alu straight bar ok for sportives?

kuro_man

Hi,

I have an alu straight bar road bike (Lapierre SL895 2006) with carbon fork & Tiagra group. I bought it for city commuting but now I am doing longer out-of-town commute, 12 miles each way, with climbs. I was also planning on doing Ring of Kerry and possibly Wicklow 100 next year.

I find the alu bike quiet rigid, lots of vibration on rough tarmac. I don't think longer rides would be very comfortable.
Thinking of getting a carbon bike with drops - usual suspects like a Planet-X, Ribble Sportive, Vitus Dark Plasma [VR], BH Speedrom, Focus Cayo etc.

Anyone been in a similar situation? Would there be much of an improvement?

CptMackey

I've seen people doing the rok on mountain bikes and even a Bmx( mad man) it's not the bike it's the rider that matters.

A racing bike are the job tho. You don't necessarily need a carbon 1. Good aluminium one with carbon front fork will do the job.

Beasty

I did the WW200 on a hybrid a couple of years ago with no problems (apart from a broken spoke, but I can't blame that on the straight bars;))

(Greyspoke put me to shame doing it on his fixie though)

langdang

What size tyres? I'd recommend bar ends for longer spins on a flat bar. For something like ROK (bad road surfaces) you might need to put some bar tape on them, and the corner where they join the bars. I intend doing the ROK next year on my flat bar bike. Much better for jumping jumps and hollows ;-) too much mountain biker in me, my heart rate is the same or higher coming down from Coomakiste than it is going up ;-) Molls gap descent is spoiled by dawdling tourists...

rp

Try Midge bars, great all rounders, commute, off-road, road:

kuro_man

Thanks for replies.

Bike has bull bars already and I've added clip-on aeros for more variability (I use them sparingly).

I was more interested in general handling, not just handlebars. I find the ride quiet harsh esp. over rough tarmac, lots of vibration and rattles.
I running on blizzard sport 23 @ 8 bar with stock wheels (Shimano R500, I think). Mabe the wheels are knackered after 5 years.

Picture is of a similar bike (not mine).

HivemindXX

It's been a very long time since I used a proper road bike so I can't really make comparisons but I've done multiple 100k sportives this year on a flat bar hybrid with no problems.

I had some issues with numb hands while training and padded gloves sorted that out. I don't even have bar ends. It is a good idea to take your hands off the bars (one at a time!) every now and again to stretch your fingers and work your shoulders.

Certainly when we got to the bit in the West Cork 100 where the road had been resurfaced and was basically a gravel track those of us on hybrids did a lot less complaining than those on road bikes.

I don't think you should be hearing any rattles though. Try and figure out what that is and tighten it. I've destroyed two mudguards by ignoring rattles until they came off completely.

kuro_man

thanks

HivemindXX wrote: »

I don't think you should be hearing any rattles though. Try and figure out what that is and tighten it. I've destroyed two mudguards by ignoring rattles until they came off completely.

Yep, rattles are a concern - its could be headset, wheel hubs, bracket/chainset/derailleur etc - but bike maintenance is not my thing so trip to LBS required.

smacl

Did the WW200 and Orwell Randonee on a flat bar hybrid this year with no problems, if you don't count being slower than most everyone else as a problem which I'm starting to. Comfort wise I've 32mm tires and a sprung Brooks saddle, and find this set-up is fine on long spins over quite rough terrain. I use the bar ends regularly on long spins to avoid hand numbness. Being 82k with the bike adding another 15k, I'd also use the granny ring on steeper climbs.

23mm tires seem rather thin for a hybrid, which could be the source of feeling road vibration. That said, if you have the option of switching to a carbon bike with drops, I'd say go for it.

langdang

HivemindXX wrote: »

Certainly when we got to the bit in the West Cork 100 where the road had been resurfaced and was basically a gravel track those of us on hybrids did a lot less complaining than those on road bikes.

Ya, I've 32 tyres, better for the freshly chipped "buzzy" roads than 23s

Wicklowrider

Bigger Tyres would make a big difference to road buzz. When people recommend drop bars they are correct, in that they provide more comfort because they provide more options to change hand position.That said I remember a radio documentery about a woman who worked as a maid in Dublin "long ago". She had one weekend off a month and used to cycle back up to Donegal on her old raleigh. Now if she could manage Donegal and back in a weekend on one of those ....

blorg

You can do it on a hybrid.

A road bike will be better.

Carbon is certainly better (generally lighter and more comfortable) than aluminum.

Wider tyres are also far more comfortable.

kuro_man

Wicklowrider wrote: »

Bigger Tyres would make a big difference to road buzz. When people recommend drop bars they are correct, in that they provide more comfort because they provide more options to change hand position.That said I remember a radio documentery about a woman who worked as a maid in Dublin "long ago". She had one weekend off a month and used to cycle back up to Donegal on her old raleigh. Now if she could manage Donegal and back in a weekend on one of those ....

But did she use a cycle computer to compare times month-on-month and levels of fat burn?

Wicklowrider

kuro_man wrote: »

But did she use a cycle computer to compare times month-on-month and levels of fat burn?

I'm willing to bet she didn't have any fat to burn!

Another interesting story I heard from a good bike shop owner was that he once did the maracycle on a messenger bike. He was seriously peeved ( and refused to disclose) how little time he lost compared to when he did it on a "real" bike. And yet another story (stop yawning) I heard on a radio documentery concerned a man who lived in newtown mountkennedy and who used to work an 8 hour shift x 24 rota in the mines up Wicklow gap. Imagine cycling one of those old black monsters up there to start work at midnight under ground? You see a lot on TG4 documenteries also, like Dan Breen cycling from Tipperary to Dublin with a box of ammo on the back carrier!

kuro_man

I bet she could crack walnuts with her thighs