Originally posted by booey
Does it really make that much more of a difference riding the city with a hybrid or road bike?
From my experience, I would say "yes". Riding in the city I average at least 20% faster on my road bike than my mountain bike, probably more like 30% faster.
If you've never ridden a road bike, it may take some getting used to. I've always ridden road bikes. I never even owned a mountain bike until a few years ago when I figured it was time to find out what the mountain bike thing was all about. I like the mountain bike, and actually ride it about twice as often as the road bike. But, for speed, it doesn't come close to the road bike. When I ride the road bike, I pretty much stay on the pavement. A road bike is built for the road. Hence the name.
If I ride the road bike, then switch to the mountain bike (or vice versa), the difference is pretty startling.