Did you change from Hybrid to Drop Bar Bike

[doyler78]

So often we see people who come on the forums here who are complete beginners, at least during adulthood, who are looking for a new bike. Often they feel intimidated by drop bars thinking that they aren't good enough for one or just think they look strange. They then set their mind on a hybrid or flat bar road bike.

Just wondering about those people that first bought a hybrid/flat bar road bike and how many of them have since converted to a drop bar version (for the purposes of the poll anything which isn't a drop bar counts as a hybrid ie slicked up moutain bikes, etc which are used primarily on road or towpaths - no mountain biking country included as that takes a much more specialised bike)

 

[zimzum42]

I use a profile airwing. How am I supposed to vote?

does a bmx as a little kid count as my first bike, or the drop bar racer I got when i was 10 or so?

 

[John the Monkey]

I started on my Dad's old hybrid (Raleigh Pioneer Elite) then got an '80s ten speed to see whether I liked road bikes, and it was downhill from there...

The hybrid is my short trip bike, and an SCR2.0 my commuting and fun bike.

 

[doyler78]

I use a profile airwing. How am I supposed to vote?

does a bmx as a little kid count as my first bike, or the drop bar racer I got when i was 10 or so?

Perhaps the clue is in during adulthood. This is aimed at adults who have taken up cycling later in life. We don't get many beginners on here who are 10

 

[zimzum42]

That'll teach me to skim read!

 

[HLaB]

I use a flat bar road bike but the next bike I bought was dropped bar. The flat bar bike is now my winter/ training/ fast utility bike and dropped bar is the summer bling. I also have a cheap Hybrid as a commuter.

 

[dantheman]

well being a beginner, i have bought a hbrid, and yes, its cause idont know if id get on with drops- ive only tried to ride one once, and that was when i was a kid.. didnt feel safe, and so have only ever had flat bars... and yes, i can kinda say that i may like to try drops in the future, as long as i get more than a years use of this bike first, i dont think the "other half" will chop my danglies off.... so iwill probably turn into a convert in the future...

 

[Nick1979]

I'm doing the transition right now, it was fast: bought my first hybrid 8 months ago and will hopefully replace it with a 'proper' road bike this week!!

 

[alecstilleyedye]

I use a profile airwing. How am I supposed to vote?

does a bmx as a little kid count as my first bike, or the drop bar racer I got when i was 10 or so?

yeh, started with a rally chico (flat), then got a raleigh olympus (drops), then various bmx and tracker bikes (all flat), then old steel racer (drop), then mtb (flat) then two more road bike (drops).

i didn't find an option for that

 

[Maz]

I am still waiting to take the plunge and get a drop bar bike....I have had my Sirrus Elite (would that be regarded as a flat bar road bike?) for a couple of years. It's fast, but I want to get more aero where possible and go a bit faster, on the dual-carriageway etc.

 

[gbb]

I probably did the opposite, to my regret.
Always rode 'racing bikes' (Raleighs, Carltons etc).
Maybe 5 years ago, i thought i'm going to buy myself a new road bike (my first..after all these years )
I couldnt find anything in my price range at that time, so spent £375 on a Trek hybrid.....and hated it, probably because it wasnt what i set out to buy, or wouldnt do the job i origionally wanted.

I got my new road bike two years later (and the Trek had hardly been used in that time)

 

[doyler78]

I asked the question because this was exactly where I started. When I started cycling 4 years ago everyone told me to get a racer however I just thought they looked strange and awkward and that I would be too slow on them and embarrass myself on it. If I had a flat bar at least I could say well they are all aero

A couple of years after it as I had got much more confident in my cycling and started to find performance gains harder to come by I started to wish I had gone down the drop bar bike though I would always deny that to anyone that recommended them before

I am in the process of buying my drop bar and just wondered how many had gone through the same process and it seems to be a quite a common route for older people (in other words not someone who has cycled right through from childhood) coming into cycling to progress through their cycling.

I just can't wait to get out on my new bike. Hopefully in the next week and bring an end to my interminable wait

If I get on well with my drop bar then my next purchase will be a drop bar winter/commute bike on cycle to work but we'll see.

 

[dudi]

I started riding again 2 years ago, and bought myself a lovely cheap as chips full suspension bike... it broke after a few months and I was given a hybrid by my brother.
Rode the hybrid about 10 months and then I had a crash, which wrote off the bike and nearly wrote off me aswell...

during my recouperation I bought a new cycling jersey & some shorts.

then My work offered a cycle to work scheme thru halfords, with which i bought my first road bike, a claud butler san remo. quite a nice bike for £300... just as a starter outer to see if i liked the drops. I did!

I still own that bike, and I have also built myself a fixie. I use the fixie for commuting (about 20 miles a day at the moment) and used to use the CB at weekends for longer rides.
I've lent my brother the CB now as we've been getting ready for the London 2 Brighton. I've been using the Fixie for any riding now, anything up to 60 miles so far... love it.

I'm guessing that I'll be bying a new bike soon, and will go for a nice fancy fast machine for the weekend, and keep my low maintenance fixie for commuting.

I'd never go back to flats unless I wanted to take up MTB riding, drops are far more comfortable in my opinion.

 

[Nick1979]

So Doyler, have you decided what you're going to buy as your first true roadie? I'm still looking for ideas!!

 

[bonj2]

i covnerted my bijke to drop bars