road vs hybrid

chris1972

I am using a mountain bike for work daily and it is like riding through soup.
My ride rid is 10 miles round trip come rain or snow !
I have been told not to get a road bike unless i was prepared to strip it down every week to service is this true?
I like the look of a road bike although It is years since I rode one with drop handle bars.
Can anyone help with my selection of either road bike or hybrid with a budget of arond £400 Thanks Chris

teulk

Not true, however im some may disagree. If your going to ride any bike "come rain or snow" then it should go without saying that you should at least clean it on a regular basis and oil / lube the parts that need it i.e chain etc.
I have a road bike and i use it in all weathers and i clean it if its dirty and oil / lube on a regular basis and its fine.

If you look after it then it will be ok.

HebdenBiker

Before you pull the trigger on a new bike just to ride for 20 minutes each morning and evening, consider putting slick tyres on your MTB first. And there you have it. A hybrid.

ooermissus

For 5 mile trips, you could just put slicks on your mountain bike.

Hybrid or road bike - for £400, you're going to be looking at substantially the same calibre of parts, and the same maintenance needs, although the road bike will probably come with narrower tyres.

jim453

I've also been commuting on the MB.

I'm loving it. I've put some slicks on it and it's like shi@ off a shovel. It's a hard tail stumpjumper so reasonably light but even so, I'd forgotten how nice it was. It's much faster on some of the steep narrow descents round here. Just throw it around anything, even in the wet.

Road bike is currently laid up with a broken spoke and because of the weather and the stumpy i'm in no rush to get it sorted.

Save your money and get some new tyres not a new bike, not at this time of year at any rate.

If it still feels like riding through soup then you're going to need to get fitter.

gmacz

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/122564.html
This is the bike for you.
Just remember that your commute will be a lot longer as you will be taking the long way home on this bike.

sandyballs

Hi mate, have done all 3 options listed so far. Schwalbe marathons on a Mountain bike, Hybrid and road bikes. I have now sold the mountain bike,I ride a Cube hybrid as a commuter since my route takes me on a gravel path along a river for about 5 miles and have a road bike for race/sportive. Ride what fits your route and fits you, some like drops for commuting some don't. Its all about personal preference. Will add with a road bike you can get that speed bug.

HebdenBiker

gmacz wrote:

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/122564.html
This is the bike for you.
Just remember that your commute will be a lot longer as you will be taking the long way home on this bike.

I have to agree that is a rather good deal

blackpoolkev

The more tucked position on a road bike doesn't help your view of the road,particularly when checking over your shoulder.
If your commute is a busy one then this is something you should bear in mind.

lemoncurd

For 5 mile trips just fit slicks on your mountain bike, I did this for a couple of years for a longer commute and it was fine. Especially if you commute in rain and snow as you'll be able to fit fatter tyres on it.

seanoconn

chris1972 wrote:

I am using a mountain bike for work daily and it is like riding through soup.
My ride rid is 10 miles round trip come rain or snow !
I have been told not to get a road bike unless i was prepared to strip it down every week to service is this true?
I like the look of a road bike although It is years since I rode one with drop handle bars.
Can anyone help with my selection of either road bike or hybrid with a budget of arond £400 Thanks Chris

If your commute is all roads, get a road bike. I wanted something light and fast for my commute and a bit of weekend riding so a bought a hybrid. After a few months and after catching the speed bug, i wanted something even lighter and faster, so i bought a road bike.
Ride it in all weathers no problem, just give it a wash and lube every so often, specially after the roads have been gritted.

For all that, i wouldn't ride anything on 2 wheels in the snow or ice.

You'd find yourself a nice bike with £400 on ebay. Specialized allez is a popular choice.

chris1972

HebdenBiker wrote:

Before you pull the trigger on a new bike just to ride for 20 minutes each morning and evening, consider putting slick tyres on your MTB first. And there you have it. A hybrid.

the bike i am using is so heavy at least 20kg

chris1972

I shouls say that my mountain bike was very cheap an weighs at least 22 kg

chris1972

I should add that my mountain bike was very cheap an weighs at least 20 kg

chris1972

seanoconn wrote:

chris1972 wrote:

I am using a mountain bike for work daily and it is like riding through soup.
My ride rid is 10 miles round trip come rain or snow !
I have been told not to get a road bike unless i was prepared to strip it down every week to service is this true?
I like the look of a road bike although It is years since I rode one with drop handle bars.
Can anyone help with my selection of either road bike or hybrid with a budget of arond £400 Thanks Chris

If your commute is all roads, get a road bike. I wanted something light and fast for my commute and a bit of weekend riding so a bought a hybrid. After a few months and after catching the speed bug, i wanted something even lighter and faster, so i bought a road bike.
Ride it in all weathers no problem, just give it a wash and lube every so often, specially after the roads have been gritted.

For all that, i wouldn't ride anything on 2 wheels in the snow or ice.

You'd find yourself a nice bike with £400 on ebay. Specialized allez is a popular choice.

Thanks for the advice although i ride my motor bike in winter also

chris1972

would a flat handle bar bike be better for my commute for comfort and visability.
I considered putting new tyres on my MTB but it is so heavy i dont think it would make a difference.

chris1972

lemoncurd wrote:

For 5 mile trips just fit slicks on your mountain bike, I did this for a couple of years for a longer commute and it was fine. Especially if you commute in rain and snow as you'll be able to fit fatter tyres on it.

The MTB i am using is so heavy i dont think slick will help

chris1972

gmacz wrote:

http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/product/122564.html
This is the bike for you.
Just remember that your commute will be a lot longer as you will be taking the long way home on this bike.

just looked at this bike nice eh although I may as well be reading a rocket ship manual ha ha omg it is all chinese to me .

chris1972

teulk wrote:

Not true, however im some may disagree. If your going to ride any bike "come rain or snow" then it should go without saying that you should at least clean it on a regular basis and oil / lube the parts that need it i.e chain etc.
I have a road bike and i use it in all weathers and i clean it if its dirty and oil / lube on a regular basis and its fine.

If you look after it then it will be ok.

cheers babe !although all the specifications are chinese to me. what am i looking for as far as gears and brakes etc

lemoncurd

chris1972 wrote:

lemoncurd wrote:

For 5 mile trips just fit slicks on your mountain bike, I did this for a couple of years for a longer commute and it was fine. Especially if you commute in rain and snow as you'll be able to fit fatter tyres on it.

The MTB i am using is so heavy i dont think slick will help

Is the 10 mile round trip hilly?

gmacz

This thread reminds me of the torch that has no batteries and no charger and still produces light.

lemoncurd

gmacz wrote:

This thread reminds me of the torch that has no batteries and no charger and still produces light.

You're right of course.

Some say road, others say hybrid.

Pear drops or chewing nuts?

gmacz

Soft chewing nuts and midget gems.
Irn Bru and lemon cola

ineedalager

When I first started riding 4 yeras ago tp loose weight I started on a cheap MTB then I got a Carrera Vulcan disc spec great bike(14kgs) did 4,300 miles on it with no problems. I wanted to go faster and lighter so I got Boardman Comp hybrid (11kgs). this is a great bike for commuting fast light only broke a spoke in 6,000 miles. I put some Continetal Gatorskins on it and never had to worry about punctures.

If you want a light bike the will last look for one second hand on Ebay they are compact frame so a 54cm frame fits me 6!ft 1"

ineedalager

Another thing I did to make my MTB faster when I 'm riding on the roads or cycle paths was rather than slicks got a set of Scwable Trailblazers they have a continuos strip of rubber around the center of the tyre but still have tread either side for when you go off road.

notlongnow

I fitted slicks to my MTB after realising i ride 95% on roads and it made a massive difference i was initially going to buy a road bike but ive postponed that until the spring 2012

Jcrossland

I would just go with a road bike and get some armadillo tyres. I havent (touches wood) had a puncture on mine and you obviously get there quicker. Just need to avoid the potcaves on some roads!