Complete Noob questions...

Guill

Hi, i am a completely new to cycling. I bought a bike on the bike to work scheme about 6 months ago, mainly to save on petrol money. I use it to commute the 17k return journey to work with the odd weekend 20/30k cycle thrown in. The thing is that I've started to enjoy cycling more and more and find myself looking forward to taking off and beating my last time or just getting out in the fresh air.

My bike is a Viking Hybrid which is perfect for the commute but on my 20k cycle yesterday there was a strong wind up so I leaned forward and put my elbows on the handle bars. I went from doing 22kph to 29kph with no added effort, it was amazing to me but very uncomfortable and too hard to steer so I couldn't do it for long.

I had a quick Google and from what I can see Aero bars are ideal for this but not too many people put them on hybrids, does anyone else here have them on a hybrid?

Also, what would you say is the best way to set the saddle height and then the handle bar height?

Money is an issue for me so no option of upgrading the bike so I will be trying to make a go of doing longer distances and faster times using the hybrid.

Thanks for any replies.

petethedrummer

You see the odd person with them on a hybrid. Saw a fella on Saturday morning with them.

Your hands will be far away from the brakes though.

Civilian_Target

What Pete said - you can do it but your hands will be far from the brakes.

A better bet is to just buy road-bike handlebars - it's a cheap upgrade - about 15-20EUR for the bars, and the same again for new brake levers to go on them.

Whether your bike will be comfortable to ride with the new handlebars is a different matter...

Guill

Whether your bike will be comfortable to ride with the new handlebars is a different matter...

Could you elaborate on that?
My original comment about being uncomfortable was due to the fact I had my elbows on the handle bar. Otherwise I find the bike very comfortable. Do you think the road bike bars on a Hybrid would be an uncomfortable set up?

happytramp

Guill wrote: »

Do you think the road bike bars on a Hybrid would be an uncomfortable set up?

No. Once you're used to the road bars, you'll find all other bars inferior comfort wise.

cdaly_

Guill wrote: »

Do you think the road bike bars on a Hybrid would be an uncomfortable set up?

happytramp wrote: »

No. Once you're used to the road bars, you'll find all other bars inferior comfort wise.

I put aerobars on my hybrid. Found them very handy for headwinds and for resting the wrists on a long solo ride.

I since changed to road bars on the same bike and kept the aerobars. Still brill for solo spins though I have improved my core strength so it's not so hard on the wrists.

Since I use the bike for commuting, I added brake levers to the aerobars so I happily use them in traffic too.

Guill

Thanks cdaly_

What brand Aero bars did you go with?

cdaly_

Profile Design. Started off with the Century and then moved on to the T2 for a more aggressive aero profile.