Did you change from Hybrid to Drop Bar Bike

[Roadhump]

I have gone from a drop bar bike to a hybrid, to an MTB, back to a hybrid and back to a drop bar road bike.

Many years ago (1985), I bought a Raleigh 10 speed drop bar bike for commuting, which I used for 11 years until I gave it to a mate and made the mistake of buying a cheap hybrid purporting to be an MTB. A couple of years later I threw that away and bought a Specialized Rockhopper which I used off road and for commuting, but 4 years ago, I decided to go for something more suited to road use and bought a Specialized Sirrus Pro - I still have the Rockhopper and use it occasionally on a local off road trail.

I love my Sirrus, and have been out on it about 3 or 4 times a week on average since buying it. But, I started fancying a drop bar bike a while ago and last month bought a Giant Defy, which is fantastic to ride. There is some talk on this thread talk of a less comfortable riding position on a road bike, but the Defy is designed to give a more relaxed position than other road bikes, and whilst it is somewhat faster than the Sirrus, I can still enjoy a relaxing countryside ride. I have had little trouble adjusting to dropped bars and braking from the hoods soon became quite natural to me; my next adjustment will be to get clipless pedals for the road bike, but not for the other 2.

I think each bike has its own place, and pros and cons. I will ride each for different reasons and in different places, depending on how the mood takes me. Whilst owning my 3 bikes, I wouldn't go for one over the others all the time, but mostly I will cycle on the road so it will usually be between the hybrid and road bike.

I can be a bit more adventurous on the hybrid and use the canal towpath or the occasional gravel track as well as the road, and the fact that it has a rack and large saddle bag / panniers makes it better if I want to stop for a bit of shopping or call in for a pint somewhere, but the road bike is lighter and faster so I can cover greater distances and enjoy a zippier ride when I feel like it. I just love getting out on a bike and variety is the spice of life.

 

[hepburn]

I got a mountain bike for my 40th and thought I would just use it to do a couple of miles a week while my daughter was learning to ride her bike. However I got completely hooked on the cycling buzz and found I was regularly completing 30 mile rides with no bother. So a year later I bought a flat bar (Specialized Vita) and a year after that (thanks largely to a healthy PPI refund) bought my first road bike (Merida Ride 94) which I absolutely love. I switched to clipless while I had the Specialized and took to them really easily although I have had some clipless moments but on the whole I much prefer them. I'm not so good on the drops - I always feel unbalanced and hate downhill more than uphill! I really love the challenge of a good long bike ride, most I have done is a really guelling 100km which was relentlessly hilly but the elation of completing it outweighed all the other feelings. Hoping to get out a couple of times this weekend.

 

[Timtrain]

I start out years ago on a drop bar, as the years go on and the back isn't a flexible, I moved to flat bars. Recently I've gone back to drop bar, mainly because of the frame geometry changing, to give a more relaxed riding position.

 

[DCBassman]

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!!

Me too. Up until now, a slicked-up mtb. Have avoided drops, possibly erroneously, due to lots of lower back surgery over the years. But have recently said 'sod it' and grabbed the opportunity to have a much lighter road bike. Not even ridden it yet - let's see what happens!

 

[DCBassman]

Fun happened!

 

[Part time cyclist]

my first bike purchase as an adult was back in 2010 an i bought a specialized sirrus that i rode for 4 years i slowly upgraded parts as the failed and converted it to a drop bar bike. i then purchased a giant tcr 2 drop bar bike in 2014 which i did many miles on and have just bought a more relaxed geometry road bike the giant defy
so its now dropped bar bike all the way for me and i am a 50 year old MAMIL

 

[pjd57]

I'm picking up the new dropbar bike tomorrow.
Ideally I would do a few miles round the local parks , but I need to get it home first.
Shortest route to the canal path will have to do.

 

[pjd57]

First impressions , after a couple of runs today.

Great . Much faster on the flat. Still getting used to the gears for climbing. Feels a lot better , even if it's not a lot quicker.

 

[jbw57]

Started out with a hybrid flat bar and just recently added a drop bar.....I enjoy both

 

[Tazmanian Devil]

I have always had flat bar cycles as a child growing up. My first drop bar road bike was a 1976 chrome coloured "Silver Streak", which had 10 speed for a number of years plus used it in the 1994 London to Brighton and 1995 Norwich 100 sportive. As I also wanted to have a bike that I could use off road so bought my first 1991 Trek 970 MTB with front fork suspension. Since then upgraded from 1976 drop bar bike to 2011 Trek Lexa SL, another drop bar bike, which I still use for winter and turbo training.

 

[Cycleops]

I bought this Specialized AWOL here and somebody had fitted it with flat bars. I just yearned to get back to drops so with a bit of help from Evans in the UK and Decathlon here I converted it. Much happier now.

 

[Goofball]

Had a racer when I was a kid, three speed which was a lot back then.
After that was straight handlebars until tomorrow moning, when I will road test the racer I converted back to drop handlebars.

 

[Kefrider]

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)

I started out on a hybrid for about 6 months then my local bike shop persuaded me to try a road bike and I haven't looked back since. It took me about a week to get used to the changing gears, braking and different riding position but now I'm loving it! Can't thank my bike shop enough.

 

[hoppym27]

I'm still on a hybrid and I love it..I might get a road bike at some time but the hybrid does what I want and Ive done a sportive and over 50 mile rides in snowdonia with no issues....dont diss the hybrid...just cos its not a carbon fibre roadbike with silly clip on pedal thingys its still a great workhorse and more than capable of the distance

 

[youngoldbloke]

You can get carbon fibre hybrids, and fit silly cl
[QUOTE 4993442, member: 43827"]You can get flat bars with carbon frames and silly clip on pedal thingys. MTBs and hybrids.[/QUOTE]
- I was just about to post the same - drop bar or hybrid - makes no difference