And vs fitness. I have a Dawes 401 discovery maybe 10 years old, think you call it a hybrid bike. So I am wondering how much faster I should expect to go on a high end road bike. Certainly the road bikers come whizzing past me but I do wonder how much is due to tech and how much fitness. Only true way to answer would be obviously to try a good road bike but until then any ideas, and yes, my bike is setup correct. I do usually carry a few extra kg in my panniers also.
Good road bike vs my poor effort bike?
- Thread starter jsmoke
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Man of Honour
Fitness matters a lot but if you're on a flat handlebar bike with chunky non-road tyres and panniers you're going to be running a good few mph slower for the same effort.
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From pictures the tyres on that look pretty skinny already. Losing some weight in the frame would help, but as mentioned the engine is still the most important part 
Are you using pedals with cages?
Are you using pedals with cages?From my experience of swapping between a road bike and hybrid the difference is around 1 to 1.5 mph on average. Add a strong head wind and that difference increases to maybe 2 mph.
That is with a 30LB hybrid on 700x40 tyres vs a 20LB road bike on 700x25
That is with a 30LB hybrid on 700x40 tyres vs a 20LB road bike on 700x25
I gained maybe 2-3mph depending on environmental conditions since I switched to a road bike from a Hybrid with 700x33 nobbly tyres though I imagine fitness also increased quite a bit over time.
The main difference I'd note is that I can far more comfortably go for longer distance rides... I did a 60 mile route on my Hybrid and it was significantly tougher compared to 60 miles on the road bike especially if you chuck any hills into the route.
The main difference I'd note is that I can far more comfortably go for longer distance rides... I did a 60 mile route on my Hybrid and it was significantly tougher compared to 60 miles on the road bike especially if you chuck any hills into the route.
Caporegime
Gearing on hybrid bikes is also frequently hilariously low which will make you slower.
They do tend to run some form of MTB gearing. That said I'm not fit enough to spin out my 48x14 on the hybrid without some gravity assistance!
Soldato
Fitness levels, the weight of the bike and the different aero position all matter, but how much on a commute is hard to quantify. The extra speed could get very neutered by a bad run at reaching traffic lights on red, over say a 5 mile commute.
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Always funny on hills seeing half the commuters in granny gear and the other half mashing furiously.
If anything the gearing on a hybrid would be better for hills as the cassettes tend to be quite closely geared towards the bigger end and they mostly run a triple up front. What kills a hybrid on hills is the weight on the way up and the riding position on the way down.
As UTmaniac says, on a commute the differences could be next to nothing in real terms.
The nut on the handlebars is the most important bit that you have to adjust to go faster.
I use a 16yrs old steel MTB for commuting. I tried a higher end hybrid with carbon fork, brakes, 105 gears for a couple of says. and I think I was about 5~10 mins quicker on my 8 mile (each way) commute. Which is about 35~60 mins depending on direction wind etc.
When I haven't been cycling for a while my speed is usually 10 mins of so slower then when I'm used to it. I don't race though, I just keep a steady comfortable pace.
When I haven't been cycling for a while my speed is usually 10 mins of so slower then when I'm used to it. I don't race though, I just keep a steady comfortable pace.
My girlfriend just got herself an entry level road bike (Liv Avail 5) and coming from a pretty rubbishy Apollo Etienne and has no real interest in cycling... She has noticed a huge speed difference and says her sub 10 minute commute is now down to circa 5 minutes.
Obviously she's not pushing hard and no hills/sustained efforts so I expect the lighter frame is what's made the difference over a start-stop inner city commute, but on the open road it'll obviously be much easier to hold speeds too.
I've gotta be careful as she jokingly said last week 'I can probably keep up with you now...'!
Edit: my 4.4 mile commute when unfit on an old hybrid (30-40 mins depending on weather/winds/lights), now when fit on a road bike (15-25 mins depending).
Obviously she's not pushing hard and no hills/sustained efforts so I expect the lighter frame is what's made the difference over a start-stop inner city commute, but on the open road it'll obviously be much easier to hold speeds too.
I've gotta be careful as she jokingly said last week 'I can probably keep up with you now...'!
Edit: my 4.4 mile commute when unfit on an old hybrid (30-40 mins depending on weather/winds/lights), now when fit on a road bike (15-25 mins depending).
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That is a Dutch / Classic Roady, not a hybrid! 
Your last point sums it up...fit vs unfit!
Not sure if you'll be able to see this but here goes... http://veloviewer.com/segments/9939494/athlete/2869417
My local 12 mile loop as a segment. Bar a couple of odd ones the road bike is quicker as you'd expect but as you can see, the difference averages out to about 1.5 to 2 mph.
Your last point sums it up...fit vs unfit!
Not sure if you'll be able to see this but here goes... http://veloviewer.com/segments/9939494/athlete/2869417
My local 12 mile loop as a segment. Bar a couple of odd ones the road bike is quicker as you'd expect but as you can see, the difference averages out to about 1.5 to 2 mph.