Cycling- Road or Hybrid?

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tdgeek

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#160502 9-Jan-2015 07:27

While we have a car, and I commute on a motorcycle, I want to get a good bike for exercise, cycling to work when weather, wind permits, riding around, etc.

Ive ridden a couple of bikes owqned by a neighbour. The road bike is a hard ride, and he's always getting punctures. The other bike is a fixer upper but seems to be an older hybrid, it rides better, as in softer. As it needs repairs, not conclusive.

I've seen hybrids at Bike Barn for $900. Merida 10V was one that seemed good.

Knowing nothing tech about bikes:

Are there any features I should avoid, or is a must have on one?
Can a road bike have the bigger tyres to give a better ride, and less punctures? I gather 700/23 are the teeny ones and 700/30 or 40 are bigger
Whats a Cross bike/tyre compared to a Hybrid?

Main goal is a non hard ride, less punctures, good combo of rolling resistance and comfort

Tks all

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#1210917 9-Jan-2015 07:56

The hybrids are a pretty good balance, but still probably 70/30 towards road riding. I reckon a hard tail mountain bike (front suspension only) and put some more road going tyres on it (it may come with them as often new ones in that price point don't come with aggressive off-road tyres). Go anywhere, do anything, no worries. I would shell out for disk brakes, they don't cost much more and are more reliable, especially in the wet. Other than that you get what you pay for really. You do get a lot of bike nowadays for around that $600 - $1000 mark.

The 27.5" wheels are becoming popular, or a 29" if you are a bit taller on a larger frame. Budget for a good helmet, gloves, and some hi-vis gear.

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#1210918 9-Jan-2015 07:58

ride comfort relates to tyre pressure. road tyres are about double the pressure in your car tyre. so yes use a bigger tyre and lower pressure, and special seat ;p

edit - or a something hardtail ;p (front suspension) AND above

tdgeek

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#1210924 9-Jan-2015 08:17

scuwp: The hybrids are a pretty good balance, but still probably 70/30 towards road riding. I reckon a hard tail mountain bike (front suspension only) and put some more road going tyres on it (it may come with them as often new ones in that price point don't come with aggressive off-road tyres). Go anywhere, do anything, no worries. I would shell out for disk brakes, they don't cost much more and are more reliable, especially in the wet. Other than that you get what you pay for really. You do get a lot of bike nowadays for around that $600 - $1000 mark.

The 27.5" wheels are becoming popular, or a 29" if you are a bit taller on a larger frame. Budget for a good helmet, gloves, and some hi-vis gear.

Cheers

27.5 wheels are 700's? I see the full road bikes use 23 tyres, and the few I have seen online use 30 or 40. I am 6'1" and not large.

The Merida 10V I mentioned seems to fit in with your reply aside from disk brakes.

scuwp

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#1210928 9-Jan-2015 08:29

tdgeek:
scuwp: The hybrids are a pretty good balance, but still probably 70/30 towards road riding. I reckon a hard tail mountain bike (front suspension only) and put some more road going tyres on it (it may come with them as often new ones in that price point don't come with aggressive off-road tyres). Go anywhere, do anything, no worries. I would shell out for disk brakes, they don't cost much more and are more reliable, especially in the wet. Other than that you get what you pay for really. You do get a lot of bike nowadays for around that $600 - $1000 mark.

The 27.5" wheels are becoming popular, or a 29" if you are a bit taller on a larger frame. Budget for a good helmet, gloves, and some hi-vis gear.

Cheers

27.5 wheels are 700's? I see the full road bikes use 23 tyres, and the few I have seen online use 30 or 40. I am 6'1" and not large.

The Merida 10V I mentioned seems to fit in with your reply aside from disk brakes.

No 700's are equivalent to the 29". It really is personal preference, but for me at first glance something like http://www.evolutioncycles.co.nz/MERIDA-MOUNTAIN-BIKES?product_id=29350.

I commute on a full-suspension mountain bike, but then I can only afford 1 bike to do everything. I ride on a combination of road, hard packed dirt, and hit the trails on the weekend on occasion. Full suspension is nicer ride but you do lose a tiny bit of pedal power, and it does up the cost slightly.

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itxtme

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#1210931 9-Jan-2015 08:40

Punctures occur for a specific reason, and you can buy tyres that mitigate this occurring in a road bike. Kevelar tyres is one example, but also checking them regularly, and appropriately diagnosing and repairing the cause if one does occur. Often older road bikes have issues with the rim tape which leads to excessive punctures, or worn/cut tyres. I would get a puncture maybe once a year. Also changing a puncture on a road bike is not much of an issue, its a 3 minute exercise if using the CO2 cartridges.

Oh, and you will scream past the mountain bike/hybrids when on your road bike :D

What kinds of roads are you looking to ride on?

tdgeek

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#1210932 9-Jan-2015 08:54

scuwp:
tdgeek:
scuwp: The hybrids are a pretty good balance, but still probably 70/30 towards road riding. I reckon a hard tail mountain bike (front suspension only) and put some more road going tyres on it (it may come with them as often new ones in that price point don't come with aggressive off-road tyres). Go anywhere, do anything, no worries. I would shell out for disk brakes, they don't cost much more and are more reliable, especially in the wet. Other than that you get what you pay for really. You do get a lot of bike nowadays for around that $600 - $1000 mark.

The 27.5" wheels are becoming popular, or a 29" if you are a bit taller on a larger frame. Budget for a good helmet, gloves, and some hi-vis gear.

Cheers

27.5 wheels are 700's? I see the full road bikes use 23 tyres, and the few I have seen online use 30 or 40. I am 6'1" and not large.

The Merida 10V I mentioned seems to fit in with your reply aside from disk brakes.

No 700's are equivalent to the 29". It really is personal preference, but for me at first glance something like http://www.evolutioncycles.co.nz/MERIDA-MOUNTAIN-BIKES?product_id=29350.

I commute on a full-suspension mountain bike, but then I can only afford 1 bike to do everything. I ride on a combination of road, hard packed dirt, and hit the trails on the weekend on occasion. Full suspension is nicer ride but you do lose a tiny bit of pedal power, and it does up the cost slightly.

Nice
The Merida 10V is $899 was on sale (Bike Barn is a bit of a Briscoes if you know what I mean) but was reduced to $449 but that ended the day after I decided to geta bike. This one looks pretty good, http://www.bikebarn.co.nz/2015-merida-crossway-513.html#description_contents

jonathan18

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#1210933 9-Jan-2015 08:56

I've got a Merida Crossway 100 (the previous version of this http://www.bikebarn.co.nz/2015-merida-crossway-518.html), and it's been excellent for both commuting to work and for decent exercise. The upright posture is fantastic - I don't have the discomfort (sore back and/or neck) I used to get on my old mountain bike. Sure, it doesn't have the weight advantage of a road bike or the real robustness of a mountain bike but for commuting and excercise it's brilliant.

My only complaint would be the tyres that came with it (relevant, given you mention a concern about their robustness) - I had three punctures within the first week from the same stretch of road. The dealer argued it was just bad luck and/or a bad stretch of road, but he let me do a 'trade-in' on them. The hard-as ones I replaced them with haven't had a single puncture in well over a year, so I'd suggest it was the tyres! (And I've ridden over lots of glass etc since then.)

So don't let the lack of width or knobblyness put you off the type of tyres that come with these bikes - but I would suggest be ready and willing to spend a few extra bucks on some decent tyres (I was told the ones I bought were similarly hard to a car tyre - I can find out the brand/model if you're interested).

Also, remember Bike Barn follows the Kathmandu model - they regularly have 50% off all bikes (or all bikes of certain styles) so it's just a matter of waiting a few weeks for such a discount.

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tdgeek

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#1210934 9-Jan-2015 08:56

joker97: ride comfort relates to tyre pressure. road tyres are about double the pressure in your car tyre. so yes use a bigger tyre and lower pressure, and special seat ;p

edit - or a something hardtail ;p (front suspension) AND above

Thats where I am heading, front suspension, bigger than road tyres. 23 are road tyres I think, 30 and 40 are bigger

The specs are greek to me, hence this thread!

tdgeek

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#1210936 9-Jan-2015 09:01

itxtme: Punctures occur for a specific reason, and you can buy tyres that mitigate this occurring in a road bike. Kevelar tyres is one example, but also checking them regularly, and appropriately diagnosing and repairing the cause if one does occur. Often older road bikes have issues with the rim tape which leads to excessive punctures, or worn/cut tyres. I would get a puncture maybe once a year. Also changing a puncture on a road bike is not much of an issue, its a 3 minute exercise if using the CO2 cartridges.

Oh, and you will scream past the mountain bike/hybrids when on your road bike :D

What kinds of roads are you looking to ride on?

Christchurch, so while glass and nails is no worse here than anywhere, the roads can be rough, and many roadworks going on

You've got me thinking over a road bike, but as mentioned I found it a hard ride. Plus, Id be keen on a bit of noob off road, so a hybrid does seem like a nice combo

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#1210937 9-Jan-2015 09:02

jonathan18: I've got a Merida Crossway 100 (the previous version of this http://www.bikebarn.co.nz/2015-merida-crossway-518.html), and it's been excellent for both commuting to work and for decent exercise. The upright posture is fantastic - I don't have the discomfort (sore back and/or neck) I used to get on my old mountain bike. Sure, it doesn't have the weight advantage of a road bike or the real robustness of a mountain bike but for commuting and excercise it's brilliant.

My only complaint would be the tyres that came with it (relevant, given you mention a concern about their robustness) - I had three punctures within the first week from the same stretch of road. The dealer argued it was just bad luck and/or a bad stretch of road, but he let me do a 'trade-in' on them. The hard-as ones I replaced them with haven't had a single puncture in well over a year, so I'd suggest it was the tyres! (And I've ridden over lots of glass etc since then.)

So don't let the lack of width or knobblyness put you off the type of tyres that come with these bikes - but I would suggest be ready and willing to spend a few extra bucks on some decent tyres (I was told the ones I bought were similarly hard to a car tyre - I can find out the brand/model if you're interested).

Also, remember Bike Barn follows the Kathmandu model - they regularly have 50% off all bikes (or all bikes of certain styles) so it's just a matter of waiting a few weeks for such a discount.

YES PLEASE re the harder tyre details that would be excellent

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#1210938 9-Jan-2015 09:02

just ask about tyre pressure. that's the single most cause for ride comfort.

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#1210940 9-Jan-2015 09:04

i had the merida crossway 90. but now need a moutain bike coz that thing doesn't go on grass! was told i could easily get off road tyres after i sold it ;(

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#1210942 9-Jan-2015 09:05

add: my backside hurt like hell for 2 days, then within 5 days it was gone. so if backside pain is a problem, just ride more it'll go away! think of it as ... BURN IN :D

jonathan18

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#1210972 9-Jan-2015 09:41

tdgeek: YES PLEASE re the harder tyre details that would be excellent

Had my wife check (shows you I was too lazy to bike today!) - they're Schwalbe Marathon Plus http://www.schwalbe.com/en/tour-reader/marathon-plus.html . Not cheap but worth it - and would be cheapest if you purchase them (or whatever) tyre at the time of purchasing the bike - they'll be able to use the tyres on the bike so should give you a decent discount.

Personally, I've had no issue with the comfort of my bike. I think some basic stuff like ensuring the frame's a suitable size, the seat is the correct height, position and angle (important to avoid neutering yourself!), the handlebars are positioned correctly will help. Merida models have a handlebar that can be changed to vary reach/height; some also come with a basic 'spring'-mounted seat post (which does work surprisingly well to cushion out bumps).

scuwp

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#1210977 9-Jan-2015 09:54

tdgeek:
scuwp:
tdgeek:
scuwp: The hybrids are a pretty good balance, but still probably 70/30 towards road riding. I reckon a hard tail mountain bike (front suspension only) and put some more road going tyres on it (it may come with them as often new ones in that price point don't come with aggressive off-road tyres). Go anywhere, do anything, no worries. I would shell out for disk brakes, they don't cost much more and are more reliable, especially in the wet. Other than that you get what you pay for really. You do get a lot of bike nowadays for around that $600 - $1000 mark.

The 27.5" wheels are becoming popular, or a 29" if you are a bit taller on a larger frame. Budget for a good helmet, gloves, and some hi-vis gear.

Cheers

27.5 wheels are 700's? I see the full road bikes use 23 tyres, and the few I have seen online use 30 or 40. I am 6'1" and not large.

The Merida 10V I mentioned seems to fit in with your reply aside from disk brakes.

No 700's are equivalent to the 29". It really is personal preference, but for me at first glance something like http://www.evolutioncycles.co.nz/MERIDA-MOUNTAIN-BIKES?product_id=29350.

I commute on a full-suspension mountain bike, but then I can only afford 1 bike to do everything. I ride on a combination of road, hard packed dirt, and hit the trails on the weekend on occasion. Full suspension is nicer ride but you do lose a tiny bit of pedal power, and it does up the cost slightly.

Nice
The Merida 10V is $899 was on sale (Bike Barn is a bit of a Briscoes if you know what I mean) but was reduced to $449 but that ended the day after I decided to geta bike. This one looks pretty good, http://www.bikebarn.co.nz/2015-merida-crossway-513.html#description_contents

Yes, looks like a nice beast for intended use. As mentioned it may take a few days for certain body parts to get use to things ;-) Cycle pants are definitely worth it for any distance, you can put some shorts over the top if you like, or buy the mountan bike style baggies with the liner. If you have any thoughts as to hitting the off-road trails I would give the hybrid a miss and go for a proper mountain bike. The hybrid wheels will get lost in anything more than hard packed dirt.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

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