an odd decision: tourer or hybrid

[Ferdie]

Hello all,

I bought my Cannondale Badboy 700c for commuting initially. I gradually took it on longer rides and did a couple for trips London - Portsmouth. It wasn't ideal but it was smooth enough. I was also thinking of taking it up the Grand Union Canal to Birmingham from London too but the terrain was a bit bumpy for it.

Some of you may remember that I posted about my accident a few months back.. The Bad Boy is a write off and is scrapped somewhere.

I finally received the payment from the the other party's insurers and making a choice for my new ride.

Again it's primarily a commuter bike but I would like something solid that would handle my lon-portsmouth rides and maybe the more challegning Lon-b'ham canal ride.

I narrowed my choices to two very different bikes:

First is the 2011 Whyte all -terrain hybrid. It has a longer wheelbase and has frotn suspension which would be nice for the off road bits of teh b'ham rides.


Then there is the option of the kitted out Ridgeback Voyage: the steel frame and kitted out touring features makes it ideal for comfortable lon-ports rides but not suitable for tracks or the bumpy ride to brum. But if I do buy this bike I might buy a cheaper mountain bike next year for that.

But for now as a general commuter which would you choose?

 

[mickle]

The Ridgeback. If for no other reason than when/if you get a mountain bike later on there will be less overlap.

 

[HelenD123]

The Ridgeback will handle tracks fine. I've taken my Dawes Ultra Galaxy across fields without a problem.

If you want to do a longer tour in future and use front panniers you'll struggle to fit a rack to a bike with suspension.

 

[2Loose]

No doubt. The Ridgeback. Far more able to take canal routes\towpaths than you give it credit for

, they are pretty bombproof. If I only had one bike, it would be a toss up between a tourer and a cross style bike. My head would still say tourer.


Over a longer journeys I would expect the extra comfort (even on canal paths) compared to an mtb to be well worth while.

 

[aberal]

No doubt. The Ridgeback. Far more able to take canal routes\towpaths than you give it credit for

, they are pretty bombproof. If I only had one bike, it would be a toss up between a tourer and a cross style bike. My head would still say tourer. Over a longer journeys I would expect the extra comfort (even on canal paths) compared to an mtb to be well worth while.

I almost completely totally 100% agree....

Except I would go for a cross bike! Better for commuting and on/off road stuff and if needs be can be kitted up for some light touring. The drawback with a dedicated tourer is that whilst its ideal for the long haul it's never going to be a whole lot of fun unloaded. I speak from experience - my Cannondale T2000, beautiful bike though it is, is just more than a little dull to ride for fun. This isn't answering the OP's question of course, but I just think he might want to throw something like this Genesis into the mix.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Ridgeback. You'd be surprised where you can take it.

 

[Garz]

Ridgeback.

 

[ian789]

Ridgeback because I've got one of their cheap hybrids and it's spot on

 

[Wobblers]

Ridgeback. For most of your cycling, the front suspension on the Whyte is unneeded and will just be unwanted weight. The Ridgeback will be better for longer distances and will cope just fine with a bumpy canal tow path. In fact, I've taken my tourer down the very same tow path without problems. However, as Aberal says, take a good look at the Genesis Criox der Fer: it's a very capable bike that will do everything you want. It's only shortcomings are it won't carry large loads very well, but if you never, or rarely, load up a full set of panniers this won't be a problem.

 

[mcshroom]

Unless you are looking to ride serious off-road then the front suspension is going to add weight rather than help too much. Tourers are tough beasts, and can take some rather rough tracks. My tourer gets thrown at all sorts of bad tracks and hasn't put a foot wrong yet (other than on diesel on the road)

I'd vote for the Ridgeback (or something like the Revolution Country Explorer with disk brakes) but as always you should get whichever bike feels best when you try it out

 

[mickle]

I've never met a Whyte bike I'd actually want to own.

 

[Ferdie]

Wow,

thanks for the replies. Ridgeback definitely wins out.

I saw the Genesis but the 2010 model (which is now about the same price as the ridgeback) is not available in my size and teh 2011 is out of my budget .

Rideback seems like definitely the best long term option.

The LBC has set up the whyte and a cannondale quick 4 tomorrow. The ridgeback is not available for a test ride as they have to order my size.

If I don't like the whyte I might take a leap of faith and go for the ridgeback

 

[P.H]

They are as you said very different bikes. I can't imagine how they both ended up on the same shortlist. I like them both, but before deciding I'd try and define what I wanted from the bike, which should make the decision easier. Having said that, there is nothing you can do on one that you couldn't on the other, it's just where you make the compromises.

I had a good quality Cannondale hybrid as my only bike for four years. I now have three bikes, but if I could only have one it would be the one closest to that hybrid.

 

[2Loose]

I almost completely totally 100% agree....

Except I would go for a cross bike! Better for commuting and on/off road stuff and if needs be can be kitted up for some light touring. The drawback with a dedicated tourer is that whilst its ideal for the long haul it's never going to be a whole lot of fun unloaded. I speak from experience - my Cannondale T2000, beautiful bike though it is, is just more than a little dull to ride for fun. This isn't answering the OP's question of course, but I just think he might want to throw something like this Genesis into the mix.

I did say 'head', rather than heart

 

[dellzeqq]

surely it's a percentage thing? Almost any bike will do a bit of off-roading (the C40 went for miles and miles on paths and towpaths, and even over grass fields) but if your trips off-road are only occasional then you really don't want to be bothered with suspension and, equally you could really do with the drop bars.