Help.
Don't want to make another expensive decision so I'm asking for advice.
In 2009 I bought my first proper bike, as in, more than £200. I bought a Giant Roam Xr1 costing £850. It's a hybrid bike with Magura hydraulic rim brakes and a triple. 27 speed I think. Didn't really know how good those brakes were at the beginning although I do now. I've still got the bike and it's my preference. I started doing more longer rides and a couple of C2C's (different routes) each year. Regular rides from Chester to Barmouth (70-80 miles over mountains ish). Sometimes with my mates on long rides I'd run out of puff a bit. Honestly, I think it was the rider not having trained or been in the saddle enough. Just because I think I'm fit doesn't mean I can jump on it and do 75 miles out of the blue. But one thing that was pointed out to me was when it gets a bit tough, I'm on the equivalent of a tractor compared to their road bikes and THAT could be slowing me down.
So, I went out and bought a Giant Anyroad with drop bars and a compact (as opposed to a triple). I was also clipped in for the first time. Neither of these things I could cope with. If I needed to brake suddenly, I wasn't on the brakes and very often I'd fall off having not clipped out in time. I know all the arguments regarding clips or not and I'm not going over that now. I prefer pedals with toe thingies; stops feed slipping off and I don't want to pull up. The giant Anyroad is gone. RIP.
So now I want a new bike and I've decided I definitely want flat handlebars. Now the gears on my Roam XR1 were really low and allowed me to get up all the steep hills I'd encounter. I'm really not or trying to be a competitive cyclist and I don't want to look like the professionals. I'm really not bothered what somebody thinks when they see me in the cafe at horseheoe pass with a triple.
So, I want, flat bar, rigid forks (because I want it as light as a road bike) and preferably a triple. You see, I'm not completely rulling out a 32/48 chainring with a 11/34 cassette (don't think anybody fits the 11/36 as std).
At the moment, I'm thinking Giant Fastroad Comax 2 2017 or a Specialized Sirrus Elite. Can't find weights of these or how they compare. Anybody any other similar suggestions?
Many thanks everyone who reads.
Don't want to make another expensive decision so I'm asking for advice.
In 2009 I bought my first proper bike, as in, more than £200. I bought a Giant Roam Xr1 costing £850. It's a hybrid bike with Magura hydraulic rim brakes and a triple. 27 speed I think. Didn't really know how good those brakes were at the beginning although I do now. I've still got the bike and it's my preference. I started doing more longer rides and a couple of C2C's (different routes) each year. Regular rides from Chester to Barmouth (70-80 miles over mountains ish). Sometimes with my mates on long rides I'd run out of puff a bit. Honestly, I think it was the rider not having trained or been in the saddle enough. Just because I think I'm fit doesn't mean I can jump on it and do 75 miles out of the blue. But one thing that was pointed out to me was when it gets a bit tough, I'm on the equivalent of a tractor compared to their road bikes and THAT could be slowing me down.
So, I went out and bought a Giant Anyroad with drop bars and a compact (as opposed to a triple). I was also clipped in for the first time. Neither of these things I could cope with. If I needed to brake suddenly, I wasn't on the brakes and very often I'd fall off having not clipped out in time. I know all the arguments regarding clips or not and I'm not going over that now. I prefer pedals with toe thingies; stops feed slipping off and I don't want to pull up. The giant Anyroad is gone. RIP.
So now I want a new bike and I've decided I definitely want flat handlebars. Now the gears on my Roam XR1 were really low and allowed me to get up all the steep hills I'd encounter. I'm really not or trying to be a competitive cyclist and I don't want to look like the professionals. I'm really not bothered what somebody thinks when they see me in the cafe at horseheoe pass with a triple.
So, I want, flat bar, rigid forks (because I want it as light as a road bike) and preferably a triple. You see, I'm not completely rulling out a 32/48 chainring with a 11/34 cassette (don't think anybody fits the 11/36 as std).
At the moment, I'm thinking Giant Fastroad Comax 2 2017 or a Specialized Sirrus Elite. Can't find weights of these or how they compare. Anybody any other similar suggestions?
Many thanks everyone who reads.
