How hybrid should a hybrid be?

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lewjamben

Active Member
Location
Derbyshire
Hi guys. I've not contributed on the forum yet as I feel I don't yet have anything to contribute.

I do, however, have a question aimed at those who own or have experience of the CBoardman range of hybrid cycles.

Put simply, the wheels/tyres combo on these seem more akin to that of road bikes. The reason I want a hybrid is because I'll be using it 75% on the road and 25% on canal paths.
Do you thing that the wheels and tyres on the CCboardman hybrids wil be up to the job? I am taken with the Boardman's, but if it's not suitable, what hybrid would you recommend up to £700?

Many, many thanks in advance for your help.
 

Moodyman

Legendary Member
Hybrids are either mountain bikes with rigid forks or road racers with flat bars.

The Boardman range is the latter so you are getting a road bike.

It should be fine for well made canal towpaths, but not for anything worse.

Cyclocross bikes are the best of both worlds.
 

GrasB

Veteran
Location
Nr Cambridge
The bike will handle it, it's a tough frame but you may wish to change the tyres you get as standard as they're rather road orentated & won't give great grip on semi-lose surfaces.
 

battered

Guru
As others have implied it's a compromise. A hybrid is to bikes what the Land Rover Freelander is to cars. It will go off road from time to time but don't go issuing Freelanders to the British Army in Afghanistan because they will be wrecked in short order. At the same time an olive green Defender will be great around the farm but not much fun on a dual carriageway.

My favoured go anywhere bike is an old MTB with slicks. It's great on towpaths and tracks, it's a bit slow on extended road riding, and it tolerates the ploughed fields that pass for roads in Leeds. I appreciated this when I hit an unmarked, unseen crater the other night. A cyclocross bike will do the same, with a bit less bump absorption, and a hybrid will too, dependent on tyre choice. If I were going off road occasionlly I wouldn't go any narrower than 700x28c tyres. 25c is a bit narrow especially if it's wet and muddy, and 23c is, in the words of The Holy Hand Grenade, "right out".
 

jimboalee

New Member
Location
Solihull
Before BMX, MTBs and Hybrids, I rode a Youth's single speed bike with 24 x 1 3/8" tyres.
It had a pair of MotoX handlebars ( off a Yammi 80 schoolboy scrambler ).

That bike went everywhere. Tow paths, rough woodland, bridleways, down the slide at the local park.

Those tyres are 32 – 540.

I have 28 – 559 on my Land Rover Tahora and I wouldn't take them on anything rougher than a tow path.
 

Cyclist33

Guest
Location
Warrington
hi. i have a flat bar road hybrid. useless off road. if you have 700 either a specialized tri cross or felt qx at that price would be differently ace.

lewjamben said:
Hi guys. I've not contributed on the forum yet as I feel I don't yet have anything to contribute.

I do, however, have a question aimed at those who own or have experience of the CBoardman range of hybrid cycles.

Put simply, the wheels/tyres combo on these seem more akin to that of road bikes. The reason I want a hybrid is because I'll be using it 75% on the road and 25% on canal paths.
Do you thing that the wheels and tyres on the CCboardman hybrids wil be up to the job? I am taken with the Boardman's, but if it's not suitable, what hybrid would you recommend up to £700?

Many, many thanks in advance for your help.
 

Candaules

Well-Known Member
Location
England / France
I've recently bought a Boardman hybrid and am very pleased with it. I got it for road riding (I'm too stiff in the back and shoulders for a proper, drop bar, road bike), and was wary of taking it off-road. However, I had forgotten how bad the roads were, especially after this winter, and it has had to cope with worse surfaces than I expected (uneven tarmac, ruts, potholes, etc.).
I would be happy to ride it on well-surfaced urban towpaths, though I wouldn't venture onto mud or grass.
Also, beware of wet, uneven cobblestones. I had a nasty accident (on a different bike) under a canal bridge where green slimy water had built up on cobblestones.

The Boardman (I've got the mid range model) is a nice, light bike, and a pleasure to ride.
 

domjon

New Member
I've had the boardman urban pro ltd for a couple of months and whilst I love the bike it is a little less versatile than I'd hoped for...I did look at the cyclocross but really wanted disc brakes and flat bars. I reckon if you want to do 25% off-road then cyclocross is the better option...either that or you'll have to put some fatter sturdier tyres straight on the hybrid. I was an occasional canal path user and it was obvious that the stock tyres would be pretty much useless off-road so I tried some 28mm Marathons...I took them off after a week though...they felt so much slower and less grippy on the road that I decided I'd prefer to stick with the original tyres and stay on-road.

For now I'm happy whizzing around the roads on my slicks but when winter comes I think I'll be trying some 32mm or 35mm cross tyres to give me a few more options.
 

HJ

Cycling in Scotland
Location
Auld Reekie
lewjamben said:
Hi guys. I've not contributed on the forum yet as I feel I don't yet have anything to contribute.

I do, however, have a question aimed at those who own or have experience of the CBoardman range of hybrid cycles.

Put simply, the wheels/tyres combo on these seem more akin to that of road bikes. The reason I want a hybrid is because I'll be using it 75% on the road and 25% on canal paths.
Do you thing that the wheels and tyres on the CCboardman hybrids wil be up to the job? I am taken with the Boardman's, but if it's not suitable, what hybrid would you recommend up to £700?

Many, many thanks in advance for your help.

How hybrid do you want to be?

Most hybrid/trekking bikes around the £700 mark would be suitable for your purpose. The best way to tell if they are right for you is to test ride them, if it feels good then it is the right bike for you. Having bought the bike you may want to swap the tyres for something like a Conti GatorSkin (bike often come with cheap tyres to keep the price down) but apart from that you can't go far wrong.

Just test ride a few bikes and see how you get on :becool:
 
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