new biker girl

My husband and I have decided to get new bikes (neither of us have ridden since we were kids/young adults).
We are both in our 40s now.
We want them so we can: ride with our (young) kids, and also to ride on our own on paved/unpaved bike trails for fun & fitness.
We both ordered Trek FX 7.2 (I got the WSD).
In the mean time....my husband was having a conversation with a coworker who is an avid cyclist. He said we should have gotten road bikes instead???
I am curious of others opinions.
Were hybrids the right way to go? Or should we consider road bikes instead (we have not yet received our hybrids).

10 Wheels

Hybrids are good for your needs..

Road bikes may be the Thing in your future..

RaleighSport

This, your husbands friend is just a cycling junkie like a lot of us around here..

Sidenote: I got my father a 7.2 a couple years ago, he absolutely loves it.

starman99

I was in your shoes last year other than both my kids are teenagers. I ended up getting a used Trek 7200 for my wife and a Trek 7.1FX for me. (Will upgrade her bike if she gets to be a more serious rider but she loves the cushy saddle on the 7200.) We mostly ride on paved trails or should I say I do most of the riding these days.

I love the 7.1FX and have signed up for a 25/50 mile charity ride. If I plan on riding longer distances I would need a road bike but I just haven't "sold myself" yet on sharing the road with two ton vehicles. (I know I'm in the minority on this thinking.)

You may find that a saddle replacement is needed as I just wasn't comfortable with my stock saddle.............but you may be fine with the stock saddle.

As far as road bike vs. hybrid, I think you made a great choice given the riding style you outlined and will appreciate the more upright riding position. Enjoy!

LGHT

I have a hybrid and a road bike and I love both. The hybrid is good for trails / dirt or just bad weather riding up to 25 miles. However if I want to do 25-50 miles and spend a good amount of time in the saddle I always use the road bike. I started off with a hybrid and just felt the need for speed and wanted to take it to the next level so eventually got a road bike.

bgraham111

You got the right thing, IMHO.

My wife and I are in our early 40's. I have a mountain bike, a hybrid, and a road bike. (Soon to add a randonnuering bike I hope.) My wife isn't into cycling as much as I am, but she does like to do the shorter, fun rides on trails. We got her a Trek FX7.2 WSD. It's perfect for her, and makes biking something she enjoys. My hybrid is a Trek 8.4DS, and I'm kind of jealous of how nice the FX's are. I think it's a wonderful bike for folks getting into (or back into) biking. Of course, she's now talking about getting a road bike. But without that hybrid, we wouldn't be having that conversation.

Some folks think anything less than an $8000 carbon fiber bike with electronic shifting is un-ride-able.

RonH

Ride the hybrids for a few months. You'll be itching for a road bike by summer.

FYI: I started with a road bike in 1999. Never an unhappy moment.

Wilfred Laurier

For the type of riding you described hybrids are ideal.

If you find yourself wanting to do much longer rides, or go riding with a much faster group, then a road, cyclocross, or touring bike might be a good choice in the future. The drop handlebars usually used on those bikes allows multiple riding positions and usually better aerodynamics and ergonomics for fast riding. But those are things you can think about while you are enjoying getting back into riding with your awesome hybrids.

AlmostTrick

Road bikes traditionally come with drop bars, which many new riders don't like. Many experienced riders like myself don't even favor them.

Drop bar bikes cost more too. So if it turns out you don't like 'em, you'll lose more $$$ if you end up selling them.

mcmoose

Hybrids are ideal for the riding you describe. You'll be more comfortable on hybrids when riding with your children and on trails.

Still, it's true that for many of us, hybrids were a gateway drug to road bikes. Don't be surprised if you are likewise afflicted.

For now, ride and have fun!

AlmostTrick

^^^True story. But many still find the hybrids useful for certain tasks and don't mind keeping them.

mcmoose

^^^Indeed. I refer to my hybrid as my quarter horse, and my road bike as my thoroughbred.

Corben

I like road bikes because thier skinnier tires have less rolling resistance so you're speedier then hybrids, and multiple possibilities for hand positions with the drop bars. And you can wear stylish bright colorful tights!
I like hybrids because you can ride them on loose gravel, dirt roads, over curbs, the upright position is nice too. And you don't have wear those silly bright colorful tights!
Needless to say I have both road bikes and hybrids. No tights.

Stucky

The friend saying "You should have gotten a road bike" is just thinking about his own preferences. I can relate to that, as I find any type of bike other than a road bike to be utterly uninteresting. But for your intended use, a hybrid sounds perfect!

If you were saying that you wanted to ride fast and go long distances, and ride on the roads....then a road bike would be the obvious choice....but for leisurely family riding on trails and paths, a hybrid is just the ticket. I could never see myself having a hybrid, but I'm not so prejudiced [yet] that I can't admit when they fit the bill for others.[That friend, on the other hand....he's road-bike-itis, bad! ]

12strings

Last fall, on a day in which the ground was mildly damp from rain a few days before, I decided I would take my skinny-tired road bike on a ride around my house through our grass yard, to follow my kids on their power-wheels. Suffice to say that I barely made it, and could get almost no traction. If you have any chance of going off-road, you'll need something with wider tires. For mixed use, Hybrids are great for that.

Redflea

Hybrid, definitely, from your description.

And hybrids do not have to limit your distance to short rides. My wife, all of 5'1" and not a great athlete or fitness nut, does 30 mile rides on her Specialized Sirrus Vita without any issues. But maybe that's because it's bright red?

GravelMN

You will always find "avid" cyclists who believe that what they ride is the only bike for anyone out there. For the types of riding you describe, hybrids will fit the bill very well. While some see them as the soccer mom SUV of the cycling world, their semi-upright position and higher volume tires make them very comfortable to ride and right at home on a variety of surfaces and conditions. For family recreation and general fitness they are a fine choice.

After you've been riding a while you may find that you desire task specific bikes for certain applications such as a road bike, mountain bike, touring, etc. but the hybrid is always a good bike to have around. I have three bikes including an endurance road bike, a mountain bike, and an early 1990s Trek 720 which was a hybrid before anyone called them hybrids. With a few accessories and a swap in tires I've ridden the 720 on casual group rides (aka C rides), charity centuries, 50-mile gravel grinders, winter rides, light touring and 1,000s of miles of recreational rides on everything from divided four lane highways, to single-track trails around lakes and through the sand hills (gotta admit that sand hills aren't its strong suite).

JGM411

You made the correct purchase because of your desire to ride with your children. More importantly you purchased a good value (price vs performance) bikes. In 2013, I bought a 7.3fx and rode it for almost a year before a bought my Domane 5.3.

I kept the 7.3fx because I want to ride with my wife, however, I need to convince her that she wants to ride with me. but I digress..... In June I bought her a Trek verve and she loves it. Hopefully this year she and I can ride together. If I would have sold the hybrid, I know we would never ride together.

What i am attempting to say, is that my hybrid and her verve compliment each other and can be used on gravel roads and other bike trails that might not be fun on a road bike.

If you and your husband decide to add road bikes, you will have the advantage of knowing a bit more about gears, brakes, wheels, size of wheels and a reference point for the feel of a hybrid bike on roads, bike trails etc. That knowledge will help you, if you decide to go road bike, with your next bike purchase. Road bikes a lot of fun because they are speedier and quicker handling.

MRT2

For the sort of riding you say you want to do, the FX is pretty much ideal. Fun leisure rides, or fitness rides of 1 to 2 hours, with occasional detours taking you off road, a road bike would be too much bike, and maybe not comfortable.

Now, if you told me you were looking to get into racing, or even fast club rides , then I would say go with a road bike. You can even do some club riding with a hybrid, if you want.

fietsbob

+1, maybe add the road bike later when you dont have to slow down so your children can keep up.


I'm Liking the Ergon comfort grips , on straight Hybrid Handle bars a lot ..

dwwroadking

Last year I did sag for the Bon Ton Roulet in upstate NY. The rides were between 30 and 100 miles each day for a week. People rode on Hybrids, road bikes, touring bikes, mountain bikes and two and three wheel recumbent. Every single person was having a ball. I did not pick up a single person that found out their bike was unsuitable for the task.
So pick up the bikes you ordered and enjoy them. If you feel the need later to get different bikes you can always add more to the stable.

bikecrate

FX series is a solid choice to get into cycling again. I don't think you'll be disappointed. I started with a 7500FX in '03 and eventually got a road bike, but still use the FX. I have 10's of thousands of happy miles on that FX bike.

KraneXL

The modern hybrid is the most versatile bike on the road. It can be equipped to tackle tarmac or lose gravel with a simple tire change. It can be equipped to carry lots of gear for commuting or be streamlined for rapid transportation.

The most aggressive designs can give you 8/10 of a mountain bike's capability, or be optioned to be nearly as fast and/or agility of a road bike. It also a much more comfortable overall riding position than a road bike -- especially for the less than most experienced riders.

Hybrids are also typically less expensive the either of the more specialized bikes. Get a road bike only if you like to go fast, cycle for long distances, spend all of your time on hard-top, and you're in the top 10 percent -- or intend to be. Ride safe.

Chas1203

I believe I am in the same position.
I need a bike as I have signed up for a sprint tri in May.
My kids are not confident cyclists and I think this may change if I can join them. Then again it may not and I may just be on my own on the road.
I'm think a hybrid is the way to go but my husband (and a little voice in my head) is telling me I might just enjoy cycling and to go with a road bike - hubby seems to think I could swap out the wheels if I want to trail ride**********

Either way I don't want to spend a fortune this time round.

I've read lots of posts and opinions on different brands, some anti-Halfords but pro- Carrera (they have a great deal on at the moment), other saying go with LBS but I think that is where the cost comes in.

Very unsure!!

Drew Eckhardt 

Cyclo cross towards the recreational end of the spectrum. They'll take fast 700C road tires or wider tires for gravel. They still have drop bars where the hood position is more ergonomic than a flat bar and unlike bar-ends allows using the brakes and shifters without moving your hands. They're available at all price points.

"Unpaved" and "road bike" both cover a lot of ground. 23mm road tires ride fine on packed dirt roads that aren't washboarded, but won't work on anything soft. Some road bikes won't clear tires larger than that, some are set up with caliper brakes to clear tires 30mm wide that are be nice on gravel (I used 27mm cyclocross tires with my Litespeed on snow days in Colorado), and touring bikes have cantilever brakes that will clear wider tires if the frame can.