[review+pics] Getting the most out of a hybrid - Scott Sub cross 40

sweet_trip

Well seeing as we're all in lockdown I figured I'd write something up like this. Not sure if there'll be any interest but whatever. Mods I'm not sure if this belongs in the mountain bike section. Feel free to move if you wish.

Intro: Prior to getting this bike I've been doing outdoor hiking and walking for years. I developed this into a cross-country exploration kind of a hobby. I use a lot of OS maps and things to find the most out of the way route to a point. As the crow flies and away from the roads as much as possible.

Early last year I figured I could extend my range by picking up a bike.

The bike: Bare in mind I haven't had a bike for over 15 years until this. I didn't (and still don't) know shíte about bikes. After some research I settled with a hybrid and perhaps mistakenly.
I've made various changes to it the past year. Mainly the tyres, mudguards and bottle holders etc. Nothing too fancy.

Though CTWS I purchased a Scott Sub Cross 40 Hybrid.


Pros:

• Very sturdy bike, can take a lot of beatings. Does what a hybrid needs to do. Handles countryside roads, city environments, stairs, potholes and curbs are no bother to it.
• Even once taken off road it holds up quite well. I've come to call it my backroad warrior.
• I think it makes an excellent bike for a beginner biker who lives in the countryside. Hell, it'd even make for a good farm bike (what a concept!)

Cons:

• It's bulky, and kind of ugly looking with the strange frame. However it's still light enough for me to sling it over gates and walls no prob.
• The frame makes it difficult to adapt a rack or bags. I wanted to tour with it but it's not suitable for anything beyond a day or two.
• It's slow. The 3 x 7 gears make hills a chore. But I've been able to tackle 15% inclines on it no bother. It's just a long slow slog but you'll get there.
• The front suspension, sort of useless I only engage it if im flying down a bumpy trail but even then I feel like it's just pointless and unnecessary weight.
• The stock tyres it comes with. Get rid of them. Useless.
• I've had a few other roadbikers sneer at me for using it. Different styles I guess.

How I utilised it: Initially I started with some training on the backroads. Tested it a couple times on woodland trails and eventually started branching out to rural farmland and forestry tracks. Occasionally I'll bring to quarries etc.

It struggles a bit once the mud starts getting wet but I largely put that down to the touring tyres I selected.

A touring bike itself might have been a better choice. I'm still on the fence about mountain bikes. I'm not sure they'd be the right fit for me.

Pics:

1. The bike as it is now.



2. De backroads



3. Farm lanes.


4. Every hill is something I want to check out. Whats behind them? Lets go!



5. There's a lot of hidden paths and trails in Ireland. It's a beautiful country beyond the beaten tracks.




6. The forests. Some of these forest complexes are huge. This one was over 10km. Go on a weekend and its all yours!




7. Old digger tracks. Freestyle mountain bikers dream? Unfortunately I was going up.


8. Beyond the hybrids ability. Time to push


9. It's the little things you find. Makes it worth it. Grand spot to stop for lunch.



10. :pac:



Conclusion: Honestly I've come to be really fond of this bike. It's not the best in its range but it's a great little backroad warrior. I'm still having fun pushing its ability too. Considering looking into upgrading the handlebars and gears. Unsure of cost.

cletus

What are you thinking re handlebars? Will you stay with flats, or are you thinking of putting drop bars on

sweet_trip

cletus wrote: »

What are you thinking re handlebars? Will you stay with flats, or are you thinking of putting drop bars on

Drop bars is what I was thinking but I haven't done any research yet.

I'm not sure what the best would be.

ED E

sweet_trip wrote: »

Drop bars is what I was thinking but I haven't done any research yet.

I'm not sure what the best would be.

Refits like that rarely make sense. €190 just for the shifters, all in you'd be close to €300 on a €600 bike.

sweet_trip

ED E wrote: »

Refits like that rarely make sense. €190 just for the shifters, all in you'd be close to €300 on a €600 bike.

Yeah I figured. I was thinking of buying a second bike for touring but honestly this suits me grand for now. The flat handle bars are fine.
I could perhaps upgrade the pedals but again. flats are just fine for rough terrain imo.

cletus

ED E wrote: »

Refits like that rarely make sense. €190 just for the shifters, all in you'd be close to €300 on a €600 bike.

It's a 3x7. I was looking at doing something similar myself, but couldn't find suitable shifters. Where did you find the price of €190?

I did find a set of 3x7 drop bar shifters on AliExpress for €42. Figured if all else failed they might be worth a shot

Tony04

You could buy a new rear wheel or even a second hand wheel on adverts problem with 7 speed is the free hub limits you to 7 speeds. Wheres as 8 9 10 speed and 11 speed mtb and some 12 speed mtb all have the same freehubs. Shimano 8 speed claris groupset is less than 250. I'd go for sora though or even tiagra. You can get alot of perfectly good working used parts on adverts for cheap.

cletus

Tony04 wrote: »

You could buy a new rear wheel or even a second hand wheel on adverts problem with 7 speed is the free hub limits you to 7 speeds. Wheres as 8 9 10 speed and 11 speed mtb and some 12 speed mtb all have the same freehubs. Shimano 8 speed claris groupset is less than 250. I'd go for sora though or even tiagra. You can get alot of perfectly good working used parts on adverts for cheap.

Not sure if that's aimed at me, or the OP. In my case the bike has a freewheel, so I'm stuck with 7

Large bottle small glass

Is that around Portlaw area up towards South Tipp?

Bikes are way more adaptable than we think. What you need most (and you obviously have) is a love of the outdoors and a can do attitude.

Honestly I'd fix bike and just maintain it.

If you want the bike to do more I just get something like a gravel/adventure bike more suitable for
*touring
*more capable off road(typically wide tubeless tyres)
*slacker headtube.

For routes, mapping software and transferring to a gps device or smartphone will open up a lot of options for you.

Btw you need a good strip of grass to qualify as a back road!

A cheap addition could be bar ends that would give you some options in terms of hand positions on a long spin.

Tony04

cletus wrote: »

Not sure if that's aimed at me, or the OP. In my case the bike has a freewheel, so I'm stuck with 7

Anyone with a 7 speed wheel. It's worth considering replacing the wheel with one with an 8 9 10 freehub. As far as I am aware all cheap bikes come with the rim brake 9 x 130 axle standard or disc brake 9 x 135 axle standard. Axle standards only become confusing when there are thru axles or boost spacing on more expensive bikes.

cletus

Tony04 wrote: »

Anyone with a 7 speed wheel. It's worth considering replacing the wheel with one with an 8 9 10 freehub. As far as I am aware all cheap bikes come with the rim brake 9 x 130 axle standard or disc brake 9 x 135 axle standard. Axle standards only become confusing when there are thru axles or boost spacing on more expensive bikes.

I get you, but from my point of view, the bike isn't worth making all those changes. It's just about worth a cheap flared drop handlebar, and maybe those AliExpress shifters. It's going to be a beater anyway

Tony04

cletus wrote: »

I get you, but from my point of view, the bike isn't worth making all those changes. It's just about worth a cheap flared drop handlebar, and maybe those AliExpress shifters. It's going to be a beater anyway

Personally if I was going to make the effort to order of ali Express I'd rather just buy second hand parts off adverts. The difference a good groupset makes is amazing, especially over bad surfaces without chain slap. Second hand parts slash groupset prices, considering derailleurs, shifters and cranks can last forever. But yeh once you start spending 200 or more you probably can get an as good second hand bike.

sweet_trip

Large bottle small glass wrote: »

Is that around Portlaw area up towards South Tipp?

Bikes are way more adaptable than we think. What you need most (and you obviously have) is a love of the outdoors and a can do attitude.

Honestly I'd fix bike and just maintain it.

If you want the bike to do more I just get something like a gravel/adventure bike more suitable for
*touring
*more capable off road(typically wide tubeless tyres)
*slacker headtube.

For routes, mapping software and transferring to a gps device or smartphone will open up a lot of options for you.

Btw you need a good strip of grass to qualify as a back road!

This is all South Kilkenny. South Tipp really interests especially but more so for foot hiking. It's a huge and the hills are quite large. Might just be misery.
South Kilkenny is deceptively large too. I've still a lot of ground to cover this year.

As for the love of outdoors, I think buying a bike is one of the best decisions I've made. There's no better way to explore and see the countryside than a bike. I bring binoculars with me and see some amazing wild life.

Regarding plotting: I roughly plot a trip using google and bing satellite maps. Very good quality these days.
Ordinance survey Ireland also have a great map tool with lots of in depth info.
Most importantly, my imagination.

I tend to just refer to google maps while I'm on the actual bike. I've found it struggles in thick forest however. Could do with a phone holder for sure.

cletus

Tony04 wrote: »

Personally if I was going to make the effort to order of ali Express I'd rather just buy second hand parts off adverts. The difference a good groupset makes is amazing, especially over bad surfaces without chain slap. Second hand parts slash groupset prices, considering derailleurs, shifters and cranks can last forever. But yeh once you start spending 200 or more you probably can get an as good second hand bike.

If I could have found 3x7 drop shifters second hand, I'd have bought them. Still would, if you know of any going.

CramCycle

Great opening post, great bike, keep enjoying it and don't worry about anything else.

JMcL

Looks like you're having a lot of fun!

sweet_trip wrote: »

Drop bars is what I was thinking but I haven't done any research yet.

I'm not sure what the best would be.

Maybe something like a Jones H Bar, Velo Orange or a butterfly bar? All of these would give you extra hand positions without the need to change any of the shifters/drivetrain. I've an ancient hard-everything mountain bike I'm thinking about fitting a motor to in which case I'd probably change the bars to one of these

sweet_trip wrote: »

This is all South Kilkenny. South

Hadn't really ventured much into south KK - plenty of times up Bishops Mountain and over to the east of the M9 in general. I took a foray from Mullinavat over to Fiddown back in February and it had been on my bucket list to do a bit more of that with the Croix de Fer under me so I could explore a bit more, then the world turned upside down

smacl

cletus wrote: »

If I could have found 3x7 drop shifters second hand, I'd have bought them. Still would, if you know of any going.

I'm pretty sure I've a set of 3x9 campag xenon shifters and rear mech gathering dust somewhere, should have a few cassettes knocking around too. You'd need a rear wheel that could take a campy cassette or see if you could make it play with a shimano cassette. Not sure how the pull ratios on the front mech would work with a non-campag crankset but again could be workable.

smacl

sweet_trip wrote: »

Honestly I've come to be really fond of this bike. It's not the best in its range but it's a great little backroad warrior. I'm still having fun pushing its ability too. Considering looking into upgrading the handlebars and gears. Unsure of cost.

I've an old hybrid that fulfills a very similar role and is still great craic on local coilte tracks and trails and the odd bit of single track. I've also got a CX bike which fares way better on the roads but is tougher going on the rough stuff for my level of technical (in)ability. Downside of the hybrid is primarily weight which makes longer jaunts in hilly territory very tough. As someone else mentioned bar ends on the hybrid are good for longer spins as are tyres suited for the terrain.

CantGetNoSleep

On the idea of changing shifters / bars etc. - tbh I wouldn't think it will ever make financial sense. I'd wait to find a good deal on an 11 speed gravel bike new or second hand.

But more importantly - great pics and routes. No upgrades or bike will give you the same satisfaction as getting out there

sweet_trip

JMcL wrote: »

Looks like you're having a lot of fun!



Maybe something like a Jones H Bar, Velo Orange or a butterfly bar? All of these would give you extra hand positions without the need to change any of the shifters/drivetrain. I've an ancient hard-everything mountain bike I'm thinking about fitting a motor to in which case I'd probably change the bars to one of these



Hadn't really ventured much into south KK - plenty of times up Bishops Mountain and over to the east of the M9 in general. I took a foray from Mullinavat over to Fiddown back in February and it had been on my bucket list to do a bit more of that with the Croix de Fer under me so I could explore a bit more, then the world turned upside down

I do like the look of those Velo Orange bars. Would it be much hassle to fit?


Lots of nice spots east of the m9 and north of Tory hill towards iniostigue on the backroads. Hope you like hills!

smacl wrote: »

I've an old hybrid that fulfills a very similar role and is still great craic on local coilte tracks and trails and the odd bit of single track. I've also got a CX bike which fares way better on the roads but is tougher going on the rough stuff for my level of technical (in)ability. Downside of the hybrid is primarily weight which makes longer jaunts in hilly territory very tough. As someone else mentioned bar ends on the hybrid are good for longer spins as are tyres suited for the terrain.

Re tyres: I had a very hard time figuring out which tyres would be suitable for me. As I do spend a lot of time on the roads I went with schwalbe mondial. They seem to suit me just fine tbh but I'm not sure if I could improve.



The most important thing for me is just not getting punctured or torn up to ****e when dealing with rocks, thorns and gorse but also being able to roll easily on the roads.

sweet_trip

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

On the idea of changing shifters / bars etc. - tbh I wouldn't think it will ever make financial sense. I'd wait to find a good deal on an 11 speed gravel bike new or second hand.

But more importantly - great pics and routes. No upgrades or bike will give you the same satisfaction as getting out there

Forgive my ignorance, but whats the difference between a Cx bike and a gravel bike. Why would I chose one of those over a touring bike?

Tony04

sweet_trip wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance, but whats the difference between a Cx bike and a gravel bike. Why would I chose one of those over a touring bike?

Your not ignorant not knowing that difference haha, even I find it hard to make a distinction. A cx bike is designed for racing and therefore is more aggressive I.e harder gearing, more aggressive(uncomfortable) geometry where as gravel is designed to cover distance at a fast speed while being reliable.

A touring bike is designed for comfort and reliability at a cheap price but therefore will be heavy and slower. These cheaper component will be less reliable however over rough ground than a gravel bike. For example chain retention might be great on cheap bikes leading to slipped chains and in extreme cases bad chain slap.

JMcL

sweet_trip wrote: »

I do like the look of those Velo Orange bars. Would it be much hassle to fit?

Probably not a huge amount. You might have issues with stem length, as these seem to be aimed at replacing drop bars. But from a quick look on the intertubes, the stem on your bike is 31.8mm which means these would at least fit. After that it's a case of fitting your levers and brakes where you want them, and wrapping some bar tape on (plenty of tutorials on youtube)

sweet_trip wrote: »

Lots of nice spots east of the m9 and north of Tory hill towards iniostigue on the backroads. Hope you like hills!

Aye, some lovely roads around there. The brother in law lives in KK so if we're going up I'll usually take the opportunity to spin up and get a lift back. There're a few murderous gradients close in by Tory hill so I usually go up Bishops Mountain a bit further east which is a nice steady hill - if long. I'm fitter now that last time I tried them, so must have another crack at them. Skirting the west of Tory hill has some nice lanes too - some lovely quiet roads from Knocktopher up to Kells as well

sweet_trip wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance, but whats the difference between a Cx bike and a gravel bike. Why would I chose one of those over a touring bike?

Marketing? Well to a degree - at least initially. Proper CX bikes tend to be limited in tire size (32/33mm? - the max size the UCI allow for races), then gravel came along with bigger tire clearances and bosses to bolt stuff onto for bikepacking to allow the industry to flog us an N+1 bike. Cynicism aside though, there's some lovely gravel bikes out there these days and they're probably the class of bike to look at for anybody that wants to do a bit of everything but doesn't want/can't have/can't affiord, a stable of bikes for every occasion