Hybrid v 'road race' bike for commuting

[Norm]

I agree with most of the above, with one small change...

- Cyclocross - beefier and heavier with chunky tyres to look like it could be used for off road racing.

My choice is to use the flat-barred bike if I'm doing 2-3 miles. Over that distance, the flat bars give more manoeuvrability through traffic but it is mainly because that's usually the journey into town, so I'll be wearing "civvies" rather than cycling gear and I don't mind leaving a 20-year old bike there.

Much more than that and I find the positions on drop bars invaluable to allow you to move around from tops to hoods to drops.

I used a cyclo-cross style bike for my commute of just under 10 miles each way. I left the chunky tyres on it because the road surfaces were pretty atrocious in places and the 32mm rubber allowed me to ride over it without too many concerns for my coccyx. There was basically no difference in the riding times between the CX bike and the road bike because, although the road bike would be faster on decent tarmac, I spent too long slowing and accelerating, dodging potholes and being concerned for the narrower tyres and lighter wheels.

Summary, I'd go touring or CX-style.

 

[jimboalee]

No bike is any faster than another. If you threw a bunch of bicycles out of an aeroplane, they'd hit the ground at roughly the same time.

It's the rider's power to weight ratio that makes the difference.

In other words, a thin weakling on a roadrace bike wouldn't be faster than a well trained cyclist on a Raleigh 20.

But if its the same individual, in city traffic, a roadrace bike might be only slightly faster than the Raleigh 20.
Like 1 minute in a 40 minute trip across town.

 

[twowheelsgood]

I tend to mostly use a modified hybrid. 28c touring tyres (305g panaracer paselas) and a lower stem for a more aero position.

The difference over 20km each way compared to a road bike is around a minute and a half according to their computers. So basically not worth giving up mudguards and taking my clothes in a rucksack compared to panniers on the rack. I think in most cases it "feels much quicker" rather than "it is much quicker". But then 36 miles is a pretty long commute.

It also depends on what you mean by "road bike". I also have a Kaffenback, with drops set up for light touring (25c types). In real world road conditions there is no difference whatsoever between this and my Trek road bike going to work. I'd seriously question the wisdom of owning a "pure road bike" if you weren't into competition or fitness training, especially if it were your only bike. An audax-type bike would make infinitely more sense and not be any slower.

The problem is that most hybrids as sold seem unecessarily clunky in one way or another, usually cr@p tyres or worse "puncture proofs" weighing 600g a piece. Suspension on anything not a mountain bike is of course the work of the devil.

There are other advantages too. One of my routes the hybrid is faster because the broken asphalt surface means I need to slow down on the road bike. Another thing is road bike gearing is typically stupidly high for commuting (I can get 60kph and not spin out down hill on my hybrid, I'm not sure who travels faster than that to work).

Marin seem to have hit the sweet spot IMHO with their "Alp bikes". Pity they are overpriced and have some odd component choices.

 

[adds21]

But if its the same individual, in city traffic, a roadrace bike might be only slightly faster than the Raleigh 20.
Like 1 minute in a 40 minute trip across town.

Totally depends on the route. I'm between 5 and 10 minutes quicker on a 9 mile, 1,000 feet climb, country commute on my audax than I am on my hybrid. 5 or 10 minutes in the evening makes a big difference when you have young children. It's the difference between a family meal together, and me eating alone.

 

[Asprilla]

Totally depends on the route. I'm between 5 and 10 minutes quicker on a 9 mile, 1,000 feet climb, country commute on my audax than I am on my hybrid. 5 or 10 minutes in the evening makes a big difference when you have young children. It's the difference between a family meal together, and me eating alone.

Yup, 5 minutes is the difference between me seeing my baby daughter before bedtime or not. That's all the difference in the world.

Also, some bikes are faster than others for a number of reasons ranging from rolling resistance of tyres and gearing to how long the rider can sustain a certain level of effort comfortably. If these things didn't make a difference then why have 'racing bikes'?

Also, can someone tell me why a flat bar makes a bike more manouverable in traffic? As far as I'm aware is't the length of the bike from front wheel contact point to the same at the back that determined this?

 

[jimboalee]

And another point of view.

If the aim of your commuting by bike is to lose a few excess pounds of fat from around your midriff, the heavy cumbersome bike is the one to chose.

Get the roadbike when the waist and legs look the part.

 

[adds21]

And another point of view.

If the aim of your commuting by bike is to lose a few excess pounds of fat from around your midriff, the heavy cumbersome bike is the one to chose.

Get the roadbike when the waist and legs look the part.

That's true, when I come home on my hybrid (which is heavy, and has Marathons on), I can really feel it! Not that it's necessary a bad thing.

 

[vorsprung]

For commuting I have a Cotic Roadrat (which is essentially a hybrid with drops) and an Orbea racing bike

In the winter, when I need panniers or on poor weather days I use the Roadrat

On fine days I use the Orbea

The round trip is about 30 miles. The Orbea is 2 or 3 minutes faster each way

 

[Tynan]

I ride what i consider to be a road bike (Fratello) and it came as standard with full guards, a rack and a pannier

It's also a joy to ride and goes quick when you want it too, I use to ride lots of London miles on a hybrid when younger and hitting 20mph was a high point, older these days and I expect to cruise at 20, often faster and 30 is my new 'cor' speed, I don't buy the 1mph difference

Not that many people commute on an out and out race bike, an awful lot do on frames with drops and thin tyres, yes lots use rucksacks but they'll all take a frame if you want them to, if it has to use clips

If you;re buying new you can defo get a road bike that will take every commute accessory you need

 

[nightoff]

I've commuted on and off over the last 10 years. All but the last 3 months were on a hybrid with full guards, panniers etc. This bike has carried me thousands of miles with very little money spent on it's upkeep. It has been reliable and cheap. The flip side is it's dull, relatively slow and fairly uncomfortable on anything over 5 miles.
I now commute on a road race bike with a nice big Carradice saddle bag. I can honestly say I don't miss a thing about the hybrid. I am loving the extra speed, hand positions, acceleration and increased filtering options. With a few extras like clip on mudguards and saddlebag it is upto the challenge of commuting.
The hybrid will get another turn when the gritters come out though.
If the roads were in bad nick where I live I would consider an audax, tourer or cyclo-cross bike. Drops are waaaay better than flat bars IMHO.

 

[jimboalee]

And yet another point of view.

Half way between a 'Hybrid' and a roadrace bike is a 'Sports' bike.

They are not tourers. Today's 'Audax' bikes are akin to a 'sports' bike. Some mudguard clearance.

 

[jonny jeez]

Hi Roscco and Welcome.

My commute is the same (more or less) distance and i use an antique MTB to do the job.

My only concern is comfort, forget about speed, when you ride in town speed has more to do with you than the bike ...see below

Personally I am starting to find my MTB to be a little uncomfortable. Especially after the 6th (hour to an hour and a half) ride in a week. After about 15 miles my back begins to ache and I cannot find a comfortable ...er…"seating" position. So I find myself adjusting my position too much to get comfy.

On the speed front, traffic, lights, other bikes and vigilance all contrive to keep your speed down. The only exception I would have is that, towards the end of my ride I hit more open and faster roads. In these circumstances (and with the benefit of a year or so of commuting behind me) I, personally, would like to have a little more top end speed so a road bike is looking more favourable.

In summary. Buy something cheap and crap...do the ride for a few weeks so that you can appreciate what it is that you need, then make a choice that suits YOUR considered needs.

 

[CharlieB]

This guy's got a 'Throttle sticking open' problem.

Guilty as charged.

 

[sadjack]

+1 for the tourer and Marathon Plus's

 

[Norm]

No bike is any faster than another. If you threw a bunch of bicycles out of an aeroplane, they'd hit the ground at roughly the same time.

It's the rider's power to weight ratio that makes the difference.

In other words, a thin weakling on a roadrace bike wouldn't be faster than a well trained cyclist on a Raleigh 20.

But if its the same individual, in city traffic, a roadrace bike might be only slightly faster than the Raleigh 20.
Like 1 minute in a 40 minute trip across town.

I almost, but not quite, totally agree with this.

As I already said, there is no noticeable difference between my CX-style bike (comfortable seating, more upright, slightly heavier with heavy duty rims and 32mm tyres) and the audax-style bike with 25mm tyres.

However, when moving out to the extremes, I am around 20% faster on tarmac on either of the road bikes than I am on the fat-tyred (2.25x26 knobblies) MTB over the same 7-mile circuit. I think that's the tyres more than anything else. Switch from the fat tyres to, for instance, 1.5x26 City Jets and the difference comes down to closer to 5%, which is, as you say, just a minute or two over 40 minutes.