Is it too far to cycle?

Gerrup Outta Dat!

My commute is 25 km.

I've tried cycling around my area (From where I live to Swords and back again would be roughly 25 km). This takes me 80 minutes. I did it before for practice to see if it was doable. I was a little bit tired and needed freshening up afterwards but I wasn't too stinky.

My tyres are 700 35C. It is a hybrid bike that I bought.

What exactly makes it hybrid? Is it the frame or the wheels or both? Could I get narrower wheels retrofitted onto the bike?

07Lapierre

25k is very doable.

A hybrid has straight bars and a more "upright" position.

What kind of bike do you have?

Gerrup Outta Dat!

07Lapierre wrote: »

25k is very doable.

A hybrid has straight bars and a more "upright" position.

What kind of bike do you have?

Parkway planet bike. Hybrid one.

I can't post the link because I'm a new user. Here's the link broken up.

http:// www .centro .ie/modules/shop/img/planet-parkway-gents/Planet%20Parkway%20Gents%20gif.gif

saccades

25km each way? Very doable.

Your bike is designed to cruise along in comfort rather than race along - so I suspect massively increasing your speed would be tricky, but with practice/Stamina I'd expect knocking 10-15 minutes off that time unless you have a lot of traffic lights.

I used to do a 25km each way commute 3x a week in summer and 2x a week in winter (didn't go on the bike if icy though, didn't fancy a crash).

Gerrup Outta Dat!

saccades wrote: »

25km each way? Very doable.

Your bike is designed to cruise along in comfort rather than race along - so I suspect massively increasing your speed would be tricky, but with practice/Stamina I'd expect knocking 10-15 minutes off that time unless you have a lot of traffic lights.

I used to do a 25km each way commute 3x a week in summer and 2x a week in winter (didn't go on the bike if icy though, didn't fancy a crash).

What if I get p1ssed on mid-cycle? Does that happen often?

saccades

I had a locker and showers at work - so brought clothes in to wear at work.

Meant I could hammer it into work and back (~45 mins up into the wicklow mtns) and get rained on and not care (although putting wet kit back on for the commute home was grim for the first 5 mins until it all warmed up again.

You live in Ireland? I suspect you'll be rained on occasionally





Pick your clothes - as I'm always sweating a lot I wear stuff that "wicks" the sweat/water away and leeps me warm. Not bothered about being waterproof.

Plastik

When it rains, you get wet.

Wishbone Ash

Gerrup Outta Dat! wrote: »

....What exactly makes it hybrid?....

It has gearing much like a road bike but a more upright position like a non- road bike.

Before 'hybrids' became popular, the choice was either a light road bike with multiple gears or a heavy bike with cow horn handlebars with a single speed or 3 speeds.

tomasrojo

The OP has a 25km round trip, no? Rather than each way?

25km round trip is very doable. It should be 35 minutes each way (depending on quite a few factors).

Hybrids are ok for medium distances. Even quite long distances. I used to commute from Killester to Citywest on a hybrid. (A hybrid is basically a bike with aspects of a mountain bike, a road bike and a touring bike: flat bars, 24+gears, thinnish wheels and decent luggage carrying capacity.)

tomasrojo

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Before 'hybrids' became popular, the choice was either a light road bike with multiple gears or a heavy bike with cow horn handlebars with a single speed or 3 speeds.

I think mountain bikes were the most common commuter before hybrids came along.

Sort of like the Permian->Triassic->Jurassic->Cretaceous, when distinct species dominated:
Roadster->knock-off racing bike->mountain bike->hybrid

km991148

Gerrup Outta Dat! wrote: »

My tyres are 700 35C. It is a hybrid bike that I bought.

35 refers to the width of the tyre - put something thinner - maybe 28s on and you will reduce rolling resistance and go faster.

07Lapierre

Gerrup Outta Dat! wrote: »

Parkway planet bike. Hybrid one.

I can't post the link because I'm a new user. Here's the link broken up.

http:// www .centro .ie/modules/shop/img/planet-parkway-gents/Planet%20Parkway%20Gents%20gif.gif

I would describe that bike as a "City" bike.

When I talk about a Hybrid, this is what i have in mind..(I'm talking about the style/setup, not the price!)

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPFLAT/planet-x-pro-carbon-flat-bar-road-bike-sram-rival-11speed

Markcheese

I know you've probably already got your bike, but would an electric bike suit, you'll have to pedal obviously but at least it'll never feel like cycling uphill, or into a headwind.. And should make it quicker..

wannabecraig

^
Those yokes are crazy, the speed they move at seems kind of dangerous for the City but probably perfect for OP

Ranjo

25km is a good distance. Keep at it.

Key things I have to ensure I continue to cycle through the winter. It's all about the gear...

1. Lights front and back. You don't need 4 billion lumen things unless you're on a dark road. Just enough to get everyone's attention.
2. Rain jacket, Rain pants, overshoes, all squashed as small as possible for when I need them
3. Warm under layer, i.e. long top & long bottoms
4. Gloves, skull cap, neck warmer

Once you have these, you're well protected & can happily take on the elements.

The big ticket for me, when I cycle in winter I find it makes me feel like I've defeated the winter blues. I arrive to work fresh and I wash off the work on the way home.

As it happens, ALDI have a sale on Thursday for winter gear - I can vouch that it's decent stuff.
https://www.aldi.ie/c/specialbuys/dates/2017-09-28


BTW - overshoes and waterproof pants only get taken out when it's fairly torrential which surprisingly isn't that often.

07Lapierre

wannabecraig wrote: »

^
Those yokes are crazy, the speed they move at seems kind of dangerous for the City but probably perfect for OP

Speed is determined by the rider..
Any bike will only go as fast as the cyclist wants to!

cdaly_

km991148 wrote: »

35 refers to the width of the tyre - put something thinner - maybe 28s on and you will reduce rolling resistance and go faster.

No, don't do that. Instead put on a nice supple wide tyre which will roll just as fast and be more comfortable.


See also...

km991148

cdaly_ wrote: »

No, don't do that. Instead put on a nice supple wide tyre which will roll just as fast and be more comfortable.


See also...

hmm Interesting, never seen that advice before - I am skeptical after years of narrower == faster, must try it out sometime (Although, does a wider tyre also mean more chance of puncture?).


OK op I guess the advice is - try out different things and see what works out best for you lol! But the important thing is to do it regularly, you will soon knock off some time as well and the whole routine will become more enjoyable.

Gerrup Outta Dat!

km991148 wrote: »

hmm Interesting, never seen that advice before - I am skeptical after years of narrower == faster, must try it out sometime (Although, does a wider tyre also mean more chance of puncture?).


OK op I guess the advice is - try out different things and see what works out best for you lol! But the important thing is to do it regularly, you will soon knock off some time as well and the whole routine will become more enjoyable.

Someone in work who races said the same thing to me. Apparently recent findings suggest that the wheel "vibrates" more when it's narrow and fatter wheels (within reason) absorb more vibrations and take the contours of our roads (potholes, etc.) better.

TychoCaine

Gerrup Outta Dat! wrote: »

Someone in work who races said the same thing to me. Apparently recent findings suggest that the wheel "vibrates" more when it's narrow and fatter wheels (within reason) absorb more vibrations and take the contours of our roads (potholes, etc.) better.

Narrower tyres need to be run at higher pressures to avoid pinch flats. Harder tyres mean you bounce up and down over imperfections in the road rather than the tyre absorbing the impact and travelling straight ahead. It's this bouncing up and down that wastes energy.

cdaly_

km991148 wrote: »

hmm Interesting, never seen that advice before - I am skeptical after years of narrower == faster, must try it out sometime (Although, does a wider tyre also mean more chance of puncture?).

Wider does not mean more punctures. Depends on the specific tyres and their puncture resistance layers but also on the fact that a wider contact area means less point pressure for a puncture to occur.

I've been riding wide (35-37mm) tyres for the last 3 years and wouldn't go back. This includes endurance distances (audax) up to and beyond 1000km and a slower tyre would be a big problem at those distances.

cdaly_

There's also the point that higher pressures mean higher vibration frequencies get transmitted to the handlebars/saddle and these 'feel' faster.

Tenzor07

Just get an ebike! With heavy puncture proof tyres, panniers, full mudguards, the boost from the motor will ease you along the 25k route..

Orion

km991148 wrote: »

35 refers to the width of the tyre - put something thinner - maybe 28s on and you will reduce rolling resistance and go faster.

I'd be more concerned about the type of tyres than the width. If they are hybrid tyres then they're fine once pumped up - you're only riding on the edge anyway. If they're mtb tyres then definitely replace them for road commutes.