Speed difference between hybrid and road bikes

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J1888

Über Member
Just curious as I've never had a go on a road bike.

I'm getting largely into the top 1/5 or 1/6 of riders on Strava on my Cannondale Quick4 Hybrid.

Would a decent enough road bike speed me up considerably dya reckon?
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
It's less the bike, more the engine.

I have seen cyclists on hybrids and flat bars on my commute cycling faster then drop bar road bike cyclists. It's horses for courses.
 

uclown2002

Guru
Location
Harrogate
Just curious as I've never had a go on a road bike.

I'm getting largely into the top 1/5 or 1/6 of riders on Strava on my Cannondale Quick4 Hybrid.

Would a decent enough road bike speed me up considerably dya reckon?

All things being equal then yes, you'll be certainly faster,
 
OP
OP
J

J1888

Über Member
Yeah, that's fair enough - I seem to do OK, but still get passed...mainly by serious looking folks in full lycra on road bikes.

I've been cycling a bit less than a year, so was hoping that a nippier, lighter bike would add a bit of speed to my ride.

Probably gonna get one anyway :smile:
 

uclown2002

Guru
Location
Harrogate
Yeah, that's fair enough - I seem to do OK, but still get passed...mainly by serious looking folks in full lycra on road bikes.

I've been cycling a bit less than a year, so was hoping that a nippier, lighter bike would add a bit of speed to my ride.

Probably gonna get one anyway :smile:
I statrted on a Boardman Hybrid 4 years ago and it's now been relegated to turbo duties.
IIRC I was certainly 1 mph, possibly closer to 2 mph faster over 40+ miles when I moved to a road bike.
 
OP
OP
J

J1888

Über Member
Bike will make some difference but these other guys n gals may well have been cycling much longer and are possibly much fitter.

Pah, not possible.

Yeah, you're probably right.

I powered up a hill on my way home the other day, quite tired, flew past a couple of slower riders...then some cheeky git zooms past me without a care in the world. Grrr.
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
There's always someone faster in afraid.


This ^^^^
 

screenman

Legendary Member
Why do you not try a proper race against proper racers, maybe a time trial with a number on your back. Anything else is will waving, sorry but that is just the way it is.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
My son and I ride identical bikes and although I weigh three stone more than him we thought we'd try a rolling test; we freewheeled down a local hill, long and straight, hands on the tops. We stayed absolutely close, perhaps because my greater weight was balanced by his smaller frame and lower wind-resistance. But as soon as I dropped down onto the drops, still freewheeling, I began to accelerate and within a few seconds I was fifteen or twenty feet ahead of him. That's what the difference in position does for you.
 

nickyboy

Norven Mankey
Weight difference and rolling resistance difference will make a road bike quicker. But the bigger difference (other than getting fitter) of a road bike will be a generally more aerodynamic posture on the road bike
 

Mo1959

Legendary Member
Probably notice most difference on a day like it is here at the moment. Wind is pretty fierce and it is definitely more difficult battling against it on a more upright hybrid rather than getting down on the drops and making yourself a bit more aerodynamic.
 
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