Help on choosingv a new bike!

Masala

Hi everyone.
I currently commute 11 miles each way on a big heavy Carrera Gravity MTB - the ride is nearly all on away from road cycle tracks (maninly Bristol to Bath railway path).
My employer has recently launced a bike4work scheme so looking to take advantage of this and upgrade to something lighter / faster.
Also will be taking part (not to win) in a couple of triathlons this year so again want the combinaiton of lightness., speed and comfort!
I don't get on with drops as I had a back operation 9years ago and find the position quite uncomfortable.
I'm thinking about a flat bar road bike / hybrid - budget is up to £450 - needs to be bought from Evans.

Very interested in the Saracen Origin 2009 (£429), Specialized Sirrus Sport 2009 (£391) and the Trek FX 7.3 2009 (£425).
Has anybody got any views / experience on these bikes? I fo so, would be very grateful to hear them.

Thanks in advance, Andrew

sarajoy

Assuming the sirruses are much like the girly vitas, then they're very nice

I have a Vita Sport, see me sig !

cjcp

Hi Andrew - welcome to the forum!

Not owned any hybrids recently, so can't comment. As a thought, however, is it just the drops part of the handlebars you find uncomfortable? If so, you may be able to ride on the hoods or the tops of the bars. And you can buy a bike with a slightly longer head tube or use a raised and shorter stem to give you a less aggressive riding position.

Might not be go-er, but just food for thought.

sarajoy

Well if he's never going to stretch down to the lower parts of the drops then aren't they a little redundant...?

Oh, Masala - maybe look at bull-horn / cow horn bars. I quite fancy a pair of those myself!

cjcp

sarajoy wrote:

Well if he's never going to stretch down to the lower parts of the drops then aren't they a little redundant...?

Oh, Masala - maybe look at bull-horn / cow horn bars. I quite fancy a pair of those myself!

Road bikes are *always* faster.

<ducks >

Masala - another thought: would core work outs improve your comfort?

sarajoy

It is a road bike, but with different handlebars!

Oh, just shush :P

whyamihere

sarajoy wrote:

It is a road bike, but with different handlebars!

Oh, just shush :P

The handlebars make all the difference though. It's like painting a bike red, instant increase in speed.

lost_in_thought

Geometry and stiffness probably not quite the same as a road bike on the Vita either...

But a good shout on bullhorn bars. I'd switch to them myself but I'm lazy and don't really see how my brakes would work with them.

I never really use the drops, but appreciate the different hand positions offered by the rest of the bars.

Masala, if you're looking at triathlons, get a road bike. Simples! Evans have an OK range.

Masala

Thanks for your replies - one of my concerns with drops apart from back pain is the brakes - I've got a 20 year old Dawes road bike which is just coming to the end of its' life and as it's old it's got 2 pairs of brake levers - one on the flat part of the bars and one on the drops themsleves. Newer road bikes don't have the ones on the flar bars and I guess as I would be riding on that for most of the time, probably would feel a bit odd having to shift hand position just to brake?- especially as I have to contend with hundreds of children on the path walking to school and off lead dogs!!

Cheers
Andrew

roger_merriman

A cycle cross bike or bike with cycle cross levers will give you braking from the tops which can be handy.

thegibdog

From what I have heard the Sirrus's have a good reputation and were one of the bikes I was considering when looking for a hybrid commuter (ended up getting a Marin Fairfax on a good deal). Don't know a lot about the other two you mention.

I do find a flat bar road bike more suited to commuting than a drop bar bike. With regards to braking although you can use the brakes whilst on the hoods of drops you don't have much power. When I used to commute with drops I'd find myself changing my hand position just to brake, like you say, which isn't very practical.

I'm not sure why people would suggest you go down the drop bar route when you wouldn't really get any benefit from them?

cjcp

thegibdog wrote:

I'm not sure why people would suggest you go down the drop bar route when you wouldn't really get any benefit from them?

If you ride on the hoods rather than the drops, these are a little further forward than flat bars, so you'd be slightly more aero for the triathlon, but you can position your fingers in such a way that you'd have control of the gears and brakes at the same time. You can also reduce the frontal area by riding on the hoods instead of the drops by crouching slightly and reducing the surface area of the forearms exposed to the wind.

If the few inches further forward offered by riding on the hoods isn't comfortable, then depending on which wheels you have on the hybride, you could perhaps stick a pair of 23mm tyres on and even some clip on some tri bars, again to reduce the frontal area to make it faster. Plenty of people use hybrids in tris. Don't know what wheels the hybrids come specced with though.

Masala - if you're riding a 20 year old bike, does it have the right geometry for you e.g. is the top tube too long etc? If you haven't already, it might worth popping along to a good bike shop to check out some of the road bikes on offer to see if the position is more comfortable than your present steed, particularly if you'll have to be fitted for the hybrid.