Will I benefit from road bike?

dugliss

I have a Boardman comp hybrid at the moment but have been thinking about getting a roadbike for ages. I would only have a budget of around £600 and was wondering how much I would benefit from a roadbike or if I may as well stick with the Boardman. Would I notice much difference i.e increased speed, comfort, easier on climbs. I`ve been looking at a Specialized Secteur, Cube Peloton 2011, Giant Defy 3 or a Boardman Race. Worth it or wasting money?

Gizmodo

That depends on what you use a bike for - daily commuting, racing, time trials, touring, popping to the shops, going out with the wife once a week. First consider what your goals are.

The main advantage of a road bike over a hybrid is "the drops". On a road bike there are 2 main positions for your hands on the bars. On the hoods is like riding a hybrid flat bar, comfortable for many hours riding. But the advantage is that you can move your hands down to the drops to give you a more aerodynamic shape when doing fast descents or riding into the wind.

There are lots of different road bikes with different geometry for longer rides or shorter faster more aerodynamic type riding. What I will say is don't expect to get an extra 10mph out of your bike over a ride, you will get only a couple of mph - it depends on your fitness levels.

EarlyGo

+1 for what Gizmodo said!

A road bike will generally be quicker as it will probably be lighter, has a more aerodynamic riding position and narrower, road specific tyres which will give less rolling resistance, as well as road specific gear ratios. Hybrids are great for shortish commutes and a bit of off road, but if you want to do medium or long distances then a road bike will assist you greatly. I have a 25 mile loop that I ride and I'm approximately 10-15 mins quicker on my road bike than on my hybrid (1hr 25 min & 1hr 40min ish respectively). Personally, 25 miles is about as far as I'm prepared to ride on a hybrid! But they are good winter trainers as my hybrid weighs a ton!

Hope that's of some use?

Regards, EarlyGo

knownothingbozo

You will instantly become more handsome. Women will find you sexually desirable and your iq will double. On the downside, you will always want a shinier, lighter, more advanced bike. If you can live with that and s better sex life and longer life span, a road bike will definitely benefit you.

dugliss

Ok ,thanks for the help. I`d only be using it for commuting and longer weekend rides so definitely no racing or time trials!! What I`m actually trying to do is convince myself that I need it as I can`t really afford it and would probably have to sell the hybrid to help pay for it. Maybe I`ll just stick with what I`ve got..........

petemadoc

dugliss wrote:

Ok ,thanks for the help. I`d only be using it for commuting and longer weekend rides so definitely no racing or time trials!! What I`m actually trying to do is convince myself that I need it as I can`t really afford it and would probably have to sell the hybrid to help pay for it. Maybe I`ll just stick with what I`ve got..........

Keep the boardman and save up for a fancy bike in the future. If you're still cycling regularly in 6 months + and feel you still want that road bike then get something nice (which you can for about £1K) and keep the boardman for cr4ppy winter weather.

simon_e

+1 to Pete Madoc.

A good road bike is not necessarily loads better than a decent hybrid. Some nice tyres and a bikefit might help get the most from your current bike.

ForumNewbie

For commuting I prefer my hybrid as I like the more upright riding position on flat bars when I get into the city traffic.

As I think the Boardman Comp is a fairly fast light hybrid, I don't think you would notice that much difference on a £600 road bike. I took the plunge and spent quite a bit on a new carbon road bike so that I would notice the difference in weight and speed. However I still intend to use my hybrid for commuting.

dugliss

Decision made, thanks for the persuasion guys, I know it makes sense and it`s not as if I don`t like the bike I already have

gmacz

Buy the road bike and lose the hybrid.
Huge difference between a full road bike and a compromise bike.
The fact that you are thinking about it, tells us you are not completely happy with the other bike.
Perfect for weekend speeding and weekly commuting.
Defy3 is the bike that will put a smile on your face, a proper road bike.
Carbon bikes melt in the sun and snap in the cold, defy3 has proper metal construction.
And a melty snappy fork.

ALaPlage

Everyone is different but some good advice on here. I can only share my experience....

I got back into cycling after a lot of years absence by buying a Boardman Hybrid. I didn't take any advice other than reviews on bikes and made my decision to go for a flat bar hybrid as I thought at almost 40 a road bike would be too hard on the back (used to ride a race bike in my teens and early twenties before stopping due to family stuff). Within about 6 weeks of riding my shiny new Boardman, which I loved, I realised I should have gone for a road bike.

So sold the Boardman on the Bay and as I didn't have an awful lot of cash ended up buying an almost new but used Trek road bike through the classifieds on cycling weekly.

Wow what a difference. Firstly the weight in the bike was noticeable immediately particularly on climbs but also just putting the power down on a flat stretch of road you could feel the bike more responsive. The biggest change was in comfort however which surprised the hell out of me. The drops allow you to alter your riding and hand position which for me at least made any ride more comfortable.

I ride purely for pleasure and fitness with weekend rides and in the summer months the odd evening ride too when I can. The road bike has made a great difference as much as I enjoyed the Hybrid. Also other cyclists take you more seriously and I found I got talking to to lots more cyclists at cafe stops and on the road.

So my advice is do it. I got almost as much for the Boardman as I paid for it - with selling fees I dropped £100 - and I bought a Trek Madone although I had to stretch to finding £300 on top of what I had it was well worth it. Worth looking at second hand as I looked at a lot of bikes and found most had hardly been used with people getting into cycling by buying an expensive road bike and then realising it wasn't for them. A friend who had an MTB bought a road bike after having a go on my bike and he used one of the interest free schemes to get a new Pinarello that after a £200 deposit costs him about £35 a month for a £1500 bike.

For me it was the best move I made.

dugliss

Thanks AlaPlage, you sound like you were in the same position as me. The only thing is that I certainly wouldn`t be able to get as high a budget as yourself but I have thought about getting 2nd hand on ebay. I reckon I could get a 900-1k bike 2nd hand on my budget, just a bit wary about buying off ebay

ALaPlage

Ebay is a good source for bikes and kit but like buying anything off an online auction site it is worth researching the seller to ensure they have a good history. Some you can clearly see are keen cyclists selling bike bits and kit. There are also some main cycle retailers on there that use the site to clear older models or bikes they have taken in part ex.

I raised the additional money I needed to stretch to buying the Carbon Madone by selling some stuff from around the house that I no longer used which might be something to consider.

I also bought my wife a road bike off Ebay; a Kona Lisa. It was £1200 new with Mavic Aksium wheels and a full Shimano 105 groupset. The bike was unridden apart from a short test ride that the owner then decided she didn't like the bike (having come from a MTB background) and I got it for £500 + £25 courier. It came in the original bike box and they had even re-wrapped it with all the cardboard protectors so it felt like receiving a new bike.

So there are bargains to be had if you are patient and do your research. I have just treated myself to a Winter training bike - also off Ebay. Picked it up today from Manchester and looking forward to getting out on it later this week. A 3 year old Kinesis Crosslight 4t with Shimano 105 groupset in almost new condition for 375 English Pounds. A bike that cost close to £1k when new.

The only downside was when I sold the Boardman I ended up being without a bike for around 3 weeks until I found the Trek on Cycling Weekly classifieds - but I had to sell the Boardman for the money for a new one.

Anyway best of luck with whatever you decide to do but I can only say that from my own experience buying a proper road bike was the best thing I did for my cycling enjoyment.

alphacharlie

Looks like I'm another one in the same position, had a Boardman hybrid for 3 or so years now but looking to upgrade to a road bike sometime soon.

Ben6899

It seems folk always graduate from hybrid to road bike in good time. Yet when you try and advise newcomers to make the jump straight to road bike and save some cash, it quite often falls on deaf ears.

Yes, you'll benefit from a road bike.

essjaydee

Another one here who bought a hybrid (on C2W scheme) thinking this was a good sensible option for commuting, only to go and by a Boardman Road Race weeks later, and wow, what a difference. Regret buying the hybrid and not going for a roadie from the off, but having said that, am using the Hybrid for winter commuting, so have fitted a rack and tailbag which is ideal for carrying spare kit and change of clothes needed for work, so not a total loss. Bloody heavy though compared to the roadie, but this can only help make me stronger for the weekend rides

Really makes me look forward to getting on the road bike though, as it flies along and is such a joy to ride, and I'm no skinny racer type

dugliss

Is the Boardman Race a more relaxed geometry bike or an out and out race bike? It looks good value at £599 at the moment

essjaydee

It's not an out and out race bike that's for sure, and the geometry is more relaxed

I love it and am well pleased and managed to get it for just shy of £600 last november

Good info here; http://www.boardmanbikes.com/road/road_race.html

dugliss

I do like the look of it and have been happy with the Boardman hybrid. What is the largest ring on the cassette as I`m a bit worried that the gears won`t be low enough for me? I was looking at the Boardman Comp with SRAM Apex too but I think it`s probably a bit too much money for me

essjaydee

dugliss wrote:

What is the largest ring on the cassette as I`m a bit worried that the gears won`t be low enough for me?

12-26

I've found it to be fine on any hills I've tackled so far I didn't want to spend more than £700 on my first road bike, so the road race left me a bit to spend on additional kit

I've put a set of SKS guards on it for winter riding. The comp doesn't have bosses for guards, but you can get race guards to fit.