What makes a good hybrid?

DonDaddyD

OK since there are so many flower-powered-hippy-loving-anarchist-hybrid-loving-hybrid-lovers out there. Here's a chance to speak up about the virtues of hybrid bikes.

We know what makes a good road bike. A list by which all road bikes are judged. Likewise the same goes for Mountain Bikes.

What qualities should a person consider when choosing a hybrid?

Stuey01

Drop bars and skinny tyres

artaxerxes

What qualities should a person consider when choosing a hybrid?

All the bits and pieces that should be on that type of bike in the first place, like mudguards, lights, panniers, bar end grips. Then it would be a continental style trekking bike rather than a hybrid.

roger_merriman

the problem is lot of these terms of fairly broad verging on meaningless road bikes = racers are probably the narrowest. but even so a road bike for touring on is not likely to set the world alight down the TT loop.

hybrid covers every thing from sit up and get town bikes to rigid MTB's with slicks to flat bared road bikes. MTB's some in all sorts of forms from heavy hitting downhill heavy weights to whippety XC racers and all sorts of varables such as jump bikes etc.

and then what's good? eg the hybrids i suspect folks here would like, racy fast bikes, would be pointed out as unsuitable for purpose by a fair portion of the commuters as not comftable laid back bikes for shopping, and where is the basket? and so on.

R_T_A

Generally, most "average" people don't have the money or inclination to have more than one bike. What they are looking for is something that will do a bit of everything - road and trail, but not the extremes of both.

So they're not looking for full-suss to do 50ft drops on the Alps, nor are they wanting to fly along roads on tyres the width of atoms breaking the sound barrier.

Depending on what they're more likely to do more of, they'll either go for a MTB-styled hybrid or a Road-styled one.

fnegroni

IMHO:

Sturdy frame that can take seat tube mount brackets.

Disc brakes, which are WAY better than rim-brakes and are a MUST unless you are one of those people who think slowing down at the same rate as you accelerate is good enough. I certainly don't think so. In town, you want maximum grip from the brakes, and off road, you must be able to stop!

A more comfortable saddle when sitting is better than a lighter/race saddle, which is only good when pushing hard.

A flat handle bar, because if you have only ever ridden road bikes, you haven't got a clue what you are missing.

Infact, the best hybrid is a fully-rigid mountain bike with a road triple and slick tyres.

soy_sauce

fnegroni wrote:

......
Infact, the best hybrid is a fully-rigid mountain bike with a road triple and slick tyres.

+0.5

cos a fork with lockout with give the rider a extra option.

blu3cat

My ideal hydrid would have:

Good confortable frame / forks
Handlebars that aren't 18 miles wide so you can easily nip between traffic.
Good tyres (Conti Top contact work well, unless you are going for mud)
Not Twist shift - couldn't get on with it, never could , never will
Decent gearing, not just a mountain bike triple, something like 48, 38, 38 upfront and 11-28 on the back.
SPD pedals
Rear carrier

oh and loads and loads of hi-viz. Tons of it No, definitely more than your thinking.

Stuey01

I reckon this would be pretty close to the mark for a "one bike" in a hybrid style.



If I had only one bike it would be a hardtail mountain bike with skinny tyres for commute duties and knobblies for the weekend.

The Rookie

A good hybrid...
Lightish hardtail MTB stye frame (classic style with near horizontal top tube) narrowish (by MTB standards) rims with semi slick tyres, disc on the front at least, uprightish (XC style) seating with flattish bars, comfy saddle, sufficient mudgaurding, rack on the back depending on circumstance and if you have suspension (depending on the roads you ride) having preload adjust and lockout.

Or just see my avatar?

Actually 'Hybrid' is meaningless as its just defines something that is 'neither fish nor foul' buts come to be accepted as something akin to my above ideal!

Simon

dilemna

What makes a good hybrid?

Good parentage :roll: .

secretsam

blu3cat wrote:

My ideal hydrid would have:

Good confortable frame / forks
Handlebars that aren't 18 miles wide so you can easily nip between traffic.
Good tyres (Conti Top contact work well, unless you are going for mud)
Not Twist shift - couldn't get on with it, never could , never will
Decent gearing, not just a mountain bike triple, something like 48, 38, 38 upfront and 11-28 on the back.
SPD pedals
Rear carrier

oh and loads and loads of hi-viz. Tons of it No, definitely more than your thinking.

+1
If it's to be used as intended - ie city work, leisure, light touring maybe - then I'd say V-brakes and c.28c tyres are on the list. I'd want bar ends also, but agree on the width of the bars - my Sirrus has ludicrous bars, am going to take a hacksaw to them tomorrow!

Guards and rack are probably in. Decent saddle. No suss, possibly suss seat pillar?

What we're really talking about is something that nabs the best bits of UK-style drop bar tourers (continental folk seem to prefer more upright steeds), gentle-stuff mountain bikes and road bikes, as follows:

Tourer: frame, some geometry, gearing, wheels (700c), pedals, contact points excl. bars
MTB: flat bars (shorter), v-brakes, changers
Road: some geometry, elements of appearance

sarajoy

SecretSam wrote:

If it's to be used as intended - ie city work, leisure, light touring maybe - then I'd say V-brakes and c.28c tyres are on the list. I'd want bar ends also, but agree on the width of the bars - my Sirrus has ludicrous bars, am going to take a hacksaw to them tomorrow!

Guards and rack are probably in. Decent saddle. No suss, possibly suss seat pillar?

What we're really talking about is something that nabs the best bits of UK-style drop bar tourers (continental folk seem to prefer more upright steeds), gentle-stuff mountain bikes and road bikes, as follows:

Tourer: frame, some geometry, gearing, wheels (700c), pedals, contact points excl. bars
MTB: flat bars (shorter), v-brakes, changers
Road: some geometry, elements of appearance

Agree, lopped a couple of inches off my own Vita bars. Tempted to take one or two more to make the position when I'm holding onto bar ends a little less splay-armed, but that'd probably compromise comfort when using the grips normally. Hmm.

Nabbed the suss seat pillar off my old shopper. Very nice, just about kills some of the buzz from rougher roads, finally managed to tune it so that my normal weight doesn't compress it but it takes a bit of the shock out of lumps and bumps.

FyPunK

First of all I take offence at being called a flower-powered-hippy-loving-anarchist-hybrid-loving-hybrid-lover, I ain't a hippy and have never trusted one Anarchist yes but not a hippy.
Not sure :roll: I can't really compare to a roadie as I have never had one however I like mine coz its agile in traffic, has bar ends for hand comfort, SPD pedals, pannier rack for butties and shirt (don't do manbags), dull ninja colour, fitted faster 28 conti sports tyres, wasn't a stupid price, at weekends it needs to convert to a family bike (tag along is fitted) so we can enjoy our lovely British climate, and that is it for me, looking back the main reason I went for a hybrid was the tag-along, I really didn't fancy putting one on a full spec roadie.

greg66_tri_v2.0

DonDaddyD wrote:

What qualities should a person consider when choosing a hybrid?

1. Will it fit into a standard skip?
2. Is it light enough to pick up so you can get it into the skip?
3. Is it biodegradable?

Points 2 and 3 are where most hybrids fall down, IMO. :twisted:

il_principe

fnegroni wrote:

IMHO:



Disc brakes, which are WAY better than rim-brakes and are a MUST unless you are one of those people who think slowing down at the same rate as you accelerate is good enough. I certainly don't think so. In town, you want maximum grip from the brakes, and off road, you must be able to stop!

2 words: Contact Patch.

lost_in_thought

Will it hold its value for a quick resale? :P

prawny

Kind of OT but on a hybrid theme I saw an advert this morning for the new Lexus Full Hybrid car, eh Full Hybrid how does that work?

Back on topic, I changed by brake pads this week for some aztecs, I wouldn't want anything more powerful than that in the dry thank you very much. Discs for dirt, rim brakes for roadies (although I possible would class winter roads as dirt)

That ridgeback that stuey posted looks just about spot in for me for winter.

blu3cat

prawny wrote:

Back on topic, I changed by brake pads this week for some aztecs, I wouldn't want anything more powerful than that in the dry thank you very much. Discs for dirt, rim brakes for roadies (although I possible would class winter roads as dirt)

That ridgeback that stuey posted looks just about spot in for me for winter.

+1

Although White is not the best colour for winter - can you get dreary grey brown framed hybrids, with black / grey splash marks up the fork and seta tube?

MrChuck

I like the Trek Soho stealth, fitted with mudguards it'd be almost spot on I think- except I'd prefer Vs to dual-pivots and some chunkier tires.

Physicsman

A good hyrbid clearly depends on the rider. For me it would be comfort over speed, then utility. So I have:

1) suspension seat post
2) springs on the saddle
3) full mudguards with front and rear mudflaps
4) rear rack for the pannier
5) flat pedals
6) good range of gears: front 26, 36, 48, rear 11-30.

Cafewanda

Greg66 wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

What qualities should a person consider when choosing a hybrid?

1. Will it fit into a standard skip?
2. Is it light enough to pick up so you can get it into the skip?
3. Is it biodegradable?

Points 2 and 3 are where most hybrids fall down, IMO. :twisted:

:P :P :P

although mine is heavy or maybe I'm just a weakling

artaxerxes

Actually, didn't Mark Beaumont ride a (very expensive) hybrid in his record breaking round the world cycle ride? I think it was a Koga Miyata with butterfly handlebars.

FyPunK

My Hybrid

1) suspension seat post Yes, although I also have a solid one and can't tell the difference.
2) springs on the saddle Nope, but it is a memory foam type one, very comfy.
3) full mudguards with front and rear mudflaps nearly
4) rear rack for the pannier Yep
5) flat pedals Nope, hybrid, Shimano A530, spd one side and flat the other
6) good range of gears: front 26, 36, 48, rear 11-30. 48,38,28 front and rear is 34-11 8speed

Nearly your ideal bike then.

fnegroni

soy_sauce wrote:

fnegroni wrote:

......
Infact, the best hybrid is a fully-rigid mountain bike with a road triple and slick tyres.

+0.5

cos a fork with lockout with give the rider a extra option.

Agree, except it would have to be a really expensive one to be:
a) light enough to not affect steering and handling
b) with a proper lockout that does not budge.

But Yes, a lockout feature would be better.

tardington

linoue wrote:

Actually, didn't Mark Beaumont ride a (very expensive) hybrid in his record breaking round the world cycle ride? I think it was a Koga Miyata with butterfly handlebars.

Yep, they look sweeet. My big sis has put butterfly bars on her cannondale tourer... However she's got one of the proper wimmen's edinburgh road bikes, and seems to be finding that fine.

Physicsman

FyPunK wrote:

My Hybrid

<snip>

Nearly your ideal bike then.

Or, your bike is almost the same as mine!

daviesee

linoue wrote:

Actually, didn't Mark Beaumont ride a (very expensive) hybrid in his record breaking round the world cycle ride? I think it was a Koga Miyata with butterfly handlebars.

Here is a link to the full spec:-

http://www.pedallingaround.com/equipment/?page_id=5

fatgrimpeur

A Lion and a Tiger.

m0scs

This is my Spec Epic MTB bastardised "hybrid." :oops:

http://s974.photobucket.com/albums/ae22 ... 5346317055

It aint pretty, but pretty practical and my only bike.

Its got road slicks, lockable forks, wickedly powerful disk brakes. XT 48 tooth chainset, flatbars with bar ends.

Its ok on the road and I have a spare set of wheels to swap out if I want to take it off road.

.

_Brun_

What function does the lettuce perform?