2702

What degrees rise are you at with your roadbike? Anywhere from 7 to 10 degrees should help a lot. More than that I find it to just hamper handling. I tried 15 degrees rise, it is overkill, feels like I am delivering a newspaper riding stance.

daihard 

I'm not experienced enough to know, but in my case, I definitely like my 80mm stem. The bike came with a 6-degree 90mm one, which made my arms stretch out quite a bit. The LBS swapped it out with a 7-degree 80mm stem, and I'm pretty comfortable with it. I've also watched a YouTube video by Performance Bicycles that says your stem is the right size if your front hub is hidden by the handlebar from your riding position. That's the case with my stem.

I believe the stiff neck comes from the fact that I'm not used to the road bike position. If not, I will hopefully know at the fitting session tomorrow.

2702

So your 7 degree 80mm stem is flipped up right and not down correct?
Lets us know what you find out at your fitting.

daihard 

That's correct. My 7-degree 80mm stem is flipped up. I checked the angle of my arms relative to my upper body, and it was just about 90 degrees, which should be good. I will see what the fitter will say. I will keep you updated!

WestPablo

Understood, my friend!

Different strokes!

Hauptmann6

90% of my riding is on pavement, but the local trails are all gravel with some sand spots.

Sunsanvil

Because one day I decided to be honest with myself.

I think with out exaggeration 90% of the bikes I see around town are what have become colloquially known as "Sport" Mountain bikes, which is to say bikes which look an awful lot like mountain bikes but which really arnt. Whether department store junk, or even the sub-$1000 bike store brands, these bike were created to cash in on a false perception. Not a lot of people complain though so the practice continues. Fact is, almost none of those bike will ever see technical off road riding (and they'd fall apart if they did)..

I was in that camp. I bought a $500 Giant Rincon many years ago. After about 5 years of riding (which I grant was enjoyable), I had an epiphany: I NEVER road technical track. A lot of commuting, some trekking, and the occasional fire trail. Hybrid just made so much sense its not even funny.

Guy at the LBS put it best when he said (of hybrids with front suspensions): "Its what the Sport MTB should have been all along". In other words the $500-$1000 mountain bike shouldn't even exist really.

WestPablo

+1

Excellent!

I really enjoyed this one, as well, @Sunsanvil

spdracr39

It was definitely this for me. I still love to ride my Hybrid on cruises around downtown and in the park. But the road bike gets it done on the long rides. My original hybrid purchase was enough to make me decide I loved biking. If I had started on a road bike I might not have stuck with it.

KonaRider125

I bought a hybrid because it seemed like a good option for my first serious bicycle. Great for going from paved roads, to dirt roads and trails and back. Comfortable upright riding position still seem like I am going near as fast as the road bike guys I see when out riding.

I am planning on getting a touring/road type bicycle in the near future as well.

raqball

I started several years ago with a hybrid that had flat bar, big tires and a rear rack.. It was great when I was commuting to work. Then I got a hybrid fitness bike that was on the lower end of price and specs. Also a flat bar but with thinner tires and no racks.

After that I went to what was more of a pure fitness bike and much less hybrid.. Also had a flat bar..

Now I have what is basically a high end road bike with flat bars..

Everyone has a different definition of what a hybrid is. To some anything with a flat bar is a hybrid..

I've tried several times to ride drop bars and I just can't do it. My back starts hurting, my neck gets stresses and it's not an enjoyable ride. Yes I've been fitted for drop bar by a very reputable LBS.. No dice!

Before my most recent purchase I was fitted for and rode a friends drop bar bike for 2 weeks.. I could not wait to get rid of that thing! I hated every second on it but I was determined to try the drop bars for more than just one day..

Back with my flat bar, I am a happy camper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

side_FX

I'd rather be Fred than be Lance

yote223

Butt straight up in the air, teeth bouncing off the headset and wearing funny cloths. Now that's entertainment!! jmo.

daihard 

I just came back from my bike fitting session. The fitter got my bike set up on a trainer and had me spin a bit first. One of the immediate things he noticed was that the handlebar was quite a bit wider than my shoulder. That cased my arms to stretch out more.

He suggested trying a narrower handlebar. I asked if we could try an FSA Wing Pro. He said sure, and grabbed a 40cm one for me. It was 4 cm narrower than the original part - pretty significant.

The FSA handlebar made quite a bit of difference. Not only are my arms more relaxed when holding the bar, but it is now easier to squeeze the brake levers because I'm holding the bar straight up. I'm pretty happy.

The fitter has also adjusted my saddle height and angle a bit. I was apparently rocking my hip a bit due to the saddle being a bit too high. After the adjustment, I do feel that I am pedalling more smoothly.

I paid $150 (USD) for the fitting. I believe the achievement is well worth the money.

2702

I sat on the newest Synapse and think the bar are big and wide. Same thing on the CAAD10 and Supersix bikes. It should help I hope, I still think you should start with a 10 degree rise and go lower when you are comfortable. Did the fitter keep you on the same stem setup?

daihard 

I put in about 15 miles on the FSA handlebar this afternoon. It definitely feels better - my arms are more relaxed, and I can pedal with more power without losing stability. I still get a bit of stiff neck, but the fitter said it's normal for someone who's used to riding in a more upright position. We are having a follow-up session in a few weeks. If the stiff neck persists, I will work it out with him at that time.

We did discuss using a higher-degree stem a bit but decided to stick with the current 7-degree one after he checked my position with the new handlebar.

Dirt Road

I wanted something more maneuverable, agile, and lighter than my reliable plodding (like me, really) touring bike that I could ride to the trails and then ride on the trails. But I use the term "hybrid" to mean a cross between a mountain bike and a street bike, and I use "trail" to mean really tame woods lanes, greenways, and rails-to-trails. As the term hybrid has evolved, it's included some really beautiful straight-bar road bikes and drop-bar mountain bikes. Mine is actually more of a comfort bike than anything else.

2702

I joined the hybrid club, having 2 roadbikes was redundant. So I got a Trek 7.5 today and keeping the CAAD 8 which is just a brilliant, fast ride, with power efficiency as good as bikes double the cost.

Panthers007

I bought a 7.5 FX in 2008. It was a 2007 model and was deeply discounted price-wise. If the frame is still the black-aluminum Trek had it graded as, it was an excellent bargain. It was the exact same frame they had for the 7.6 and 7.7 FX at the time. And it was due to this that I bought it in the first place. It's a great frame and the carbon fork has really held up nicely. I completely rebuilt the bike though - my own choices in components and custom wheels I built. But that frame and fork remain as it's heart & soul.

You should love that bike! Good choice! Congratulations.

daihard 

Agreed!

2702

I think your 2007 FX frame is better than mine. Your is from Trek Archives- Frame
FX Alpha Hydroformed Aluminum

From what I have read Hydroformed frames are top of the line while the 2014 7.5 FX frames are not.

Panthers007

From what I was able to glean from Trek's current website, as well as doing a bit of tracking down what has been said/written regards the new frame material - looks like you have done just fine. The frame of the 7.7 nowadays is carbon. So you do have their top-drawer aluminum. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want a hybrid made of carbon. I'd be concerned regarding the shock I'd be putting it through on some of the trails I ride up here in northern New England. On regular pavement, or loose gravel, carbon is fine these days. But our woodlands are pretty tough customers - just shy of meriting a switch over to mountain bike material.

One thing you may want to keep an eye on is the wheels. On my 7.5 they were hideous - Made during an era when many bike companies were into telling their customers that "everyone" wants wheels with fewer and fewer spokes. This was a disaster! The wheels that came stock with my 7.5 went out of true if I so much as looked at them cross-eyed. So I bought some Mavic A719 rims and a pair of Shimano Ultegra hubs and DT spokes and went to work. Result: Bomb-proof wheels. Tough enough to encourage riding on very rough trails that could well kill off a carbon frame.

I hope you fare better on what you got stock. The howls from the cycling community (which is where you are now) were loud & clear enough to clamp down on this idiotic marketing ploy.

ZR2guy

I had a really nice Iron Horse MTB and loved the mountain bike thing but my wife is more into bikeway and city riding so I sold the IH. A few weeks after selling it, I came across a Trek 7200 on craigslist that had been purchased new from a LBS and only ridden a couple miles; shortly after the purchace, the owner had a severe knee injury/surgery(unrelated to biking) and claimed his riding days were over. I was lucky enough to be the first caller and grabbed it for $200. I absolutely love this bike and where my wife and I reside there are miles and miles of bike ways that connect all over southwest Ohio so there is never a shortage of locations to ride. Now we ride together.

2702

I was going to maybe get a Domane but the Domane 4.3 being double the costs did not provide double the comfort over bad roads. I'm not really a hugh carbon bike guy, I like high end aluminum. The difference is just not worth the costs to me. I don't ever ride that long to notice extra comfort over alloy. I just ride to catch some sunshine or do some errands.

mrodgers

I started to ride last year a cheap piece of junk Walmart mountain bike that I dusted off from sitting in the garage. Rode it for 500+ miles for 3 months before winter hit.

I could see what I wanted from riding that bike. I liked the flat bar and I wanted more top gear if I wanted to ride on the road while still having the low mountain bike gearing.(couldn't ride the Walmart bike on the road due to not shifting right and 20ish mph top speed on anything slightly downhill from flat, which it is all up and down hill for me.)

I knew I needed bar ends and that would be good for me.

I had $600 max to spend and my brief looking at road bikes, all I could see was starting about $800. Craigslist is useless where I live for used.

I didn't want to be all hunched over. I liked how I sat on the Walmart mountain bike, but it was just a little small.

If I started riding on the road, it would mostly be dirt/gravel roads. My Giant Escape runs these roads pretty sweet. I knew nothing about CX bikes and I guess I could have gone with one of them. I'd still be coasting on the brakes on most of the downhills though.

I basically liked riding the old junk Walmart bike and could figure out what I would want improved on it (aside from just the crappy completely worn out status of the bike itself.)