Road bike on road v hybrid on road, green-lane & tow-pat

FranMartin

I'm going to start doing a 32 mile each way Rugby to Coleshill commute, initially twice a week, consisting of mostly flat to smallish-hilled country roads. My budget is £800 and my choice is this:

Do I go for a Trek 1.7 road bike and stick to the roads and carry a back-pack?

Or do I go for a hybrid like a Cannondale Bad Boy so I can travel half the distance on a canal tow path, use the occasional green lane and fit panniers?

The road bike will be quicker but the hybrid gives me the flexibility to go off road making the commute possibly more interesting - but will this flexibility be more than offset by the hybrid's lack of speed when on the road?

Any help will be appreciated.

DavidTQ

What about a Giant SCR and fit a rack and panniers whilst having the speed of the road bike?

I certainly wouldnt fancy long distance on a hybrid it makes far harder work out of it.

redddraggon

I went down a tow path on my road bike this morning and it was fine.

robmanic1

I'd personally go for an MTB if your mixing it. Fit some semi-slicks like Furious Freds or similar and you always have the option of off-roading. A hybrid will limit you to tow paths and smooth stuff. Or how about a cyclo-crosser like the Kona Jake? Always fancied one meself to add to my quiver.

BentMikey

32 miles each way? There's no way I'd want to do that on an MTB/hybrid. You could use a seatpost mounted saddlebag like my carradice longflap camper.

marcba

Why don't you buy a tourer with mudgards and carrier ?
You'll have a good performance on road with great comfort and protection (sometimes commuting is no real pleasure and you want it to be as quick as possible); average size tires (28 by example) will make easy paths accessible; use of panniers, or any bag fixed to bike, will be far more comfortable than a backpack for such a distance.

sem69

For a long ride like that I'd definately say go for drop bars – faster and more hand positions so better for your back (my lower back would get very stiff on a long ride on a mtb).
A cyclocross bike would be fast on road and be good off road, and could have mudguards and panniers (eg Specialized Tricross Sport £699). Or a Giant SCR can have mudguards/panniers. I think Specialized Allezs can too. But if you want the Trek 1.7 you can always use a seatpost bag like the Carradice bags, and use race blades.

FranMartin

Thanks for the advice guys - I'm quite liking the idea of the cyclo-cross bike. Has anyone experience of riding a cyclo-cross bike on a similar commute - 15 miles of muddy tow-path, 1 mile of green lane and then 16 miles of country roads with some hillls?

PatrickT

I ride a Specialised Tricross over a very similar commute to yours, tow path, part off road and some city centre. The bike will take a rack, mudguards and will cope with anything I throw at it. Great fun bike and reasonably priced in my opinion.