Townies, Hybrids, etc.

[mimitabby]

and then there's Kit that just did 100 miles on a mountain bike. As long as you are happy with and comfortable with your bike, honestly, it can do anything you want it to.
ON THE OTHER HAND, if you get bike lust, buy a bike that is made for the kind of riding you hope to do.

[Grog]

I'm the one who raised questions about the Townies. However I think I meant "cruisers" more than townies per se. I always get those confused because I'm enamoured with all those beautiful Electra bikes!!!

This being said, what I meant was that I'm not sure "comfort" bike are a good choice to do "power" workouts. This has nothing to do with distance, I'm sure you can ride for days on any bike as long as it's a good fit. However if the goal is to, for example, practice powering up hills, or doing fast intervals at really high cadence,

This is based on nothing but intuition, and I would have liked someone who knows a lot more than me about bikes to respond to this. I'm just thinking that these bikes are meant for "comfort", not for "speed", and that they are fit accordingly on their users. But honestly don't make too much of this. As Knot says, if it works for you, don't worry about it. If you start having pains, check your fit.

[Kitsune06]

and then there's Kit that just did 100 miles on a mountain bike. As long as you are happy with and comfortable with your bike, honestly, it can do anything you want it to.
ON THE OTHER HAND, if you get bike lust, buy a bike that is made for the kind of riding you hope to do.

it was 100 km....

but I really appreciate the faith you have in me

I think if it's comfortable, do it. ...if it's not *made* for the purpose, then try it yourself a few times before the event to make sure you'll be comfortable.

[teigyr]

I did many centuries on a mountain bike! You can do whatever you tell yourself you can do. I was actually averaging 15-something too. To be honest, my average actually went down when I switched to the road bike but I think it was because I wasn't used to that type of bike.

So ride what works for you! I honestly didn't mind the long rides on the mountain bike. I did put road tires on it though, I would recommend that at least.

[Geonz]

I do fairly long rides on heavy bikes... but I worked up to it. Those first metrics on the Giant - at the end of the season - were pretty long & hard... but still fun. Big thing was I wasn't trying to keep up with anybody - our little group was tooling along at 11-12 mph. Rest stops every 10-11 miles.
For me, that was pretty "hard riding" - and there are generally large groups of folks doing exactly that same thing at any of the long club rides.
ON the other hand, lighter bikes *are* easier and faster to get going over long miles.
On the third hand, those heavier bikes are **great** for training - when I've been haulin' around the big bikes then those rides on the Trek are sweet.
I think, too, that Townies have a specific geometry so you can put your feet down... and yea, I would want to try it on short and medium and sort of long rides before I took it long just to k now I won't have a killer backache at the end (or chafing or whatever).

[Luna]

Just a note, My townie electra is a 21 speed.

[Luna]

I also want to say that I felt stronger each time I rode the bike and I went up this incline 2 times prior to this 3rd that I think really torqued my back. I was on a mountain bike prior and it killed my back and shoulders after one ride. So the townie felt good for many rides. But I push too. I get strong and ride out at 14-15mph for a steady 6-7 miles, and I have only been riding bikes for about 5 months. I really think i pushed too hard too quick. I had back problems prior to biking it just seems to be aggrivated. sigh.

[pooks]

This is all very informative. Thanks for all the answers.

My bike is HEAVY -- almost 40 pounds, loaded! And yes, when I go up a hill, I work HARD. (Of course that has nothing to do with fifty extra pounds I'm carrying on my body, does it?)

I'm beginning to see that I can justify the idea of having two bikes. Heh.