I originally posted this on the hybrid forum and they sent me over here so here goes

I am 6.4 and weigh 240. - I have a comfort bike and looking to upgrade to something faster I ride on avg 100 miles + sometimes a 50 mile avg sunday ride my current bike had a lot of issiues with wheels and other componants. Trying to decide between giant rapid or defy or trek 7.2 fx (or 3) or 2009 trek 1.5. That's for bkgrnd. This was my post
I am trying to under stand the diff between a road bike and a hybrid. Is it beacuse it has drop downs that it is a road bike? I look at some bikes example the giant rapid and giant defy the frame is nearly exactly the same maybe a inch diff and one is calles a hybrid and the other a road


The bigger question is that a few lbs talked me out of a road bike seeing I am 6.4 and weigh 240 they tell me it won't hold up as good on the ny roads which are pretty bumby. Is it tru. I mean just because I put drop downs will it suddenly be ore likley to warp the wheels etc.especially seeing on a lpot of hybrids the wheels are just as thin

Lets define our terms:

Road bike - Generally a racing-designed bike with very narrow tires, lightweight wheels 700C (622mm) and frame, drop handlebars, and very little room for a larger tire in the fork or frame, often two chainrings in the front and 10 or 11 cogs in the back
Hybrid bike - Generally heavier-duty bike with upright riding position, wider tires and room for quite wide ones, but the ability to run narrow tires for more speed. Hybrids can be further divided into 'comfort bikes,' 'performance hybrids,' and 'flat bar road bikes.' SOme are very heavy and slow and are hard to improve, some are fast and similar to a road bike except for a more upright riding position.
Touring bike - A road bike with a tougher frame, stronger wheels (hopefully), room for wider tires, and ability to mount racks and bags and otherwise carry heavy loads
Cyclocross bike (CX) - Similar to a road bike but with room to fit larger tires to allow riding on different terrain

These are the general categories as I think of them.
Any one can be suitable for a big guy. THe real advantage of a road bike is ability to go as fast as possible, but the trade off is no ability to adapt for very rough roads or other challenging terrain. If you have plenty of places to ride with fairly smooth roads, then a road bike will be fine. You may have to upgrade the wheels to something stouter than what comes stock on most road bikes, but otherwise they work great.
If you have very rough roads, plan to do a lot of rides on dirt or gravel roads or trails you really need something that will accept a more aggressive or fatter tire. It does not need to be a 'hybrid' - a touring or CX bike will work for this, and they are usually higher quality than the hybrids most lbss carry.

i own the rapid 3, its a great bike. The defy is quite similar and would be considered more comfortable endurance riding road bike. I'm almost your exact size 6'3" and I go between 230 and 250lbs My older brother is 6' 5" and recently bought the defy, and did the MS150 ride in rhode island on it. He is in terrible shape and weighs upwards of 300lbs he hasn't had any problems with the bike.

I would advise you to stay away from the flatbar because it sounds like you do some decent amounts of riding and I think having the option to get in the drops and be a bit more aerodynamic is nice to have.

BTW, I assume by bad roads in new york, you mean NYC specifically which is also where I live. You will want to put some decent tires on it and probably go with 700x28 c tires. I recently built up a 2nd true road bike that is much racier and it can't even fit the 28 tires so I ride on 25's with no issues using continental gatorskins.

Lastly a cyclocross bike is a decent option as well. its setup like a road bike but built to take bigger tires, it's kinda like a racier hybrid. Personally I hate comfort bikes, they usually have crappy grip shifters, mtb gearing that is way to easy for road riding on flat ground and they are usually heavy as all hell.

In my view the general differences are;

Hybrids will have a slightly more relaxed geometry meaning the road bike is a little snappier in handling. Hybrids will be designed to accept wider tires than most road bikes. They will also have loser gearing, more like a mountain bikes. They also generally come with flat bars and many have a fetish for suspension forks and seat posts.

FWIW, I recently purchased a Globe Vienna 2, put a set of Nitto promenade bars on it, and I'm just as fast as I was on my Raleigh Clubman.

Go road. I was in the same situation you are and decided on a hybrid. worked ok for a few months, but i found I wanted more. (I also found out my Trek Hybrid couldn't cut it). Despite having numerous problems - wheels especially, I road the often and the more I did, the more I realized I wanted a roadbike. So I finally sold the hybrid after a little over a year & bought a used Trek roadie. My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. Not o argue with you LarDasse74, butin no way did
I find a hybrid to be "heavy - duty". Infact, one of the reasons I went road was to rid myself of the mechanical issues. The road bike was just far superior. If you find you want to MTB - go buy one. BTW I was your exact size as well - Now down to 226.

How long does your brother have it for? Also any reason you chose the rapid over the defy?

Yes I go from brookly to midtown manhatten so I am sure you know what I mean

I tried one a specialized and found it felt very heavy and not very fast. I was trying the giant rapid at the same time and it felt much faster

I couldn't agree more. I hate my current comfort bike and it is only about a year and a half old and most componanets have broken on this

Which is makeing me weary of buying a road bike as the lbs are telling me it is more likely to not hold up on my weight

Lardasse really nailed it. As long as you are not racing or chasing club riders, a cross or touring bike seems like a good choice. Stock wheels will tend to be tougher, and the frame will allow for fatter tires. But don't be talked out of a road bike if speed is your priority. You just might need to swap out the wheels.

I'm 6'4", 210, and I ride a touring bike most of the time. It's fast enough for riding around on my own, yet tough and versatile. I'll bring out the road bike when I'm trying to keep up with the club riders. The speed difference between those two is not that much. The hybrid, however, is noticeably slower, mostly because of the upright position, which makes you a giant sail.

the frames will not be your problem with a road bike, it will be the wheels. If you can swap out the stock wheels for some 32 or 36 spoke with some good rims (good as in strong, not light) you should be fine.

So it seems from most answers I should look more at the road bike. Is the only concern because of my weight the wheels or is the something else I should worry about?
Also what about componants should I worry if the componants are the lowest level 2200 shimano or will they all basicly be ok

On my comfort I had mtn bike parts and had to change my shifters my peddals. My steering is shot but they say they need to change the whole thing. Also issue with derailers chain and back hub. I don't even want to talk about the wheels. I have to get them trued everry few weeks and had a rim changed already ( base cheap rims)

Wheels will be a the concern I think regardless. When you are our size, it's simply a fact. I've had great luck staying with 32 - 36 spoke hand built rims (700C). Chances are regardless you might have to upgrade. You can simply get a new rear handbuilt to keep costs down. I did on my Trek & it worked fine. 2200 is considered "entry level" for road racing. However, that being said, they function great and are night & day compared to "entry level" shifters on a hybrid.

The short answer is it depends on the bikes. There are some hybrids that are 'better' than some road bikes.

Also, consider what you want out of cycling. If you want to get from Point A to Point B as fast as possible, get a road bike. If you want to see things, such as traffic when commuting and scenery all the time, get a bike that puts you more upright.

BTW, you can see my hybrid on the left of the page below:

https://phillybikeclub.org/newbcp/

KleinSamuel,

I'm piggy backing your thread, I've been to 3 bike shops in 2 days riding road bikes and hybrids. Met two knowledgeable sales people, both who commute to work on bikes. I'm as confused as ever. Rode a Giant Defy today.

Please let us know what you decided and how it worked out.

Oh yeah, I'm 5' 8" and 237 all fat. I'm behind you on mileage but getting there fast.

Thanks in advance!

No problem. I'll let you know when I decide but it dosnt seem like it will be soon. I am totally confused also. I think I will just give some money to a freind and tell him to pick something up for me

I am 6'-3" and weigh 230, I have been riding road bikes for years (+30), no problems. When I built up my first Italian bike in 83 I went with 36 spoke wheels for my weight. I now have bikes with spoke counts as low as 20 per wheel and no problem.

If you are going to ride a lot of long distance, then get a bike with drop handlebars (road, cross or touring), this is for the additional hand positions. Your hands will get tired in one position all day long and having drops has a couple of extra positions. The drops will also provide a more aero position for headwinds.

Now with touring bikes, they will typically have lower gearing (on the high and low end) than than a road bike.

You're buying a bike, not marrying it. Non of this "Til death do you part" stuff.

Make a decision, start riding. Dial in your personal comfortable fit. Maybe you like to have your head up a little higher, etc. Ride it for 6 months or a year. Find out what works for you, and if the bike doesn't make you happy, sell it and get something else. By then you should have a better idea what you want.

You can also add hand positions to a flat bar bike by running bar-ends. That's what I did for my mountain bike, helped out a lot with the hands going numb issue. I also swapped the cassette from the original 11x34 to an 11x27. The gearing change was perfect for the road, I still spin out on the high end a bit too soon but it made the shifts a lot closer together, allowing smaller changes between gears, making it easier to maintain an appropriate cadence. I simply end up treating my bike as a 1x9, riding in the big ring all the time. I also run a set of slick tires, no need for knobbies on roads.

Perhaps you should try something like that first, a new cassette (you will also need a new chain if you do this), some tires (if yours aren't slick to begin with) and some bar ends. Loads cheaper than a new bike.

Also, I respectfully disagree with the notion that flat bar shifters don't work as well as shifters available on drop bar bikes. I'm not a huge fan of grip shifters either, but I used to run them once upon a time and never had any trouble. In fact, I preferred the left side grip shifter to my current rapidfire setup, as it provided two trim positions for the front derailleur, cutting down on a lot of unnecessary chain drag in the front.

There is no drastic performance difference between the shifting on my drop bar bike and my mountain bike. If anything, the mountain bike is a touch better because the groupset is somewhat nicer.

Ok, so I'm looking at a similar decision as you are. My thinking is if you want speed, go with road bike, and if you want more of an utility, versatile bike, go with hybrid.
Hybrid is going to be somewhat slower then road bike, but not by much if it's a light hybrid with drop bars and skinny tires - so that distinction gets blurred a bit as well.

If you ask me it depends on your planned usage of the bike - and since you said that you want to bang off some miles on it, and be quicker doing it, I'd say the road bike would suit you well. As you seem having not so great roads around you, a bit wider tires can help - like 28 mm. Also, get at least 32 spoke wheels, no less, and get your wheels rebuilt and re tensioned at the time you get the bike - that way the wheels have a good chance of lasting a fair amount of time. Since usually machine built wheels are under or over tensioned on some spokes, they sometimes tend to fail on those few spokes prematurely. Having them rebuilt and tensioned properly while they are new and material is not fatigued makes them last a lot longer.

Also riding light and evading the worst potholes helps. But at 240 I don't think you have much reason to be concerned, since most road bikes are rated for far higher loads. So I'd say go for it and enjoy yourself!

I am 6'1" and was 245 at the beginning of the season. I was riding my older steel framed Specialized Rockhopper on the roads. Got me in better shape, but left me wanting for more. The gearing got to be too low and I was having hand issues even with bar ends.

In April I got a Specialized Sectuer Comp for a couple reasons. 1. I wanted a "faster" ride with more gears. 2. I wanted a bike with more hand positions and was more comfortable to ride than a flat bar bike. I was not dissapointed on either count. I could not believe how much more comfortable riding on the hoods is compared to the straight bar. It is so easy to keep your hands in a comfortable position. Even if you are getting tired of that position, there are many places to put your hands that are slightly different.

I have not had any problems with the wheels and my weight.

Chris

Wheel problems for us stouter folk seem to be the result of the manufacturers' race to gnat-weight components just for their sales appeal, regardless of the practical consequences, and it irritates me. I owned road bikes (including one touring Sekai) back in the '70s, '80s and '90s that all came stock with 36-spoke wheels, and I never had a problem with any but one - the bargain tubulars that came on a Gitane. Nowadays you'd be hard pressed to find a road bike with more than 32 spokes, tops, without going to a specialized (adjective, not brand) touring or Clyde-specific model.

I've been out of the road bike market for 20 years, so I have zero experience with today's OEM wheels. But when I get my weight-loss-reward bike, I'll be paying close attention to how the wheels hold up, and if I find I need to replace them, I won't be a happy camper.

One other thing that seldom gets mentioned in these wheel discussions is the concept of "riding light." Riding light is not being dead weight in the saddle. It's especially important when you know some bad pavement or other bumpy hazard is coming up. Get your weight off your butt and put it more on the pedals, so some of the load is shared by the front wheel (it's also easier on your butt). It's something everyone on a road bike should practice doing, IMO.

I told the owner of a LBS the other day about my wheel concerns even though I try to ride light, and he said the very fact that I knew the term made him confident I'd be fine on his bikes' wheels. We'll see...

kleinsamuel, Your size isn't an issue for a race design road bike, but your riding enviorment might be as often the largest tire that can usually fit is a 700-25C. Touring and cyclocross bikes allow more room for larger tires which can help a wheelset last longer in less than ideal conditions and my opinion is a minimum size of 700-28C on Houston's urban streets. whitecat's suggestion to retension a wheelset on a new bike is valid as most wheels are machine built these days and can benefit from a little TLC before they turn an inch on the street.

Brad

PS Good point by CraigB.

Which one you get is up to you. I like road and touring bikes, myself. The "upright" position with flat bars hurts my hands, because the weight always seems to fall in the same place on your hands. Drop bars offer a lot more hand positions, and allow you to use extra-cushy foam tape.

I've known more people that have had problems with hybrid bike rims, than with modern road or touring bike rims. Usually, because people get the lower-end models. One of the places that the manufacturer saves money on the lower-end bikes is the rims. Some of those cheap rims self destruct with regular riding.

I'm about 250#, and prefer a road bike with a 25c tire in the front, a 28c in the rear. The extra width on the rear helps with potholes and railroad tracks. On my commuter road bike, that I use to carry heavy stuff, I go with a beefier back rim (Velocity Deep V).

Don't do that. And forget about your weight, just think about what you want to do on the bike. Do you want to commute, so you need to carry a change of clothes, maybe a laptop? Make sure the bike you buy has fittings for a rack so you can put on a pannier or two when you need to. Just want to go fast and have fun without carrying anything around? Get a road bike. Want versatilty? Get a cyclocross bike or a tourer - in my opinion these bikes will do anything a hybrid can do and are lots more fun to ride. Buy a hybrid only if you want both versatility and an upright riding position.

None of this has anything to do with your height and weight. A superlight carbon road bike will cope perfectly well with your weight as long as you don't fit it with superlight wheels. 16 spokes wouldn't be a good choice. Get a robust wheelset with 28 or 32 spoke per wheel and a road bike would be fine... if that's the style of riding you want.

I would look at getting a Cyclocross of Touring bike, like a Surly Crosshceck or Long Haul Trucker.. Solid steel frames, lots of wheel choices on Crosscheck due to its 132.5 spacing which allows 130mm or 135mm wheelsets..

Both frames are made to deal with a little bit of punishment.. Can usually be found fully built for 1000-1500, better prices for used.. They can both accommodate tire sizes up to 700x45

https://surlybikes.com/bikes/

For the distance you are riding and the desire to go faster I would look towards a road bike. Because of the streets you plan on riding on I would look for something that accepts wider tires and have a clyde friendly spoke count.

I can't say for certain why the LBS were steering your towards hybrids or mountain bikes. I think it was probably because of your size more than your weight. 240#'s is not that heavy and just about any bike, road or otherwise would support it just fine. The problem you usually run into is what is available and ready to ride. Since I believe the average height is 5'9 or so most shops will have bikes already built up in a size range suitable for that. Being 6'4 would mean someone would have to build up or order a bike for someone they are not sure will purchase it.

What is required on your part is just a little bit of research. Test ride as many bikes as you can within the budget you are looking at. Component wise they are usually around the same and most work fine without issue. Get a bike you want to ride and you are comfortable on. What you want is something that fits.

They make road bikes for people 6'4 haha, you don't have to get a hybrid.
You said you want something to go faster b/c you already have a comfort bike. Road bikes are fast. Do read up on touring bikes, they are some of the toughest most useful road bikes. But don't be afraid to go with a sporty road bike b/c of your size.

+1 on riding light or responsive riding. We have some pretty bad roads in S.Korea and I've never broken a spoke on my normal Ultegra light wheelset. I was riding them @ around 230lbs if I remember correctly.