the right number of Twinkies per mile.) Slowing down might help if you're just really pushing it when you're riding. On a normal charity ride, the rest stops are around 10 miles apart. If you're just riding more or less continuously, maybe taking a few breaks in there would help.

I'm overweight and still managed to ride several centuries on a Worksman cruiser. It wasn't fast and wasn't pretty, but can be done. And I do get really tired on long rides, and just ride on at whatever pace I can manage anyway, so don't give up too easily.

Whether or not it helps your performance, just go out and buy a new bike.

Two reasons:
- having a new piece of kit will make you even more motivated and enthusiastic
- don't want to get too Freudian, but behind your question is a plea for permission to indulge yourself... which I'm sure nobody here is going to deny you! ;)

Let us know how you get on.

It matters a great deal. Lance got a new bike each time he won the Tour De France. You could convert your FX to drop bars and that would be a big improvement over the flat bars. I converted my 7.7 Trek FX and it's much faster in head winds.

That means that Lance must have gone through 7 different bikes in 7 years!

You could be riding a sub 10 lb weight weenie bike and it won't make one iota of difference if you don't feed your engine properly. I always carry gels and shotbloks with me, and plenty of water (cytomax when its hot) for a long ride. Having planned food stops for real food is also good. Also make sure that you don't start out dehydrated and with the fuel tank empty or you will hit that wall that much faster. I HATE eating during rides because my stomach just flat out doesn't want to accept it, but I make it a point to eat anyways, because if I don't feed the engine, it ain't going anywhere no matter what bike I am riding. Replacing a hybrid will make those 50 miles easier, perhaps, but you still will crash after 50 miles because you aren't eating or drinking properly (no, drinking gatorade 15-20 miles into a ride and hardly eating at all for a 50 mile ride is not eating or drinking properly). You don't expect your car to go when the gas tank is empty, so don't expect yourself to go when your gas tank is empty.