Hybrid or HardTail........which is most suitable for.......

[Dave7]

I have a road bike. I was (maybe still am) going to buy a Hybrid for use on canal paths/Penine Way/Forrest Trails.........I will not (at my age) be doing any jumps or proper mountain biking.
Two of the LBS persons suggested a HardTail (26 or 29er) with the following reasons......
1) Modern Hard tails will go very well on the flat (both paths and roads)
2) Hard tails will do road/paths and serious off road.
3) Hybrids (no matter what the blurb says) are only any good for dry paths and will not handle
forrest trails unless they are relatively smooth. Will not handle wet/muddy paths.

Can anyone with experience comment e.g. someone who is or has ridden both. I have never ridden a Hard Tail.
Thanks

 

[MacB]

It does depend a bit on exactly what the hybrid is, some are significantly tougher than others. The problem is the word is used to describe everything from a road bike with some flat bars to a MTB with some commuting/road type add-ons. I'd make a list of what you definitely want and definitely don't want, then start narrowing it down from there. For example:-

suspension - unless you spend a lot then the suspension will add weight for little benefit and wouldn't be able to cope with rigorous offroading anyway. A cheapish hybrid with 700c tyres up to about 700x45 and front suspension may be a poorer choice than a fully rigid 29er that can take a 2.3" tyre. The latter will be lighter and the extra rubber will give all the cushioning benefit you night need.

frame fittings - do you want to be able to run guards, a rack, extra bottle cages, what type of brakes, what sort of handlebars, and so on.

There's quite a market developing in allrounders, I have personal experience of both the Surly Crosscheck and the Salsa Vaya, the Surly Karate Monkey is also considered a good allrounder. The first two are like robust touring/cross bikes and the latter is a 29er. But there are lots of other options out there.

On a personal level, if I had to have one allrounder bike then it would be a rigid 29er. I run mine with 2.2" knobblies for offroad, 2.2" semi knobblies for mixed surfaces and 700x40 slicks for road use. I may, at some point, invest in some suspension forks as swapping forks isn't a toughie, just need a spare crown race and steerer bung. But my 29er can also take full mudguards and rack.

That said my eldest has a Specialised Crosstrail and it's a good bike, but the suspension isn't needed for the sort of riding we do.

 

[Alembicbassman]

I've owned 2 hybrids in the last few years, Marin Larkspur and Carrera Gryphon. The Marin was more MTB with rigid forks, the Carrera was more road with a compact chainset. In the end I sold them and opted for standard road bikes for road riding and a hardtail MTB for everything else. My hardtail is as light as the hybrids, thanks to a good aluminium frame and V brakes (disc brakes add a lot of weight). With basic suspension forks and fitted with slicks it's extremely comfy and tackles everything from pot-holed country lanes to rough bridleways with ease. At £180 from Decathlon it was a bargain too.

If I feel the need for speed I have my 2 road bikes, but I manage a respectable 15mph average on the road with the hardtail.

Photo was taken before I added the slicks

 

[Dave7]

. My hardtail is as light as the hybrids, thanks to a good aluminium frame and V brakes (disc brakes add a lot of weight). With basic suspension forks and fitted with slicks it's extremely comfy and tackles everything from pot-holed country lanes to rough bridleways with ease. At £180 from Decathlon it was a bargain too.

but I manage a respectable 15mph average on the road with the hardtail.

Photo was taken before I added the slicks

That is the way my thinking is "leaning".
When you say......"you can manage 15 mph".......is that flat out with your legs going like the clappers ?
What "slicks" did you fit that cope with potholes & rough bridle ways ?
Thanks

 

[wiggydiggy]

I have a road bike. I was (maybe still am) going to buy a Hybrid for use on canal paths/Penine Way/Forrest Trails.........I will not (at my age) be doing any jumps or proper mountain biking.
Two of the LBS persons suggested a HardTail (26 or 29er) with the following reasons......
1) Modern Hard tails will go very well on the flat (both paths and roads)
2) Hard tails will do road/paths and serious off road.
3) Hybrids (no matter what the blurb says) are only any good for dry paths and will not handle
forrest trails unless they are relatively smooth. Will not handle wet/muddy paths.

Can anyone with experience comment e.g. someone who is or has ridden both. I have never ridden a Hard Tail.
Thanks

/Rant/
3) Without ranting at you as its not your advice, your LBS is talking out of its bottom in its opinion that hybrids are 'only' good for dry paths, and cannot handle anything less than relatively smooth or anything at all that is wet/muddy - frankly if the 2nd part of that statement is true every time it rains I should stay at home .

I've been riding a Carrera Subway for the last two years, full rigid with 26"'s. I've taken it up and down the Leeds/Liverpool canal from Blackburn>Leeds, have done the Transpenning Trail from Leeds>Hull, and have taken it through so very rutted foresty conditions in/around North Leeds and just to throw some road in I've done the odd 'charity event' on roads with lots of roadies spinning past me lol!

Never once has it let me down or put me in danger, the only time I had to get off and push was on very wet grass uphill where the back failed to grip and that was one time only. It was easily solved with a slightly knobbly rear to give some grip.

I've just ordered a Marin Belvedere, full rigid, 29" as my next bike.
/Rant Over/

BUT!

Having said all of that, a bicycle is abosultely down to what you want to do with it and what you need to get from it, and whereas I have to go for a hybrid due to lack of space for 2 bikes, you have a road bike already so why limit yourself with a hybrid? So despite me personally needing one, for you I would say go for a Hardtail. You can get Hybrids with Suspension Forks but based on the advice I got from other members here I went for full rigid. You can read the pros/cons here:

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/wh...h-better-than-what-ive-got.90529/post-1622583

So er bottom line from me, go Hardtail maybe a 29er.

Hope that helps!

 

[zizou]

As you already have the road bike i'd advice on getting a hardtail and probably a 29er at that. If you get one with a fork that can lock out then it will be fairly good on road (however not as good as the average hybrid) but offroad it will be more capable, even if you have no intention of doing jumps etc.

Basically the average hybrid will be ok for some offroad but it will be at its best for the sort of riding that your road bike already covers whereas the mountain bike gives you a different option.

 

[Alembicbassman]

I've put Schwalbe City Jets on, but Schwalbe Marathon would be better. 15 mph is easy in the big ring (42t) with an 11-32 cassette. Slicks are OK for anything except gloopy mud and wet grass. Marathons have a bit of tread. Schwalbe Hurricanes are a hybrid tyre if you want to do more off road. My frame is larger than would normally be used for pure off road (21 inches) to give me a more comfortable ride in the saddle over longer periods.

 

[Norm]

Has anyone been able to define hybrid yet? (the answer is 'no' as it is a meaningless term)

If you want to ride off road, ignore the marketing tags and get a bike with off road geometry. The decision is not bs about hybrids, it's whether you want front suspension or not. If you ride mostly on the road, get a rigid bike. If mostly off road, get a hard tail. If some of both, get a hard tail with decent locking forks.

 

[chugsy]

I fitted Schwalbe CX Comp 700x35c to my hybrid (admittedly a rigid MTB with 700c wheels) and rode the sort of terrain described in the OP - I did not regret selling my hardtail. They can only handle 65 psi max so are relatively plush.
I got rid of the hardtail as I'm never going to hit the "hard" stuff again.