89 miles in October - On a shoestring - Road bike or Hybrid?

[Huntsekker]

Hi all,

New to cycing, not ridden since my Raleigh Record Sprint 25 years ago...

But I've decided to do it this year and take on the Oxford to Cambridge in October with some colleagues (gulp!) and I want to know if a £300-£350 Halfords bike will be good enough? (R2W scheme ties me to Halfords)

We are looking at averaging 15-16mph, nothing more.

I was thinking of getting the Carrera Gryphon (£350), as people were saying it was decent for fitness, but then I saw the Carrera Virtuoso (£330) and thought a road bike might be better?
Whilst training I won't be riding trails, just cycle paths and roads.

So could anyone tell me if a hybrid would be ok, or if I should get myself a road bike again?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Prasad]

Hi all,

New to cycing, not ridden since my Raleigh Record Sprint 25 years ago...

But I've decided to do it this year and take on the Oxford to Cambridge in October with some colleagues (gulp!) and I want to know if a £300-£350 Halfords bike will be good enough? (R2W scheme ties me to Halfords)

We are looking at averaging 15-16mph, nothing more.

I was thinking of getting the Carrera Gryphon (£350), as people were saying it was decent for fitness, but then I saw the Carrera Virtuoso (£330) and thought a road bike might be better?
Whilst training I won't be riding trails, just cycle paths and roads.

So could anyone tell me if a hybrid would be ok, or if I should get myself a road bike again?

Thanks in advance!

I done it last year on Ridgeback velocity hybrid. You should able to complete it without any problem. Bikes you mentioned are fit to purpose. I'm new to road bike. So can't tell what difference it would have made.

 

[accountantpete]

I suppose the more you spend the easier the ride will be,however the bikes you mention will get you there ok. So it really depends on what else you are going to do on the bike.

 

[WickfordWheels]

I think it will come down to personal preference at the end of the day. If it were me, I would go for the hybrid, slightly more comfortable. Any of those bikes from Halfords will do the job - in fact they are all very good (in my opinion). Make sure you get plenty of rides in before the big one to get used to the bike and to make sure its all set up correctly.

 

[MacB]

Buy the hybrid now for the versatility, if you don't get the cycling bug then it's a more useful bike to have than a road bike. If you do get bitten by the bug then you'll be getting a fancier bike before October for the ride By then you'll also have a far better idea of what sort of riding you want to do, your riding style will have matured and you can look at bikes that suit you.

Then you can put up a thread asking which road/tourer/audax/fast hybrid, for under £2k

 

[Paulus]

Buy the hybrid now for the versatility, if you don't get the cycling bug then it's a more useful bike to have than a road bike. If you do get bitten by the bug then you'll be getting a fancier bike before October for the ride By then you'll also have a far better idea of what sort of riding you want to do, your riding style will have matured and you can look at bikes that suit you.

Then you can put up a thread asking which road/tourer/audax/fast hybrid, for under £2k

Under? surely you mean over

Hi there Huntsekker, I have done this ride a few times, and a reasonable hybred will be fine, a friend of mine rides a fairly heavy, cheapish hybred and he gets to Cambridge no problem. As MacB says, if you get the bug you can always get a better bike later on.

 

[getfit]

Make sure you get plenty of rides in before the big one to get used to the bike and to make sure its all set up correctly.

As Wickfordwheels says, get the miles in. I took up cycling again last year and completed a couple of charity rides (81 & 89 miles) It would be fair to say that I didn't get enough miles in the saddle before attempting the rides! The first 50-60 miles was ok but after that I really suffered and my average dropped from 15 mph down to 12 mph.

I do intend to enter more rides this year but will put a lot more work in before the event. I also found myself going to fast in the early stages so don't be afraid to hold back for a few hours.

Good luck with the ride.

 

[getfit]

Huntsekker,

I forgot to mention your bike choice. I have a Diamond Back Hybrid that cost around the same money as you're looking to spend and although it did the job I am now upgrading to a road bike. I was riding a mixture of road and trails so the hybrid made sense but now as I am only doing roads I feel the need to go to a road bike as this is designed for purpose. In fairness I understand why guys are advising the hybrid as they do have more versatility but unless you can see yourself riding trails, or maybe out with the kids then I would advise the road bike.

GF

 

[Huntsekker]

Thanks for the excellent advice all. I'll have a think and make a final choice tonight!

I think the "cheap hybrid" leading to "expensive road bike" route sounds most sensible. (well sensible might be a tad strong) .. now that I know they are both fit for purpose.

My thinking is since a cheap road bike would only get replaced by another road bike later on. At least this way I'll end up with a cheap hybrid for commuting and messing about, and then a lovely road bike for the longer runs!

2 bikes!

 

[Willo]

Separate from the question of road hybrid, and apols if obvious, but as it's not always made clear, Halfords can supply different makes etc. through the Cycle to Work scheme. I got a Specialized bike through them and know they can supply Trek also. If you call the Cycle to Work no. from the Halfords website they'll tell you what they can order in for you.

 

[Twenty Inch]

Good point Willo. Huntsekker, get the miles in beforehand, and DO get your bike properly looked over by a local bike shop. Halfords have a deservedly terrible reputation for letting unsafe bikes go out their doors. I myself helped a girl get back on the road after the chainset on her 2-week-old Carrera FELL OFF in the middle of the road.