Hybrid versus Road - Urban commute

sandhun

Hi folks
I presently commute on a Specialized Crosstrail Sport (Hybrid). I'm contemplating switching to a Specialized Allez road bike (or equivalent). Based on the information below, do you think it's a wise move?

It's a round trip of 13 miles.
The entire journey is on the road.
Hills sometimes feel like hard work on the Hybrid.
Some of the journey is stop/start and involves filtering through cars.
It's an urban commute so I do encounter potholes and bits of broken glass.

Thanks for your help.

cookeeemonster

You can do it on either to be honest. If your commute was above 8 miles each way then I'd say probably yes...but not sure about this one.

I started my 36 mile round trip commute on a hybrid. Was fine but harder work than the road bike that I switched to 4 months later - especially in the wind.

The hybrid was more comfortable on the many crappy bits of cyclepath and road that I travel on, but the road bike is fine (and you can get wider tyres i.e. 25mm at lower pressures to remove most or all of the difference).

Not sure I'd bother switching if I was you unless you also want to use the road bike for longer trips/sportives at the weekend, or unless you simply fancy a change, which is a fair enough reason!

markhewitt1978

If you have money to spare by all means get the road bike, it'll get you there faster, but probably not as fast as you'd think.

For 6.5 miles each way it won't make that much difference so it's better for you to use the bike you have as you've already bought that.

If you haven't done so already, switch to slick tyres.

notnot

The road bike should be marginally faster, though not a big deal over 7m. Unless your current hybrid weighs a ton I don't imagine you'll find hills that much easier. I ride either a clunky steel MTB or carbon road bike - even then, not a vast difference on tackling hills between the bikes, though a touch easier on the lighter bike (whereas getting fitter made a *far* bigger difference).

If you just want and can afford a shinier bike - or would get good non-commute use from it - go for it I wouldn't expect a massive difference on your commute, though. If your hybrid is comfortable without padded shorted etc. you'll likely want a road bike that's similar comfy - I wouldn't bother pulling on special clothes for a 7m spin. I'd also look for a road bike that can take mudguards easily. Or you could get a road bike as an extra bike to ride for fun :twisted:

Ngalbrai

As previous post says, tyres can make a difference. Do you have a track pump - do you run them at optimum pressure? Do you use clipless pedals - they make a massive difference. All considerations over a new bike. Maybe add some bar ends for another hand position.

Having said that I went flat bar (Specialized Sirrus Elite) to drop bar (Kona Honky Inc), fancied a change, wanted to try steel frame. Was having wrist pain, drop bars sorted that, they are way more comfortable, take a little bit of getting used to. Make sure bike is properly fitted to you as well, riding on the drops was really uncomfortable for me till I swapped out stem and got shorter reach bars.

Mr.Duck

Don't you get neck pain using drop bars? Because you have to constantly be craning your neck up to stay looking forward.

sandhun

Thanks for these replies. Based on what you've said I'll probably stick with my Hybrid for now.

TBH my commute could be longer in the sense that I live 12 miles from the city centre; I tend to drive the first few miles, park up the car then cycle the remaining few miles (the bike fits in my car if I put the seats down).

Yes, I have a track pump and run my 'armadillo' tyres at around 65-75psi. I've never had a single puncture with these tyres in about 8 months of riding. Would it definitley be worth switching to slick tyres?

markhewitt1978

sandhun wrote:

Thanks for these replies. Based on what you've said I'll probably stick with my Hybrid for now.

TBH my commute could be longer in the sense that I live 12 miles from the city centre; I tend to drive the first few miles, park up the car then cycle the remaining few miles (the bike fits in my car if I put the seats down).

Yes, I have a track pump and run my 'armadillo' tyres at around 65-75psi. I've never had a single puncture with these tyres in about 8 months of riding. Would it definitley be worth switching to slick tyres?

Then you should cycle the full 12 miles, unless it's very hilly then you should be able to cover than in an hour without too many problems. Then your choice of bike would depend on the terrain you want to cover over those 12 miles.

Tyres; that's a tradeoff, as puncture protection can often be heavy, switching to slicks without much puncture protection would make you faster.

cookeeemonster

yeah tyres do make a lot of difference. Run some slicks with some puncture protection at a higher psi than you currently have and you'll defiantely go faster.

And 12 miles aint that bad - get a road bike and go for it!

kennygalbraith

I have the specialised crosstail sport as well and have the schwalbe marathon plus tyres, again no punctures. I cycle 8.6 miles each way. Sometime road bikes pass me, I pass them. If the roads are cr*p and have glass etc perhaps sticking to the hybrid is better, invest in clipless, lose weight if you need to. One thing I like is that the riding position seems higher so I can easily see above cars to check the road out. Keeping my head down on a busy road doesn't sound the best idea to me.

cookeeemonster

kennygalbraith wrote:

Keeping my head down on a busy road doesn't sound the best idea to me.

Road bikes have different hand positions and different geometries depending on what type of bike they are. I wouldn't expect anyone to use a 'head below the bum' racing bike for their commute (though some do) so you get one thats more 'relaxed' so to speak (and the handlebars can be moved up and down depending on your usage anyway).

It's really not that bad compared to a hybrid, you will get used to it. But of course if all your riding is in the traffic congested city centre etc then yeah I'd agree, stick with the hybrid

markhewitt1978

I don't have any issues with my Scott CR1 road bike in traffic, but then it's not a TdF aggressive style bike. The fact that I can accelerate quickly and keep pace with traffic is a big advantage. SPD (not SPD-SL) pedals help with this too.

asprilla

Mr.Duck wrote:

Don't you get neck pain using drop bars? Because you have to constantly be craning your neck up to stay looking forward.

Why would you be craning your neck?

It's a common misconception that drop bar handle bars are massively lower than standard flat bars and therefore you have less visibility or it isn't as comfortable. It's simply not true.

I've got four drop bar bikes of differing geometries, a hybrid and a flat bar Brompton.

On all of them I still have visibility over most traffic and if road bikes caused neck pain then people wouldn't tide them for 8 hours at a time.

slowbike

I started riding to work on my Allez - but then I've got a country road commute rather than in-town stop'n'start ..
It was fine to ride (was, cos I'm selling it now I have a Tarmac) - it'd take cruds and even through the backroads it was comfortable.
The Allez isn't an all out racing bike - it has a taller headtube (than purebred racers) and so the handlebars are slightly higher.
I had no problem riding it through town - you just don't use the drops in the stop/start twisty sections.
The only real downside for me was when the lanes got muddy - so I tried my wifes Sirrus - great bike (size was too small for me) but after a couple of rides I missed the drops - so I bought a Tricross ..

Mr.Duck

Asprilla wrote:

Why would you be craning your neck?

If you are leaning forward, then you have to look up to look forward. Do you see what I mean? Like so...



Maybe there is no problem holding this neck position for long periods of time. I don't know, I don't have a road bike. I'm interested to hear people's experiences.

markhewitt1978

Mr.Duck wrote:

Asprilla wrote:

Why would you be craning your neck?

If you are leaning forward, then you have to look up to look forward. Do you see what I mean? Like so...



Maybe there is no problem holding this neck position for long periods of time. I don't know, I don't have a road bike. I'm interested to hear people's experiences.

Those riders are on the drops, decending, the more normal position is with the hands on the top of the brake hoods, where you have to look up a lot less.

cookeeemonster

yeah, plus they are proper racing bikes - they're only purpose is to go fast in a race. Many other road bikes are not like that, in that they are more relaxed and practical for the everyday commuter or sportive rider.

You probably will take a little while to get used to it, but your body will adjust to your bike as long as it's fitted correctly and you have no previous neck injuries etc (and you've chosen the right bike)

I didnt go for a road bike at first because I was put off by my experiences with sports motorbikes - I got terrible neck/shoulder/arm and wrist pain with the lean forward position and my stop/start commute...but cycles are different, you dont have the inertia every time you brake like on a fast motorbike with a heavy helmet on, and so I was able to adjust fairly easily. My handlebars now have 4 spacers on top rather than below the handlebars as my body has adjusted over time.

markhewitt1978

CookeeeMonster wrote:

yeah, plus they are proper racing bikes - they're only purpose is to go fast in a race. Many other road bikes are not like that, in that they are more relaxed and practical for the everyday commuter or sportive rider.

Indeed; more relaxed road bikes are often referred to as 'sportive' bikes, which I believe just means not really for racing. But the majority of people who own road bikes don't race them.

slowbike

markhewitt1978 wrote:

But the majority of people who own road bikes don't race them.

Oh but we do ..... just not in races!

markhewitt1978

Slowbike wrote:

markhewitt1978 wrote:

But the majority of people who own road bikes don't race them.

Oh but we do ..... just not in races!

haha, so true

Mr.Duck

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Those riders are on the drops, decending, the more normal position is with the hands on the top of the brake hoods, where you have to look up a lot less.

CookeeeMonster wrote:

yeah, plus they are proper racing bikes - they're only purpose is to go fast in a race. Many other road bikes are not like that, in that they are more relaxed and practical for the everyday commuter or sportive rider.

You probably will take a little while to get used to it, but your body will adjust to your bike as long as it's fitted correctly and you have no previous neck injuries etc (and you've chosen the right bike)

One of the reasons I think I asked was because I was once on a MTB on the road, leaning forward (but not like a road bike of course), I got tired of looking up all the time so I stopped for a moment, slowing for a red light. I looked up just before I got to the line and saw green so I went. But that was not a green for me, so I accidently ran a red light.

I dodn't cycle as much as I should, so I guess it's a case of not being used to it.

supersonic

I would keep the bike you have, but add a rigid fork and some bar ends.

cookeeemonster

Slowbike wrote:

markhewitt1978 wrote:

But the majority of people who own road bikes don't race them.

Oh but we do ..... just not in races!

Like

IanLD

I use my hybrid most of the time for my commute. Have 32mm Continental Sport Contact slicks, mudguards and bar ends and it can cope with tree roots, gravel, rough broken surfaces and still maintain a respectable pace.

The bar ends make it much more comfortable to ride as I can change position easily and you can get in to a reasonable tuck on it.

Mountain bike is plusher, but slower and folding bike is reserved now for winter when I have studs on and don't want to be clipped in. Have studs and Winter Contacts for the hybrid, but don't feel comfortable being clipped in if it is too icy.

In my case, the road bike is about 2mph faster than the hybrid, which in turn is about 1 mph faster than the MTB. Folding bike is similar to the MTB. These are all averages over the same smoother sections as I can't use the road bike or folding bike on the roughest sections.

Must admit that the hybrid brakes (Formula hydraulic discs) are a major plus for commuting (same as the MTB) and this may be an additional factor to consider.

I find the hybrid most comfortable when in traffic as the bars are not too wide (unlike the MTB) and the longer wheelbase and more upright position help too.

I like the added flexibility of the hybrid as I can take a longer but largely traffic free route on it that the road bike wouldn't cope as well with. Also like the fact that if I'm not in the mood for pushing, I can feel that I don't have to chase everyone down on it and it's not so bad when I do get passed

Does seem to attract wheelsuckers though - towed three different people through centre and south of Glasgow one day last week none of whom were invited to sit on my wheel :evil:

The Rookie

I like the options from my Hybrid, narrow bars (580mm), I run the stem flipped and no spacers so bar height is similar to riding on the hoodz of a road bike, I run 26x1.5" wheels as the local road surfaces are very broken.

When the going gets faster I move my hands inboard of the controls for better aero.

supersonic

Same here, or fit clip on aero bars.