Hybrid or Road bike

okeydokey79

Hi guys about a month ago i ordered my c2w vouchers wanting a hybrid but after debates on here i was going towards a road bike. But when i go out on my ride for pleasure on my mtb(also use this for commuting) i find that on the road while going up hills i use my middle front cog and big back cog a lot,a hybrid will have a good rangeof gears but with slighlty bigger gearing on a road bike i think i may struggle as i try to get up the hills,plus with the bad weather coming up is a hybrid better choice at the moment? or do i go for the road bike and have train bit harder get my legs stronger? i want to go towards the road bike but just worried i wont get to use it to full. the furthest i go on my mtb is 25miles and thats all road.may want go further at a steady pace( normally average around 14-16 mph)

StanwaySteve62

road all the way, not sure of you terrain but a compact with a 12-27 or sram apex which has an even bigger rear cog will do you fine.
the fixed hand position is the worst part of a hybred in my opinion and you will not want to really expand your mileage.

Duffer65

Road bike! I once had the same dilemma and went for the hybrid...big mistake! Only a few months later I ended up selling it and bought a road bike.

Peddle Up!

Both! For starters.

Wrath Rob

You come on a road bike forum and ask us to recommend you a hybrid? Get out!

Go and try both, make sure you include a hill or 3. Then buy the road bike.

Ringo 68

Get a road bike. I have both and the road bike is much more fun.

The hybrid will only come out now when I go riding ith the missus down a gravel track. If you are worried about hills, get a bike with Sram Apex like my Boardman Comp. Even I can get up steep hills with ease on that.

wishitwasallflat

I got a hybrid on C2W cause I was so new to cycling within a few months I got the bug big time and so a few years later I finally have enough money to get a road bike. I am ashamed to say on the hybrid I regularily used the second bottom 32-11 1.08 ratio gear so I bought a Spesh Sectuer Elite Apex and the bottom gear is now 34-32 1.06.

I love it !!! No more sore hands (different positions), better workout from riding in the drops, amazingly better shifting with the double compact chainset and the gear I need to get up my hills without destroying my old knees! Added bones I can con myself into thinking I am a proper roadie and pontificate on this forum like the wise old man I will never be !

God bless SRAM

StanwaySteve62

I still pop out on my spesh sirrus if I need to from time to time and it feels like an antique compared to my Wilier

gsvbagpuss

Duffer65 wrote:

Road bike! I once had the same dilemma and went for the hybrid...big mistake! Only a few months later I ended up selling it and bought a road bike.

Am also regretting my hybrid, although might keep mine for more off-road stuff with the kids. I miss drops and thinner tyres

seanoconn

Same as some of the above. I bought hybrid first then soon realised what i really wanted was a road bike. A road bike does everything a hybrid does, only better.

handful

I asked a similar question in the MTB forum and the reply was strangely different but almost as decisive.....get a hardtail with faster tyres.

I'm in the same boat however and am definitely leaning the way of road bike for my 2nd bike, just as well go the whole hog I reckon.

merak

Road bike every time for riding the road.

Duffer65

Btw: I've used my road bike for a bit of mild trail riding with my daughter and it hasn't shattered into tiny pieces.

beduffrich

I got a hybrid two weeks ago on the C2W. I have an old roadie that I used, but much prefer the riding position of the Hybrid. It is a bit annoying that I can't put in big rides that the Roadies do so easily.

As a commuter my Hybrid is the bomb as a bike for Cycling seriously, get a Roadie.

king_jeffers

handful wrote:

I asked a similar question in the MTB forum and the reply was strangely different but almost as decisive.....get a hardtail with faster tyres.

I'm in the same boat however and am definitely leaning the way of road bike for my 2nd bike, just as well go the whole hog I reckon.

hardtail with faster tyres... thats me! After about 6 months of commuting I've effectively turned my MTB into a hybrid. Whilst it does a great job it looks so sad with slicks on... Anyway I digress - get a road bike. I'm desperate for one. Hoping to pick one up cheap later this year. If you get a hybrid you'll always wonder what a road bike would be like.

Good luck picking

okeydokey79

Wrath Rob wrote:

You come on a road bike forum and ask us to recommend you a hybrid? Get out!

Go and try both, make sure you include a hill or 3. Then buy the road bike.

how silly of me to ask that question :oops: sorry if i offended any1 guess road bike it is then,

1 last question my c2w scheme i have £450 so do i go for the carrera tdf £320 and get extra stuff to make my £450 or if i can get them drop the price of the trek 1.1 c h2 from £475 to £450 and no extras which wud you go for? i believe the trek has a compact gearing which wud be better for me but is it worth £130 more?

again guys i do a appreciate all the help

Duffer65

Trek!

bristolmotorspeedway

Looks like the decision is made...but just to add that I agree with what others have said, get the road bike.

I bought my hybrid 7 weeks ago, 350 miles so far and I enjoy cycling but really miss the options of hand positions on a road bike. Once I get past 20 miles I am longing for a change in position! I'm planning to look at a Roubaix or Synapse in the spring.

I wouldn't say I regret the hybrid completely, because at least it has got me back into cycling. but I also wish I had bought a bike much earlier in the year, the nights drawing in and cutting cycling opportunities is frustrating :-)

apreading

If you want extra hand positions, you can solve that for almost no money and about 30 seconds work - get some bar ends. I have ergon grips with the bar ends and have about 3 hand positions to go by. Using the bar ends is I guess a bit like riding on the hoods if you had drop bars.

piquet

bristolmotorspeedway wrote:

I bought my hybrid 7 weeks ago, 350 miles so far and I enjoy cycling but really miss the options of hand positions on a road bike. Once I get past 20 miles I am longing for a change in position! I'm planning to look at a Roubaix or Synapse in the spring.
)

ergon grip with integrated bar ends goes a long way to solving that problem - but i too prefer drops

tarbot18

horses for courses i d say , if you regularly go on old railway routes or canal tracks go for the hybrid it ll be a lot comfier and sure footed than a road bike , if you do mainly road stuff buy a road bike . For the average family guy with kids etc you take out id say you need a mtb for the trail stuff and a road bike for just you time on the road , you ll soon get addicted to the increased speed on a road bike.

okeydokey79

just been into halfords and ordered the carrera tdf, just got wait for my vouchers come through, went for this 1 so i could get new lights, computer, mudguards, and also some spd pedals(not being put on cus will need buy sum shoes)and all with my vouchers so no cash outlay straight away.so will wait for my vouchers come and then let u all know how i go on!!!!!!

andyrac

I've had a similar dilemma - wanted a road bike, but the roads were I ride in autumn/winter become covered in filth. So I decided a cyclocross was the answer. Then changed my mind, again and again....
Eventually decided on a Cannondale Synapse 105 - but had nowhere to put it. So, that's on the backburner...
However , now have that problem solved, I'm going to leave it until next year - and instead buy a hybrid for the autumn/ winter - or maybe even a crosser......

Evil Laugh

A group of friends recently did lejog. One on a hybrid. Upon returning home he immediately bought a roadbike.

Similarly myself and some friends did a similar French tour. 2 were on hybrids and guess what happened when we got home?

A good fit is imperative on a roadbike, not an Evans style eye up and down, "you look a 56". Then comfort will be yours in spades and you should have a good 3 or 4 positions to ride in. Some fatter 25mm tyres and a comfy frame, steel for eg and you'll cruise along soaking up the bumpy stuff.

I think a bad fit can put people off roadbikes. Drops can feel alien, bars a stretch or too low, horrible saddle (probably because no padded Lycra). But when you get it right, it's so good. You'll never go back after experiencing an "at one with" roadbike.

A compact and a 12-28 for eg should be fine for most riders. Maybe I you live in Yorkshire or Cornwall or somewhere like that a 32 on the rear like with Apex would be a good move for a beginner.