Cheap Hybrid Bike vs Expensive Road Bike

[dicko]

Cheap E bike? Just be careful where you charge it.

 

[cyberknight]

For sure, I am a couple months in only. So still lots of fitness to be had! Longest ride so far was 21.5 miles. Longer than I ever thought I would be able to ride TBH but I know this is still pretty short in comparison to what is possible and at a pretty slow pace at that.

 

[philipgonzales3]

A good hybrid shouldn't be far behind a road bike. Not sure about that model of Schwalbe tyre but they (Schwalbe) have a reputation for being a bit 'draggy' you also don't say what width the tyre is. I run Marathons on my nice hybrid but they're 28's and I run em pretty hard 80psi front and 95psi rear, check the 'MAX' pressure rating on the tyre wall before going too far and blowing them up too hard though.

40-622. I just matched the width of the tires that came with the bike. I run about 65 rear 60 front more or less based on a tire psi calculator and also on the idea that lower is actually faster than higher.


View: https://youtu.be/6rMnNI2RCgw?si=s1mzl06a9CHP1F5S

 

[Pat "5mph"]

The bike as a proprietary seat mast that must be swapped to get the seat lower.

You could chop off some using a hacksaw or a pipe cutter.
Cheaper than buying a new one!

 

[philipgonzales3]

You could chop off some using a hacksaw or a pipe cutter.
Cheaper than buying a new one!

Unfortunately in this scenario that is not possible. It is a proprietary design, I believe due to isospeed or maybe just the way it was designed.

Below is from the internet. The screw hole or what not is all the way at the bottom of the window or channel in my situation. So in addition to cutting, a new screw hole would be needed.



Also the opposite side has something, again maybe for the isospeed? Not really sure.


I kind of wish it was a "regular" seat post design but then again I didn't really by a "regular" bike so to speak.

It also cost "cough" $269 USD. Kinda pricey but at this point it is what it is. Lol

 

[philipgonzales3]

Cheap E bike? Just be careful where you charge it.

Huh? No E bike here. I am the motor so to speak...

 

[philipgonzales3]

View attachment 732589

When I first started a couple months ago I planned to ride just 15 or 20 minutes each ride. Said it's 15 or 20 minutes more than doing nothing, which is what I was doing before. Was an absolute couch potato. Sit 10 hours a day or more in front of a computer for work.

Now I don't like to go for any less than an hour lol. Love it! It's addicting!

 

[steveindenmark]

You are judging this on an 11 mile ride.

Try it on an all day ride. A multi day ride, a 100 mile ride.

You cannot test anything over 11 miles.

 

[Fredo76]

Congratulations on starting out cycling. I like the "Still lapping everyone on the couch" sentiment posted above. Your experience simply illustrates the oldest saying in cycling - "It's not the bike, it's the rider."

Keep on going!

But, for that seatpost design, it's OK to blame the bike.

 

[philipgonzales3]

You are judging this on an 11 mile ride.

Try it on an all day ride. A multi day ride, a 100 mile ride.

You cannot test anything over 11 miles.

I'm a beginner. My legs would literally fall off on a 100 mile ride lol. One day I will get there! But not today.

 

[PedallingNowhereSlowly]

I have to caveat this with I'm not sure how much I trust the figures Strava comes up with. However, average power output and energy output are almost double on the hybrid, compared to the road bike. Granted, it looks like you had higher wind speeds to contend with on the day you rode the hybrid.

It looks to me you were definitely working harder on the hybrid then you were the road bike, even if the effort felt the same. That saddle being too high won't have helped.

For what it's worth, my average speed on a road bike relative to a hybrid comes up anywhere between 1 km/h and 3 km/h faster, on average, depending on the conditions. And on longer rides, the disparity is greater. Where as I'll average a good 20+ km/h on a longer hillier ride on the road bike, that will come in at ~16km/h on the hybrid.

I must also caveat this with my road bike isn't anything like a Trek Domane. It's actually a cross gravel road (all road?) bike, with mudguards, pannier rack and trunk bag. And the hybrid bike isn't a sports hybrid and by any standards, is quite heavy. The hub geared / belt drive hybrid is lighter but works out even slower than that.

It is possible to do cycling without spending lots of money - it's not necessarily an expensive hobby. But, having bought two bikes this year, both into four figures I really can't talk. The bike I've logged most miles on is the cheapest though, having set me back the princely sum of £150.

Anway, keep up the good work. You will be doing 100 mile rides before you know it.

 

[philipgonzales3]

Wohoo, on my first ride with the seat now at the recommended height I hit a PR for my 10 mile time on the same route (93% of the time in Zone 2). Not exactly fast but with the stops and turns and what not I'll take it! Previous PR for 10 miles was > 80% in Zone 3. The rear end feels much better and overall comfort is improved!

 

[All uphill]

I'm a beginner. My legs would literally fall off on a 100 mile ride lol. One day I will get there! But not today.

I've been working up towards my first 100 mile ride for a while now; about fifty years...

 

[philipgonzales3]

Ugh oh. I think I'm starting to not only look like a cyclist with my kit and fancy looking bike, but seems I may be turning into a full blown cyclist. Still a pretty wimpy one, but what you can do. At least I'm a slightly smaller one than when I started. 20 pounds down between the drugs (Ozempic) and the cycling. Probably the drugs but I'll take it. Hope to be able to maintain my weight loss long term with my new found hobby.

 

[philipgonzales3]

Wohoo slowly gaining speed.