Road Bike or hybrid for commuting on?

renton

Hi all.

I currently ride a carrera subway for my commuter bike and I hate it. It has 26 inch wheels and big draggy tyres and it just feels horrendous to ride to be honest so it's got to go!!

My current commute distance is 3 miles and when I moved next year that will go up to 7 miles each way so I am looking at getting a better bike!!

I can't decide what would be best out of a hybrid or a road Bike though!!

Ideally I would like to fit full guards and a rack on the back and I'm not sure if you can do this on a road bike.

I have a budget of £300 to £450 and don't mind secondhand either.

I am 6 foot 2 and weigh 110 kgs my aim is to try and lose 20kgs this year.

What do you think would be best and what sort of sizes should I be looking at??

Thanks

Steve

team47b

renton wrote:

I am 6 foot 2 and weigh 110 kgs my aim is to try and lose 20kgs this year.

What do you think would be best and what sort of sizes should I be looking at??

I think 6 foot 2 is too tall but if you could make 7 foot 8 your BMI would be fine

If you buy a hybrid then you will buy a road bike 6 months later, we've all been there.

You can fit mudguards and racks to road bikes.

Is your riding going to be mostly in the countryside or in town traffic?

renton

Hi thanks for the reply.

The commute will be done on a dedicated cycle track!

Anonymous

Personally I would say cross bike ideally, then road (one that can take full guards and rack), then hybrid.

The nice thing about a cross bike is disc brakes if you can pick one up second hand at your budget.

A hybrid with discs is possible new though. Pinnacle Lithium is one.

kajjal

Carbonator wrote:

Personally I would say cross bike ideally, then road (one that can take full guards and rack), then hybrid.

The nice thing about a cross bike is disc brakes if you can pick one up second hand at your budget.

A hybrid with discs is possible new though. Pinnacle Lithium is one.

This is a good idea as the disc brakes will stop your weight in the wet or dry and cross bikes are sturdy bikes with bigger tyres. I weight 100kg "Christmas weight" and find the rim brakes on road bikes are OK in the dry but poor in the wet unless you get expensive all weather brake pads.

EBUK

Carbonator wrote:

Personally I would say cross bike ideally, then road (one that can take full guards and rack), then hybrid.

The nice thing about a cross bike is disc brakes if you can pick one up second hand at your budget.

A hybrid with discs is possible new though. Pinnacle Lithium is one.

^^ +1

wishitwasallflat

Don't get a hybrid tried and tested you will either want a road bike in 6 months or stop cycling - cross bike with disc brakes sounds the better option if not a road bike. As other have said there are a fair few road frames that can take full guards and a rack.

michaelede

188cm (6'2") and 107kg not that long ago. 8km each way commute. Currently hovering around 90kg.

Got a Boardman hybrid with hydraulic discs that had been ridden once for well within your budget back in June (paid £450 for an £850 new bike that had been ridden once with all the manuals etc.) , didn't want rim brakes as I hated the f'in things on MTB's years ago and most of my riding is in Devon country lanes. Wanted hydraulic as used to riding motorbikes and prefer the feel of hydraulic over cable disks. Don't regret buying a hybrid and no intention of changing, currently strapped to turbo trainer in garage, at the end of the day a calorie is a calorie a whether burnt on a hybrid or a road bike. Would consider a CX bike with hydraulics as road bikes just don't look robust enough for me (not withstanding I don't like rim brakes anyway) but they seem to appear in such small numbers on ebay (cx bikes) the price seems to hold better than the hybrid or road bikes.

Whilst 14miles a day will help it isn't going to shift 20kgs in a year by itself, I often find I feel hungrier than normal if I commute regularly. have a look at intermittent fasting (lean gains website was really helpful) and 5/2 dieting. Tracking weight daily on Libra (an android app) where you can see the trend made a massive difference as well (the hackers diet has some useful pointers on this) These made it so much easier to shift the weight and keep it off. (appreciate this wasn't asked for so ignore if you want!)

Good luck, it is well worth the effort I can't believe how much better I feel now at 90kg vs. 107kg

jiahuolila

The nice thing about a cross bike is disc brakes if you can pick one up second hand at your budget.