Originally Posted by
st0ut
my wife has stated that she wants to be a better cyclist. she has a trek 7100 wsd i know this sounds silly but the position of the bike is totaly comfort. has anyone seen any fitness gain from a comfort bike or should i start steering her to a more aggresive frame.
<SNIP>
The riding position won't magically stop her from gaining fitness. The main difference I notice between my hybrid and road bike is that I ride MUCH faster on the road bike given the same amount of energy. This lets me ride farther distance on the road bike, but doesn't mean I get a better workout on the road bike. When I've hit some hard wind (25 to 40 MPH) on my hybrid I was hard pressed at times to do more than 7 MPH in my granny gear. It was like riding up a steep never ending hill. With the road bike I can go into the drops and at least maintain 12 MPH in similar conditions. Arguably I worked a LOT harder on the hybrid fighting the wind. If a comfort bike fits well and gets your wife to enjoy riding, then that is what matters most. Also, don't ride a road bike when the other folks in the group are riding hybrids, side with similar bikes or you will be coasting a large part of the day.
Happy riding,
André