poormanbiking

I seen the pic of a new Fuji Absolute. I need to find other manufacturers that sell a compact frame with a rigged fork like the Fuji. I've already looked at the general common manufacturers like Trek and Giant. Thanks for the help.

fietsbob

'Fast' is about the work you put out and largely the tire choice. the low-rolling resistance tires wont be cheap. they dont have to be skinny either.

Hit the shops and take test rides .. Now go back to work ! (i know this is on the company computer)

poormanbiking

OK, I should of been more specific , 700C tires. Maybe I should of stated something like a need for a comfortable flat bar style bike. I know I want to get a more upright riding stance then my road bikes. Most of the shops around me don't have the larger bikes for a test ride. As for getting back to work, Sorry I've been on third shift for 25 years. Again Thanks for any assistance

Steve Urquell

What is your price range?

Cafe

Are we talking Alberto Contador fast?

Lt Stonez

Hi! I was ordering my dream bike today Sirrus Comp Carbon Disc Sirrus - Specialized Concept Store i presume this will be a fast bike when ill be training on it for awile. Cant wait 2 get my legs on it Good luck with the bike

2702

^^^^ its a great bike,, the SL4 frame is the most efficient frame I have ever tried.

badger1

This ^^^
OP, 'fast' has to do with you, not the bike -- assuming generally equivalent overall quality. The notion that you, or anyone on here, can tell the difference between say a Trek 7.7FX or a Cannondale Quick SL1 or a carbon-framed Sirrus in terms of 'speed', stiffness, efficiency etc. is complete nonsense.

All the major manufacturers (Trek, C'dale, Specialized, Giant) have ranges of more or less equivalent hybrids/flat-bar road bikes in their lineups. Choose the one that suits your budget, that you like the look of, and (most importantly) that fits you, fine tune from there, and ... ride lots. "Fast" hybrid these days means effectively 'flat-bar road bike': C'dale Quick SL; Trek FX; Giant (2015) Fastroad; Specialized Sirrus are the examples that come to mind. There are others, but these would be the obvious candidates.

2702

Make it easy on yourself OP, just get the frame that the Specialized Tarmac rides on and go with it! Like the Spec Sirrus carbon bikes. I for one think bikes give out a difference feel. I think some suck and some are awesome. But being a non friction kind of guy ( piss off some owners) will not names the ones I think are overrated or not worth buying.

FamilyMan007

+1 Hopefully you get a chance to take a trial ride before you commit - then get the one which puts a smile on your face and makes you want to ride! Good luck with your decision - hope you are as happy as I am with my Cannondale Quick SL1

Fudgeurpizzy

Carbon flat bar road bikes are fast and what is most important versatile so i can see why you want one. on extended rides you're going to want an alternate hand position so a trekking bar or bar ends imo are needed to improve comfort for over 20mi rides.

speed... i avg 22mph using the horns pictured below. seems like everything i do on this bike is at a rip roaring 20mph.

Lizzy

I love my Jamis Allegro 1. It's a lively ride with 32c tires. I went down to 28s with fenders. Has SRAM components - love the gearing for hills. Also, I just bought a end-of-year clearance KHS Urban Xtreme. What a ride. Hard to beat Reynolds 520 steel and disc brakes. It's fast - has shallow drop bars, Shimano Claris components.

Bill Kapaun

Fast as in top speed or fast as in getting to your destination?

I replaced the stock 35mm hybrid tires & rims with my hand built Sun Rim M13II's and 25mm tires.
My daily best went from 50 to 70 miles.
I didn't ride much "faster", but I had enough left in the tank to do the extra 20 miles.

meanwhile

Rolling resistance is a big energy suck, but you'd actually have reduced it more if you'd kept the 35mm rims and put higher quality tyres on. RR can vary by factor of 2 depending on carcass flexibility - but it goes UP as you use narrower tyres, not down.

meanwhile

...Aka "Marketing victim bikes" because they're cynical examples of engineering sold to people who don't understand what drives bicycle performance. Restricting road racing bikes to narrow tyres makes sense, because they move at speeds where air resistance (a square law) dominates performance and narrow tyres are a win for aero. But hybrids live in a slower realm where the tiny aero advantage is meaningless and paid for a big increase in rolling resistance (and a bigger one in general handling characteristics.) Read eg

https://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/...e-is-too-wide/

https://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/...nd-fast-tires/

Of course, the bike makers won't tell you this - because selling flat barred versions of racing bikes to people who don't know any better is extremely profitable and, to be honest, it's not their job to educate customers. Especially as doing so would reduce profits - because if you know enough to fit 40mm Grand Bois or Almotions to a bike with an alu frame and fork you'll laugh yourself silly at anyone who suggests spending an extra $1000 to get carbon and Zertz.

meanwhile

Why not take one of the one road bikes you have and put a higher stem on it? Drop bars at the same height are more ergonomic than conventional flats (as opposed to MTB alt bars - conventional flats give terrible wrist and elbow angles). Take a look at Rivendell's site and google for raised stems and stem extenders.

Bill Kapaun

Which means you have absolutely no clue what was on my bike and shouldn't bother responding about MY bike.

meanwhile

Hmm. Well, if the laws of physics change around your bike, then what you have said is true:



Otherwise, no, you are being silly.

Hysteresis energy goes down as tyre width increases (and "cobblestone" losses go down even faster) and the fastest 35mm tyres you could run are faster rolling than the fastest 25mm tyres. They're less aero, but you're not Lance Armstrong and you're not using dropbars (or if you are, you left the most important stuff out...) so trading increased RR for reduced tyre aero would be a bad trade.

So, yes, what you did made your bike go faster - but not for the reasons you think (most 25mm tyres are race oriented and made with more felxible carcasses reducing hysteresis loses compared to average wider tyres) and you could have got a better result for less effort and cash. (Wheel truing and 35mm-40mm Grandbois, Marathon Supremes, Almotions, maybe Jackie Browns..)

You might find it personally insulting that science says that would you did wasn't exactly the smartest thing you possibly could have done, but science doesn't care. Damn science!

Seriously: what you did would seem "common sense" to most people, and unless you had an unusual amount of knowledge about the relevant physics would seem entirely sensible. Unfortunately the reality is more complicated, but I'd say that it's better to look at that as an opportunity for growth than as a personal insult.

Bill Kapaun

OK-
What tires and rims were on my bike.
What tires are on it now?
IF you don't know, then you are talking out your......