Advice on bike choice

Useraid

Hi there,

Has been over 15 years since I was last occasionally cycling on a mountain bike, now I need to make a few 15-20 mile round-trips a week and wanted to get a good quality bicycle.

I am having trouble deciding between a hybrid and road bike. I was only looking at hybrids before, but I have noticed that quite a lot of people seem to buy hybrids and then decide later they want road bikes! This made me wonder if I could save myself a step, after all virtually all my riding will be on tarmacked, albeit hilly roads.

So I seem to have whittled choice down to Boardman hybrid pro or Focus Cayo 105 Ltd. (btw what is difference with triple option?) The road bike seems better value and is lighter, the only niggles being the more uncomfortable riding position, perhaps it being harder to control (different road bike in shop seemed to be.. sure I need to get used to it), and no way to carry much load.

The hybrid does offer comfort and load carrying, but is slightly heavier and not as good a deal considering it has a non carbon frame and is more expensive without the wiggle discounts (not sure about halford's builds either).

So, what are your experiences?

Rich Hcp

Welcome,

Road bike is lighter and faster. End of.

I thought about a hybrid, but got a roadie to complement my MTB, the hybrids are not great road bikes and not that good off road either.

The drop bar bikes are often more comfortable, especially if you go for a more relaxed geomtary, such as a Specialized Secteur range, the more racy version being the Allez range.

With drop bars you more often than not sit with your hands on the hoods (On top of the brake levers) or on top of the bars, where its easy to control. Full race position is for fast down hills and just after watching Le Tour on TV!

On a flat bar bike, there is one hand position, and you can get uncomfortable as a result and you notice the breeze a lot more.

The triple is three cogs on the front mech, gives a choice of more gears, there are loads of threads about it, some hate triples with a passion, but its personal choice, Im prefer it, as do my legs!

How much load do you need?

Some bikes do have fixings for panniers, (you'll need to search some websites, I'm not up to date on which ones) if thats what you need, maybe a touring bike would be best for your needs.

You can get flat bar road bikes too, light, but straight not drop bars and also some manufacturers do "commuter bikes" which may also be more what you are looking for with flat bars.

Its confusing, so take your time deciding and make sure you get a bike that fits you, thats the second most important thing.

You need tovisit some reutable local shops for information, I wouldn't buy on line myself, unless you know exactly what you want

The most important thing is to enjoy it 8)

morstar

The default response in this section of the forum is always going to be road bike.
If you envisage riding for pleasure as a road cyclist, then do buy a road bike. But, if it is primarily being purchased as a functional machine, look at the end use.
Is much of the riding urban? If so, the flat bar gives a safer ride in traffic with a handful of brakes to hand at all times.
If you're carrying loads, panniers are great. I used to lug a heavy laptop in my panniers. Couldn't have imagined riding with that sort of weight in a rucsac.
The previous post gives lots of good advice. A flat bar bike can be very upright or very road oriented.

Monty Dog

Yup, depends on what you plan to use it for. Take the chance to at least test ride a couple of bikes of the type you plan to buy, even if they're not the exact model. FWIW the focus has a reputation for a fairly firm ride, so you may want to factor that in if comfort is a priority. The Ribble Sportive might be another option?

Useraid

Thanks for the detailed responses. I'm not sure where I can actually test ride a bike properly on the road, I've been to two Halfords so far and one of them let me try the bikes around the shop which was indicative of their fit, but hardly a roadtest. I'm not near London so mostly have the chains and some smaller bike shops around.

I'll also have a look at available touring bikes out of interest, but being unable to take loads is not a deal breaker for me, just an advantage

I was considering buying online because of the great deal really, it is a bit of a risk I know, but there is always the option of returning and paying for return shipping via distance selling regulations if I have to.

niblue

I've got road bikes, mountain bikes and a fast hybrid. There is absolutely no doubt the road bikes are faster, however I do find I use the hybrid (a flat-barred Cotic Roadrat with hydro disks brakes and Alfine gearing) quite a lot. In fact for the sort of riding you describe it'd normally be my first choice due to it's luggage capacity.

My Roadrat has stubby bar ends fitted and with those I find the bars just as comfortable as drops over long distances..

If you're new to road bikes I'm not sure how much a short test will really help, as the riding position can feel quite alien at first. After a few rides it starts to make more sense though, and the speed is addictive.

Useraid

I am definitely leaning towards road now, but I also spotted this at wiggle, the Verenti Rhigos 03 and people seem to say it is comfortable and a 'sportive' bike whatever that means :oops:

I wonder which would be more suitable, hmm...

unixnerd

Don't get a triple unless you have some pretty big hills in mind, a compact is fine for most folk.

If you fancy a tourer the best value are Edinburgh Bicycle's own brand:
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... 155c018343
Done many many 1000s of happy miles on mine.

For a road bike you might look at the relaxed geometry models as they're a bit more upright and easier on your lower back. Specialized Roubaix or Cannondale Synapse.

Useraid

The hills I have in mind go up to maybe 30 degrees for a period but can last for around half a mile. I know it also depends on my fitness, which would improve after time but might I struggle on a compact at first?

unixnerd

I run a triple with the lower gear being a 30 up front and 25 at the back. I can climb Cairngorm and I don't always need the lowest gear but I'm fairly fit. I'd be better off with a compact now running 34 front and an 11-28 rear which would give me an identical granny gear.

But when I was less fit I could run a cassette with a 28t bottom gear instead of 25 and it made a useful difference. So to summarise, the triple is worth it for big hills until you get fit enough not to need it any more. My tourer has an Acera rear mech that will take up to a 32t granny gear, but I'm running 11-25 now.

Useraid

Thanks for all the valuable input. Now just need to decide on the bike.

Other bikes that wiggles have a clearance discount on include the Pinarello FP2 Carbon 105 2010, the Moser Bikes 111 Ultegra 2011 and Verenti Rhigos.02 among many others. Looking to get best bang for buck but many of the bikes there don't have any online reviews. Heard about frame osmosis on focus and finish issues. Certainly a huge amount of choice out there.