Panthers007

Midway to Mars - the ex-7.5 FX...

droobieinop

oh, photos too...

Here is my '95 trek 750, pre new RSX wheelset with 35's, but with new/used crankset


How I used to get dropped with that old compact crank.

Panthers007

Now that's what I'm talking about when I say 'customizing.' ^^^

Little Darwin

In my opinion, changing the gearing will do nothing to speed the bike up.

At a reasonable cadence (even 90 rpm) you can already go faster than 18 mph, so the issue is not that your gearing isn't high enough. You will need higher gearing only if you want to really fly down hill. If your highest gear now is say 48x11 with 700x32c tires, you will go at 31.5 mph at 90 rpm according to the calculator at SheldonBrown.com So you may want gearing for other things, but it is probably not going to get you up to an 18mph average. You can do much faster than that with your current gearing.

The biggest drain of speed on a bicycle is wind resistance, and for that the aero bars might be good, but only if the position they put you into doesn't keep you from applying power to the pedals. The pros sometimes use wind tunnels and power meters to come up with the ideal compromise, so there is no guarantee that aero bars will make you faster. Also aero bars are less stable, so do consider safety as well. In addition, they are frowned on, or even prohibited on some group rides.

As another alternative, you may want to consider bar ends, or even just lowering your handlebar by switching stems, removing spacers or whatever.

Tires can also make some difference.

Finding the right tire for your riding conditions, and getting a better aero position will help to get you where you want to be.

Allen

Guys, I'm going to move this to mechanics.

droobieinop

How about someplace just for hybrids?
It seems as though these is quite a few threads spread across the forum that pertain to hybrids and this might not be a good thread for the mechs section since it doesn't involve any real tech questions just personal advice.

DanBraden

AMEN! Say it brothah Panthah! And kudos to all those who take what they have, and work to make it better instead of abandoning it on a whim!

Those aero bars will be a great upgrade to make you more competitive with other cyclists. As panther put so well, you'll be able to enjoy all sorts of different terrain, that would require more technical expertise on a straight road bike. Look into increasing the size of your crank, some pretty affordable ones can be found at bikeisland. Also clipless pedals (spd are my favorite) can be a wonderful performance enhancer. I'm not saying you'll be faster than lance or contador, but you will notice a personal increase in speed (placebo effect? Oh I'm SO sure...)

Edit:: oops

Ga. boy

I have been reading that adding clipless pedals and shoes can help out a lot actually. From what I understand you use your upstroke and down strokes. In addition to that the harder sole of the shoe preserves energy transfer. Right now I am riding with my air max on so they are plenty soft and may actually be some what of a handicap from what I have been reading. Can any one verify or disprove this? Also will any shoes work with any pedals? For instance would Bontrager road shoes work with look pedals?
Thanks for the replies.

DanBraden

Clipless pedals do some real good things. They allow you transfer power during part of your stroke that you wouldn't be able to do otherwise, and also it will keep you foot at the optimum placement for efficient pedaling. The only time I don't like clipless is when I'm drunk, but that's a matter for a different thread. The soles of my shoes are rigid and I know that I have specialized brand shoes, but shimano brand pedals. I think that as long as the cleat of the shoe is made for style of pedal mix matching brands should be muy simpático!

droobieinop

Don't worry about cranks, yours are fine. You may not be able to find a bigger chainring, but you don't need one yet.

Pedals and shoes are a personal thing. For pedals, I have 2 old scotts, 1 shimano, and like 3 or 4 wellgo's, all are spd style. My shoes are, specialized mtb, newer shimano tour/mtb, falling apart cannondale (look like skate shoes), and a missing pair of shimano road.

All my shoes and pedals seem to match up ok, but I do save my mtb shoes for the trails because of their really hard sole (not good for roadie conditions), and then there is the missing road shoes.

My thoughts, thinking of you wanting to offroad for photo, is a casual mtb shoe like these https://bike.shimano.com/publish/cont...2L.-type-.html.

Panthers007

Changing the gearing in and of itself doesn't effect speed. But getting rid of the cheap Octalink BB on it - and moving to external-bearings - will.

18mph isn't the top-speed of ANY bicycle. But it's a casual speed that gives you the time to take in the sites and, in the case of Ga.boy and I, look for good subjects for photography. And it doesn't wear the engine (koff!) out. Try looking for a good photo-shoot while blasting downhill at 40mph while winding out the 27th gear!

Ga. boy

Which bearings are you talking about? All of them or what? Sorry I am not all the informed on all this. I am familiar with ball bearings and everything just not on bikes. Would I have to upgrade wheels or my crank to get the better ones or can I get them seperate like for cars?

droobieinop

He was referring to the newer style external bottom brackets.

But the easiest, best upgrade that you can make to a bike is the wheels.
Double walled and eyeleted rims with sealed bearing hubs.

But, whether you want to hear it or not, there is nothing that you need to change on your bike right now. Except maybe using clipless pedals and shoes and continued riding at 90+ rpms.

Wait untill something breaks before you replace somthing.

Panthers007

I was responding to Little Darwin. And yes - I was explaining to him that external-bearings, versus a tight Octalink that impedes your cadence, will help improve speed. Certain improvements in the gearing itself can also help, but it's what bottom-bracket you run that makes a palpable difference.

Don't worry about it - but you may want to consider such a move later on.

Ga. boy

Well the bottom bracket would be replaced anyway if i buy the crank from one of my previous post. Even of my current one Is good, I really do not like it. The plastic chain gaurd just makes it look really cheap.
Just a question since I seem to have some knowledge on this thread. I recently asked on a different thread about a noise my bike was making. Upon close inspection I found that while pedaling my chain is hitting the front derailer. It is not constant and the chain is not crossed from one extreme to the other. When my right leg is on the down stroke the crank is moving over and hitting the the chain on the derailer. Would a better BB eliminate this movement?

Panthers007

I found this laying about here awhile ago. It gives you information about gear combinations likely to cause rubbing - notably associated with cross-chaining:

Ga. boy

Thanks but it does it regardless of the gear combination. When I press down on the pedal I can see the crank shift and see it hit. It is not a constant rubbing either it just does it on the downstroke of the side that has the crank on it.

Panthers007

What brand and model is your FD on the 7.3? Some of them are a bear to get to work quietly on a triple crankset. And the time to try to fix this problem is during the installation. Check the cage on the FD. The outer edge (away from bike) should very close to parallel with the chainrings below.

In some cases, you will have some gears that will rub.

Ga. boy

It says shimano deore. I will more than likely take it up to the LBS it there is a chance it is out of adjustment. I know that there will always be the bad combos of gears. I always get a kick out of people saying they have a 24 speed bike. My first thought is " no you don't 18 speed maybe but not 24"
is there much of a difference in grades of front derailers? To be honest they all pertty much look the same and are cable controlled ( except the really cool MTB ones I saw that were battery opperated). Although I must say that I do like the lever shift feature. This is the first bike that I have had with it. My others all had the twist mechinism at the end of the grip.

droobieinop

A loose BB could be your culprit. To tell, reach through the frame with one hand and grab the cranks and pull them against each other to see if they move.

If they are tight, then you may have a bent chainring and your lbs should have a tool to straighten it out most of the way, then again this should have broken your chainguard (which I'd imagine is removeable).

Panthers007

Shimano Deore eh? My 7.5 came with the same. It rubbed too. Which ticked me off. I solved the problem. I took a Shimano XTR I had in stock - and despite it's saying in the tech docs it wouldn't work - and attached it. Works fine. No rub on any gears.

I'd take it to the shop and let them have a go at it. Before doing something as radical as I did.

Timber_8

My stock FX 7.2 easily cruses between 18 and 20 mph. My average is 14.5 but it is the hills that effect my average speed not the ability of the bike. I have recently added areo bars and I am curious to see if they have any impact on my average speed. I have topped out at 31.5 mph but I bet I can best that as well

Timber_8

I have also started a thread in the Forum suggestion area on a Hybrid specific sub forum, Please feel free to contribute to that thread

KungPaoSchwinn

I am kinda forums illiterate,i like to do that as well, how?

Timber_8

here is a link

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...14#post9404114