kbarj

Placed an order for a B17. Decided to give it a try.

Snuts

Craptacular8

True statement. I like the position the OEM flat bars put me in posture-wise, but needed to add ergonomic bar ends to offer more hand positions and comfort over the OEM grips that were good for only a few miles on smooth tarmac.

I have Nitto trekking bars on a hard tail mtb that I've used for long rides, and know I like that style, but am really curious about swapping on a set of Jones H-bars onto the hybrid. Seems like it would allow me to keep the same posture, offer multiple hand positions, and additional attachment points for the lights etc that I typically mount to my bars. Lacks the semi upright hand position of the add-on bar ends though. Anyone have any experience with them on an otherwise stock hybrid?

For those on the fence regarding the Brooks b-17 on your hybrid...love them, put them on both hybrids and road/gravel bikes.

Craptacular8

Thought I'd read that the pro version of the b17 was also the thicker leather. I've got one pro, rest regular, I can't personally tell the difference other than the color of the rivets.

ColonelSanders

There is nothing on their website which would indicate this.

Brooks had the confusing terminology where they had both Select and Special versions of saddles, but only the Select version had the supposedly thicker leather.

Looks like whoever bought out Brooks, has decided to make some significant changes.

kbarj

B17 arrived. Conditioned it as instructed. Need to take it out for something beyond the driveway, but it already feels as comfortable as the saddle that came with the bike. Miles will tell.

MarkCreighton

I rode my Trek 7.0 FX on a two different 50 mile rides with tons of hills as well as a Century ride and was a great time!!

kbarj

Cool. Hearing this kind of response is making me feel better and better about my hybrid choice (even though my DS 8.3 is heavier than your FX).

MarkCreighton

Yep, I noticed on my local trail some guys are pumping away on mountain bikes from Walmart and passing people! I say you are the engine and its up to you!

CadenceBoy

yes, but probably those guys are young, silly and thrashing themselves on those crappy bikes.

If you return home in pain then it's not ok.... I'd get the right contact points:
- grips - ergo maybe ?
- saddle - comfy
- pedals - grippy

Pay attention to what bothers you and try to fix it.

Cockpit setup, there's plenty of info online, I see people with bad setups all the time, struggling to reach the brakes, or bad angles etc

Also wheel/ tire weight may be important, I got a set of tires 600gr lighter than stock tires, I can feel the difference.

kbarj

Ahhh... you hit on my next question. I'm looking at getting some road tires. I would keep offroad tires for things like my spring break trip to Big Bend. But most of the time I'm on paved or at least hard-packed greenway trails. Suggestions?

canklecat

Since I last posted to this thread I crashed pretty hard early in February on my rigid fork mountain bike and banged up my ribs. Reminded me of why I'm glad I kept the cushy comfort hybrid I started with in 2015.

I started out two days after the crash with a 4 mile ride, rested another day or so, then a 10 miler, couple more days off, then a 20. Needed three days off after intercostal muscle spasms flared up again. Could barely breathe without pain some days. Then rode 30 miles on a balmy 80 degree Saturday in February.

The more upright position, spring suspension fork, heavily padded and springy saddle, long wheelbase and fairly wide, soft tires helped lot. The jolting from the more rigid mountain bike would have discouraged me from riding so soon, or often, after the injury.

Yeah, longer rides are perfectly doable even with the less efficient, heavier comfort hybrids. A bit slower overall, a bit easier gears climbing hills. But those 20-30 mile rides felt pretty good, even when I was at less than my best.

canklecat

For all around rides on my rigid fork mountain bike, which is pretty similar to many current hybrids, I'm really liking the Continental Speed Rides. These are 700x42 (nominal, actual width is closer to 38), reasonably light (430 gr with folding bead; 495 gr with wire bead, which I have), reasonably puncture resistant, supple and comfortable on paved roads and moderate gravel and chat trails. They're styled like Conti's narrower Cyclocross Speed tires for moderate dry off roading. They're rated for up to 85 psi, but I usually ride 'em at 50-60. Pretty good compromise for the mix of paved and light gravel roads I ride.

If my rims could go as narrow as 700x28 and I planned to ride pavement only I'd consider Freedom Thickslicks. A few folks I know from local group rides use 'em, mostly on their fixies and single speeds, and really like 'em. Good value and apparently durable, judging from the skids I see 'em doing when they're showing off.

kbarj

Thank you, I need to check them out. And, I hadn't thought to check tire weights when I'm looking, so thanks for bringing that up as well.

Snuts

https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires
Many options here.
I am a total convert to the 420, (original) Marathon. Last year one set I travelled 5,000km flat free, loaded most of those miles. Now with three bikes on Maratons, still never a flat. I hate road side flat repairs!

-Snuts-

Tommy1955

Hi everyone. I was going to start a new thread but this thread is close enough to what I was going to be posting about. I'm 62 and have been riding for about a year now. I ride 15 to 18 miles most days during the week (3 to 4 times/week) and 20 to 35 miles generally on Saturday & Sunday. I have a 2017 Trek FX3. I really love this bike. I have a history of getting low back problems which really doesn't bother me too much anymore. I ride on concrete and asphalt paths...no gravel or dirt trails. I don't ride on streets with cars except for some VERY short distances, but in general, I stay away from cars. I ride at an average speed of 13 to 14.5 mph. in general on fairly flat paths. My longest ride so far is about 51 miles. I'm now starting to ride more 25 to 35 mile rides easily. My bike has 9 gears (cogs) on the back cassette and 3 gears in the front. I generally always ride in the middle gear in the front. Do you all ride with the large gear in the front on fairly flat paths or roads? Knowing I have 9 gears in the back, I generally ride between the 5th and 7th gears depending on the wind and if I'm on an incline. My low back seems to start bothering me after around 45 miles. When I stop though after riding, my back pain seems to stop bothering me after around 30 to 45 minutes. I generally take a 3 to 5 minute break every 8 to 10 miles. Maybe if I took a little longer break after 35 miles, my back wouldn't bother me too much. I did a 42 mile run yesterday and had no back pain, just a small amount of annoying neck pain. I was mainly wondering if anyone uses the large front gear for the longer rides. I noticed that a lot of people riding road bikes use the larger front gear but I also know that their bikes are geared differently. I'm still learning things all the time. BTW, my bike has no front shocks but does have a carbon fork. I don't ever really get any knee pain anymore because I try not to push too hard and keep around a 75 to 85 cadence.

On another note, when I bought my bike from the bike store, they told me that after knowing how many miles I ride, I should really be riding a road bike. They had a new entry level Specialized road bike for the same price as the FX3 but because of my back problem, I decided to stick with the FX3.

gsa103

@Tommy1955 Don't worry about gearing compared to other people. You're doing the right thing, maintaining a good cadence and a relatively straight chainline.

To answer your question though. At those speeds on a compact double (common road gearing 50/34 chainrings), I would probably be on the big ring, but also on the larger cassette gears.

kbarj

Wow! Sounds to me like you're doing great! You've got a year on me, but the story (coming back after a long layoff) is very similar. I wish I could get out to ride as often, and I'm working on it. I'm on a Trek DS 8.3 (it has the front shocks) and I have already thought more than once that I didn't need them as I am doing way more paved riding than off-road. But the more upright posture works very well for me.

On the back issue, are you doing any core workouts to strengthen your abs and lower back? I don't know if that would help, it's just a thought. Also when you mention the neck pain, I wonder about your riding geometry. Would a more upright riding posture help? That's what I'm trying and I seem to be pain-free in the neck and back.

I'm riding primarily using the middle chainring as well. You've got me wondering. Are your rides mostly flat? Hilly? The paths I ride have gentle hills, not a climb in the bunch. For instance my last 18 mile ride had a 205 ft total elevation difference (from highest to lowest) with the absolute steepest grade at 6.3% for a whopping .3 miles. Most were in < 2.5% range. I agree wholeheartedly with trying to stay with a cadence of 80. That's what I'm doing now. The first six months I didn't have a cadence monitor, and the difference with it is amazing.

Pompiere

Lower back pain isn't always from bending over too far. It can also be from a frame or stem that is too long, causing you to have to stretch to reach the bars. Bikes are usually sold based on a rider's height, so if your individual proportions are different from the norm, some adjustment is necessary for proper fit. Swapping to a shorter stem could make a difference, even while keeping the bars at the same height.

Tommy1955

Well, as far as being hilly or flat, it really depends on where I ride. During the week, I have limited time. At the end of my street here in the Spring Branch area, there was a hospital that was torn down but the large parking lot is still there which is pretty flat with some little inclines. It's sort of a kidney shaped area where I ride 15 to 18 miles about 3 to 5 times a week which I can do in about 1 hr. 10 minutes (with about 5 to 8 minutes in breaks). Yes it's a little boring and has next to nothing in cars but it's great for me to keep my legs in shape plus I get the cardio workout too. On Saturday and Sundays, I like to ride longer. I either ride Terry Hershey Park out to the end of George Bush Park which is around a 25 mile ride round trip. That is a fairly flat ride but a lot of the ride is in the open so if there is a lot of wind, it can slow me down greatly. Out there, with lets say an 8 to 11 mph, wind, I vary in speeds from 11 mph. to 17 mph. depending if I have a head wind or tail wind. If I go to White Oak Bayou trail, well, it's a lot harder for me there for there are a lot of inclines. It's like riding a freeway with overpasses but the opposite where you're going under the overpasses. The uphills are really long and once again, out there you're mainly in the open and a head wind will tear you up. I generally ride 25 miles or so out there. I see a lot of people riding White Oak Bayou trail for training for the MS150 because of all the inclines. I'm getting better at riding this park now but it's definitely the hardest for me. One reason I was asking about using the larger front gear is because I was wondering if I should swap off gears so that I don't wear out my middle gear too quick. I don't push hard too much so that might help the life of the gear and I clean and lube the bike and chain about every 300 miles which should help too. I do try to make sure that I don't leave too much lube on the chain for the bike store told me that it's not good for the chain. My only other concern about using the large front gear is that I don't want to cross chain too much for I'm told that will wear the the chain and gears faster too. Just wondering what other people do. No, I don't really do any specific exercise for core. I know I should.

Pistard

I did the Erie canal Ride last Summer + one day in Niagara Falls, 400 miles in a week 50 - 60 miles a day on a Jamis citizen 3 with fork.... did not want to use my carbon fiber roadie, no problems, however that bike was too heavy I did know it going in though, I just got my new Jamis steel Coda Comp hybrid, disk etc, that right there is a lively Hybrid! Dont worry about distance, I went as far as 73 miles, bike is dialed in, Selle respiro saddle, ergo grips that fit, and a slightly back sweeping handle bar, get the bar and seat set up for you, you can roll for 6 hours a day.

Craptacular8

You are definitely riding enough miles that you're going to be needing to swap out parts due to wear. I hadn't heard excess lube would cause chain wear, guess it could if it picked up significant grit. Lots of debate on lubes. I do like the chain -L lube one forum member makes/sells. Thicker so doesn't splatter. I also use some wax lubes that go on wet, you wipe down then let them set a bit. But main issue with excess lube that doesn't get wiped down sufficiently is lube splattered on wheels etc.

As poster above alluded to, a shorter stem might help with low back issues. Given the time/miles it takes to kick in, can be a core strength issue, but also fit, since it does take that much time in saddle to become evident. Good luck.

Craptacular8

Nice. Glad to hear I am not the only one with good road bikes that still gets a thrill buying and riding new hybrids, lol.

Tommy1955

I understand about wearing out parts. I clean and lube the chain every 300 miles or so and keep close tabs on chain wear. I haven't been riding with this bike long enough to replace the chain, but on my previous bike (which was new too), I replaced it when the chain showed being a little over 50% worn. The bike shop said it really wasn't due for replacement but I believe it wouldn't hurt to replace it so I did. I'll probably do the same with this bike. I also don't push too hard when riding (or spinning without pushing too hard). I don't cross chain either. The bike store told me that doing all of this will help the life of the cogs. The chain lube I use here is Pro Lube. It's a recommended chain lube for the climate in Houston at least by the Trek Shops I've asked. They all told me not to leave too much lube on the chain for wet lubes will tend to collect dirt which is not good for the chain and therefore not good for the cogs. I try to watch my maintenance close. I had my new bike free check up about a month ago for wear. I'm kinda wondering how long I should wait for a tune up. I have 1132 miles on this bike right now. A month ago at the free maintenance check, the chain showed next to nothing in wear.