Are hybrids bad?
 

I started out with a Trek mtb. Then I looked around and bought a Raleigh passage 4.5. I love both bikes.

Am I wrong, but it seems like no one on these boards has anything good to say about hybrid bikes. Is there a reason, or is it some kind of bike snob thing? I have never felt comfortable riding a bike in a bent over position using these down-turned handlebars - even as a teenager. Now that I'm over 50 I like them even less. So I ride the mtb and the Raleigh.

Most of my (daily) rides last for a little over an hour on very hilly roads. Soon, I'll be going on a overnighter to a park about 20 some miles away. The bikes I have suit me for these rides.

Do older riders really use the road-style bikes?

Life is short. Nothing wrong with hybrids. Ride what ya like. That's my two cents.

On the other hand, go-fast road bikes are fun. I've modfied mine with higher handlebars and lower (easier) gears than the young 'uns would approve of, but I've got a disc issue and I'm not about to blow out my back trying to act like a 25-year-old

The spectrum hybrid bikes vary from "fitness bikes" to "comfort bikes." My 2004 Giant Cypress SX was advertised as a "road bike with flat bars." I have flipped the stem and changed the tires to 700C x 25. Today, my rides are whatever I can do in one hour...15-20 miles. Over the years, the Giant Cypress SX has morphed into more of a "comfort bike." If I had to get a new bike today, I would look at the Giant FCR 2 or OCR 2. The point is, a hybrid bike can be many things to many people. It is not a necessarily bad bike. Just find one that works for you.

Not many may not respond,it's just as well,some may be apt to talk silly. Nothing that you say is wrong,there's nothing wrong with hybrids,I just converted an old rodie to a hybrid..kinda..some would call it a commuter.I don't have a job,I Do commute to keg parties and barbeques,does THAT count?Hybrid,comm,ftat-bar road bike,they're all good.Maybe riders of hybrids are too busy/comfy ridin' them to be posting here. Hybrids offer a great alternative to drop-bar road bikes,they just DO!.Mountain bikes are slugs. The official word is that hybrids become marginally less efficient after 50 or so mile rides,that's what many bike manufacturers maintain. I don't know,to me ;5 40 miles rides a week trump 1 100 mile ride a week,save braggin' rights,if THAT's a concern.Don't worry about the posts,I've seen dudes posin' with tractors,boastin' about flatulance and re-defining cycling glossarys,I can assure you,most of what's written is provided more for ammusment,read the posts though,I did,I learned alot by accident.I'm 50.

I own two good road bikes and love them.
I also own a Treck Hybrid 7700. It is a great bike for limestone trails with 700x38 tires.
I fitted that hybrid with 700x25 and did some road biking. Was not much slower on the flats than a good road bike. Of course in the hills the weight will kill you.
Comfort? I am equally comfortable on the Hybrid as I am on the Treck Madone. Going on the drops takes a little more practice as do using the aerobars.

Whatever kind of bike you like to ride is a good kind of bike. I have a lot of different kinds of bikes and I like them all. But the bike I love is my road bike with drop bars.

Ignore bike snobbery (and reverse bike snobbery).

In some respects it is. I saw a comment somewhere (not in this forum) ridiculing someone riding around the neighborhood on a hybrid. They could have just returned from a very long ride, who knows? I cannot ride a bike with low bars, due to a prosthesis in my wrist and a problem in the other one that prevents both wrists from extending back with weight on them. In addition, I cannot sit in the low position with my neck bent up to support my head for long without it locking and being very uncomfortable due to compressed disks and bone spurs. My husband has an artificial shoulder, so he too should not put a lot of weight on low bars. We could get road bikes and change the bars and stem, but we also need the suspension to ease the bumps on these joints. So what should we do -- sit on the sofa and wish we could ride a road bike like all the "real" cyclists, but can't, so don't ride a bike at all? Instead we just bought new hybrids and are using leg muscles that haven't been used in years, and really enjoying our time together on the bikes. Suspension + raised bar + larger/wide tires + lots o' gears = hybrid, the right bike for us.

Get the bike that is right for YOU and don't listen to the nay-sayers. :)

Are they bad? I hope not, I'm named myself after one.
If it weren't for my hybrid, I wouldn't be riding today.
And I still love riding that bike

Your bikes suit you, so there's really no debate.

The supposed advantages of a road bike are that the curved handlbars allow you to shift hand positions to lessen fatigue, you can lean your torso lower and farther forward to lessen wind resistance and get more weight on the pedal during the downstroke, the skinny tires are fast, and you can pretend you're in the Tour de France.

The advantages of a hybrid are that your hands are always on the brakes, and the wide handlebars allow for more confident steering at low speeds or in tight spots. The upright body posture is more comfortable and gives you better visibility, and it's not necessary to crane your arthritic neck to see ahead. The slightly fatter tires are better for potholes and packed trails than road tires would be.

I have the same bike -- the 2004 Cypress SX. I love it. I'm experimenting with a true road bike and enjoying it as well, but my Cypress SX is a wonderful bike. I have it rigged with 700x32 tires these days. Bought it used for $200, and I've put 1700 miles on it so far. Now that's a good deal!

seems like the best attitude to have.
since no else is gonna turns the pedals for any of us, what does it matter what anyone thinks?
can't say I've read much in posts which deride hybrids, other than pointing out what some might consider 'limitations'. Whether those are limitations or just variations is really for each of us to decide.

quote - "Am I wrong, but it seems like no one on these boards has anything good to say about hybrid bikes. Is there a reason, or is it some kind of bike snob thing?" -

Roadies (and maybe some commuters, MTBers, Trackies and even Bent riders...) may have prejudice against 'Hybrids'; but like most ingrained and insideous prejudices, they tend to worm around under the surface, so to speak. But rarely broached in polite company.

Considering that hybrids really evolved from MTBs adapted for road use, what they offer in this kinship may be more suited for some and not desired by others.
I do notice more 'justification' from Hybrid riders, which is really only necessary if there something special the hybrid does for you in particular.
On a similar tangent, I rarely read 'justification' from 'Bent' riders. They ride em for their reason, note what they like and naysayers be dammed. Which is as it should be.

Quote - "Do older riders really use the road-style bikes?"

Well, I don;t consider myself 'old', since I'm happily one of the younger members in this forum. I 'abuse' mine as often as I'm allowed. It has many more advantages for me than any other bike form. I personally find a nice road machine to be a highwater expression of the art and industrial form of the bicycle. Course as I gain more decrepitude, my personal prefs may change, but my regard for a fine road machine will not.

Had you asked Dr. Seuss, he would have told you,

"Do what you like, say what you feel
Those who mind don't matter
Those who matter don't mind."

Hybrids are not bad. It depends on what you want to do and how fast you want to go. I have a Trek 7100 great bike, but I am getting a road bike next week as I have the need for speed. On club rides anything over a D or C pace I cannot do on the Hybrid. I am going to put flat bars and 28 cc tires on it though because I am sure I will not stop riding it just because I have a road bike. Oh yeah my wife has a Cypress, another good bike. Ride what you like !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tony

I'm also glad I got my Giant Cypress SX in 2004. That was the last year it was built like a road bike with flat bars. After that, you would have to go with the Giant FCR bikes. Keep riding.:beer:

Hybrids are not "bad". They are exactly what they say they are, a compromise bike that attempts to allow as much variety in riding as a single design can do. For many sport riders they are the ideal bike. They provide the opportunity for multi surface riding without the necessity of buying more than one bike. The hybrid is an excellent way to bring 50+ riders back to bicycling after some years of layoff.

Snobs in all forms of life tend to look at what you have and determine its "goodness quotient" by what they would do without ever thinking of your needs and viewpoint. As seen in some of the other threads here lately, narrowness of viewpoint is a growing problem.

:crash:

I have 2 road bikes. I am 67yo. I have modified the bikes a bit in that:

1. My bars are just a slight bit lower than the saddle, contrary to many folks whose bars are considerably below the saddle.

2. I have "in-line brakes" installed so that I may have excellent braking while using the bars as a riding position.

I also have a mtn bike, and my wife has a hybrid and a mtn bike.

Yes, lots and lots of "older" types around here ride road bikes, including a friend who is 75yo.

But, the very fact that you asked the question indicates that you are having some doubts about your bike.

Don't.

Each of us finds our own way which is best suited to our time in space, our budget, our goals and our personality. Hopefully, by the time one is 50+ he/she doesn't give a hoot about what others say or think.

Keep riding as you like. Besides, for the same mileage, you are going to burn more calories and get more exercise on a hybrid than on a roadie.

Keep pedalin'.

Yes indeed, and from all sides of the issues. We don't have to tear down the different choices to validate our own.

I've owned one hybrid-an old Scott, with bio-pace chainrings. Worked great for the rail-trails which is what I was using it for. Then went to a mtn.bike, and more recently, added a road bike. If a hybrid suits you and does what you need it to do, then nothing at all wrong with one. Different types of bikes are made for different types of riders and uses-if a hybrid suits your usage, a mtn.bike would be bad most likely. So, if you like hybrids, are comfortable, gets you out for some exercise, and suits the type of riding you intend to do, I'd say a hybrid is perfect!

I agree with everyone else. Whatever bike feels comfortable, and most of all, makes you want to get out and bike, then that's the bike for you. Until I bought my new touring bike a couple of months ago, all I had was hybrids. I toured on them, rode the rails to trails on them, communted to work, everything. I still like riding my Marin Hybrid. In fact, I am taking it with me this week to ride while I am out of town working. Ride whatever suits you.

The only reason I went to drop bars on my commuter is that flat bars make my hands go numb quickly. The more natural position (for me) of my hands on the hoods of the drop bars prevents numbness.

Ride what you like and is comfortable, and ignore the OCP racer weenies.

Yeah, that is how I started out 10-15 years ago. After 100's wizz-banged by me I said, WTF?
I paid attention, talked to thes snobs, copied some of what they do and........have a lot of fun now....

You said it best yourself.

Now go for a ride!

Hear! Hear!

The alternative (done by myself and many others in this forum because bikes are fun) is to own 3 or 4 or 5 different bikes each optomized for one particular thing. My next bike.....#6 will probably be a hybrid......maybe I've done this backwards.

Nah, I still like all of them.

+1

I've got a road bike, a TT bike, an older road bike fitted with a moustache handlebar and chain guard I use as a Café bike, and several MTB bikes. I ride my Specialized CrossRoads hybrid more than all the others combined. I use it as a commuter and as a touring bike. I have had college roadie snobs that have never seen me on one of my road bikes comment about my hybrid and how they would never ride anything other than a road bike. It's really fun to see the look on their face when I easily pass them on my road bike or get lower times on the Saturday time trial loop. I just tell them the Hybrid is for training! If you ride a loaded to the gills Hybrid your strength will improve and when you get on a road bike your performance is incredible. Here is a picture of my Hybrid while on a tour last fall.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...zou/loaded.jpg

A hybrid is what it says- a cross between two bikes and it is neither. It is not a full mountain bike- but not many of them are- even bikes sold as mountain bikes. And Mountain bikes properly set up are not good on the road- You can have rigid forks and put slicks on them but they do not really work on the road. So that is one side of a hybrid that will either work better for you - as a bike to use on the road- or not work that well as a bike to use offroad. Then there are thefull road bikes- Come in a variety of forms- Racing bikes, sport, comfort, touring, but basically they are all road bikes. If you are on tarmac and smoothsurfaces then a road bike is for you. Except for one thing- those damn drop handlebars. Even road riders - if you watch them go past you, do not use the drop position all that often. They are riding on the hoods or on the top of the bars. The drop position is used for out and out speed- or downhill- or into a headwind- For most- the Usual position is more upright and you do have a couple of positions. So why have a road bike when you are not going to be hammering down a hill- into a headwind and using that full aerodynamic position. Because on the Tarmac the bike is a lot more efiicient than other bikes. Including the hybrid.

So what is a hybrid- Basically it is what you want to use it for. Bit of trail work where you want a more compliant ride and still retain control. Road use where you can get up a good speed but without that awkward handlebar position and lack of control that can come about with the narrower bars. Perhaps you want to do both- Lots of road work but a bike that will take the rough trails to get out without cars getting in the way.

Then on top of that- There are the advantages and the big one to me is that they are comfortable. The riding position is good for a 50mile ride, albeit slower than a road bike, but not by much. If you look at the better Hybrids- They are modelled on road bikes but with straight bars. The riding position that most roadies use in any case. So a hybrid being a second class or downgraded bike- No way.

So what was it that entered the 20k race for you. The sensible rider or the person trying to relive his youth. Or was it just one of those moments that you regret once you have sobered up.:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

My own two cents is that hybrids aren’t bad bikes but they are a compromise. If you want to tool around and you will be an occasional rider a comfort/hybrid bike would be fine. I own a hybrid and a road bike and I find that hybrids are really not a substitute for either a mountain bike or a road bike. For off road riding a hybrid’s geometry is too tall, the gearing is wrong and the suspension spells disaster. For on road riding the thicker hybrid tires require greater effort. The components on a hybrid such as brakes, de-railers, rims and gearing are (usually) not of the same quality of a true road bike.
Most people purchase a hybrid because of the straight handle bars and shifters. I believe that if you plan on riding for hours at a time (on road) I would personally go for a road bike with a more relaxed frame geometry and one that either comes or can be retrofitted with a straight bar and shifters.

Agree with above !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ride what you like and depending on the type of riding you plan to do.. Hybrids Are Good !!!!!!!!!!!!!

TP