Giant Rapid as commuter/ fitness bike

sirichmond
sirichmond Posts: 250
edited September 2013 in Commuting general
Been looking for a decent bike for commuting as well as decent length road rides for fitness, now being a mountain biker I find drop bars alien so anybody got any views on Giant Rapids? Seen a 2012 Giant Rapid 2 for £579, worth getting this or version 3 2013 model for similar price?
http://www.allthegearnoidea.net

Yorkshire & North East MTB

Comments

  • sirichmond
    sirichmond Posts: 250
    http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuj ... 614#select

    Thoughts on this Fuji Absolute as well as looks like a similar bike.

    Thanks
    http://www.allthegearnoidea.net

    Yorkshire & North East MTB
  • Cupras
    Cupras Posts: 145
    Save some money and try the alien thing you will in the end and it will just save you money in the long run.
  • sirichmond
    sirichmond Posts: 250
    Riding in York at rush hour is another reason to not go drops, so they are off the radar completely.
    http://www.allthegearnoidea.net

    Yorkshire & North East MTB
  • Mikey41
    Mikey41 Posts: 690
    A Rapid is just a Defy with flat bars, so it'll be a fast hybrid. Great commuter IMO.
    Giant Defy 2 (2012)
    Giant Defy Advanced 2 (2013)
    Giant Revel 1 Ltd (2013)
    Strava
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    Yeah - great choice. Only reason I didnt go for it was that the Boardman Hybrid took wider tyres, was more comfy over bad roads (probably because of the wider tyres) and had discs. If any of these are a concern for you then look at the Boardmans as an alternative and possibly Whyte Portobello.
  • nigglenoo
    nigglenoo Posts: 177
    sirichmond wrote:
    Riding in York at rush hour is another reason to not go drops, so they are off the radar completely.
    Funny that, traffic conditions have no impact on my preference for drops, in fact in queues I find them better as they are narrower, which helps with filtering. I would like to know what disadvantage you feel they have.

    Like very many other people I moved from flat bars to drops after a few years of riding on the road, in my case after about four years, i.e. about eleven years old, when I got a Hercules Hustler 3-speed 'racing bike'. For me drops mean more hand positions, which improves comfort, and better aerodynamics.

    I do like straight bars for proper off road riding, where only an MTB can go, but even then I have bar ends so I can get down out of the wind on fast sections.

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