Originally Posted by
merlinextraligh
I think you're making an assumption that's not necessarily valid; i.e. that the hybrid bike will be more comfortable. There's no reason that a road bike properly fit to you can't be comfortable. You can set up the position on the road bike to make it as upright as you want it to be.
And if you plan on doing rides longer 10 miles or so, you're likely to find that the hybrid bike, with only one hand position is actually less comfortable than the road bike which offers multiple hand positions.
So it really comes down to how you see yourself using the bike. If you're doing one hour rides on the bike path, the hybrid will be fine.
If you see yourself going out for 25-40 mile rides, , and evolving into to riding with groups or doing organized rides, odds are high you'll quicly regret buying the hybrid.
And that right there is what concerns me. Right now 10 miles seems like a lot and it is. But my long term goal is more miles.
Also, I am really looking forward to try a properly fitted bike. When I got my bike in the 70's, I don't even remember fitting. It's a woman's, and I'm assuming the smaller of the sizes. I'm probably right around 5 feet these days. I never really found it comfortable and can't wait to see how today's bikes will feel. My first visit to the bike shop, the sales person asked the basic questions and determined the Hybrid was right for me. But I'm trying to look ahead a bit