hybrid bikes advise needed

swod1

I'm currently using my hard tail mountain bike to ride in to work, its about 7.5miles each way and now winter is upon us I think its time to get a more suitable bike for road riding.

In the months march to end of September I ride off road from work so why I've used my mtb bike.

Why I'm looking at another bike due to wearing out the parts and have already needed to change cassettes, chains and so on, plus its not setup for road use either.

Looking at a hybrid type bike but not sure what to go for

rigid or suspension fork ?
road type frame with flat handlebars?
disc or rim brakes?

The type of gear components confuse me also is it better to get something with road riding components or mtb deore type kit as I know that lasts and is durable.

I've looked at many bikes Hoy, Boardman up to around £700 and come across this bike which is based on a 29er mtb.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pin ... e-ec071283

This bike is high on the list as its a mtb style design which I've got used to riding and plus shares the similar components to my mtb which if I ever need to borrow parts, I can swap over in case of break downs etc.

I don't need to carry a lot with me so I use a medium size back pack for clothes, spare tube and tools, so no need for pannier mounts and all that.

Any thing else, I need to consider ?

supersonic

If purely on the road and you don't want the extra comfort, go fully rigid. Saves a lot of weight. However if you do want some I'd advise on another MTB and simply change the tyres. Disc brakes have come of age now, and are the superior option in the wet and grime.

The Pinnacle looks ok - full Deore groupset, but is a tad more expensive than I thought it was going to be. If it fits, worth a go.

swod1

supersonic wrote:

If purely on the road and you don't want the extra comfort, go fully rigid. Saves a lot of weight. However if you do want some I'd advise on another MTB and simply change the tyres. Disc brakes have come of age now, and are the superior option in the wet and grime.

The Pinnacle looks ok - full Deore groupset, but is a tad more expensive than I thought it was going to be. If it fits, worth a go.

Yeah the pinnacle I've been looking at has a mtb style design and a rigid fork and this will save maintenance time and costs.
I'll be riding it on roads and as I'm not thin, not sure I'd like the ride on a road bike with thin tyres.

Disc brakes yeah think I should go for these, does salt on roads trash these as I'm sure it's what wrecked my mtb brakes last winter.

I've been looking at the 2014 model which is cheaper as the next year model is a lot more than I would like to spend.

Browsing the forum and googling Ive also come across a decathlon flat bar road bike that isn't expensive and looks good spec http://www.decathlon.co.uk/fit-500-flat ... 39798.html

snowster

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... -bike-2014 worth a look my commute is 7.5 mile and this bike hasn't let me down all year...

swod1

For the time being I've switched tyres on the bike and still looking at my options of what to do.

Noticed quite a few guys at work ride in on mtb's so have had a look at what tyres they're using etc.

The Rookie

Schwalbe city jets as the go to budget option for circa £11 each, for a livelier ride then you need to spend around £25+ each and there is a big range of options depending on your priority, I use a Panaracer RiBMo on the rear as it rides 'skinnier' than it is and has a much thicker tread (the rear wears about twice as fast as the front)and a Conti sport contact up front for the grip.

swod1

The Rookie wrote:

Schwalbe city jets as the go to budget option for circa £11 each, for a livelier ride then you need to spend around £25+ each and there is a big range of options depending on your priority, I use a Panaracer RiBMo on the rear as it rides 'skinnier' than it is and has a much thicker tread (the rear wears about twice as fast as the front)and a Conti sport contact up front for the grip.

Strange you mention the city jets I tried them last year and spent too much time trying different tyre pressures to get a decent ride, ended up taking them off and they are still hung up in the shed.

I've got schwalbe racing ralphs on at the moment as found these to be more comfortable on tarmac in 2.1 size yeah a slight drag but nothing too bad but the rear is worn and has got cuts in it from glass and so on.

I would have bought some decent tyres to try out but the rear cassette has recently broke so had to replace this and the chain.

snowster

swod1 wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

Schwalbe city jets as the go to budget option for circa £11 each, for a livelier ride then you need to spend around £25+ each and there is a big range of options depending on your priority, I use a Panaracer RiBMo on the rear as it rides 'skinnier' than it is and has a much thicker tread (the rear wears about twice as fast as the front)and a Conti sport contact up front for the grip.

Strange you mention the city jets I tried them last year and spent too much time trying different tyre pressures to get a decent ride, ended up taking them off and they are still hung up in the shed.

I've got schwalbe racing ralphs on at the moment as found these to be more comfortable on tarmac in 2.1 size yeah a slight drag but nothing too bad but the rear is worn and has got cuts in it from glass and so on.

I would have bought some decent tyres to try out but the rear cassette has recently broke so had to replace this and the chain.

Strange had these on my mtb for last 12 months over 2000miles and never any problem and find the ride alot smoother than racing ralphs far to much drag for my liking...and bloody hard work

markhewitt1978

swod1 wrote:

I've looked at many bikes Hoy, Boardman up to around £700 and come across this bike which is based on a 29er mtb.

Is there any particular reason you're looking at flat barred hybrids? For that price you could get a Boardman road bike or cyclocross bike which would be ideal for commuting on the road.

supersonic

People sometimes prefer the ergonomics of the flat bar shifting and wider bars. And the 'hybrids' are often better value and lighter, and not any slower.

The Rookie

^^^ This, the riding position on my Hybrid is similar to riding on the hoodz of a road bike anyway and I prefer the easier control in traffic from flat bars (and they are lighter for both the bars and controls), also the controls are much neater (I'm using a grip shift).

My Hybrid comes in at just 9162g without guards and rack (disc braked) so is hardly lardy either.

markhewitt1978

Which is fine, just IME people who are used to MTB often dismiss the likes of road and CX as being unsuitable without proper consideration.

The Rookie

That's fair enough, and I agree it is better to make a considered decision.

swod1

Resurrecting this thread as even though I've been continuing to commute on my mtb for the last year or so its starting to annoy me due to having to keep buying and replacing bits on my mtb, chains, cassette etc.

I'm currently in the next few weeks rebuilding again my mtb onto a full suspension frame so this is now going to be not suitable for the ride to work n back and will need to look at a bike soley for traveling to work on.

I see pinnacle are still doing the lithium and wonder is this bike going to be ok to ride on the road and then in decent weather along rough bridleways and canal paths?

I've looked at a few and always seem to be coming back to this pinnacle bike, due to the wide tyre clearance and mtb geometry as I'm thinking to stick some wide ish cyclo cross tyres on it better grip over off road tracks.

Not many hybrids are rigid though and I'm looking to avoid suspension if I can as I will be riding in all weathers to make the bike easier to maintain.

Does this sound like a good option, how do cyclocross tyres roll on tarmac?

The Rookie

Have a look at the Voodoo Marasa at Halfords, very good value, tyres are very heavy though and it really responds to some better tyre as for road use, my Nephew uses 32mm on his and does some decent long distance road rides.

swod1

The Rookie wrote:

Have a look at the Voodoo Marasa at Halfords, very good value, tyres are very heavy though and it really responds to some better tyre as for road use, my Nephew uses 32mm on his and does some decent long distance road rides.

Strange you should mention this bike I have looked at it on the website but unfortunately my local Halfords haven't got any in stock.

I was thinking also about future upgrades are these types of bikes easy to upgrade with like a carbon fork etc?

My current mtb will most likely be seeing 1x11 xt soon so I will have xt 10spd to add to any hybrid bike I end up with.

The Rookie

Very easy to upgrade, all standard MTB stuff, so you can fit a carbon or lightweight alloy fork and your old MTB drivetrain, you may find with a commute you can go to 1x gearing due to the predictable nature of the route, mine runs 1x9 with a 12-28 cassette.