moving from MTB - hybrid or road bike?

[Slawek]

Right, need some advice from people in the know.

I have a very old MTB that I have being mostly on the roads. Over the last year I have moved to road only riding completely. I started enjoying the roads to the point that have decided to ditch my old MTB and buy either a road bike or a hybrid.

Now, I do not actually cycle a huge amount and I’m using the bike as part of building up and maintaining my fitness level (together with swimming and gym).

I’m usually using my bike just once a week and would do usually 30 miles as a part of building up my aerobic fitness (and so I use HR monitor during the rides). I do occasional do rides of some 50-60 miles if I can find the time. I intend to increase the weekly distance but I doubt I will be doing it more often than once a week.

So, have two questions. First one is whether I would be better off with road bike or a hybrid? Have never had chance to ride a road bike (plan on giving it a go at my local bike shop) and I guess I’m bit worried that I may find riding position uncomfortable. However, I did notice that while I ride my old bike, I do tend to lean forward rather than have an upright position (with hands on my bullhorn bar ends which are mounted horizontally). Surely there must be people round here who swapped from ‘normal’ bike to road bike? I would be very very keen to hear their opinions and experiences.

Second, I did some research about gear ratios and have compared gear I have right now with what seems to be a standard on road bikes (should I end up with road bike). My lowest gear ratio on my MTB is 1.0 and I find myself using it often enough while climbing hills. As far as I can see, road bikes do not come with such a low gear ratio (not to mention a larger wheel on top of that). So I guess I’m worried that should I buy a road bike I could end up with a bike that I will need to walk with up the hills.

Anyway, would appreciate any comments or suggestions regarding my dilemma. As to my budged, I would be over the moon if I could buy something decent up to 400.00 but I can stretch up to 600.00 if it’s going to make a big difference. The general intention is to buy a bike that’s going to be used for the next many many years.

 

[vickster]

Roadbike would make sense if you only ride on roads and want to do 50-60 mile rides. You have the MTB for other off road stuff

Lots of people have gone flats to drop s http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/did-you-change-from-hybrid-to-drop-bar-bike.11708/

If you live somewhere hilly consider a triple chainset or double with wide ratios

If you are generally fit with no back/neck issues, the riding position should be no issue - you can be pretty upright on a roadbike. Go for one with a more relaxed geometry rather than a nose down/ar*e up race geometry

The Decathlon bikes score well at the budget end for vfm. If planning on keeping the bike for years as you say, get the best frame that you can. Other stuff can be replaced / upgraded as and when

Planet X, Ribble, Merlin, Edinburgh Bike offer good vfm bikes by mail order (the latter also have shops up north). In an LBS, from the main brands your choice will be quite restricted, unless you can get a good deal on an older model (year on year it's often only the colour that changes )

Stating your location may help with local LBS recommendations

 

[raleighnut]

From a fitness/workout point of view a heavier bike is better over the same distance so if you buy a lighter cycle then you would need to increase the distance to compensate, but not the length of time cycling.

 

[RebornBumbler]

I'm a relative newbie, and have a similar bar (and lower gears) setup to you.

Having been doing progressively more road cycling, I find I'm increasingly spending time stretched out on the bar-ends.
Mostly it's to get out of the wind a bit, but also it's my body just being more amenable to being stretched-out. It sounds like you're in a similar position (literally).

So the time has come to get myself back to drop bars (which offer about as much variety as flat bars with ends even without dropping down to the bottom) but I've come to the conclusion that it's not worth 'upgrading' this bike - I'll keep it as it is, and buy a road bike.

I currently have big problems with hills (mainly I just run out of lungs), and quite often find I need to use a 28 front ring to get up some of the lumps around here. No doubt my climbing will improve, but I plan to either buy a road bike with a triple chainset or go for a lower-geared cross bike for my next purchase.
If my performance improves sufficiently, I can always swap the triple out for a compact later.

A pretty well-specified bike in your price range with a triple is here:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/btwin-triban-500-road-bike-id_8306944.html

And you can always fit a cassette with 28, maybe 30 teeth on the big sprocket to get you a bit lower still.

 

[raleighnut]

A lighter bike will climb more easily, a hill/ridge that I live on needs 30-25 on my hybrid but 42-19 on my TT bike, my effort is the same i.e I'm knackered at the top but it took a lot less time on the TT'er.

 

[Big Nick]

I went from a mtb to a hybrid and ended up buying a road bike 4 months later.....nuff said!!

 

[Steady]

I went straight from mtb to Road bike, I knew I enjoyed riding the mtb on the road, I wasn't using it for mtb trails or anything technical like that, just the odd canal tow paths that connected cycle routes, so I lost nothing as the road beside the tow path is a good road, but in my opinion a road bike is strictly for the road but I'm still babying my road bike!

I saw a hybrid as a waste of money for myself, I couldn't see the difference between a hybrid and a good old rigid 80/90s frame.

As a road newbie I was worried about a lot of comfort issues but so far I've had very few, just the stock saddle being terrible which is the first thing I learnt - a poor fitting saddle can ruin the feel of a bike.

Finding the right size frame is paramount, so sitting on the bikes is important, but minor comfort issues seem very easy and relatively cheap to sort out.

I have a triple so whether that gets me closer to my mtb gear range I don't know (I'm not that technical!) , but hills are everywhere around me and they are easier on the road bike, I imagine it's down to the weight differences et cetera.

I'm glad I went straight from mtb to road bike, and the "budget" decathlons in my opinion are brilliant.

 

[Slawek]

Thanks a lot for the advice / comments. Much appreciated.
Next bank holiday I will be in Rutland and will pop in to their shop (Rutland Cycling). I plan on renting a road bike of them for couple of hours and will give it a go and see how it feels. I hope I will be able then to definitely decide whether road bike is a 'no-no' or whether it's worth giving it a go. Plus there are few hills around, so will have a chance to see how I'm going to be doing uphill with the gears on road bike. I think I'm also concern about the position on road bike and possible negative impact on my lower back.

Thanks for pointing me towards Decathlon. My only problem is that I'm nowhere near any of their shops and I'm bit mindful buying a bike without having a chance to sit on it.

I like the idea of getting the best frame possible in my budget - any suggestions here? Once the bike is in, I can 'upgrade' components over time when needed it's just that first splash that's going to hurt.

And yes, I was thinking of possibly changing something about gears so that I get that lower gear for the hills if needed. I guess I will know once I have my 'test' ride in 2 weeks time.

 

[Slawek]

Right, just had my first ride on road bike - have rented a roadbike from rutland cycling. It was a Trek 1.1 (2013 model) as wanted to ride something close to what I would buy within my budget.

I cannot tell you how exhilarating that was... I had probably most fantastic ride on the road surface ever. I spent on the bike some 2 hours, covered 31 miles and started to regret I have not decided to buy a road bike a year or two ago.

So now just to decide which make of the bike to buy.

 

[vickster]

If you enjoyed riding the Trek that much, why not get a Trek...see what you can get in way of a 2013 model

Super looking bike and spec for your budget http://www.rutlandcycling.com/159678/products/genesis-volant-10-2014-road-bike.aspx

 

[Soltydog]

If you prefer the riding position on a mtb, why not go for a more road based hybrid with flat bars such as the Ridgeback Flight which are within budget

 

[vickster]

Sounds like he may have been converted having ridden a roadbike though

 

[Slawek]

@Soltydog. I love the drop bars. It's ironic in a way because I thought that this is what might put me off a road bike. I thought that the riding position might be uncomfortable after a longer ride. Turns out that not only it felt really good but my usual aches and pains I always have had while riding (e.g. hand starting to feel numb) where nowhere to be seen. So yes, I got converted to road bikes.

@vickster. Thanks for the link, will have a look. I assume that this brand is on par with others (e.g. Trek and so on)? Now I know what I need to look out for - my understanding is that the Trek I rode had a head tube a bit higher than some other road bikes. I was explained that it makes for bit more comfortable ride as the position on the bike is less 'racy'.

As to going uphill I found it not as bad as I thought it will be but still could do with a an one easier gear that I had (the easiest one had 1.2 ration). However, I guess it will be just a question of time before this is not going to be an issue. And in the worst case scenario, I could always change the cassette at the back.

 

[vickster]

Genesis a British brand and way cooler than the Americans IMO you'll also get sora group set and a carbon fork. But go ride

 

[Slawek]

I'm in the process of completing my shortlist and will certainly ask for some advice. I plan to get my shortlist to some 2-3 bikes and test ride them to choose the one.

I must say that I'm somehow surprised that people care so much how their bike looks like. I mean I would never put a bike on my shortlist just because I like how it looks like. I don't really care how it looks as long as it gives me the best I can get for my money. BTW, the more I look (as it must certainly be with many other people) the higher my budget gets. I have even had a moment thinking about carbon bike but in the end I could not really justify spending such money on a bike (in respect of what I plan to be doing with it). However, I have upped my budget to £ 800.00.