FolsomJohn

Are you currently using clipless pedals on your hybrid? If not you might want to get some for your current bike (you can install them on new bike later) and get used to using them on a bike you are already familiar with riding because you are certainly going to want them on a road bike to keep up with the group.

TiHabanero

If your body will accommodate the road bike body position, do it. You will not regret it. If not, don't be tempted to go to a tire less than 32mm on the comfort bike as so much weight is being supported by the rear and you will have tire/flat issues, if not rim problems. The rear wheel needs to have tall side walls and extra width due to supporting so much body weight.

There is absolutely no way to make a comfort bike go with the ease of a road bike unless drop bars are added, a wheel change is made, and gearing is rearranged. I have played with this for some time and decided some comfort bikes can be made into effective touring bikes, but will never equal a roadie bike. Most comfort bikes have jacked up geometry due to those stupid rubber bumper/spring forks that make conversion to a rode bike less than effective.

badger1

My "comfort bike":

MRT2

More aerodynamic than I am with my drop bar bike.

TiHabanero

The Sirrus is not a comfort bike as referenced in this thread. It is likely very comfortable for you, though! Cannondale Quick models are similar in form to the Sirrus. Really, they are flat bar touring bikes, ie, day bikes. Good choice for someone who does not care for the typical drop bar.

rck

No law states that you can't have and ride both types.

David Bierbaum

Indeed. The Cult of N+1 is the prevailing religion on these forums, with a large following of fervent believers.

badger1

Reasonably efficient (in aero. terms), though could be improved slightly with a narrower bar!

BTW, I would imagine your Salsa is much the prettier! I have always preferred and will always prefer the look of drop-bar road bikes. I suffer the aesthetic limitations of my bike for the sake of my physiological limitations!

badger1

In a sense, that was kind of my point. I understand what a 'comfort bike' is; the OP doesn't ride one. He rides a Sirrus disc -- a flat-bar road bike. These do vary, ranging from full-on 'road endurance/race' geometry (e.g. '14 Sirrus Pro), to light touring/day ride/audax, to something suitable for loaded touring -- just like their drop-bar siblings. My older Sirrus (2010) falls somewhere between my first two (admittedly crudely-defined) categories, the OP's (if it's a recent/current model) squarely in that middle category.

Changing to a drop-bar bike might certainly yield some gains (contingent on whether or not he finds drops more comfortable than what he has in general, and whether or not he can actually take advantage of the aerodynamic efficiency afforded by the drop position specifically), but those gains will be marginal for a recreational cyclist -- even a serious one. Racing is a different matter.

tcs

Once financial obligations to family and society are met, this one is pretty much a no brainer.

"There are in fact distinctly different 'ordinary' uses of a bicycle, and ideally the enthusiastic cyclist needs at least three different machines." Reginald C. Shaw, Teach Yourself Cycling, 1953

TiHabanero

..."the OP doesn't ride one. He rides a Sirrus disc..." Oops! missed that little detail. For sure, throw a set of drop bars and a stem on it along with the proper brake levers for cable pull and go with it.

Fortunately for me, my wife agrees with the N+1 method as evidenced in my shop at home. One for every occasion keeps me riding and happy.

BluesDawg

That path is not likely to lead to a satisfying result as a correctly sized flat bar bike will have a longer top tube than a road bike sized to fit the same person.

Lars Halstrom

When you live in a condo, room is at a premium plus I can use the resale money for extras too. Yes I agree though, that ideally I should have 2 bikes.

Lars

wthensler 

Thee are tons of road bikes with relaxed geometry that'll provide comfort on long rides. Though I am 'only' 56, I enjoy the thrill of a smoother faster ride, so both my machines are road bikes - a Giant Dedy Advanced and a Trek Domane. Maybe someday I'll be ready for a different type of ride. But for now, I'm a happy camper cruising at 20 mph on the paved trails and roads of Gainesville, FL. It's all in the fit.a well fitting road bike with the geometry you need will convince you that road biking can be fun and relaxing.

Gerryattrick

I must admit to getting confused about bike definitions. In my simple way I see a road bike as one designed for roads rather than tracks/off-road, and they can have either flat or drop bars (or even TT bars), but must never have suspension. Road bikes will have different purposes such as racing, touring, or just leisure and, as such, will have different designs/geometry/bars/brakes etc. Innovations in bike design/technology mean that "road" is not enough to define a bike.


YMMV

Garfield Cat

You're doing it right. Test ride and it seems you are game for a new road bike. Just go up higher on Specialized and you will feel the lower weight difference and better handling. Spend the money before its too late.

Retro Grouch 

Oh yeah! The bike manufacturers keep inventing new gen're of bikes that slice the pie ever more narrowly. Sometimes the names that they call these new classes even overlap. I think that you have to see and ride the bike and decide for yourself how well it matches what you pictured yourself riding.

jimmuller 

For those of us who never progressed beyond steel frames a road bike would be defined as having a drop bar, skinny tires, and derailleur gears. And probably something other than plain platform-type pedals. That's sort of the baseline for going any great distance easily, and roads are meant to carry us great distances.

A drop bar can be very comfortable if set up right. Skinny tires have low rolling resistance. Gears? Well, every road has hills, except in Florida, Illinois, and a few other places.

An urban bike would replace the drop bar with a flat bar so the rider is higher up, can see and be seen. It's less aero, but in a city you don't spend so much time going faster.

Off-road bikes are a totally different beast.

What else is there to know?

Fred Smedley

True , but If I had to choose which bike I'd rather had fall over in the garage (cosmetics aside), it would not be the carbon, same reason I will not buy a carbon MTB , chances are at some point it's going to see a side impact. That said, for chip seal, my carbon bike is my choice, but only by a little.

Retro Grouch 

Fixed it for you.

sknhgy 

Can't you just ride with a slower group?

gif4445

Doesn't matter if it is common or not. You are tired of the hybrid and you want to go fast. Get the best bike you can afford and have some fun!! I had a hybrid and wanted to go faster. So I got a Trek 1.2 (Road Aluminum). Wanted to do some touring and needed something a little more comfortable. So I bought a Surly LHT (Road Steel and heavy). Felt the urge to go faster, but wanted some comfort. Bought a Specialized Roubaix Elite. (Carbon Road) Love the last two bikes for what they each can do and I don't really care what others think. I ride whatever fits the mood and situation.

Lars Halstrom

Yes, that's about the way I see it too. But it's nice to hear others have faced this fork in the road and what they have done about it.

Lars

badger1

Couldn't agree more.

OP, decide whether you prefer drop bars to flat bars, or the converse, and buy accordingly.

Having said that, one final contribution (just to add a little perspective). Cycling Plus recently (February '14 issue) ran an article reporting the results of an informal test. They were comparing their (the testers') times around a 50 mile sportive course in England -- one that included a couple of vicious climbs and corresponding descents -- on two drop-bar 'endurance' bikes and two current flat-bar road bikes. All carbon, and roughly equivalent in spec/weight. The test was informal, but they tried to control by using heart-rate (i.e. same effort all around).

They found the results surprising; I saw them as being exactly what one would expect. The drop-bar bikes were slightly faster (5 to 10 minutes over 50 miles) around the course. What surprised them was that the gap was so low, and that they were actually slightly faster on the climbs on the flat-bar bikes. They attributed the latter to the easier breathing/more relaxed and 'open' position afforded by the slightly higher/wider bars. Conversely, the drop-bar bikes were definitely faster on the descents. One would expect this: provided one can utilize the drops when descending, the more aero/lower centre of gravity position is obviously more efficient. The same would be true on the flat if headwinds were encountered.

My conclusion: at the recreational level (which is certainly me, and pretty much all of us on a forum like this), there's very little to choose between the two 'types' of road bike (yes, road bike) in terms of real world performance over distance. Drop-bars, if one likes them and can use the 'aero' opportunities afforded by them, will permit a slight increase in overall speed for a given effort; flat-bars, especially if properly set-up on a road bike designed for them, will inevitably be slightly slower (over distance) than drops (if one can use the aero positions on drops), but give slightly more control/vision in urban settings and possibly make climbing a little easier.

So, back to the OP: buy what you are most comfortable with, and have at it!

David Bierbaum

Or you could sing my song, which I call "The MUP of Broken Pavement!"

"I ride alone I ride alone. My shadow's the only one who drafts off me..."