100k on hybrid

muppet01

Hi, doing a 100k charity cycle nxt month on a hybrid, (newbie) and lookin for any advice on maybe upgrading the bike, gear etc
Have a trek 7.1
Any ideas, am lookin to upgrade to a road bike soon as well so any ideas......

AltAccount

What kind of gear do you have now?

IronmanJNR

100k on a hybrid... Ouch!!

Hybrid straight handlebar only really has one riding position... Road bike you can take up a number of different positions. I.e. on the hoods, on the drops ECT,

Also and more importantly it will be harder on a hybrid, more rolling resistance with tyres and there usually heavier...

My advice would be to get a road bike , Your going 100k so it’s a 3/4 hour ride , you will also need a bike fit .. 3/4 hours on an ill-fitting bike may cause injury or discomfort, and will take the enjoyment out of the day...

Plus once you get a road bike, you’ll be the bug and you’ll never be off it

Enjoy

Lumen

Loads of people do the Wicklow 200 on hybrids perfectly comfortably.

El Vino

Trek 7.1 is not far off a flat barred road bike. Swap the tyres for 28mm ones - probably need to swap the tubes as well and you will be fine,

langdang

Hybrid will do ya fine for one off or infrequent 100km rides.

Ring of Kerry - 180km on a hybrid - no problem.
Lough Derg - 120km on a hybrid - no problem.
etc etc
Yes, I was slower than I would have been on a road bike, but the person I was cycling with (who had a road bike) was slower. (The hybrid, 32mm tyres and panniers were a deliberate attempt to slow me down).

Bike setup is as important on a hybrid as it is on a road bike.
Bar-ends and "ergo" style grips make a difference.
Get your bike checked out if you are not confident mechanically.
Other than that? Good shorts and plenty practice.

langdang

El Vino wrote: »

Trek 7.1 is not far off a flat barred road bike. Swap the tyres for 28mm ones - probably need to swap the tubes as well and you will be fine,

Complete misread your original post - apologies!

muppet01

thanks for feedback, didnt get a road bike straight off as i didnt know if id stick to it, i will.
The tyre change seems the most sensible option, im not in the position to upgrade yet but i will. I was out on Sat with a group who all had road bikes and i was by no means the slowest but id like to make things easier, maybe side grips for the hills.......
Thanks again for the advice

Cape Clear

Did the Tour de Cure 100 k route on a hybrid a few years ago. Quite enjoyable different animal to doing it on a road bike. It all depends what your aims are!

Vélo

The bike is fine for 100km. I'd also recommend some bar ends as they'll give you that extra hand position.

Seaneh

muppet01 wrote: »

Hi, doing a 100k charity cycle nxt month on a hybrid, (newbie) and lookin for any advice on maybe upgrading the bike, gear etc
Have a trek 7.1
Any ideas, am lookin to upgrade to a road bike soon as well so any ideas......

One mice upgrade would be slimmer tyres.
Changing from the stock 35c tires to a 28c tyre will make a massive difference in the feel of the bike, you don't have to spend a ton of money either, I switched my hybrid from 35c touring tires (never had a flat with them, loved them, but slow rolling) to 28c Vittoria Rubino's and the difference was massive, still never had a problem with punctures with the Rubinos either.

AltAccount

What kind of shoes, shorts, pedals, gloves etc. do you have?

Do you have pump, tubes and everything else you'll need to be relatively self sufficient?

ford2600

You have a nice bike, did 3 tour (with light panniers) of west Cork averaging 110k a day without an issue. I have road and mountain bike, but love riding Gary Fisher (poor man's Trek) Hybrid whenever I get the chance.

As others said, change to narrower tyre, an pump to max pressure, pedal and enjoy!

muppet01 wrote: »

thanks for feedback, didnt get a road bike straight off as i didnt know if id stick to it, i will.
The tyre change seems the most sensible option, im not in the position to upgrade yet but i will. I was out on Sat with a group who all had road bikes and i was by no means the slowest but id like to make things easier, maybe side grips for the hills.......
Thanks again for the advice

kincsem

You must pump the hybrid tyres up to the max pressure written on the tyre sidewall using a track pump to reduce rolling resistance. If you don't have a track pump borrow one.

BailMeOut

I did the ROK on my Trek 7.2 Fx and finished in a very decent time. I would highly recommend replacing your heavy hybrid tyres with something thinner and slicker. I have continental sport tracks and they make a huge difference from the original clunkers. They were only €15 each and you can get the puncture resistant versions for about €30 each. Handle bar ends are also good so that you have an alternative holding position and helps (me) with blood flow to my fingers. Before installing I was getting pins and needles after long cycles.

rollingscone

It might just be the weird geometry on my Giant Escape but maybe give your lower back some TLC (i.e. stretches) on the lead up to it as I found on any longer spins on my hybrid my only issues were a bit of lower back discomfort and my hands getting numb (See comments above re bar ends).

Mycroft H

I did one 150k on my Trek 7.2fx

Couple of pointers

- Lack of hand positions resulted in numb hands round the 60km mark. Bar ends may have helped here
- Swap down for lightweight 32mm tyres - The stock 35mm bontragers were heavy tyres.
- The stock saddle sucks man parts.
- Toe clips would be a nice addition.

Muhozol

My longest spin was 80k so far on a hybrid that's including good bit of hills near Killarney, no complains. I'm doing Sean Kelly 100k tour this year as well. Should be ok, I suppose will be much slower than road bikes but not much concern.

Mycroft H

Muhozol wrote: »

My longest spin was 80k so far on a hybrid that's including good bit of hills near Killarney, no complains. I'm doing Sean Kelly 100k tour this year as well. Should be ok, I suppose will be much slower than road bikes but not much concern.

You won't be that much slower, believe you me. You can tip along quickly enough on a hybrid if you can get a hold of bar ends.

Muhozol

:-) I hope so mate, I'm training now with a lad on a basic road bike but it's not easy to keep up esp climbing (my avarage for 50k is usually 20-21 km/h bit slow for my taste). My bike is quite heavy and so am I :-(

Wibbles19

I'm collecting a felt qx85d-2011 hybrid on friday, can't wait, only have enough room for one bike so has to do everything (himself has 3, still not nearly enough!) this cycling stuff is fair addictive !