hybrids for sportives

[DawnH]

Hi I have a 21 year scott mountain bike which i have been using over the past couple of years and it is a great workhorse but heavy and hard to get a decent speed. I want to do more road charity events and maybe longer sportives i do 34 mile commutes to work on a regular basis but dont want a racing bike. I am prepared to pay up £700 for a hybrid but dont know what is the best for speed. Also i am a female.

 

[vickster]

Any specific reason why not drop bars if sportives are among your aims?

The female bit doesn't really matter, it depends on the geometry of you and the bike (you may well need a saddle though)

If you are only considering flatbars and WSD and you have no specific brand preference, the Specialized Vita or Giant Thrive or the Whyte Victoria should fit the bill

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/vita-elite-disc-2015-womens-hybrid-bike-ec067774
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/series/thrive/19206/
http://whyte.bike/gb/victoria-womens-699/

You'd likely want to fit slick 25mm tyres though to maximise rolling on the road, discs useful for the commute

I'd head out to a few shops and see what floats your boat, don;t restrict yourself to ladies, unless you are very petite possibly

 

[gelfy666]

its £100 over your budget but Plant X built this for my mate.... Shimano 105 groupset.

 

[DawnH]

I guess i am so used to flat bars and having taken part in pedal for scotland a couple of times it has been the race bikes that have needed attention and littered the sides of the road.
My scott bike is for a male but size wise i would need a small or x small as im 5ft 4" but only 27 inch leg.

 

[ColinJ]

Have you tried putting lightweight slick tyres on your Scott MTB? That would make a huge difference compared with knobblies. (And lockout the suspension if you can.)

(I just noticed that @vickster suggested slicks before me! They really do make a big difference. I once rode my knobbly-clad MTB on a 35 mile return trip to a bike shop and it felt twice as hard as it would have done on the road bike that I bought from them!)

 

[DawnH]

I actually have semi road tyres already part of the problem is my bike is still very heavy and i had a brand new crank set fitted but unfortunately the crank set didnt match exactly because of bike age parts etc. and now my feet just spin on the pedals when trying to do speed

 

[vickster]

I guess i am so used to flat bars and having taken part in pedal for scotland a couple of times it has been the race bikes that have needed attention and littered the sides of the road.
My scott bike is for a male but size wise i would need a small or x small as im 5ft 4" but only 27 inch leg.

I did 100 miles on Sunday on a road bike, no issues with it at all That was on 23mm tyres (albeit new ones)

The range of fast flat bar road bikes is rather smaller than road going drop bar road bikes. It's cool if you prefer flats, I have both, just realise your choice will be smaller, especially if wanting a WSD bike

 

[Retribution03]

I've just done a sportive on a boardman mx sport 100km with an avg of 15 mph and never had issues with puntures like a lot of the road bikes did.the tyres on mine are 700 x 37 so you can get a lot slicker.Just another option for you