Hybrid or Road

[kendof]

Im doing a supported LEJOG in Aug (seems to be coming around fast !!!)

Currently i ride a Scott Sportster P6 http://www.evanscycles.com/products/scott/sportster-p6-2009-hybrid-bike-ec016321 which i find comfortable and
a joy to ride. My problem is the organisers of the trip reckon i need to cycle at an average of about 16-17mph which is a lot higher then i can consisantly do
on my Scott. My wife (bless her) has said she would give me £550ish to buy a road bike if it would help. Ive been searching and have come up with 2 bikes im interested in :-

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/29759/Giant-Defy-4-Triple-2011---Road-Bike-.html or
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/allez-24-2011-road-bike-ec025026

What id like to know is, should i persevere with my Scott? or which of the road bikes would you recommend within my price range.
This cycling mylarky isnt as easy as it appears !!!!!

[patpalloon]

I've got a Giant Defy 3.5 that I bought last year. I'm doing LEJOG in a little under 3 weeks - getting excited now!
The Giant has the fittings on the rear forks to fit a rack on. I need this as I'm doing it unsupported.
The Specialized AFAIK doesn't have the fittings - but you could still fit a saddle bag to the seatpost.
But then if you are doing it supported it doesn't really matter.

[jezmellors]

The Spesh looks like a better bet of the two but they both look a bit entry level to me, you may be better looking at second hand, with a limited budget you'll get more for your money, you are doing a serious ride there.

[plasticfantastic]

This cycling mylarky isnt as easy as it appears !!!!!

It can be as simple or as complicated as you like.
I'm going to be doing LEJOG on my second-hand Kona Paddywagon (single-speed) - £260 from ebay, carrying all my stuff in a Carradice saddlebag.
I regularly ride 50+ miles on it and average 15-16 mph.

Don't worry too much about it. If you love your hybrid, just enjoy the ride.

James

[horizon]

This cycling mylarky isnt as easy as it appears !!!!!

Don't worry too much about it. If you love your hybrid, just enjoy the ride.

James

I am not sure that kendof has much say in it: the organisers want him to ride faster - he seems to think that a lighter bike (about 2.5kg difference so it might be significant) will allow him to up his speed. I don't know anything about this sort of thing (we pootle along fully loaded at about 8mph!) but I am fascinated to know what other people think. My own take is that kendof already has a light but comfy bike and the organisers are turning the ride into something else.

[plasticfantastic]

Ah, yes. I see the problem now. I'm with you Horizon, tootling along and seeing the sights is my ideal way to travel. I wouldn't fancy the pressure of keeping up with a pace I wasn't comfortable with. I like stopping whenever I fancy an ice-cream or a cup of tea. Or just to look at a nice view.
I have no idea either whether 2.5kg lighter bike equals faster average speed. I presume it does. Maybe we need a mathematical equation working out?
James

[OOT]

I am in a similar predicament, been training on a hybrid for a July/August LeJoG - http://www.boardmanbikes.com/fi/fi_hybrid_comp.html but lots of opinions from friends and road riders who think I should be doing the LeJoG on a faster road bike. If I am going to bite the bullet and get a new bike I think I need to do it soon. So any futher opinions welcomed.

[plasticfantastic]

OOT, your bike looks lovely. If you like how it rides, I'd stick with it. Again, it depends what you're after by completing LEJOG. Completing the distance, head down, 100 miles a day - a faster road bike may be best. Touring, 60 miles a day, seeing the sights, enjoying the journey - your Boardman looks fine. I've toured on all sorts of wrecks over the last 20 years, never once on a fast road bike.
James

[Si]

The crux of the issue would seem to be.....

My problem is the organisers of the trip reckon i need to cycle at an average of about 16-17mph which is a lot higher then i can consisantly do

I would ask: are you comparing your normal speed when riding alone to their required speed? If so then it might be a bit misleading. I would guess that on the E2E ride you will be in a group, thus you will be able to sit behind one or more people - this will increase your average speed dramatically (this is why you get peletons in road racing), and thus you may well be able to handle it on your current bike.

If the above is the case then you might be better off spending the money on some better tyres, and wheels (depending on what you currently have), plus some bar ends to improve comfort.

But, at the end of the day, speed comes from getting the miles in, rather than spending money!

On the other hand, if you are saying that you can't hang on to a group that is doing 16-17mph, and you don't have the time to improve your fitness, then if it were me I'd have to ask myself if I really wanted to go on this ride? You may be better off just going by your self or finding someone of the same fitness as you - thus going at your own speed and enjoying the whole thing a lot more (and probably saving money!).

[Vorpal]

I have a road bike and hybrid, both aluminium alloy, but the weight difference is probably similar (mostly due to stuff I've got on the hybrid), and I wouldn't expect to gain more than 2 or 3 % difference by taking my road bike. Maybe it would make more difference if I were a road race champion, or something

If I wanted to increase my average riding speed, I would do training rides (chain gang) with my club, and just put in the miles in between; as many per day as I possibly could.

kendof: If you like your bike, persevere with it. If you do decide to get a different bike, do it soon, so you can train on the bike you intend to ride on your LEJOG. As someone else said, you may want some bar ends so you can vary hand position. I have them on my hybrid for that reason.

Best of luck.

[vorsprung]

.. if you are saying that you can't hang on to a group that is doing 16-17mph, and you don't have the time to improve your fitness, then if it were me I'd have to ask myself if I really wanted to go on this ride? You may be better off just going by your self or finding someone of the same fitness as you - thus going at your own speed and enjoying the whole thing a lot more..

I agree, the "100 miles in 6 hours" speed is stupidly fast. I've been riding long distances for 5 years and have a carbon fibre fast long distance bike but would find this sort of pace difficult. Difficult and tedious. It would be 9 days straight of exercise rather than travel.

If I assume that the distance for the LeJoG is 850 miles and that this group is doing 100 miles a day (in 6 hours) then it will take 8.5 days

If they did 90 miles a day in 6.5 hours then it would take 9.5 days but the speed would be less than 14 mph, still fast for you- this would be ok for me

In your case and for most generally fit riders with reasonable bikes, 70 miles a day in 6.5 hours with an average speed of just under 11mph +a couple of rest days works out at 14 days. Why kill yourself with a stupid schedule? You aren't setting any records

[notlobgp14]

'My problem is the organisers of the trip reckon i need to cycle at an average of about 16-17mph'

What does he mean by cycle at an average? I would think it will be the average shown at the end a days riding; 16-17 mph is high. To get that average you will have to be well over evens on the flat. What daily distances are you doing? What route, A roads or B / minor roads?

Most organised rides do not end up riding as a group, read some reports on Lejog or Jogle. For each member of the group there will be a different preferred style, fast thru slow. If you change your bike I don't think you will gain enough in speed, so don't waste your wifes money.

[rob.millington]

When I did my LeJog a few months back I averaged (I think) 13.8mph. I did it over 13 days on my own with 2 panniers in B&Bs.
I'm relatively fit from playing football, 26, but didn't do any huge amounts of cycle training. 5 x 70 mile rides on weekends before the event and commuting usual distance of 10m / day.
I bumped into and cycled with a guy doing the same journey for a couple of days and average speed increased dramatically for us both, 15-16mph I reckon where as before we both were doing around 13-14mph.

I used a Spesh TriCross and had no problems. I think if I had support (no luggage & faster tyres as getting puncture is less of a problem) and cycling as a group I could have easily done 16-17mph.
If I was you I'd get the racier bike and get some miles in an try riding with a group, see how you feel. You still have enough time to install fitness in the legs for high average speed. The fitter you are before you leave the more you will enjoy it I promise.
You will also find having 2 riding positions a massive bonus. Oh and get a comfy saddle, I used a Brooks B17.

All the best
R

[dbascent1986]

Is there a thread on average long distance speeds? This seems to be the closest despite the title. Last week did Holyhead to Nottingham in two and a half days. My steel clunker would show a nice 18-20 mph over some sections, but the computer worked out the average at 11.7 mph. The LeJoG record at 41 hours seems super human, presumably the record holder was having to hammer out 30 mph plus over the flat sections to achieve an average of over 20mph. The toughest bit btw, was figuring out a safe way to cross the M1!

[Edwards]

A few of my thoughts on this.

The organisers want you to use a road bike, even if we think that the current bike is good enough. It will not change what they say.
It sounds like they are more interested in speed than comfort.
What we think about the speed is not relevant, as somebody else will be deciding it.
A road bike will give the option of using the drops to cut down the drag.
A good bike now (I consider them both good) at a good price is worth more than a maybe second hand one. That you may not find.
A second hand bike could have expensive worn out parts and unknown expensive problems (STI/ERGO problems).

If I had to make the choose I would purchase either of the two provided they take mudguards. To me there is nothing worse than the idea on a long ride than to have wet important places from early on.

Entry level bikes generally come with less gears, however these are tried and tested and generally easier to keep running smoothly.
The main area that cheaper bikes cut cost is on the wheels so this is easily figured in the cost of wear and tear of any bike. You just get hand built wheels earlier.

Just to say these are my feelings and I am not saying anybody else is wrong or right.