how far can i go?

[bigsean]

i'm considering buying a claude butler urban 100 hybrid as my 1st bike in nearly 20yrs.
i'm pretty out of shape, but am trying to put that right (i said trying lol)
i was wondering what sort of mileage i'll get out of this bike once i boost my fitness levels a bit?
is it just a commute to work n back (7 miles each way) bike?
will i need something a bit more streamline and road bike ish if i wanna start doing some distance?

 

[PpPete]

Pretty basic bike that... how far you go on it depends on you.
I've just completed a John-o'Groats to Land's End with a bunch of youngsters ( I was going to say teenagers, but one was only 12 and one was 21) Several of them had bikes which were a lot more basic than that though.

If you build up gradually 50-60 miles in a day are perfectly within reason on a bike like that. If you want to regularly 100+ miles in a day you may want something a bit lighter.

Narrower lighter tyres will help. 700 x 28 will be fine on road, and a lot quicker than the 38 or 40 mm cheapo tyres the bike comes with. See if you can cut a deal with your shop to trade the tyres before you take delivery?

Oh and

 

[Hacienda71]

You will be able to do plenty of miles on that, you see guys on hybrid bikes doing the 100k charity rides.

The problem will be when you start thinking mmmmm a road bike, I could go a bit faster on that, so you by a road bike as well. Then you think a MTB would be good for a bit of off roading at the weekends so you buy one of those and a fixed/single speed looks like a good idea. Before you know it your garage is full of bikes. The scientific equation to explain this is N+1 where N is the number of bikes you have and +1 is the number you should have.

Seriously though the Claud Butler will do plenty of miles. Enjoy

 

[TheDoctor]

It'll go as far as you like!!
Seriously, I've been touring on a bike a lot worse than that.
Change the tyres for ones a bit narrower and slicker and I'd take it round France with no hesitation.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Agree with the all above.
If you're mostly using it on the roads then get decent road tyres and a track-pump to get them to the right pressure. keep it well maintained and then you can go as far as you wish... with a bit of practice.
The beauty of the bicycle is that you can build distance and speed fairly quickly. Start gently and build it up!
Enjoy.

 

[bigsean]

thanks for the advice guys, the road bike/MTB/single speed fixed in the garage may sound good but 1 my bank balance wont stretch that far and 2 my wife woukd stretch my neck if i tried it lol
I will however look into the narrower tyres issue, will that mean different wheels as well? (you can tell i've not done this for nearly 20yrs eh)

 

[TheDoctor]

No, slightly thinner tyres will go onto the wheels you have. 32 or 28mm road tyres will go straight on.

 

[Fab Foodie]

thanks for the advice guys, the road bike/MTB/single speed fixed in the garage may sound good but 1 my bank balance wont stretch that far and 2 my wife woukd stretch my neck if i tried it lol
I will however look into the narrower tyres issue, will that mean different wheels as well? (you can tell i've not done this for nearly 20yrs eh)

You won't need different wheels, but somebody will need to figure out if the rims will take a narrower tyre than the 40m section fitted. HOWEVER, no need to spend money yet, use what you have for a while. If you have a few quid I would look at a decent track pump first, like a Joe Blow Sport for about £28 to keep max pressures.
When you're going further and faster (say in the spring) get some decent lighter weight slick tyres for some longer day riding!
Clipless pedals and shoes will also improve your performance too and would be a worthwhile investment when you're regularly running some miles.

For now, just get riding, get some proper padded cycle shorts or undershorts and gloves to aid comfort and just do it!

Here some bike set-up advice.


http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

 

[tmcd35]

I've been doing charity rides of 100km+ this year on my Felt hybrid, not too dissimilar to the Claude Butler. Haciendia is right, I've already swapped the tyres out for 700x25 semi-slicks and I'm now really wanting a fast road bike for the longer rides. Unfortunately the bank manager, he says 'NO'.

As for tyres and wheels, take a look over at Sheldon Browns site on the subject: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html The chart comparing Rim Width to Tyre Width is particularly useful.

 

[HLaB]

I commute 5 miles on the tank (a Ridgeback Velocity, a pretty low grade hybrid, the specs look similar to the CB) if you're commute was 9 or 10 miles I'd say definitely go for a road bike but for 7 miles I'd say give the CB a go and when your current tyres wear out replace them with narrower/ slicker ones (Id guess 28mm is as low as you can go). Over journeys sub 10miles you've got to way up where you are leaving the bike v saving a few minutes, IMC its outside University so there's no way I'm leaving a road bike there.

 

[mcshroom]

I'd imagine it has similar wheels (and tyres) to the CB Classic I have. The tyres (Kenda Cosmics at a guess) are nothing special but I'd leave them on for now. They roll well enough and aren't too puncture prone. if you get the urge later then they should go down to 700x28c, but leave the fiddling until you've got used to the bike.

My advice would be get out and ride it . I don't know how out of shape you are or how hilly your route is, but before you set off commuting I'd advise you have a go at riding the route on a weekend to see how you feel about it. That way you aren't riding worrying about getting to work on time so you can concentrate on just riding it. Also have a look at the route you might take, the fastest car route may not be the fastest bike route, and you may want to ride a quieter route than the main road.

I started commuting (6 miles each way) in January when I was really (19st+) out of shape, and found the first couple weeks difficult, especially the hills, as I adapted to riding a bike, after that it started to get easier, so don't worry if you are aching a bit after a couple days, and don't worry about building up from a couple days a week, or car in ride home one day, then ride in car home the next.

Just enjoy it!

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I have just (Woken up) finished the Pedal For Scotland 51 mile ride on my Felt S22 TT bike. It's fast, but it isn't very well padded (just as well I'm only 9 stone then!) - every bump on the road feels like it's about to shake the bike apart, so I've learned to stand at these points!

Although I love my bike a lot, I now wish I had eased off a bit and got a more conventional and less conspicuous looking bike now! Wherever I take it, people are watching me (or more, they are watching the bike, not the stupid dork sitting on top of it), so I feel like I have to try my very best at putting on a performance every time, with varying degrees of succcess and embarrassment!
By the time Coco caught up with me yesterday after Linlithgow, I was knackered, so didn't do very much. The P**s stop and cakes at Avonbridge, 24 miles in, didn't help any - I really should have known better, and just kept going as I had originally planned, seeing as I actually was storming ahead before the stop - It'd scalped countless people, and the only others going faster were the really fit people. I eventually managed a cycling time about 3 and half hours - not amazing, but add into that the fact that I wasn't very well anyway, and it seems quite good (my speed really dropped off from Avonbridge onwards).

I also have a very cheap Universal Mantis that I got for the princely sum of £30, but the suspension on it absorbs all the bumps, the gears are intended more for going uphill, and it creaks terribly, so that has quickly become my bike for going to the shops on, seeing as it isn't very fast and quiet.

It has been rather unimaginatively christened, Creaky Bike.

I have various other bikes I'm wanting to get done up as winter bikes also.

 

[palinurus]

You can probably go as far as you want assuming you are comfortable on it and not in a great hurry. I've done a couple of 100 mile plus days on a basic steel MTB, toured on similar on a number of occasions.

 

[John the Monkey]

I've done a couple of 100 mile plus days on a basic steel MTB, toured on similar on a number of occasions.

Al Humphreys went round the world on steel framed Specialized Rockhoppers, as I recall.

 

[rovers1875]

Hi Bigsean,

Just putting in my tuppence, I bought a CB Urban 100 in April this year. and so far its been a great buy. It got me back into cycling after many years, Its suprisingly comfy and reasonably quick. I've not had any problems with it and have used it for commuting , training and just bimbling around on. My rear tyre is now in need of replacing and thats all the maintenence it's needed.
Like some one else has already said it does get adictive and in July I bought a Specilised road bike. Which I now use when I want to do some serious training
But to be honest when I go to the garage I more often than not take out the Claud, which ever way you go just enjoy it.