Hybrid help - sorry, another newbie pleading for your advice!

[hedge]

Hi All,

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Having bought a Brompton last year and absolutely loving commuting on it, I am now in the market for a road bike/hybrid. I use the Brompton to and from the station at home and in the West End, about 6 miles a day in total, and it is by far the quickest and most fun way of getting around town. A few times I have got carried away and ridden all the way home - about 20 hilly miles - which on a 3 speeder with 16" wheels takes a while and hurts a lot!

I have some very specific ideas about what I want in a 'big boy' bike and intend to ride a few at Evans (Rathbone Street, London - great guys) before I make a final decision, but would welcome any advice. Here's my ideal criteria, feel free to question any of the specifics if you think they are unecessary:

- Budget around £850ish (£750 ride to work vouchers and I get a 10% discount through the London Cycle Network. I have all the accessories.)
- Has to come from Evans (vouchers are specific) so I do not know if I am limited to their range, which discounts Marin's for one
- Think I need a hybrid as I want to be able to ride on canal paths/parks as well as the road, and I need a pretty upright seating position due to an old neck injury
- Fast as possible on full size wheels which will cope with light off-road cycling
- Rapid gearchange
- Hydraulic disc brakes
- Carbon forks
- High/upright riding position
- Small frame (I am 5' 4" - on a good day) and large wheels
- It will live in the front hall at home so needs to look good!!!

So I guess the holy grail is a light bike which has all the best attributes of a fast road bike but with the upright position and light offroad ability.

Does such bike exist and is my budget going to buy it???

Thanks guys,


Hedge

 

[Coco]

This one is close. Not sure if you'll get carbon forks and disk brakes - but I'm not an expert.

 

[hedge]

This one is close. Not sure if you'll get carbon forks and disk brakes - but I'm not an expert.

Hi Coco,

We're on the same page - I was just looking at this one: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/bad-boy-700-2010-hybrid-bike-ec020194

Is the price difference due to one being the new model or are they fundamentally different bikes? To my novice mind they look similar...

Thanks,


Hedge

 

[Norm]

A different sort of hybrid, I picked up a Spesh Tricross Sport about 10 days ago. Spot on your budget, excellent for roads and paths, 10.6kg but built strong.

The downsides, drops rather than flat bars and no hydraulic discs but, if you are looking at bikes to test ride, it might be worth trying, even if all it does is confirm you don't want curly bars.

The story of my hilly 20 mile commute story is here, my riding it off-road thread is here, including some images which show the result of me trying the "throw it at the mud to see if I get away with it" style of riding.

Short video riding it is here.

 

[hedge]

Not sure if the link will retain the comparatives but any thoughts between these ones:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products-comparison?products=ec016805|ec016536|ec017272

Trek 7.6 FX 2009 Hybrid BikeRemove vs
Cannondale Bad Boy 700 2009 Hybrid BikeRemove vs
Kona Dr Dew 2009 Hybrid BikeRemove

All same price, Trek has carbon forks but no hydraulic brakes although I test drove one some time ago and the standard brakes were excellent.

or these:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products-comparison?products=ec019783|ec020196|ec000240

Specialized Crosstrail Expert 2010 Hybrid vs
Cannondale Bad Boy 3 2010 Hybrid Bike vs
Charge Mixer 2009 Hybrid Bike

Like the simplicity of the Charge bikes - is an 8 gear internal hub system flexible enough for long commutes/steep hills/unfit bloke?

or looking at the Cannondales specifically:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products-comparison?products=ec016536|ec020194|ec016543

Cannondale Bad Boy 700 2009 Hybrid Bike vs
Cannondale Bad Boy 700 2010 Hybrid Bike vs
Cannondale Bad Boy Solo 2009 Hybrid Bike

700's are £200 apart - are the newer components worth it? Solo looks fab - also an 8 gear internal hub, so I am guessing not as flexible as the others in terms of ratio, or is it likely that the top/bottom ends are similar and how many gears do you really need??

Is it possible to spec a bike up and add the brakes or forks? Are these items worth the effort/cost?

Sorry for all the questions but it's a lot of dough and this will be a long term investment (as long as it does not get pinched) so I need to make the right decision....and I will ride as many of the shortlist as I can! But your advice to narrow down the shortlist will be invaluable.

Thanks,


Hedge

 

[Coco]

To my novice mind they look similar...

Hedge

They look similar to me - I'm not au fait with the latest hybrid components, but I'd suspect there would be little difference in functionality. Generally older models are cheaper.

 

[slowmotion]

Welcome hedge,

What about a Dawes Discovery 601? It sounds just about right for you. I have a 2008 version of the 501 which has thinner tyres, and I think it's quite a reasonable bike. It doesn't have hydraulic brakes, but the brakes are pretty good, even in the wet. I've never had any problem locking up the wheels instantly.

Anyway, good luck, and have fun.

 

[hedge]

Welcome hedge,

What about a Dawes Discovery 601? It sounds just about right for you. I have a 2008 version of the 501 which has thinner tyres, and I think it's quite a reasonable bike. It doesn't have hydraulic brakes, but the brakes are pretty good, even in the wet. I've never had any problem locking up the wheels instantly.

Anyway, good luck, and have fun.

Does look good, deffo one for the potential shortlist, thanks.

 

[hedge]

A different sort of hybrid, I picked up a Spesh Tricross Sport.

Thanks, will have a look but suspect the riding position will rule any drop bar out for me - I had a disc replaced in my neck last year (I am now in fact bionic) and don't want to risk straining it, hence an upright position being important.

 

[MacB]

I'd start with a good hard look at what you want bars wise, as this choice can limit future options. Having done a daily 40 mile, round trip commute, I would say plain flat bars won't cut it. The comfiest I found were trekking/butterfly bars. However I did find that the ability to position the controls was a bit of a drawback. Hands were comfiest on the sides but controls don't fit there. I tried drop bars with STI's but didn't get on with them. Then I found 'dirt drops', these are part way between moustache bars and drop bars. The On-One Midge and the Salsa Wood Chipper seem to be the best on the market at present. The idea with these is that the bar tops are level or above saddle height. This makes the flared out drops much more useable and creates a very sit up and beg position for traffic, both on the tops and the hoods. If I were in your position, having experimented on setups for a year, I'd choose:-

Specialised Tricross Sport - change the handlebars to the Salsa ones, fit a steeper rise stem to get the bar tops up and add in, if they don't come with it, some cross top brake levers. The bike comes with bigger clearances so you can run larger tyres, this makes a difference if you're loaded down with panniers, going off road, etc. The width of the bars, 46cm on tops and 66cms outside to outside at end of drops, makes climbing easier. You have 3/4 positions from which you can brake and 2/3 from which you can change gear.

Flat bars get very boring over 20 miles and, if you don't go drop bars from the outset, a conversion can be very costly. Plus the dirt drops look cool

http://twentynineinches.com/2010/01...chipper-off-road-drop-bars-first-impressions/

 

[hedge]

Plus the dirt drops look cool

Wow, great post thanks and food for thought. They certainly do! Will read your site with interest.

 

[MacB]

Wow, great post thanks and food for thought. They certainly do! Will read your site with interest.

Just a quick point, these guys tend to be focused on the offroad but I've found that it works very well for on road as well. Don't be concerned by all the references to 'this is an offroad setup and not designed for road riding'. These are more in response to various forum spats, with roadies, over setting up the bars. As any ful knows, these recommendations are guidelines and you'll find your own balance

 

[Norm]

or these:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products-comparison?products=ec019783|ec020196|ec000240

Specialized Crosstrail Expert 2010 Hybrid vs
Cannondale Bad Boy 3 2010 Hybrid Bike vs
Charge Mixer 2009 Hybrid Bike

I think you need to have a good cogitate on what sort of riding you'll be doing, as you are looking at a very broad range of bikes.

In those three alone, you have the Spesh which is a MTB-based "hybrid" (I am hating that term more and more!) with front suspension, 45mm tyres and fairly steeply angled top tube, as well as rake and trail etc of an off-roader.

The Bad Boy 3 is a three-speed flat-barred road bike, and the Charge is a road bike through and through. Look at the clearance between the back wheel and the frame, the low front end and the road tyres and wheels which, if some reviews are anything to go by, will not take a trip away from the tarmac.

They are all lovely bikes but, IMO, they serve very different purposes.

 

[MacB]

Norm makes a very good point and I was only focusing on the bars/controls initially. I'd start by making a list of what you want around the key areas, so:-

frame material - at this pricepoint I'd look for steel or mix of carbon and aluminium, spend a bit more, full carbon, a lot more and take your choice. You also need to consider what fittings are on the frame for brakes, guards and rack.

tyres/guards you want to run - the size of tyres will be limited by frame clearances and brakes. If you get road caliper style brakes then you'd struggle to get better than a 28mm tyre with guards. If you want to run bigger tyres then you need cantilever brakes or v-brakes. If it's v-brakes then they take twice the amount of cable pull and will only work with specific v-brake levers. Disc brakes are another matter and you can get long or short pull road mechanical ones. but I don't know much about disc brakes, I find rim brakes work fine for my uses, and I can maintain them.

rack - do you want the option of a rack and panniers, I wouldn't commute with anything else.

controls - mtb and road bars have a different diameter tubing and the controls aren't interchangeable, hence making this key decision at the start.

If it was me I'd be looking for steel frame, clearances for tyres and guards up to 32mm at least, rack and mudguard fittings and cantilever brake bosses. I have other preferences but those would be a starting point. You can't really get a one bike does all but you can certainly get one that does nearly all.

 

[g00se]

If you don't mind a steel fork rather than carbon (they are P2s though...), then these are an option:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kona/dr-dew-2010-hybrid-bike-ec021778

A bit more, but with Alfine internal gears:

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kona/dr-fine-2010-hybrid-bike-ec021779

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/hubs/product/alfine-disc-hub-31670

The geometry is good for us shorties and they're quite upright.