deltafour1212

I wish LOL
No you won't see me in my "costume" with the faster roadies that are faster than me LOL
I can't join races because I won't wear the helmet
So I only do "unsanctioned" races where the roadies train in my area who don't mind doing some "wind sprints" for the fun of it

Garfield Cat

Just go ahead and wear the helmet and join the sanctioned rides. This will give you a chance to test your wind sprints for a longer period of time.

Gerryattrick

I'm 68 and have just started riding a road bike after years on flat bars and it is noticeable that the lower riding position does make it easier to ride fast.

Having said that, I have managed to keep up with a couple of road-bike friends on my narrow-tyre hybrid at 25 mph for very short distances. I'm only talking around 400 metres straight flat road here (and I was absolutely knackered after it) but I am no athlete and if someone is fitter and/or a few years younger than I then I would have thought it perfectly feasible to average a couple of miles at 25mph on a flat bar bike.

deltafour1212

Don't get me wrong I don't just do wind sprints, I also do long distances which I average about 17 to 19 most times

Mobile 155

It is a difference in terminology. For most road bike riders average speed is from the beginning of a ride to the end. That includes city sign sprints, climbs and long pace-lines. 400 meters might be peak speed like, "I did a 30 mile ride with a 19 MPH average and a 32 MPH top speed." Many of us have more than one bike, Road, Cross, MTB, Flat bar and Cruiser. We know the effort it takes to push each one to top speed and keep it there. Using Strava linked to a GPS unit like Garmin or Smart Phone We get graphs, charts and comparisons every ride. So some might look askance when someone posts their speeds on a Hybrid or MTB that exceed the PRs and KOMs they have been seeing on their, or people they follow, of Garmin Connect or Strava. We are not calling someone a fibber we are simply asking for a clarification.

MileHighMark

I like my road bike for faster-paced group rides, but I spend the most time on my gravel/commuter rig. My 29er gets ridden once or twice a week depending on trail conditions.

Retro Grouch 

This is an old thread. I responded to it in 2009 and said that if I were forced to cut myself down to one bike it would be a road bike. That was a couple of serious injuries ago so my flexibility and range-of-motion aren't what they used to be. Today I'd pick my 20/20 Rans Rocket recumbent as my one and only.

Artkansas 

I ride this



Much more than this.

Cougrrcj

No-FREAKING-way-in-hell am I giving up my road bike I've had for 40+ years. However, I DO have other bikes. I have a 'road' bike, a crushed-stone trail bike, a dedicated fendered tourer, a go-to-the-corner-store MTB,...

Am I going to give up on having a road bike? NO! Mine might not be the latest-greatest, but I still hold my own (for an old fart)...

BlazingPedals

Well, if you weren't trying to rag on the roadies you didn't have to use the terms you used. As far as your speed, I'm glad you're having fun; but although 25 mph is a good sprint for a hybrid, it's a good cruising speed for a group of roadies.

deltafour1212

[QUOTE=Artkansas;17937344]I ride this






That's the exact setup my hybrid is, Arkansas
For a second I was tempted to go in the garage to make sure my bike was still there

Cougrrcj

I'm more than happy riding my 'antique' road bike at 16-18 mph for hours on end. Yes, I can 'sprint' at 20+ for short distances, but I can do 14-18 all freaking day, and I'm happy with that. Figure 100 miles in 7-8 hours including breaks. But I'd much rather rice 60 miles in four hours (8am-noon), and spend the next three-four hours exploring the area and interacting with the locals for info on what to see/what to do/where to eat and where to pitch tent / stay the night.

deltafour1212

I didn't realize I was ragging on anyone.
I thought I was just explaining what I do as a solo rider
Cruising at 25mph with a group of roadies, your probably right.
That's the benefits of ridding in a group

OldsCOOL

My newest bike is the '88 Cannondale Criterium Series. Oldest, that one is the '77 Colnago Super I will be bringing home this Sunday from it's 30+yrs of dust collecting hibernation.

McBTC

For off road a 29'r sounds great but when it comes to a tool that maximizes the efficient transfer of energy that enables a puny human to put down some serious miles is just a few hours is what comforts me most.

70sSanO

I'm 63. About 2 years ago I started to mountain bike. It is impossible to use the words comfort and mountain bike in the same post. It is the most difficult riding I have ever done. The skills needed are truly off the charts and I am still not doing real technical stuff.

My Cannondale Criterium is my comfort bike.

John

Duo

Lovely. What is it?

tclune

I just got a Trek 520 for my 67th birthday, because my Specialized Expedition just wasn't giving my gut enough of a workout. So I went the drop handlebars route, although not in an extreme kind of way. But I'm keeping the Expedition for my winter bike and as a backup.

JohnDThompson 

1972 Raleigh Superbe. It's what I ride to work these days.

big john

If you'd try a more modern mountain bike you would see there is a huge difference compared to the things we used to ride in the 90s.

andr0id

Trade in... I do not know of what you speak.

The only logical plan would be to acquire more bikes with additional capabilities.

jeromephone

Big John did you just extend the stem or did you go through another bike fit. I don't want to give up the road bike but I think raising the handle bars would really help. I sometimes think the bike fit should take into account more than the raw numbers. Age flexibility posture etc all seem to be factors.

big john

I use an uncut steer tube and a fairly short stem, (90 mm), and shallow drop bars. The top of the bars is about an inch below the saddle. I used to have it 4'' below the saddle.


I also have an old Cannondale touring bike and for that I bought a Nitto quill stem which is about 4" above the top of the top nut on the steerer.

big john

For the mountain bike I have a lot of spacers under the stem, probably more than recommended, but mtb frames these days have short head tubes.
Still, it gets the bar up where I want it.

OldsCOOL

I've added a fairly unused Trek 820ST to the fleet or racing bikes. It hasnt had much use except taking my grandson on his 7sp BMX to Avalanche Hill rec area down the street. I'll do the 6mi single track this fall.