Did you change from Hybrid to Drop Bar Bike

[graham bowers]

I've used MTB's and folders on and off for some 20 years but just got my first drop handlebar road bike. I'm still getting used to it and today was my 4th outing - I rode the vast majority of 35 Km in 90 minutes on the drops and found it quite comfortable. Bonus was it transferred weight off the saddle!
Graham

 

[bonoeuf]

I have had a drop bar bike and a mountain bike for as long as I can remember. I always preferred being a roadie. I left it alone for quite a few years due to feet problems; operations now seem to have fixed it. I wanted to get back into cycling. My first outing was on my mountain bike, mainly on disused railway lines with some road. Next trip was on my road bike with the drops. I hated it, I felt like I had very little control. Braking from the hoods scared me and my unfit belly size and lack of flexibility got in the way of the drop position. I did like the speed increase on the road.
I have ordered a touring bike, with 700c wheels, 32mm tyres, flat bars. So a hybrid. I can ride the trails and the roads in comfort and for me, feeling more secure that I can stop. I am going to sell my drop bar road bike.

 

[mjr]

Don't rush into it @bonoeuf if you have the space to keep it. I still regret getting rid of my old road bike even though I didn't have the room and it was nothing special AFAIK

 

[MattDB]

I went from a Marin Fairfax hybrid to a felt f95. Slight downgrade component wise and I think I'm slower and less comfortable now. My Fairfax used to feel like it really pulled with every downstroke and I was using clips and straps rather than my current SPDs.

shoot that's made me sad. I want my Fairfax back but is it wrong to steal it back off my dad?

 

[steve50]

both my current bikes are flat bar, I have tried drop and once i got used to the "heads up" riding position I enjoyed it, the only issue I had is the bike only had 14 gears and I really struggled on the hills. The issue I have is finding a road bike with enough gearing to get up the hilly roads local to me at a price I can afford. I have to justify to myself and her indoors spending ££££'s on a bicycle.

Well I now own a drop bar, I converted a hybrid to drop bar and enjoyed it so much that I made the leap to a "proper" road going drop bar Boardman, love the bike, the gearing is perfect and the bike fits me like a glove...........................no going back now!!!

 

[steve50]

I went from a Marin Fairfax hybrid to a felt f95. Slight downgrade component wise and I think I'm slower and less comfortable now. My Fairfax used to feel like it really pulled with every downstroke and I was using clips and straps rather than my current SPDs.

shoot that's made me sad. I want my Fairfax back but is it wrong to steal it back off my dad?

Offer to swap with your dad.

 

[MattDB]

Offer to swap with your dad.

He's got a phobia of thin tyres.

 

[Thursday guy]

drop bars to me are far too uncomfortable to justify the relatively small gains in speed on my journeys

 

[Gravity Aided]

An update: I used hybrid bicycles for the most bit of the last 2 summers, but traded them for a Raleigh Technium for speed and handling. The trail system near me has been greatly expanded. My commuter, also a 26" drop bar MTB conversion, has worked out well. 29" MTB, and the two three speeds have upright bars.

 

[kelbel159]

I first started riding about 3 months ago, bought a cheap hybrid a's I didn't want to spend much incase I didn't enjoy riding. Loved it!
As with most people I didn't think a drop bar looked comfortable but soon made friends with a guy who has been riding for years and told me to try his wife's drop to see how I felt. I really liked it so went and bought a Carrera TDF.......having a few issues with getting the positioning right on this but still love the bike

 

[Sixmile]

When I started riding again a few years ago I was using a heavy GT Aggressor MTB almost always on the road. I bought a hybrid in April last year and have been munching up the miles.

Only last week I bit the bullet, scratched the itch or whatever you want to call it and purchased my first road bike! I'll be keeping the hybrid for the family rides, trailer pulling and commuting. The roadie will be strictly for solo runs at nights and weekends. Watch this space!

 

[redvision95]

Started out on a old clunker MTB.
Moved to a Saracen hybrid a few months back then got a road bike not too long ago, loved it and sold the hybrid.
For everyday riding I cant see myself riding a hybrid or MTB again.

 

[Racheluk]

Depends on where I'm riding.. old country roads with mud etc on the tarmac then I'm gonna stick to flat bars, I've got a lot more control if things go the way of the pear! For smooth clean roads then drops are better for me

 

[CrackPuffin]

I am all about the hybrid. Though I am all about the commuting. I could see the passion for a drop handle bike if I ever got into more hardcore cycling, but for my I like my upright vision bike, and cos I am tall more people see me.

 

[BlackTrek73]

Just Start riding my old GT mountain bike that I purchased 23 years ago early this month. As I realized real fast that it wasn't the bike for me, I turned to a hybrid for fitness. I now have a Trek 7.3 and have really started to enjoy the sport of cycling. Being a big guy ( 6-4 inch & 297lbs) when I purchased the trek the idea was to loose weight and be a bit more fit. It's been about a month now and I am already down 13 lbs and riding a minimum of 10 miles per day. My average speed is right around 14.5 mph and have now been addicted to increasing speed & distance over time.

So two questions I have....

1) what weight can a road bike hold?

2) when will my thighs & quads stop being so sore? I take a rest day once a week but I am not sure if it's normal for them to be sore every day or does it just take this long to get adjusted for the muscles? If so how long is long? Lol