cynic-al – Member
Sorry, flat barred road bike = hybrid.

Not really though, it’s just a bar and STI swap. It’s basically still a road bike (the clue is in the title – falt bar road bike By that reckoning everything that’s got a different handlebar from the norm is a ‘hybrid’.

A hybrid is a bike for pootling round the city – upright, big saddle, mudgaurds, easy, wide range of gears. Nothing like a road bike with a flat handlebar.

Dream on kid!

Dream on kid!

I take it that’s aimed at me, but that’s fine if you wan’t to just make assertions about things with no reasoning behind it. I’ll leave you to ‘dream on’ son.

Sorry, flat barred road bike = hybrid.

+1

It’s got 105 on it?
So it’s a POSH hybrid then?

Don’t know why people get upset, tbh.
Hybrid isn’t an insult, despite Al’s stealth troll in the OP.

It looks like a road bike but it has flat bars, V brakes, can take bugger tyres, has a triple with 52-39-30. So a road bike with some off road features, which is what hybrid means.

Larry, by your reasoning, a tourer is a hybrid.

Give it up.

Save me from bugger tyres… 😯

Trying to categorise or pigeon hole bikes ALWAYS ends in tears 🙂

FWIW the hybrid clan is a pretty broad church that covers a multitude of bikes – MTB off-road lite, flat barred road bike, ‘city’ bike. It’s all good.

I’m sure just quoting Wikipedia on the subject won’t bring an end to this fascinating discussion but hey, there’s always a first time…

Hybrid bicycles blend characteristics from more specialized road bikes, touring bikes and mountain bikes.[1] The resulting “hybrid” is a general-purpose bike that can tolerate a wide range of riding conditions and applications. Their stability, comfort and ease of use make them popular with beginning cyclists, casual riders, commuters, and children.
Hybrids typically borrow the flat, straight handlebars and upright seating posture of a mountain bike, which many beginning bicyclists find comfortable and intuitive. Hybrids also employ the lighter weight, thinner wheels and smooth tires of road bikes, allowing for greater speed and less exertion when riding on pavement. Hybrid bikes often have places to mount racks and bags for transporting belongings, much like a touring bike.
Hybrid bikes have spawned numerous sub-categories satisfying diverse ridership. They are classified by their design priorities, such as those optimized for comfort or fitness — and those offered as city, cross or commuter bikes.[2]

I take it that’s aimed at me, but that’s fine if you wan’t to just make assertions about things with no reasoning behind it. I’ll leave you to ‘dream on’ son.

Careful now, you will be telling him what to think dream next 🙄

Penny farthing would be my guess…

technically I owned part of one this morning – just before I threw the 6″ section of rusting rim & spokes in the skip 😆

I reckon loads of people have them, they just don’t get posted as they’re a bit dull.

Just to help the debate, mine is an old mountain bike- that’s still what most new bydrids essentially are, 26 inch rigid mtbs on slicks. But then where’s the line between my hybrid/commuter and my rigid mtb? Capability I suppose.

that’s still what most new bydrids essentially are, 26 inch rigid mtbs on slicks

Hybrids should be 700c. Geometry is steeper than MTB, seems shorter than a road bike too, well at least mine does. Closer to old skool fully rigid mtbs though.

It makes sense for hybrids to be 700c but 26 works fine too, and suits big tyres well.

Having ridden 26″ with 23c tyres on road, I can confirm that it is rubbish and slow and makes your mtb handle weirdly. 700c hybrid otoh is fast and nimble.

Yes, your sample of one is decisive 😛 26 inch hybrids don’t handle weirdly unless designed badly (and the same applies to 700c) The converted old mtb approach means you’re starting from a bike that was designed for skinny tyres too.

Also, 23c is seriously skinny for a hybrid so I suppose you’re more likely to create yourself issues with an odd choice like that.

I put 23c tyres on an Orange P7. It was weird because the wheel size was so much smaller than it was designed for. But it was still slow on rough roads.

700c is much better on road.

muddydwarf – Member
My hybrid is a Boardman jobbie, 700cX28, hydro discs, 50/36 – 11-32 gears and flat bars. Fast enough to get along, comfy enough for all day.
Just need some pannier kit now..

POSTED 1 DAY AGO # REPORT-POST

And I thought the pivot ‘les’ was a bad name for a bike, but the boardman ‘jobbie’ is horrendous! 😀

molgrips – Member

I put 23c tyres on an Orange P7. It was weird because the wheel size was so much smaller than it was designed for. But it was still slow on rough roads.

All about the silly tyres.

That’s what I am saying. With 26″ you either have thin tyres which are slow, or fat tyres which are also slow. That’s why hybrids have 700c innit.

Jeez molgrips give it up. 23c on 26″ is barely slower than 700c

Ah.. There’s me imagining things again… What a strange fantasy world I live in 🙂

You DID scientifically test it?

I mean you didn’t just rely on how it felt?

Of course those 26“ tri bikes were way slower than 700c….oh, hang on 🙄

I never know whats going on with wheels and tyres, I thought I remembered someone on here saying those Moultons were banned from racing cos their small wheels were more aerodynamic so faster and an unfair advantage.

Was I on a tri bike? Maybe, who knows.. I’m not a reliable commentator remember.

You said 26 is slower than 700 on roads.

You need to do better than that to get out of it

26 wheels on the road are **** comparded to 700c hybrids. I know this having tried it with two konas and a marin. They are slow, the geometry is not quite right and even if you put a road or hybrid chainset on them they feel wrong.

Ps flat bar racer = hybrid + marketing

Pps I own a voodoo marasa and quite like it. Although I did change the bars tyres and pedals. Hybrids are great for commuting. After years on the drops I wouldn’t go back to them for an urban commute.

willyboy – Member

the geometry is not quite right

So what you’re saying is, you’ve only tried it with bad ones therefore you know they’re all bad? What will you do if you ever ride a bad 700c bike, give up entirely?

The difference between a nominally 2 inch tyre on a 26 inch wheel (something light and fast and hybrid-appropriate like a Kojak) and a 28c tyre on a 700c rim is about 1.5%- so in terms of gearing, or in fact anything else, it’s smaller than the difference between a 52 and 53 tooth big ring. How is that so terribly slow?

And rolling resistance isn’t substantially higher with a fat tyre, but capability- dealing with bad surfaces, unsurfaced paths, etc- ie all that flexibility stuff which is what sets a hybrid apart from a flat barred roadie- is way better.

Hybrids were defined as bikes with flap bars, 700c and mtb gearing. Without that combination, there is no hybridization.

We have one of the early Dawes hybrids that predates modern mountain biking. Really just a touring bike with flat bars not drops. BUt now it’s a rigid 29er with cantis 😉

I think this could be the most pointless argument I’ve ever read on stw. 😀

I think the least owned bike on here could be the one that was probably the most common in the sheds and garages of 30 years ago. The ladies, step through frame shopping bike. It wasn’t called a hybrid then.

You said 26 is slower than 700 on roads

I bet it still would be on particularly rough roads. And I am not convinced by your assertion that a 2″ slick is not significantly different to a 23c slick.

After years on the drops I wouldn’t go back to them for an urban commute

Interesting – why? I would favour flats for commuting.

The ladies, step through frame shopping bike. It wasn’t called a hybrid then

It’s not called a hybrid now either Imo. Comfort bike maybe. Spesh make both sit-up hybrid types and fast ones…

And yes this is the most pointless thread ever, which is why it is amusing me so 🙂

26 with a fatter tyre is considerably faster (and safer) on rough surfaces than 700c with a skinnier tyre. (sure, you can get a fair sized 700c tyre, and a well thought out hybrid may have clearance for that + mudguards, but it’s still not as good an option, less choice, more weight, and can mess with the handling in the same way as using undersized 26 inch tyres can.)

Classifying bikes by genre is ultimately futile.

There’s an infinite choice off the peg these days, nevermind home builds.

I blame all 47 incarnations of the Cannondale Bad Boy – classify that lot and stay fashionable.

Molgrips: that’s what I meant. I’m converted to flats for commuting as I find it’s safer/ eeasier in traffic etc

molgrips – Member
You said 26 is slower than 700 on roads
I bet it still would be on particularly rough roads. And I am not convinced by your assertion that a 2″ slick is not significantly different to a 23c slick

When did I assert that?

So Northwind, you think hybrids are rubbish then?

I have a carrera subway with 26 inch wheels and its crap to ride on the rode. It is really draggy and hurts my legs just above my knees at exertion levels nowhere close to my maximum.

My mate’s gryphon on the other hand with its bigger wheels feels very quick and comfortable in comparison!!

molgrips – Member

So Northwind, you think hybrids are rubbish then?

Eh, seriously, what could possibly make you think that? No, they are great- and the correct bike for most people tbh.