Hybrid or road bike for climbing hills

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Mick54

Active Member
Location
Northumberland
Hi Folks,
Probably a stupid question but i respect a lot depends on the person and gears on the bike but on average which is more suited for climbing steep hills,road bike or hybrid
 

BurningLegs

Veteran
Hybrid, assuming it has mountain bike gears on it.

Gears on a road bike are usually capable of higher maximum speeds, mountain bikes for steeper gradients on challenging terrain.

Are you planning a purchase? Feel free to post links to bikes you are considering if so :smile:
 
All being alike gears wise the lighter bike and to a very small degree aerodynamic (matters more on the flat) road bike will be better it may allow you to get out more power but a hybrid may have a better range of gearing which allows you to spin up hills rather than grinding to a halt. The point between more efficiency and grind vs spin though as you suggest will vary by person and length of the steep bit, etc. You don't see any hill climbs won on hybrids (occasionally flat bar road bikes) but those folks are all super fit :okay:
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
I have road bikes and a mtb based hybrid, all being equal i would take a road bike as the weight of the hybrid is a killer on climbs ,you can get road bikes with a compact chainset and a low rear gear like a 32 and you can climb a cliff.Another option is a road bike with a triple chain-set
decathlon comes with a compact and a 11-34
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/rc120-road-bike-grey-id_8554264.html
 
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SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
I'm surprised no-one has mentioned using a Touring bike with a triple chainset. They are definitely set up for climbing gradients, and if built around a high quality frame, may be slightly lighter than either a MTB or Hybrid.
On the subject of weight though, don't go too much on manufacturers figures - when a lot of the time those weights are quoted for small frame sizes with no mudguards or even pedals fitted. The weight that counts is the weight of a bike in real world running condition, fitted with all essential parts and any required accessories.
Bikes set up for practical use with mudguards, pump, and some basic first aid repair tools don't tend to end up much less than the high 20's pounds weight no matter what.
 

CXRAndy

Guru
Location
Lincs
It is just down to gearing on a road bike. This doesn't mean its not possible to buy a bike or convert a bike to the necessary gearing. I run a triple Di2 with 48/36/26 chainset with either a 11-32 or 11-40 cassette on different wheelsets.

I can climb any gradient, keep a decent cadence whilst seated if I choose

There are a number of adventure cranksets Shimano GRX and FSA adventure cranksets are two. The GRX has 48/31 chainrings. FSA 48/32, 46/30
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
An MTB, even a quality rigid one made of butted tubing, will always be at a slight disadvantage because they tend to have heavier frames and especially forks, to stand up to off-road abuse. Likewise they will also run wider rims which still weigh more even if the knobbly tyres are replaced by road ones. But, they have the advantage of being very robust and cheap to buy secondhand and convert to road use.
Saving weight on bikes is akin to buying precious metals once the easy gains have been made (such as simply removing things not required). It is not sensible to become too obsessive about bike weight, especially if the rider could do with losing a few pounds themselves!
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
Why so high? :okay:

I suspect he means front and rear sprockets of equal tooth count. I have triples with a 28T inner ring combined with a 28T sprocket, giving me a 27" gear on 700 tyres. With that sort of gearing you are getting to the point where you can lift the front wheel if you hit a bump, rather than running out of leg power.
 
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