Why can't you just accept different strokes for different folks? Everyone doesn't love only road bikes. MHO

You said:

I guess you dismiss people like me then because I do not find flat bar bikes comfortable on longer rides. I actually find them uncomfortable and I have plenty of experience riding them. I've tried bar-ends and the extra hand position they offer is not useable to me. But since we're all created equal I guess everybody can, and should, be able to ride a hybrid "comfortably" on rides over 30 miles according to your logic.

Maybe the only thing wrong with riding a hybrid is having to ask if there is something wrong with owning a hybrid.

:)

I said that I react when people say that a hybrid can NEVER be comfortable over 30 miles. You have falsely stretched that to me saying that a hybrid is ALWAYS more comfortable than a road bike. I said no such thing.

My post was in no way a response to your initial post. You said "IMO" regarding drops and comfort, and gave input specific to yourself. It was a wonderful post. It was posts prior, by others, that stated a hybrid can never be comfortable, and one should never get one if they plan to go more than a few miles.

As a further note, I think many stock hybrids are uncomfortable as sold, with round, cheap rubber grips and silly handlebar shapes. If one spends the time, and of course money, to get good grips, and figures out what they want in a bar shape, they can be just as comfortable as drops.

I should have said "For a recreational rider". Of course you are putting out more wattage at a given speed if you are less aerodynamic, but at the speeds of my local group ride, in general, I can put out the wattage needed on either bike. I am not speaking for pros, nor pretending to be one.

Also, not all hybrids are set up equally. My flatbars are typically set lower than the hoods on my drop bar bikes, and the bars are cut to the minimum width to allow grips and controls, so the aero impact is not as significant as if I were sitting bolt upright. I take my turn on the front in a paceline, just as everyone else does. I tuck into a position similar to my drops to do it. None of this is rocket science.

I think my favorite thing about my hybrid (mtb made to be road friendly), is that I can run stuff over. Tree branch on the road, no need to swerve into traffic to avoid it, just run that sucker over. Pot hole, run it over. Storm sewer, run it over. Pile of sand, well you get the point :)

Wow..I didn't realize this was still going.

When you guys say "comfortable" does that mean you don't feel any pain on your bottom or legs?

I did 30 miles with slight inclines feeling great, averaged 14mph (don't know if that's good or not) I can't say if a road bike will feel better since I don't own one.

This.

This.

+1.

I picked up a Univega hybrid for cheap on CL, but it was pretty large (21"). My road bike size is 21", so I put a drop bar and stem shifters on it. I brought it to Block Island and it was perfect. It carried all my beach stuff without a problem, the wider tires were good for riding in sand, and it was fast enough to be fun without feeling twitchy. If you decide that flat bars aren't for you, there are other options like converting to drops or trekking (butterfly) bars.

a Hybrid of what and what combined?


Perhaps the problem is the Peer Group that thinks you should be riding something else ..

Either N+1 or ignore the critics. :innocent:

My post count is waaaaaayyy to low ...

Yup.

Speed down the sidewalk then leap over the curb? Check. Bunny hop in the middle of the street? Check. Swerve off the road, on to the grass, up that hill that looks way out of place in the city neighborhood and probably is some kind of man-made civic sledding thing for the kids in the winter?

Check.

Hey, people riding hybrids are much cooler than people riding road bikes. We talk, we laugh, we look around and even have time to stop and take a picture here and there on each and every ride. Road bikers are more like mad, caged beasts. All they see is their front wheel and average speed on their cycling computer. Try to take their attention away for a second and they may bite ;-) As I see it Road bikes are for speed and racing, while Hybrid bikes are for fun, going places and with pretty good speed if you need it.

I've no idea why you here, and elsewhere on this board, feel compelled to resurrect threads that have long since run their course, but since you do ... in this instance your characterization of 'road bikers' (whatever they are; I can only assume you meant 'road cyclists' or 'roadies') is utter nonsense, as is your characterization of those who prefer (as I do) to do their cycling on what are referred to as 'hybrid' bicycles.

Too much Canadian whiskey my friend? eh? I bet cycling, cyclist and all the rules of fun are changing monthly...Sorry for ressurecting the old thread... I forgot its not a FORUM. Remind me why the hell I ended up in NEWS section???
Oh...forgot to ask. You saying "bikers" or "bikes" are NOT the right form? Guess what...you will find that word even on Specialized website.
And hey...don't be down...it shows...Smile and think spring...

I have not been on this forum long and in the hybrid section there seems to be a price point 99% of buyers don't cross and that's the 1400-1500 dollar mark. While in the Road Section you have guys spending 3-4-5-6-7-8k on bikes. Bike shop owners know the next step for most people from a 600 dollar hybrid is not to a 2k hybrid but to a 2k road bike. Have not read one person for example pony up anywhere near what Cannondale charges for their carbon hybrid Quick bikes and being in a large city I have never seen one store carry one. I do see them on ebay :).

It certainly is, at least by many hardcore roadbikers.
The reasons for this include the following:
-a hybrid is generally slightly heavier
-a hybrid is generally less aerodynamic and the position of the rider generally less aggressive

One big difference, also, is the fact that a hybrid's handlebar is mostly quite a lot wider than a typical roadracebike's handlebar.
This may not seem like a big deal for recreational group riding, but for very fast, aggressive, tightly packed group riding it is dangerous.
In other words: don't take your hybrid to a fast paceline :)

Wine, actually; never did get on with whiskey! Hard to think 'spring' this week; same where you are I should imagine (if your in SE MI you must be having much the same weather).

So, look ... you've got me participating in an old thread -- contradict myself or what?!?

Edit: ... in fact, I find myself wanting to say something on the subject (below), so I'll offer an apology for my ill-tempered post.

It might just be that I don't have enough experience with drop bars, but over the years, I have pretty much detested using them every time.

Now perhaps this will change when no doubt I give it another go in the future, but for me, I strongly suspect my riding future will only involve hybrids and maybe flatbar road bikes.

I know a guy who rides a $2K hybrid. He is a biking enthusiast who, because of his age (early to mid 70s), prefers a more upright riding position. I rode with him once and at the speeds he rides (slow!), I can't imagine the he can tell the difference between a full carbon bike and a bike with just a carbon fiber fork, but he wants a CF frame and fork, and better components.

Maybe he can't -- maybe he can. However, I suspect precisely the same is true of 99+% of persons who purchase full-carbon $2K+ drop-bar road bikes, whatever their age: there are many, many reasons one might purchase such a bike (flat-bar or drop bar), or the equivalent in an mtb etc., but for all of us save elite-level or pro cyclists these purchases have to do with 'want' rather than 'need'. Apology for the long-winded post, but I like thinking about these things.

I'm an old man (62); I ride a $2k+ 'hybrid' (flat-bar road bike). In terms of speed/distance, I'd call myself an experienced, serious, 'mid-pack' cyclist; I do about 7000kms/year, and have done since I resumed cycling in 2002. I don't race, don't 'train', don't do group rides etc. I do ride long distances (including centuries) -- I just love riding my bike. I built my bike myself, in a sense; bought a 2010 Sirrus Comp, rode it a season stock. The ride/geometry were just right, so I proceeded to re-build it to my liking (drivetrain, brakes, etc.). For various physiological reasons, I don't get along with drop-bars and can't really use them. I have never found flat-bars with bar-ends to be in any way limiting or uncomfortable -- maybe I'm just fortunate, though I think that for non-racing cyclists the advantages of drop-bars (and there are some) are way over-hyped.

So, that's me -- I'm using myself as an example. I'm happy with what I have; in no realistic way does it limit my riding. Do I 'need' a new bike? No. Do I 'want' one? Yes. For example, as soon as e.g. Specialized wakes up, and begins producing a full carbon, disc-braked, high-end version of the Sirrus with proper flat-bar geometry (i.e. a slightly extended effective top tube for a given size as compared to an equivalent drop-bar version, unlike the current high-end Sirrus bikes -- which are simply Roubaix frames with flat-bars slapped on), I will buy it if I can afford it. My current bike comes in solidly under 20 lbs. w/pedals; I would like something around 17 lbs. Why? Because I like the feel of a light bike. Do I need one that light? No -- but I'd like one. Good enough reason for me.

As far as I'm concerned, the same hold true for 99+% of non-racing cyclists, whatever the age. So in my view the very common notion that very costly road/race bikes or mtbs or cyclocross bikes are somehow 'legitimate', while very costly 'hybrid'/flat bar bikes are not, is simply without foundation; it is the result of a peculiarly North American/English association of 'serious' cycling with the pro-racing paradigm. If one is not racing, or training for racing, and looking like one is racing or training for racing, one is not a 'serious' cyclist and doesn't "deserve" an expensive bike, which is a pointless expense. That attitude is much less common in much of Europe, and that is why bike companies there produce -- and people buy -- very high-end 'hybrids', flat-bar road bikes, etc.

Don't get me wrong. I am not judging. If we get into strictly need, most of us could get by on an old mountain bike, or old school 10 speed if we really had to.

He likes a light bike, and wants equivalent quality components as one would find on a drop bar road bike. I see nothing wrong with that. He knows it isn't really making him faster (god help him if it is), but he enjoys riding a better bike.

Even if the performance were zero, which it might be, it would still be ok. It is his money. I know lots of people who wear a $10,000 watch, even though a $50 watch tells time as well, or better, than the expensive model.

I didn't think you were -- didn't sound judgemental at all! I thought your post raised some interesting issues directly and indirectly, so I responded and took-off from it. And of course you are right: a new full-carbon, hydro disc, flat-bar Di2 (it will come!) bike @, say, 17 lbs all-up certainly won't make me any faster -- but I want one when such beasts show up! Might delay retirement for a year, but I can live with that. Are my priorities skewed or what?

A hybrid is a real road bike. With a hybrid you can sit in a more upright position and take in the scenery- unlike a roadie staring at the pavement. I was a mountain biker for 16 years until I moved up to a hybrid back in 2009. A hybrid makes it easier for mountain bikers to move into a road type bike. After 16 years of mountain biking- I was realizing that I was riding the bike more on the rail trails so I decided a hybrid was for me. I do not miss mountain biking at all. I notice I am buying more tires and tubes with a hybrid, however. I will also choose a hybrid over a road bike for safety reasons. By definition a hybrid should be called a road bike and road bikes should be called racing bikes.

On my Giant road bike I just flipped the stem from -6 degrees to + 6 degrees and it changes it by a lot. I tired a + 15 degree rise once and it felt like a touring bike. Road bikes are not hard to feel comfortable in with a minor adjustment.

Most bicycles get ridden on the road so by that definition, they are all road bikes but in the business of cycling the term road bike is pretty much synonymous with racing bicycles or higher performance machines.

When people say, "I ride a road bike" this does not come to mind and no-one should confuse it with a mountain bike although it handles the road rather well and does not mind when things get a little bumpy.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...trun%20(1).JPG

The term "hybrid" used to define bikes like this and now it seems to have gone the way of mountain bikes where there are many sub genres like all mountain, cross country, and downhill just as road cyclists seem to hold a much narrower view of what a road bike is.

If my friends call me up and ask if I want to go on a road ride I would not bring the BRC... but I might bring my XC bike or folder just to mess with them.

:)

You're good. I was debating saying something myself. This is a forum,however,it's poor forum etiquette to just dig up a stack of old threads. Really no good reason to fire up this debate again.

I know; I did feel a little bad about my waspish response so thought I'd mollify things. I do stand by the substance of my comments, however, and I do think that this poor board is suffering a little at the moment. Oh well. By the bye, the poster in question is taking quite a beating at the moment over on the 41 ... started a thread about 'toe overlap', of all things.

lol If something bother me I just ask and talk about that. I think It's a idea of the forum. I don't see any thread as an "old one". It may look old to you or me at this moment, but it may be something helpful for the next person. I still find a lot of "old threads" that are helping me with understanding some things and many are really interesting.
Some of you may not agree with my way of thinking, but are cool and understanding about it, and some will be always a-holes no matter what. But hey, it's live and we are all different. No need to be an ass for silly reason....right? I can take beating quite well, but only from intelligent opponents ;-)