Hybrid or Road bike?

Stone Glider

Is that a picture of a bike with helium in the Tyres or is it "Supplisse"?

biondino

It's the split second before it hits the ground, having been thrown out of a skyscraper by someone who accidentally bought one. It is UGLY.

UndercoverElephant

I guess that kills the argument of, "Hybrid bikes are heavy". Look at that one! You'd have to lock it to stop it floating away!

blu3cat

no, it's an illustration of how light your wallet will feel after shelling out for it

roger_merriman

sarajoy wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

sarajoy wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

sarajoy wrote:

Doesn't just happen with drops, I'm afraid lycra has come over me too. I still however do throw on a small pair of shorts over the lycra ones (sometimes baggy, sometimes not) simply cos it makes me feel less self-conscious!

Padded lycra? Didn't you put up pages and pages of arguments about not wanting to wear it? Or was it not wanting to go commando.... :x

Heavens!!! :shock: Whatever next!??!! Drop bars?

Uh, no.

I just replied to pages and pages of people telling me not to wear knickers.

Well you shouldn't! Take solace in knowing that if you go to Richmond Park all the men standing around you will be commando...

Go one liberate yourself, whip them knickers off, throw em in the air and let em fly!!!!

Heh! Quite comfortable, thanking you

As said before, the day when I can afford to have enough shorts and manage my time well enough to wash them all after they've been used once each, maybe I will. I had quite a gross argument for why I won't be dirty and wear them commando-style more than once, please don't make me repeat it!

so we're back to getting sara's knickers off are we?

UndercoverElephant

Aw bugger. I just went and had my first ever go on a proper bike. I really need our cycle to work scheme to start soon, as that just wasn't funny!

I test rode a "Merida Speeder T1", weighing in about £450. It's easily half my bikes weight, and by god it went like the clappers. I really wish I'd had my speedo attached, even uphill it just went quick. I'm not even sure that the tyres were fully inflated, but it all seemed a world away from what I'm used to. It even seemed a good deal more comfortable, which with thinner wheels and stiffer materials just seems odd.

The shop didn't have any road bikes in, so I'll pop along to another place and have a blast on one of them tomorrow lunchtime.

It's a different world, that's for sure.

il_principe

UndercoverElephant wrote:

It's a different world, that's for sure.

A brave new world.

You see roadie is the way to go, you've seen the light.

roger_merriman

looks a nice bike a good fast un for caving up the city. position on the bike seems to make a fair difference to the bikes speed.

UndercoverElephant

Possibly, though it does seem that you get a generally higher spec' for the money with the hybrids. Probably due to the mass-market, put it this way, I'd be looking at £550 for a Tiagra spec'ced Hybrid. I'd have to go quite a long way to find a road bike for that money.

Like I say, I'll give it a go if possible. But it'll have to go very well indeed. And I still won't wear lycra

il_principe

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Possibly, though it does seem that you get a generally higher spec' for the money with the hybrids. Probably due to the mass-market, put it this way, I'd be looking at £550 for a Tiagra spec'ced Hybrid. I'd have to go quite a long way to find a road bike for that money.

Like I say, I'll give it a go if possible. But it'll have to go very well indeed. And I still won't wear lycra

Ah but you've gotta compare the frame quality...

UndercoverElephant

roger merriman wrote:

looks a nice bike a good fast un for caving up the city. position on the bike seems to make a fair difference to the bikes speed.

You're right, of course, the test ride was almost without wind as well, which on a coastal commute isn't usual at all.

blu3cat

Il Principe wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Possibly, though it does seem that you get a generally higher spec' for the money with the hybrids. Probably due to the mass-market, put it this way, I'd be looking at £550 for a Tiagra spec'ced Hybrid. I'd have to go quite a long way to find a road bike for that money.

Like I say, I'll give it a go if possible. But it'll have to go very well indeed. And I still won't wear lycra

Ah but you've gotta compare the frame quality...

and of course seperate brake levers and gear shifters are considerably cheaper than a set of brifters for a roadbike.

LDN-Flyer

I actually rode drops for the first time on my commute this morning, not sure if i should stick with em orchange to risers once my fixed cog arrives.

DonDaddyD

blu3cat wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Possibly, though it does seem that you get a generally higher spec' for the money with the hybrids. Probably due to the mass-market, put it this way, I'd be looking at £550 for a Tiagra spec'ced Hybrid. I'd have to go quite a long way to find a road bike for that money.

Like I say, I'll give it a go if possible. But it'll have to go very well indeed. And I still won't wear lycra

Ah but you've gotta compare the frame quality...

and of course seperate brake levers and gear shifters are considerably cheaper than a set of brifters for a roadbike.

Its not that they are cheaper seperately. Buying in bulk i.e. a whole groupset should work out cheaper (economies of scale) than buying seperately.

Hybrids of the Flatbar roadbike variety, tend to have a cheaper quality front mech and shifters and possibly brakes than their closest road bike counterpart.

I don't think that you get better spec components on a hybrid than a bike with a complete groupset, whether that is mountain bike or road bike.

UndercoverElephant

Well now, all I've managed to do so far is muddy the waters. Today I test-rode a Specialized Sirrus Elite (tarty part-carbon flat bar), and a Giant Defy 4 (basic road bike). Of the two the Giant was easily the better of the two. I tried all the hand positions, and I appreciate what people are saying about having the ability to choose. The brakes definitely aren't as good, but were actually more accessible than I imagined when my hands were resting on the tops of the brakes.

But neither of them were as good as the Merida yesterday.

prawny

It's definately the cost of the shifters that makes up the bulk of the price difference between fast hybrids and drop bars a set of tiagra shifters is about £200 isn't it. I think you can pick up a set of decent rapidfire shifters for about £30 and you can get any old levers for next to nothing.

I say get a roadie, I can see the point of hybrids, but the flat bar road bike style seems to have all the drawbacks of a road bike, stiff, uncomfortable(ish) twitchy thin wheels, but slower and wihout the comfy hand positions.

I might be in the market for a hybrid later in the year but it will be something in the mould of a slicked up rigid MTB for the ultra crap weather like a trek fx7.1

Eau Rouge

prawny wrote:

all the drawbacks of a road bike, stiff, uncomfortable(ish) twitchy thin wheels, but slower and wihout the comfy hand positions.

You list stiff and twitchy thin wheels as drawbacks. :Other would list those as advantages.

prawny

I think they're positives for a road bike, but if you wanted that then why not get a road bike.

I want a hybrid for the winter when it's too grim for speed and twichy-ness and I just want to get to work without fuss and take a bit longer.

Ridg

I'm new to the whole commuting scene, as I started getting of the train a few stops early and cycling the rest about a month ago.

I had been using my "light weight" XC hard tail with road tyres, but even with road tyres, it's not the right tool for the job, so i picked up an Allez this weekend.

irrespective of weight i have to say that for use on the road, the road bike is the way to go, you're narrower so can squeeze between the queues of traffic more easily, the drop bars I find more comfortable (due to the position your wrist's in (similar to bar ends on the MTB)) and you've got the option to get into a more aerodynamic position.

the disadvantage over the MTB is that you can't ride up or off a curb (something a fast hybrid is going to suffer too) and that you're avoiding potholes, sunken drain covers etc which again is something a fast hybrid is going to suffer from too. the other downside is that road components seam to cost a bomb in comparison.

prawny

Don't worry about curbs potholes and the like, you can bunnyhop your allez too. I hop my road bike more than my MTB, and I'm not joking, I just don't go as high.

Greg T

I have never met Ridg, nor have I created the profile in a "false flag" operation, he is not in my employ nor am I holding his family captive.

daviesee

prawny wrote:

Don't worry about curbs potholes and the like, you can bunnyhop your allez too. I hop my road bike more than my MTB, and I'm not joking, I just don't go as high.

+1

I have been doing that on road bikes for 40 years.

Not broke one yet :P

Edit:- Including one hop over a cattle grid at 40mph+. Now that was scary :shock:

UndercoverElephant

Well, I rang the shop which had the Merida to ask if they had any of the roadie versions at their other branch which they could bring down for me to have a go on. Hopefully they will, so I can at least compare like for like. Like I said, the road bike this lunchtime was more interesting than the flat-bar, but neither held a candle to the Speeder, it just seemed to click with me. The ones today just seemed slower and less comfortable.

prawny

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Well, I rang the shop which had the Merida to ask if they had any of the roadie versions at their other branch which they could bring down for me to have a go on. Hopefully they will, so I can at least compare like for like. Like I said, the road bike this lunchtime was more interesting than the flat-bar, but neither held a candle to the Speeder, it just seemed to click with me. The ones today just seemed slower and less comfortable.

To be fair I think you've found something there, try the road version if they can get one, but if the flat bar really works for you then go for it. There's no point buying drop bars just because we say you should.

roger_merriman

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Well, I rang the shop which had the Merida to ask if they had any of the roadie versions at their other branch which they could bring down for me to have a go on. Hopefully they will, so I can at least compare like for like. Like I said, the road bike this lunchtime was more interesting than the flat-bar, but neither held a candle to the Speeder, it just seemed to click with me. The ones today just seemed slower and less comfortable.

i used to use my old MTB with slicks over storter distances say under 20miles it was really very quick indeed, had a old XC head down postion good brakes a lot of rubber on the road so you could really sling it around. great fun. but i did find it made my hands ache after a while, so yup fast bike can be hybrid/roadie but you might find it harder work with a lower position on flat bars for longer rides. or then again you may not does rather sound like your hearts fallen for that bike i'd say go for it!

Greg T

prawny wrote:

There's no point buying drop bars just because we say you should.

Backsliders like you cost us a bridge.

prawny

Greg T wrote:

prawny wrote:

There's no point buying drop bars just because we say you should.

Backsliders like you cost us a bridge.

I am a girl - FACT

UndercoverElephant

I **may** have just bought a road bike

cjcp

Good man. Which bike?

This is evolution happening before our very eyes.

UndercoverElephant

I **may** have just bought one like this one:



It is rather pretty, no?