Road Hybrids

mark206000

Hi

Just started into cycling again and am looking to get a road orientated hybrid. I'm just using a full sus mtb with semi slicks at the minute.

I should be able to get cycle to work, but the shop stocks Merida only. Had a look at the Merida Speeder 200 2016 which I quite like the look of at £624. Would cost me about £450 via C2W scheme

Was also looking at the Boardman Hybrid Comp at £499, just to buy myself if C2W didn't work out.

Is there much difference between these two bike really, is the Merida worth the extra ?

Thanks for any help !

Mark

mcstumpy

I would also consider Btwin 520 or 540 flat bar. The latter has full tiagra 4600 and carbon forks. It's the same frame as the drop bar version so is very road oriented.

Sleeper Service

Around the £500 mark (either your own cash or C2W cost) the Boardman Hybrid Comp and Triban 540 are both excellent bikes. I'd probably go for the Triban if that's the upper limit, unless you really want disc brakes.

Bobbinogs

I would stop and have a little think as to why you are opting for a hybrid. If you plan to do a lot of riding on the road then a road bike is ideal for a whole number of reasons but not least the comfort afforded by options for hand placement. A lot of new riders tend to shy away from a full on road bike and go for a hybrid instead... only to end up relegating the hybrid to beer bike status and buying a road bike anyway.

apreading

Having done something in the order of 12,000 miles on a Boardman Hybrid, and recently been forced into replacing it due to a disagreement with the front end of a taxi, I thought I would try drop bars properly. Got £2K worth of carbon road bike with around 500 miles on it now and still wishing I was riding the hybrid. Even after a proper bike fit, I am slower on it and of all the different hand positions on the bars, none of them is remotely as comfortable as the two positions on my hybrid with bar ends, particularly when out of the saddle pushing hard. The bike fit was only a few days ago and has improved things in many, many ways and I want to put another 500 miles on it (around a month) before deciding for sure but so far this has comfirmed my feelings that the hybrid was not holding me back at all and right now I would say it was actually better for climbing.

My recommendation to the OP - get the Boardman but get the team model with carbon forks and better components. The BTwin is very good but hydraulic discs are soo much better.

gimpl

I would suggest that apreading's experience is not the norm. The vast majority of people, myself included, move reasonably quickly with minimum fuss onto drop bars and benefit from the change. Having said that I was simply too fat and inflexible to get on a drop bar bike to start and absolutely loved my Giant Rapid for the first year, great bike and better spec than my mate's Sirrus which cost more too.

mark206000

Thanks for the replies !

If I take up the C2W scheme, the shop that I've to select a bike from only do Merida bikes. They do both road and hybrids tho.

I thought about the road bike. But in all honestly i'm a bit unsure of riding on the road with the way the cars get on. That's why I though a hybrid, so I could stay out of the way a bit if I needed to. I imagine a road bike wouldn't appreciate straying too far from flatness.

I did see a Boardman CX in Halfrauds when I was having a look about, they look interesting.

I'm mainly wanting to use the bike to improve fitness levels, so if it doesn't glide along i'm not so worried at the minute. The full sus mtb is a bit of a push, but the Schwalbe hurricanes have made a fair difference to it tho !

mcstumpy

apreading wrote:

Having done something in the order of 12,000 miles on a Boardman Hybrid, and recently been forced into replacing it due to a disagreement with the front end of a taxi, I thought I would try drop bars properly. Got £2K worth of carbon road bike with around 500 miles on it now and still wishing I was riding the hybrid. Even after a proper bike fit, I am slower on it and of all the different hand positions on the bars, none of them is remotely as comfortable as the two positions on my hybrid with bar ends, particularly when out of the saddle pushing hard. The bike fit was only a few days ago and has improved things in many, many ways and I want to put another 500 miles on it (around a month) before deciding for sure but so far this has comfirmed my feelings that the hybrid was not holding me back at all and right now I would say it was actually better for climbing.

My recommendation to the OP - get the Boardman but get the team model with carbon forks and better components. The BTwin is very good but hydraulic discs are soo much better.

I bought the btwin 540 flat bar last year and converted it to drop bar this year. First few rides after I dipped in performance and worried I'd made a mistake, but now I'm used to the new bars and positions and definitely the right move.

I did a 77k ride last autumn but last 20k my arms and shoulders were aching. Did a 97k ride on Sunday with the drop bars with hardly a twinge

apreading

McStumpy wrote:

I bought the btwin 540 flat bar last year and converted it to drop bar this year. First few rides after I dipped in performance and worried I'd made a mistake, but now I'm used to the new bars and positions and definitely the right move.

I did a 77k ride last autumn but last 20k my arms and shoulders were aching. Did a 97k ride on Sunday with the drop bars with hardly a twinge

Was that because the previous bars werent set up correctly for you though? Did you have bar ends for a change of position or were you just stuck in one place all day? My longest ride was around 190km on my flat bar bike with bar ends and no discomfort whatsoever - I could have ridden longer. Hands seem to constantly be contorted round the different angles of the bars no with drops, unless you are actually in the drops, whereas on the old bike I could get a decent grip with whole hand at one angle in both the flats and on the bar ends. Much more powerful grip on the bar ends when climbing than I can get now on the drops where the fingers are always pointing in different directions and only two can get a proper grip at any one time. I have big hands, maybe if they were smaller I could grip with three fingers rather than two... I am still persevering but some pain in my thumb now since my bike fit - cant say conclusively if it is from the bike but have made a slight adjustment to the bars to see if I can ease it a bit.

lakesluddite

mark206000 wrote:

Thanks for the replies !

If I take up the C2W scheme, the shop that I've to select a bike from only do Merida bikes. They do both road and hybrids tho.

I thought about the road bike. But in all honestly i'm a bit unsure of riding on the road with the way the cars get on. That's why I though a hybrid, so I could stay out of the way a bit if I needed to. I imagine a road bike wouldn't appreciate straying too far from flatness.

I did see a Boardman CX in Halfrauds when I was having a look about, they look interesting.

I'm mainly wanting to use the bike to improve fitness levels, so if it doesn't glide along i'm not so worried at the minute. The full sus mtb is a bit of a push, but the Schwalbe hurricanes have made a fair difference to it tho !

That sounds a bit limiting? Merida or nothing? Which C2W scheme is it that limits your choice so much?

mark206000

Podium4sport is where we can get the bikes from.

I'm not sure what C2W scheme it is yet. It's available bit not signed up as yet, incase a better value bike could be got for the discount price elsewhere.

apreading

That Merida Speeder 200 is a poor spec for the money. In the speeder range you have to spend £950 to get carbon forks and decent brakes/drivetrain.

I would actually prefer the Crossway Urban 500 for a little more than the Speeder 200 - it comes with carbon forks, shimano brakes and Deore drivetrain - its a mountain bike drivetrain but that may not be a big issue at the speeds you will be doing to start with. http://podium4sport.com/merida-crossway ... blue-decal

They do a nice enough road bike in your price range though, even comes with decent R501 wheels: http://podium4sport.com/merida-ride-300 ... -red-decal

Sleeper Service

Gimpl wrote:

I would suggest that apreading's experience is not the norm. The vast majority of people, myself included, move reasonably quickly with minimum fuss onto drop bars and benefit from the change.

While anecdotes are wonderful, I'm not sure if this is true or not. For example, after using two drop handlebar bikes for five years - a Cannondale Touring and a Specialized Tricross - I sold them as I was getting slightly arthritic fingers, which made braking and gear changing awkward, and bought a cheapo Carrera Subway One for commuting. To be honest, I much preferred the more upright position and feel, so when I wanted something faster I bought a Boardman Hybrid Team. I can categorically say that it's the bike I've enjoyed riding the most out of any of them, even if I did have some reservations at first. Like apreading, I've put bar ends on it, as well as replacing the saddle with a Charge Spoon.

I'm not sure I'd ever go back to drops now, even the SRAM or Campagnolo equipped ones which don't aggravate my fingers like Shiman's STI system does. Every time I look at a new bike and think "Ooh! That's nice", I ask myself if it's better for me than what I have. The answer is always no. In addition, I find the slightly more upright position of the flat bar much better for city riding, as the field of vision is better.

Again YMMV, but a drop bar isn't always going to be the best choice, and folk shouldn't assume that it is.

gimpl

Sleeper Service wrote:

Gimpl wrote:

I would suggest that apreading's experience is not the norm. The vast majority of people, myself included, move reasonably quickly with minimum fuss onto drop bars and benefit from the change.

While anecdotes are wonderful, I'm not sure if this is true or not. For example, after using two drop handlebar bikes for five years - a Cannondale Touring and a Specialized Tricross - I sold them as I was getting slightly arthritic fingers, which made braking and gear changing awkward, and bought a cheapo Carrera Subway One for commuting. To be honest, I much preferred the more upright position and feel, so when I wanted something faster I bought a Boardman Hybrid Team. I can categorically say that it's the bike I've enjoyed riding the most out of any of them, even if I did have some reservations at first. Like apreading, I've put bar ends on it, as well as replacing the saddle with a Charge Spoon.

I'm not sure I'd ever go back to drops now, even the SRAM or Campagnolo equipped ones which don't aggravate my fingers like Shiman's STI system does. Every time I look at a new bike and think "Ooh! That's nice", I ask myself if it's better for me than what I have. The answer is always no. In addition, I find the slightly more upright position of the flat bar much better for city riding, as the field of vision is better.

Again YMMV, but a drop bar isn't always going to be the best choice, and folk shouldn't assume that it is.

So you use your anecdote to counter mine - weird!

I'm simply basing my opinion on the majority of posts that I have read on here over the years. Lots of people (like me) start of on a hybrid or flat bar road bike and migrate to drops and prefer the multiple positions. You hear that far more often than your's and apreading's tale so I stick by my opinion, you are not the norm.

gimpl

apreading wrote:

McStumpy wrote:

I bought the btwin 540 flat bar last year and converted it to drop bar this year. First few rides after I dipped in performance and worried I'd made a mistake, but now I'm used to the new bars and positions and definitely the right move.

I did a 77k ride last autumn but last 20k my arms and shoulders were aching. Did a 97k ride on Sunday with the drop bars with hardly a twinge

Was that because the previous bars werent set up correctly for you though? Did you have bar ends for a change of position or were you just stuck in one place all day? My longest ride was around 190km on my flat bar bike with bar ends and no discomfort whatsoever - I could have ridden longer. Hands seem to constantly be contorted round the different angles of the bars no with drops, unless you are actually in the drops, whereas on the old bike I could get a decent grip with whole hand at one angle in both the flats and on the bar ends. Much more powerful grip on the bar ends when climbing than I can get now on the drops where the fingers are always pointing in different directions and only two can get a proper grip at any one time. I have big hands, maybe if they were smaller I could grip with three fingers rather than two... I am still persevering but some pain in my thumb now since my bike fit - cant say conclusively if it is from the bike but have made a slight adjustment to the bars to see if I can ease it a bit.

On my old Rapid I did have bar ends and like you at 6'4" I too have pretty big hands (I actually think that helps wrap around the levers). Also did quite a few 100k's on the Rapid too. Didn't experience any of the issues that you seem to be having moving across to a Defy but did go for a full Retul bike fit before using it in anger so maybe that made a difference.

craker

mark206000 wrote:

I thought about the road bike. But in all honestly i'm a bit unsure of riding on the road with the way the cars get on. That's why I though a hybrid, so I could stay out of the way a bit if I needed to. I imagine a road bike wouldn't appreciate straying too far from flatness.

That doesn't equate. Drop bars vs. Straight bars doesn't make any difference to how a bike gets on off road. Think about tyre widths and number of spokes for that sort of thing.

Anecdotally, [ ;-) ] everyone I work with who bought a hybrid has now upgraded to a drop bar roadie. Apart from Nick who has gone the other way and gone electric.

lakesluddite

mark206000 wrote:

Podium4sport is where we can get the bikes from.

I'm not sure what C2W scheme it is yet. It's available bit not signed up as yet, incase a better value bike could be got for the discount price elsewhere.

I guess you are NI based then?

Having a scan of the Podium4sport website, they do say that 'We have a great range of Bikes at 40 Montgomery Road and online including Merida and Trek'.

So you may have a greater range to choose from if you visit their shop?

Sleeper Service

Gimpl wrote:

So you use your anecdote to counter mine - weird!

I'm simply basing my opinion on the majority of posts that I have read on here over the years. Lots of people (like me) start of on a hybrid or flat bar road bike and migrate to drops and prefer the multiple positions. You hear that far more often than your's and apreading's tale so I stick by my opinion, you are not the norm.

Nope. I specifically mention I don't know if your statement is true or not. I'm just not assuming that the OP's needs will be better met by a drop handlebar road bike given his stated nervousness about riding on the road. Then again, something like a Boardman CX might be just the job. Who knows?

The best ting to do would be to try a few bikes out. Even if he buys a flat handlebar bike it can always be sold later.

gimpl

Sleeper Service wrote:

Gimpl wrote:

So you use your anecdote to counter mine - weird!

I'm simply basing my opinion on the majority of posts that I have read on here over the years. Lots of people (like me) start of on a hybrid or flat bar road bike and migrate to drops and prefer the multiple positions. You hear that far more often than your's and apreading's tale so I stick by my opinion, you are not the norm.

Nope. I specifically mention I don't know if your statement is true or not. I'm just not assuming that the OP's needs will be better met by a drop handlebar road bike given his stated nervousness about riding on the road. Then again, something like a Boardman CX might be just the job. Who knows?

The best ting to do would be to try a few bikes out. Even if he buys a flat handlebar bike it can always be sold later.

Actually yes as you specifically state, 'While anecdotes are wonderful, I'm not sure if this is true or not. For example....'.

No-one has assumed anything, just given an opinion most of which, including yours is anecdotal .

Sleeper Service

Gimpl wrote:

No-one has assumed anything, just given an opinion most of which, including yours is anecdotal .

Quite so.

Also, I wish I hadn't mentioned the Bordman CX. It's got £150 off it just now and looks lovely...

Hmm.

mason5697

Hi. I bought a boardman team hybrid in January. £500. 2015 model. I think halfords still do that model as well as the 2016. It's a great bike. Was nailing regular 17-18 mph averages over longer runs on it. Even had a 20mph one day. It's very similar to a roadie. Can't fault it. If you can get a decent discount, then that may be better than bike to work.

I Ended up buying a road bike end of April tho and never looked back. But it's down to personal preference. Went for a 2016 giant propel advanced pro 2. it's a great bike and really fast. But I still have quite a lot of strava pb's that I got on the hybrid. so the hybrid can still be good.

My advice would be to try a few bikes and see what you like. And money wise, I would get an interest free credit card and haggle for a discount. I got a much better saving on my road bike, pedals and shoes, than I would have done by using cycle to work. Local bike shops can do great discounts. I also got £60 off the boardman by asking in halfords. Free cup holder and free lights.

mark206000

Got the details of the C2W scheme and it looks a fairly good deal actually.

We get 18% of the in shop price of the bike before it goes into the scheme, so it works out at about 50% off in total with the two. In shop prices same as online.

Was just going to buy the Boardman Hybrid Comp in Halfords, it's about £425 at the minute. But it would make more sense just to go into the C2W scheme now.

So I'll probably go for the Merida Speeder, either 300 or 500. 500 is £949, and would cost me £530 in the end, so that's good.

Going to stick with the flat bars with some bar ends !

Thanks for the help so far