Newbie - Flat Bar or Hybrid

[Kalgrm]

Oi! I don't pick on your bike...

Why not? Everyone else does!!!

They're all just bikes. Have fun, no matter what you're riding. And if you aren't having fun it's a good excuse to add to the stable .....

Cheers,
Graeme

[Kalgrm]

Here is the range of flat-bar roadies that Giant make (called CRX). They have rigid forks, 25 or 28mm tyres and slightly longer (~10mm) top tubes than the OCR road bikes. They are found in their "Road" section of the site.

Here is a "Lifestyle" bike (which I call a hybrid) from Giant. It has suspension forks, suspension seat post, 38mm tyres and a "velocomfort" seat. It is found in their "Lifestyle" bike section, not grouped with either road or mountain bikes. It's a hybrid of the two forms, but not especially suited to either type of riding.

Oh, and sorry MJF. I'm not picking on you. One day you'll jump on a road bike and understand why I've said hybrids aren't that good for road riding. It's nothing personal - just a fact of life.

Cheers,
Graeme

[MJF]

One day you'll jump on a road bike and understand why I've said hybrids aren't that good for road riding. It's nothing personal - just a fact of life.

Cheers,
Graeme

You haven't seen some of the roads I ride on - the main reason I got a hybrid instead of a drop bar tourer for my return to cycling. My Bennett is in the shed, but I don't think it's worth resurrecting, and I want to drop to ~ 100kg before I buy another road bike.

[Mulger bill]

G'Day Michael, welcome.

Going by what you've said, my personal choice of the two bikes you listed would be the Apollo, by the specs listed online you're getting more bang for your buck. It looks like you're planning more fun than commute or shopping trips so go for the lighter faster unit.

Of course, I am not you. Try a test ride on both,preferably on similar paths/roads to what you usually ride. You may well find that one or the other doesn't feel "right" under your bum, while the other makes you feel "YEAH, how bloody good is this!" THAT one will be the bike you want/need/lust after.

Don't be forgettin' to factor in the cost of incidental items, we know you have the helmet, but a decent set of gloves will boost comfort greatly and a basic seatbag with spare tube, tyre levers and patch kit allied with a reasonable minipump should make sure you get home without walking.

Hope this helps you.

Shaun

[MJF]

About time I had on opinion on the post question....

I'd go the Apollo... it's the more suitable of the two for distance riding. A second hand road bike would be better still.

[Dave A]

One day you'll jump on a road bike and understand why I've said hybrids aren't that good for road riding. It's nothing personal - just a fact of life.

....and road bikes are rubbish off the smooth bitumen, its nothing personal - just a fact of life.

[europa]

One day you'll jump on a road bike and understand why I've said hybrids aren't that good for road riding. It's nothing personal - just a fact of life.

....and road bikes are rubbish off the smooth bitumen, its nothing personal - just a fact of life.

Dunno about that, the Black Beast regularly rides on some horrible roads, on gravel and on dirt. She's no cross country mount but she ain't no billiard table pixie neither. Of course, that is due to the steel frame and the delusional idiot who rides her

It's horses for course - somes is more general purposes than others is, and somes is more betterer in their choosed field

Richard

[Kalgrm]

....and road bikes are rubbish off the smooth bitumen, its nothing personal - just a fact of life.

Correct, which is why God invented mountain bikes. "And on the eighth day he hucked ...."

Simple really - road bikes for the road, mountain bikes for the dirt. You won't see Cadel riding his road bike on the dirt, and you won't see him riding his MTB on the TdF.

Cheers,
Graeme

[Dave A]

Dunno about that, the Black Beast regularly rides on some horrible roads, on gravel and on dirt. She's no cross country mount but she ain't no billiard table pixie neither. Of course, that is due to the steel frame and the delusional idiot who rides her

It's horses for course - somes is more general purposes than others is, and somes is more betterer in their choosed field

No argument here Richard, and im only new here, but surely this guys extracting the urine with comments like this:

For me, hybrids are those very upright bikes you see newbies or older people getting around on. They are also called "comfort bikes" by some. They usually have cheap, heavy suspension forks, a cheap and nasty suspension seat post and wide saddles. That's in addition to the wide knobby tyres and the high BB SB was referring to. Basically, a hybrid is a bike that's not good at anything in particular - too slow for commuting, not built for off-road use and too ungainly for touring.

They are comfortable for newbies though .....

And the topic was "flat bar or hybrid" was it not ?

[Kalgrm]

Dave,

You'll probably notice I take the piss a lot. That's just me.

But you'll also notice in this case I haven't strayed from the topic. If the choice is a flat bar roadie over a hybrid for doing 40-60km rides on only road or bike paths (refer to original question), I'll take the flat bar roadie every time!

A hybrid is not built for riding those sorts of distances at speed, which means you'll be in the saddle for a long time, pushing a heavy bike and getting very uncomfortable after 3 hours ....

Cheers,
Graeme

[europa]

Simple really - road bikes for the road, mountain bikes for the dirt. You won't see Cadel riding his road bike on the dirt, and you won't see him riding his MTB on the TdF.

Didn't see many mtbs in the Paris-Roubaix this year

Mind you, I'm happy to accept that is an extreme example, that race is INSANE.

It's simple - the fatter tyred hybrids are set up more for rougher surfaces, the thinner tyred ones are set up more for sealed surfaces. The differences go deeper than that (sitting postion, etc) and to be honest, if they built the things out of steel, they wouldn't have to compensate for the aluminium frames by fitting front suspension.

Is one better than the other? No! Despite them both being all round bikes, they are both aimed at slightly different conditions. This whole area of hybrid, comfort, flat bar, 'anything but racer or mtb' bike, is an illustration of just how specialised our mounts are - how many other areas of activity do you find specialisation within the all rounders?

So choose the bike that's best for you and what you want to do and for those pondering the question, YOU ARE the ONLY one who can determine that (usually six months after buying the thing unfortunately).

Richard

[Dave A]

Dave,
You'll probably notice I take the piss a lot. That's just me.

Graeme, and i love a good forum stoush

My other forum ( non cycling ), that i frequent more often than this one, tends to be quite firey, so im finding the gentle nature of this one quite strange.
But ill try to get used to it.

Dave

[mikesbytes]

My other forum ( non cycling ), that i frequent more often than this one, tends to be quite firey

What forum is that Dave?

[Kalgrm]

Dave,
You'll probably notice I take the piss a lot. That's just me.

Graeme, and i love a good forum stoush

My other forum ( non cycling ), that i frequent more often than this one, tends to be quite firey, so im finding the gentle nature of this one quite strange.
But ill try to get used to it.

Dave

I know what you mean. I like to watch, but rarely do I get involved in a good virtual-punchup. I was watching this oneon MTBR a month ago in utter disbelief. More than 150 posts of people swiping at each other over something they should have been supporting from the outset!

I think, in general, the Aussie based forums tend to be more civilised - something in our collective psyche which makes us more polite to our fellow community members than some overseas sites.

Anyway, back to taking the piss .....

Cheers,
Graeme

[sogood]

My other forum ( non cycling ), that i frequent more often than this one, tends to be quite firey

What forum is that Dave?

For an original taste of real flame war, try rec.travel.air or a politics related group on the Usenet! I suggest putting on your flame proof vest before you enter.

[sogood]

I think, in general, the Aussie based forums tend to be more civilised - something in our collective psyche which makes us more polite to our fellow community members than some overseas sites.

For a good flame source, you need a contentious topic, a few strong minded individuals with clashing views and anonymity... Let the flames begin!

[mikesbytes]

For an original taste of real flame war, try rec.travel.air or a politics related group on the Usenet! I suggest putting on your flame proof vest before you enter.

Got a link?

[sogood]

For an original taste of real flame war, try rec.travel.air or a politics related group on the Usenet! I suggest putting on your flame proof vest before you enter.

Got a link?

It's not a link. It's a service. The easiest for Windoz users to get on is to use Outlook Express and fill in the server and user settings and subscribe to your desired groups. Do a Google on Usenet and find out the server address from your ISP.

[Dave A]

What forum is that Dave?

Err, something very esoteric, and only enjoyed seriously by about 8 other people in the whole country, so im a bit shy about talking about it here

Its an American forum, and besides the shared interest, everything gets discussed from politics, religion, and of course the biggy......................PC v MAC

A similar British forum however stays well clear of controversial topics, rather different than most would have thought

Actually sport kites are my main interest, bikes fill in the gap when i cant fly !

[Dave A]

Didn't see many mtbs in the Paris-Roubaix this year

No doubt the bikes used are the quickest way from A to B, or in this case P to R, but is it the most sensible for guys like me and you

Id be intersted to have a close up of those bikes at the end of the race, what sort of state are they in ?

[gsxrboy]

...everything gets discussed from politics, religion, and of course the biggy......................PC v MAC ]

Oh, no discussion needed there at all, macs rule

Back on topic - ummm bikes ! yeah ! they have round wheels, usually.

[europa]

Oh, no discussion needed there at all, macs rule

Oh gawd, he's admitted to sneaking around in a plastic raincoat

Richard

[sogood]

Oh, no discussion needed there at all, macs rule

+1!

Can't believe there are still people who would bring this topic up for discussion... Errr, on a bike forum.

[Aushiker]

But you'll also notice in this case I haven't strayed from the topic. If the choice is a flat bar roadie over a hybrid for doing 40-60km rides on only road or bike paths (refer to original question), I'll take the flat bar roadie every time!

Agree and I did it (60 km) into a head wind on the way out and a head wind on the way back (not so bad on the way back). It would have been much harder on Joe that is for sure.

Andrew

[europa]

You may never use the drops on a drop bar bike, but the first time you hit a head wind and drop down onto them, you'll bless the day you bought the things.

I still don't understand how you lot find flat bars comfortable - my wrists just don't work that way (bar ends forever )

Richard