Hybrid Bicycles - Is It Possible To Keep Up With Road Bikes If Riding A Trek 7.5FX?

If you are riding a Trek 7.5FX for example, do you have a chance of keeping up with road bikers on paved trails?

My wife and I want to ride together and she has a road bike but I would much prefer a Hybrid like the 7.5FX but only as long as I can remotely keep up with her.

Really depends on the bicycle engine. I've had guys on "roadied up" mt bikes that I absolutely couldn't shake, and before I bought a road bike, I have been on the opposite side of that matchup.

If both of you are of equal fitness, then it may be fine.
Easiest solution is to match your wife's gearing, wheels and tyres to your 7.5. If this isn't possible, go for a flat bar road bike which matches.

EDIT. Oh by the way, you've changed your mind since you posted in the road bike forum?
..... "Is Scattante REALLY Ok? - Better Value Than Cannondale?" I thought you wanted a road bike.

Unless you are quite weak for a man or your wife is exceptionally strong for a woman you shouldn't have any trouble.
This is not a sexist statement btw but just how it is.

Going fast does not depend much on the bike but much more on: 1) the engine and 2) the position
The bike helps, but much less than most people want to believe ;)
If you get a 7.5fx ... which is basicly a flat bar roadbike ... and you set the handlebar low enough so that your position isn't too upright ... you shouldn't have any problem keeping up with roadies averaging speeds of 20mph and keeping a pace of 23mph on the flat ... at least not bikewise.
Getting an aerobar might be a good idea to gain additional aero profile while at the same time giving you a more comfortable position for long flat roads.

yeah the trek fx bikes are just like road bikes with flat bars and bigger tires except the crank isn't has high prolly but if you have stronger legs you could prolly keep up I doubt she'll be going that fast anyway but if you get 700x25 tires you should be able to go 20-25MPH without much effort, as long as your fit enough.

As long as you draft her you'll be fine :). Seriously though the only time road bike would be substantially faster will be when air resistance becomes limiting - at flat out speeds or with significant headwind. Doubt you'll be flat out on a paved trail very often anyway. It's all about the engine as many have said, I'm not proud to admit to have been passed by many types of bike!

Unless you are quite weak for a man or your wife is exceptionally strong for a woman you shouldn't have any trouble.
This is not a sexist statement btw but just how it is.

Most people of either gender are horribly out of shape and its exceedingly easy for the average female rider to transcend that. Especially, perhaps, ladies who actually seek out road bikes.

Unlike your statement, this actually is "just how it is".

but if you get 700x25 tires you should be able to go 20-25MPH without much effort, as long as your fit enough.

Fit enough (?) .... indeed. A speed of 23 mph over 10 miles on 7.5FX with stock bars and 25c tires would require a sustained output of around 350 watts. That goes well beyond the realm of "not much effort" unless you are a pro level cyclist. Maybe you meant KPH.

"paved trails" can mean alot of things but if I had to personally choose a bike for any given "paved trail" a fast hybrid like a 7.5 would probably be what I choose to begin with - I don't have much experience with true road bikes, but as I understand it they have pretty much the same components + a wider wheelbase which wont corner/dodge pedestrians on the trail as well.

Stick her with your water bottle, and your spec's will probably be pretty close to equal anyway.

Waiting around for a slow spouse, in my experience, is well worth the pleasure of getting to ride with your spouse.

Thanks for the replies everyone! I workout all the time and in great shape so this sounds good. Not sure if I should start another thread but I am now trying to decide whether to go with the Trek 7.3FX or if the extra $300 is worth it for the 7.5FX.

if she is a faster rider than you it will give you a way out .....

Most people of either gender are horribly out of shape and its exceedingly easy for the average female rider to transcend that. Especially, perhaps, ladies who actually seek out road bikes.

Unlike your statement, this actually is "just how it is".

That is what I said though.
I said "if you are quite weak" ... which you call "horribly out of shape"
Then I said "or your wife is exceptionally strong" ... which you call "to transcend that".

It is a fact that women have a serious disadvantage in cycling ... about 10 to 20% ... I don't mean anything by that I just state it as a fact nothing more.

Thanks for the replies everyone! I workout all the time and in great shape so this sounds good. Not sure if I should start another thread but I am now trying to decide whether to go with the Trek 7.3FX or if the extra $300 is worth it for the 7.5FX.

This depends on your riding style and average speed.
If your wife rides a roadracebike she probably rides it only on paved roads and she hopefully rides it hard ... in that case I would go for the 7.5fx

Under some conditions, sure. With a 25 mph headwind? Probably not since she can get down in the drops and make herself small while you are like a rowboat trying to tow a square rigger backwards against the wind. For 20 miles, sure. For 40 miles? Probably not since she can move her hands around to avoid numbness while yours will be clenched up in useless claws from the pain, leaving you unable to shift, or brake. If you are going to make short rides together on idyllic summer afternoons you will have no trouble if you are personally able to keep up with her. For long all weather rides you will need to do something about those handlebars, in my experience, to be able to adjust to the wind conditions and keep your arms/hands happy. Bar ends, aerobars, trekking bars, or my favorite the Jones Loop H bars. Other than that your hybrid should not slow you down all that much and if she really wants to ride with you and is in another class than your, she will back it down a notch or two. Or she can do intervals and you can catch her up during the slow segments. On those rare occasions when my wife wants to go for a ride I am perfectly happy to putter along at 5 to 10 for as long as she wants to go.

Ken

Unless you are quite weak for a man or your wife is exceptionally strong for a woman you shouldn't have any trouble.
This is not a sexist statement btw but just how it is.


Now, you know you're not allowed to say things like that. :rolleyes:
Or even think it!

And, who knows, she may be the woman that passed me last week when I was going 20mph.

It is a fact that women have a serious disadvantage in cycling ... about 10 to 20% ... I don't mean anything by that I just state it as a fact nothing more.

I have absolutely no clue what this means - you wouldn't be throwing out random numbers to support an unqualified sterotype, would you?

If your talking about peak preformance, professional cycling...just don't. Nobody else is, as that amount of physical conditioning doesn't apply to the average rider.

Its condescending as well as sexist to evaluate an entire gender by their most professional tiers.

I don't know where your from, but where I've lived on the American coast's you'd have to be oblivious not to notice any given female roadie or commuter holding their own on the public streets.

Fit enough (?) .... indeed. A speed of 23 mph over 10 miles on 7.5FX with stock bars and 25c tires would require a sustained output of around 350 watts. That goes well beyond the realm of "not much effort" unless you are a pro level cyclist. Maybe you meant KPH.

well i have 700x25 on my utopia and I go 20-25MPH for as long as I ride and my rides range from 1 - 2 hours but on flat ground.

Not just elite athletes. The average man is stronger than the average woman. There is a lot of overlap though, perhaps too much to make this generalization useful. When I was a back of the pack mountain bike racer, typically some of the women racers posted faster lap times than I. :o

In the several minutes it took for me to formulate my three sentences, chibi dashed off her comment...

"That's right the women are smarter, smarter than the man in everyway."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is7FKcywuhI

She's a lot faster than me too. If we went for a ride together, would you wait up, chibi?

I have absolutely no clue what this means - you wouldn't be throwing out random numbers to support an unqualified sterotype, would you?

If your talking about peak preformance, professional cycling...just don't. Nobody else is, as that amount of physical conditioning doesn't apply to the average rider.

Its condescending as well as sexist to evaluate an entire gender by their most professional tiers.

I don't know where your from, but where I've lived on the American coast's you'd have to be oblivious not to notice any given female roadie or commuter holding their own on the public streets.

I think you are twisting around what he said and making much ado about nothing. All he meant, and it is true, is that typically men are stronger than women. That is not condescending or sexist, it is just a physiological fact. It is a design by nature.

Sorry if I made this into a gender thread ... didn't mean to ... many women are much stronger than many men.

What I wanted to say is that the bike is not the biggest factor in speed.
Especially not when it is a 7.5 fx with the seatpost high enough and the handlebar low enough.

I have absolutely no clue what this means - you wouldn't be throwing out random numbers to support an unqualified sterotype, would you?

I seldom throw out random numbers and I try not to stereotype.
For elite riders as well as for untrained ones it is a fact that, on average, women have about 10 to 20% less max and sustained power.
Women, on average, have smaller lungs and smaller muscles and that explains the difference.
I did say "if your wife is exceptionally strong for a woman" in my first post which implies that I know women can be very strong aswell.

Sorry if I came off as rude, but experience, fitness, competitiveness, and leg length seem to drive lung volume and muscle mass more than gender in the modern world.

Which is to say, the only thing holding female cyclists back is an outdated dismissive attitude amongst other cyclists.

Calling someone a "weak" man for not being able to keep up with a member of the "weaker" gender is wrong. It ignores all factors which are actually specific to cycling....Its a sport, not an evaluation of body mass.

As somebody who is admittedly a little competitive when I see another rider off in the distance, I find gender is simply not a reliable predictor of how long it will take me to catch up. And I do tend to catch up quickly.

Trying to avoid any and all gender discussions. . .

To answer the original question: Yes, a Hybrid can (and I'm sure frequently does) hang with--and even drop--road bikes. The type of bike has only a limited amount to do with the speed. On a full suspension mountain bike it will be harder to achieve and maintain the same speed than a full-on racing road bike. On a hybrid it will be somewhere in between the two extremes.

Your wife on her road bike will, most likely, have less rolling resistance (due to the difference in tire sizes), less weight (speaking only of the bike weight) and a generally more aerodynamic position. You will have to overcome these 'disadvantages'. It will take more energy for you to maintain the same speed but not so much that it will be a problem. Your level of fitness is a MUCH MORE important than the difference between a good hybrid and a roadie.

As for the 7.3 vs the 7.5? With the 7.5 you are getting a CF fork which will lesson some of the vibration. It also has an upgraded wheel set and is 9 speed cassette vs 8 speed. Are these worth it? Not for me--I went with the 7.3 and am happy with it. But, if you think you will want these upgrades, go for the 7.5 right now. The list prices for these 2 are $300 different. You would not be able to upgrade the fork, wheels and drivetrain for anywhere near the $300 difference. Either one is a great bike. . .

I've hung with and dropped many road bikes on my 7.2fx with butterfly/trekking bars. You do notice the drag from being more upright, the roadies gain on me on downhills, but I get them back on uphills (butterfly bars = epic leverage). We're pretty well matched on flats.The bike does have an affect, but the engine matters far more. You'll be fine.

:popcorn:

From Wikipedia (so you know it has to be true!):

2:03:59 Haile Gebrselassie current men's marathon record holder

2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe current women's marathon record holder

3:26.00 Hicham El Guerrouj current men's 1500m record holder

3:50.46 Yunxia Qu current women's 1500m record holder

9.58 Usain Bolt current men's 100m record holder

10.49 Florence Griffith-Joyner current women's 100m record holder

While AdelaaR's rhetoric may be a little overstated (a very rare event on Bike Forum, eh?) his premise is sound. If the OP and his wife are at the same relative level of conditioning he should be able to keep up with her on a hybrid under benign conditions. It is not sexist, it is indeed the way it is. If she is a state level bicycle racer and he is a couch potato then I would suggest a small motorcycle to him! The variation among individual members of the human species is quite broad but when you constrain your comparisons to those of similar athletic training levels the gender difference does favor the male for this kind of activity. That does not mean that there are no 60 year old babes who can whoop my you-know-what in a bike race, it does mean that they train more seriously than I do.

At one time the women's record marathon time was 2.5 hours slower than the men's. Now that was undoubtedly cultural sexism at work back at the turn of the 20th century. Today's woman trains as hard as today's man and undoubtedly uses the same performance enhancing substances! As you see above the gap between the genders is small. To be sure there is some residual sexism in sports, there are events where women are not even allowed to compete for no legitimate reason that I can discern. It is not sexist though to observe that when the two genders play the same game on a level field that one does better than the other. I don't know that it is always the men who excel, just that it is in this case -- so far!

Ken

Pointless to go too crazy with specific examples. Does everyone not agree that we are talking about two bell shaped distributions of performance that overlap - so lots of women faster than lots of men but a difference in the means and the extremes persist. This article summarizes it nicely http://www.warandgender.com/wggendif.htm - with a nice graph of speeds in NYC marathon 1997 as an example of what I mean.
http://www.warandgender.com/3_fig011.jpg

I ride a 7.5FX, my wife rides a Trek 2.1. We ride on roads, paved and unpaved trails. I have no problem keeping up with her. But when she gets feeling frisky, and the road is flat she can out accelerate me and drop me like third period french. But that only lasts for a while, and I drop her on the slightest hill. So it depends on the engine more than the bike.
BTW for the sake of marital relations, if you do drop her, wait for her to catch up. And don't say "What took you so long?"

Sorry if I came off as rude, but experience, fitness, competitiveness, and leg length seem to drive lung volume and muscle mass more than gender in the modern world.

Which is to say, the only thing holding female cyclists back is an outdated dismissive attitude amongst other cyclists.

Calling someone a "weak" man for not being able to keep up with a member of the "weaker" gender is wrong. It ignores all factors which are actually specific to cycling....Its a sport, not an evaluation of body mass.

As somebody who is admittedly a little competitive when I see another rider off in the distance, I find gender is simply not a reliable predictor of how long it will take me to catch up. And I do tend to catch up quickly.

Yes, but as they say ... all things being equal. I take it you are female ?

well i have 700x25 on my utopia and I go 20-25MPH for as long as I ride and my rides range from 1 - 2 hours but on flat ground.

Well, if true that is exceptional to say the least and you are among the upper elite of female riders. I take it you are a minimum Cat 1 racer. But I will ask again. Are you sure your speedo is set to mph vs kph and it is calibrated properly ?

Yes, but as they say ... all things being equal. I take it you are female ?

I guess you missed earlier in the thread when I mentioned riding with my wife?

I like for my hobbies not to be sausage fests. I like a woman who is in shape. A higher critical mass keeps the streets safer and the cost of gear lower, if nothing else. Plus, back in high school/college, ladies in the know couldn't resist my calves. I'm probably just a typical pig operating from a different angle.

If I'm not mistaken, female bicycle messenger Sheba Farrin of Washington DC won the North American Cycle Courier Championship in 1999. Probably the top male got a first prize too, but Sheba was faster than him.

Cranky, since you close the gap on all riders male or female so quickly, it must be hard for you to determine the relative speeds of the riders you are overtaking. Probably we all look like we are barely moving from your perspective.

As somebody who is admittedly a little competitive when I see another rider off in the distance, I find gender is simply not a reliable predictor of how long it will take me to catch up. And I do tend to catch up quickly.

Wow, those unsuspecting cyclists must really get demoralized when you catch and drop them.

Wow, those unsuspecting cyclists must really get demoralized when you catch and drop them.

Ah yes ... Cat 7 "racing":lol:

Sometimes it takes me 2 minutes, sometimes it takes me 10. Anybody who gets away or takes a different route was obviously doping, so they don't count.

I ride with with a gps sometimes as well as my cyclocomputer so i can often compare them and my cyclocomputer is perfectly accurate.

Well, if true that is exceptional to say the least and you are among the upper elite of female riders. I take it you are a minimum Cat 1 racer. But I will ask again. Are you sure your speedo is set to mph vs kph and it is calibrated properly ?

I ride with with a gps sometimes as well as my cyclocomputer so i can often compare them and my cyclocomputer is perfectly accurate.

Accurate, but probably in kilometers. In order to average 20-25 mph you'd have to be riding like 22-27+ mph most of the time. 20-25 kph is about 12-15 mph which seems much more likely. I could be wrong though.

So she knocks off 20+ miles in an hour or 40+ in 2 hrs. Deal with it.

So she knocks off 20+ miles in an hour or 40+ in 2 hrs. Deal with it.

The women's hour record is around 28 mph. If normal everyday riding is at 20 to 25 mph for 2 hours then with a little serious training, financial backing, and a significant equipment upgrade she could have a real go at it. Just using TT aero bars is good for another couple mph that would have put her in the hunt for the women's UCI world time trial championship last year.

If you can't keep up just ask her to ride slower.

no I am american ok I use MPH not K or whatever. Didn't I say I use my gps and compare the two? If my cyclocomputer is in K then wouldn'lt the numbers be different? I only understand MPH and setting my lil computer to MPH was the first thing I did and you can even see where it says MPH. You have to be an idiot to not know which one it's saying.

An average speed is of course much different from a typical speed. Just to be clear we're not talking "most times when I look down I'm going that speed", average means including everything (starts, stops, hills etc.) That speed on a hybrid is certainly impressive if a true average.

On a "paved path", no problem, especially if it is a MUP where you shouldn't be doing more than 15-18mph anyway.

I love my new 7.5, and my fitness is steadily improving. I get passed a lot, by both men and women. I would love to ride with chibibike..........but only for a second or two:lol:

i only go 20 - 25 MPH when I'm on flat road. I don't go up many hills but when I do I donno how fast it is prolly pretty slow but once I get over the hill I start going again. I ride with my husband usually.

i only go 20 - 25 MPH when I'm on flat road. I don't go up many hills but when I do I donno how fast it is prolly pretty slow but once I get over the hill I start going again. I ride with my husband usually.

That's not "average speed" though.
Still ... going 20-25 mph on a hybrid on the flat ... is very nice indeed.

That's not "average speed" though.
Still ... going 20-25 mph on a hybrid on the flat ... is very nice indeed.

AdelaaR, we finally found someone who can drop you, and keep it up for an hour or two to boot, not just for 17 minutes. :)

204483
My wife has no problem keeping up with me for the past 200,000+ miles . .