Canuckrider

Hi, new to the forum so please bear with me. I am in the market for a new bike for general recreational use and light touring. Most of the designated 'touring bikes' seem to come with drop handles which I do not find comfortable and I am looking for something with a flat handle bar.
For background, I have done some longer touring back in the day (parts of Australia, New Zealand and Europe) as well as shorter credit card tours in recent years. I am 50+ and looking to doing more trips as semi retirement approaches but will likely keep the load light ie rear panniers & handlebar bag only. I am 5'8", 130 lbs in case that is a factor.
Besides flat bar handles, some other features I have been looking at are: 3 chain ring for low gearing on hills, longer chainstay for heel clearance on rear panniers; lighter weight since I don't plan on being fully loaded, yet still durable for recreational riding on trails/paths; disk brakes? - I like the idea of them but have no experience with them. Wheels - 700 x 32?
Other components - suggestions? Since I hope to use this bike a lot in the coming years, I am willing to purchase higher quality parts (within reason)
So, is a performance hybrid the way to go? Some of the ones I have been reading about are the Specialized Sirrus models, the Giant Escape, Brodie Energy, Devinci Oslo, Kona Dew & Trek Fx series. Any comments on these brands or other suggestions welcomed.
Thank you
(I have also posted this in the touring thread, hope that is ok)

jbchybridrider 

G,day mate. What terrain are you most likely to see ? Hybrids come in different flavours, a bit more on road and a bit more off road. Example the Giant escape is more for the road and the Giant roam is more off road. I would be looking at the road oriented for light loads on more flat terrain and the more off road hybrid for hilly terrain and heavier loads because the gearing will be easier on you.
Don't count out a 29er mtb, I believe the gearing is fast enough and better on hills and should have stronger more reliable wheels, just change the tires to suit.

I spotted this at a recent bike show.

mrtuttle04

You may want to take a look at the Trek Verve line. Like you I am 50+, do some light touring and climb an occasional hill. I aM very happy with my Verve putting on 2200 miles last year. What I like most is the upright sitting position.

Canuckrider

G'day to you too. Thanks for the response. I think I am leaning more towards the on road style. My recreational riding is more along paths and dirt roads, no major off road use and when touring I try to keep the load light and on pavement. Hills don't worry me as long as I have a nice granny gear which is why I want a 3 chain ring.

Canuckrider

Thanks, I will check it out.

DowneasTTer

If you are open to a 20 speed I personally know of a couple of models that fit the rest of your criteria as I own them. They are both high end Giant Escapes. If you can find one a 2013 Escape RX 0 is a very nice machine. Light, fast, has rack mounts, etc. I posted a thread last year about them. You can read about it here: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...X-0?highlight=. I still have mine but last month I purchased this years' s carbon fibre version, Giant Escape RX Composite, it's only carbon fibre frame that I have found includes rack mounts. There have been a few posts about them here's mine: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...(s)?highlight=. Good luck with what ever bike you choose.

Canuckrider

Thanks, I will check it out. The Escape RX seems like it is an upgrade from the Escape O but it doesn't have the triple chain ring I want. But maybe they could change it out?
ultimately I may be limited by what I can actually GET at the LBS but I think I'm getting a better idea of what to look for.

khutch

The only touring I do is RAGBRAI and that isn't really touring since support vehicles carry my gear. But a road/performance hybrid certainly makes a good long distance ride, mine is a 2009 Fuji Absolute 1.0. A quick look at their current lineup says their top of the line models have dual chainrings geared a bit higher than the triple on my bike but the lower models still have triples. Last year was my first full RAGBRAI and I only used the granny ring for the one named hill, Mockingbird, but I used the full range of the other two gears a lot the first few days. By the end of the week though I was using only the big ring and by Saturday only the top five gears of the rear cluster. If you do enough of it the need for a triple will diminish and I have orbited the Sun more than 60 times, btw. I absolutely cannot stand a flat bar past about 20 miles. Not saying you should go with drops. You might want something else in the long run. A lot of people like trekking or butterfly bars. I eventually settled on the Jeff Jones Loop H Bar. They are both good options that will fit flat bar bikes and their mountain bike shifters and break levers. Just keep that in mind and don't panic if your flat bars disappoint you in the long run.

Lanovran

If you do decide to check out Trek's FX line, then I'd recommend the 7.4 Disc based on what you're looking for.

Canuckrider

Thanks, will do. Somehow I had missed the disc model. It looks promising.