WCoastPeddler

Yup, that's the one -- it's actually a single car road until it joins with Stanley Park Drive (just before Prospect Point). You do have to watch it going down that hill though, as the police sometimes have radar traps set up there.

meanwhile

So, restricting to this to the facts, your fork DOESN'T have anti-dive braking. In fact until a few moments ago you had no idea that such a concept existed and now you're wondering what it means...

And no, that you like your hybrid doesn't mean that the design is good. Lots of people with limited experience, education, intelligence and ability think that bad things are good - especially when they have invested cash in them.

No, I'm telling you that your personal preferences are not the same as absolute quality. Really. I've ridden bikes with good suspension systems instead of the cheap ones added to sell bikes to idiots; I have a physics degree and can understand bike and suspension design papers; I've talked with bike designers.

Buying a suspension system without anti-dive braking is NOT an example of smartness!

Grow up. Having an opinion that means that you have wasted money and acted foolishly is not "arrogant". And the point of this thread is to give the OP advice, so giving said advice can hardly be unnecessary. The point of this thread is NOT to validate your decisions as a consumer.


Yes, but what you think doesn't matter.


I'd say "Any of those you listed". None of the manufacturers would warranty those bikes for the same duty Surly will for a KM.

Then why are you replying? And as your post is based on nothing but personal opinions, don't you feel rather stupid?

qmsdc15

If you know my comments are not directed to you, why do you reply to them? Meanwhile has been contributing some very good info to this forum. Branding it as misinformation is not helpful.

WCoastPeddler

Whatever. You guys are the reason the internet is flawed. I wish I was as smart as the two of you.

meanwhile

Let's see: you agreed that the OP needed a wide tyre option, suggested the Sirrus, and now you're whining because I pointed out that the Sirrus can't take wide tyres.

So I would say the answer to "How did you get so smart?" is by reading the spec sheet before opening my mouth. People who talk about things without knowing the facts end up looking dumb. RTFM, hmm?

WCoastPeddler

LOL. Hey smart guy, where did I recommend the Sirrus to the OP? I did say that he should check them out, but I didn't recommend any particular bike.

Perhaps you should spend some time reading posts and you'd be even smarter.

meanwhile

I'd start small by wishing that you were as smart as just one of us...

If you were, you might have read the MTB forum faq and discovered that decent suspension forks cost as much as your bike does and even why. Or you might have asked why a Moulton, the definitive suspension system road bike, is such a radical re-design, instead of merely using a shorter travel version of an MTB fork. Or you might have asked why $4000 tourers don't use a fork like your hybrid's, or why $10,000 Roubaix racers don't - because these are all bikes that would benefit hugely from such forks if they worked better than a wider tyre! They don't, because tyres do a better job of soaking up shock at less cost (in the cash and engineering trade off sense) and cheap forks like your's mess up braking and turning - no anti-dive remember? - as well as slowing a bike down.

Suspension is great - but it needs doing right, and just adding a spring to a simple fork design is NOT how it should be done! Sorry: you bought the wrong bike. Deal with it.

WCoastPeddler

Well, obviously, I have a long, long way to go to be as smart as you. Thanks for trying though.

WCoastPeddler

I didn't buy the wrong bike. I'm completely happy with it because it does exactly what it's supposed to do. And it does it well. Very well. I've ridden it for more than a couple thousand kilometres and it's worked flawlessly. It absorbs bumps and rough stuff, it's very fast, and the brakes work very, very well.

What I can't understand is why you think I should be unhappy. If you don't like my bike, tough bananas Pal -- quite frankly, your opinion after this little exchange, means nothing to me.

Panthers007

The 'Report' button is starting to attract my fingertips - <koff> Gentlemen.

meanwhile

Nice weaseling skills... Not!

Or are you saying that you agreed that the OP needed a bike with wide tyre capability (which you insist that you did) and then recommended that he should "check out" the Sirrus, which doesn't, in the hope that he'd buy the wrong bike? Saying that someone should "check out" a bike isn't a recommendation? Really? You're deliberately telling people to look at random bikes, poor bikes, death traps, over-priced junk? You're just making yourself look even sillier - which does take some skill and determination, I'll grant.

This thread isn't about you. I'm sure that you find yourself fascinating, but the rest of us aren't that interested. You feel that I have diminished you somehow by saying that I doubt the marvelousness of cheap suspension forks - well, sucks boo. Sometimes people on the Internet say things you don't agree with. Again, deal with it. Don't de-rail the thread. If you want to argue the usefulness of cheap suspension forks, go to the MTB forum where people will be glad both to mock you and to explain what the effect of forks with no anti-dive can be if you need to full-on brake.

WCoastPeddler

ROFLMAO. This is too much fun.

qmsdc15 -- perhaps you could stop deleting your posts after others have responded to them? It's rude.

Meanwhile, it's a bicycle, not the space shuttle. The forks on my bike do a fine job of taking the bumps out of the ride -- I know this because when I lock them out, the ride becomes much more harsh and I feel the pounding of tire against the terrain coming through to my hands. When I activate the suspension, the harshness goes away. Works for me. Not sure why this isn't good enough for you and I really don't care if it's not the most efficient or best way to achieve the goal because it works without spending a gazillion dollars and is much more comfortable than a rigid fork. And as I said above, I don't understand why you think I should be unhappy -- I have fun with my bikes and don't sit there obsessing about whether or not I've got anti-dive technologies (of which I am quite familiar with, Einstein) because quite frankly, it's really not all that important -- as I said, it's a bicycle, not the space shuttle.

The result is that I have a bike that rides very well and is fun. If you don't get that, then the only other thing worth saying to you is "phoooot".

c8user@aol.com

OK, let me throw this out there. I think the original poster asked what was the best hybrid for him. I never read what type of riding surface he was planning to ride on.I have a Trek 7.5 FX that I would never ride on our local bike path. The path is a type of pea gravel and the tires on the 7.5 FX would dig in and be uncontrollable. On the path I have a Trek Navigator 3.0. with 26X2.0 tires a truly comfort bike. Rides great on the pea gravel. On the level path I usually average 12-14 MPH.

MorganRaider

C8 brings up a good point. Don't limit yourself to one bike. If you want to hang with the roadies, get a lighter bike with narrower tires. Spend the $ on the bike you will ride the most. Buy used or keep what you have for the other.

Try the fit on different brands and make sure you get one that is comfortable. Consider the value you get for the components on the bike. Investigate how well a brand (and LBS) backs it's warranty. I have heard TREK does a good job on component for $ and backing their warranties. I have not looked at other brands so that's not to say they are not just as good.

If your riding out in KS, wind is probably your biggest enemy for speed. You might try getting some bar-ends, angling them down so you can get low.

Good luck.

WCoastPeddler

I've got 37mm tires on my bike and it handles fine in hard-packed finely crushed rock paths. Having said this, I rode on a freshly constructed path made with the same crushed rock that was not yet packed down, and it was quite difficult. With my mountain bike it was no problem. After a couple of months, the path was hardened a bit from traffic and rain, and I had no problem on it with my 37mm tires.

I did some web searching on the Bontrager SSR rims that are on the 7.5FX and they don't get stellar reviews for strength or durability. I'd probably not select that rim, even with a wider tire, for riding off road (even on light trails).

I agree with MorganRaider, check out other bikes as well and select one (or two) that fit your needs -- based on fit, and purpose.

Wanderer

I agree about the suspension fork. Not for everyone, but definitely for me.

Mine is a full lock out version, which I use a lot, but it sure is nice to get a plusher ride when the going is harsh. The ease of the selection is another plus. Just flip a lever within easy reach.

Sure, it's not for downhill mountain use, but mine gets used for utility work, MUP's (paved,, hard packed gravel, hard packed aglime, occasional looser gravel,) an occasional gravel country road, and regular pavement. I use a 35 for a front tire, and a 40 in the rear, to get quicker more precise steering, and a better ride with the wider on the back.)

Hybrids rock!

If I didn't want the suspension, I'd lean toward the Sirrus, with it's stock 32mm tires (maybe with room for wider.) And, I'd spend as much as I could afford...... LOL Lots of choices in that line.

Saddle Up

@meanwhile. Anti dive braking? LOL. Dude really??

Seems to me you don't like hybrid bikes.

Again anti dive braking!! That's hilarious.

wunderkind

fack roadies. Why hang with them when you can blow them over and over and over again in a



Woops! wrong forum.

I checked out the Kona Dew series at our LBS. Personally I think the base Dew is the hybrid with it's simpler rigid forks and disc-less brakes. It is also lighter therein and will likely be the fastest of the series. Although Dews are not a light bike such as a Devinci Oslo or Marin Fairfax.

sh00k

^ flip the stem! get 28mm tires! hybriditize / hybridify your ride!

LOLOL.