Bucs79

Hello. I'm new to the forum and am in the market for a hybrid to enjoy some nice greenway riding. I have a Giant 29er mountain bike that I love, so am leaning towards that brand. But as I enjoy the greenway riding more it seems to make sense to go hybrid and save the mountain bike for single track.

I first looked at the ToughRoad but it seems to be basically my mountain bike light. The tires are a little slimmer and it's a rigid fork but the rest of the bike seems not much different. I'm not experienced enough to know if that's important or not. The Roam looks decent but I'm not sure I need a shock. So the store has been steering me to Escape or FastRoad. Those are different price points for sure but I am willing to buy whatever is going to give me some great riding for many years.

Does anyone have experience with these or opinions? Or perhaps other bikes I should be looking at? I'm 49, 6'4" and 240.

Thanks for your help.

noglider 

Anything will do the job. You have to try a few bikes to see what suits you. If you like to lean forward a bit, the Giant Escape is a terrific bike. The Trek FX and Specialized Sirrus are equivalent bikes. I really like these models. My wife has a Trek FX, and it's terrific.

If you like to sit upright, there is the Giant Cypress.

gsa103

What's wrong with just using the 29er? I've got a Toughroad, and you're right, it's a MTB-light. I don't see where a hybrid has an advantage over a good 29er mountain bike.

What about just getting a second set of wheels/tires for the 29er? Unless you're concerned about bike theft while stopped at a store or something.

Bucs79

That's a good question. I've never considered the wheels/tires swap and actually never done it. I'm sure it's easy enough. I think I've been assuming a hybrid bike is faster and more efficient, therefore more enjoyable for the 15-30 mile ride.

I'll have to test ride a couple of them this weekend.

Esthetic

Depending on what you were riding before and it's age and condition, it's possible to get more desirable road efficiency with a new hybrid that has the right combination of both lighter frame, newer & better gears/drivetrain and wheels/tires.

I was in a place where overhauling the old MTB didn't make sense over something new and designating it as a spare/beater. Now I have the old bike for a rainy ride or when I want to lock it up and explore on foot. Less worry , in the event it were stolen.

hokiefyd 

The biggest likely difference between a hybrid and a mountain bike will be in the frame geometry. Even in the same brands (such as Giant), frames exist which will sit you more upright or leaning further forward. What you find comfortable will vary from what others find comfortable. I ride a 2015 Trek Verve, which is similar in concept to a Giant Roam. I bought mine used; if I were buying something brand new, I very likely would be looking at a Giant Roam, probably a '2' model.

I like the suspension fork on my bike, and I would probably look for that if I were buying something to replace it.

skids929

The FX and Sirrus are actually not equivalent bikes, very different set ups. Maybe same category (ish) but they are different, and have completely different feels. When you test ride them both, at the same time, jump off one and get on the other you notice immediately the differences in the Geometry of the bikes, it's not subtle. I found the Sirrus to be a much smoother more versatile bike overall, after extensive rides.

The trek felt harsh and cheap by comparison. Had a full group, but that was about the only selling point to me.

noglider 

Thanks for that, @skids929. I haven't done a side-by-side comparison. I've tried my wife's FX, which is too small for me. I've tried my friend's Sirrus, which is the right size for me. But I haven't ridden them on the same day or with both being the proper size.

I like the FX, so I recommend @Bucs79 try as many bikes as is reasonable, unless he falls in love immediately with the Giant Escape. Get the Escape 2 or the Escape 1 if you can afford one of them.

gsa103

The riding position will likely be similar. If anything a hybrid will be more upright, and hence more aero drag.

The largest difference in efficiency will be tires, with hybrids typically having narrower high pressure slicks vs mountain bike knobbies. Getting a second set of wheels will let you run hybrid tires on your mountain bike.

Just a warning, because of bike industry pricing models, getting a second set of wheels, tires & cassette will likely cost a significant fraction of a new bike. If you're more of a do-it-yourself you can find a complete set of good wheels, tires, cassette for ~$300, but it might be more like ~$500 from the LBS.

tbo

I find the difference between the Trek and the Specialized to be torso geometry. Trek (generally) fits better for longer torsos (me) and the Specialized (generally) is slightly shorter torso. It comes down to fit.

sh00k

I am partial to trek FX's an I've owned 4 of them in the last 6 years.

An fx with skinny tires is perfect for well maintained greenways. You get the upright position allowing you to take in the views and the skinny tires give you the nimble feeling of a road bike.

I'm sure other bikes can do this but I've only ever ridden treks and I've loved every fx I've purchased.

Hope this helps.

Bucs79

I test rode a few bikes and really started to fall for the Giant Fastroad group. It's more bike than I originally considered but it was a cool combo of speed and flat handlebar setup. I didn't like the Anyroad bars and hand positioning. So the search continues.

I'll see if they can put slightly larger tires in the Fastroad.

It's frustrating because the XL frames for all these Giants seem to be out of stock! I'm assuming 2018s don't appear for a few months.

therealjoeblow

2018's won't be out until sometime around August/September at the earliest. While 2017's have technically been available since last fall in most markets, lots of them are just starting to come out at some LBS's, since many people don't buy bikes over the winter, and the real sales season for them only starts in April/May. I know a lot of the LBS's in my area told me last fall when I was looking for a new Roam that they weren't going to get any of them in until April.

I'd be surprised if they are *all* sold out. Maybe your local shop doesn't have the XL in stock in their store, but they should be able to get one in for you from the regional distributor until late May or early June. At that point I would expect the distributors to be out of stock on the 2017's. Or try another LBS if the one you are looking at doesn't have any...

Cheers
TRJB