Road Bike or Hybrid? Need Help!

[Clyde]

The original poster weighs 240 lbs and has not been on a bike in 20 years. Climbing hills in a too
high gear would be a great way for him to injure his knees. Hybrid style gearing would be a much
better choice for him, imho. Even if those gears were on a road bike. I think an XT cassette with a
32 tooth low gear would be a better choice than the 25 tooth gear that is standard on the Trek 1200.

Clyde

"David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in >
> A 30x25 is still a pretty low gear. I rode for many years on an old 10-speed bike with a 39x28 low
> gear, and never met a hill I couldn't climb standing, though some of them took some effort.

 

[Kerry]

"Harris" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:x68vb.38439$A%[email protected]...
> K-Man <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Thanks to all who responded to my original question re getting a road bike or a hybrid. After
> > the responses here and talking with a couple of guys at my LBS, I'v decided to go the road
> > route. I've narrowed my choices to two bikes:
>
> > Trek 1000C
>
> > http://www.trekbike.com/bikes/2004/road/1000c.jsp
>
>
> > Trek 1200C
>
> > http://www.trekbike.com/bikes/2004/road/1200c.jsp
>
>
> > The guys at my LBS recommended I go with the 1200 if my budge allowed because of the better
> > components, specifically:
>
> > - Carbon fork
> > - Better shifters (Shimano Tiagra vs. Shimano Sora)
> > - Better rims (Alexa AT50 vs. Matrix Aurora)
>
> > Taking into account that I'm 6'2", 240 lbs and live in a pretty hilly area, will those
> > components make _that_ much of a difference. I'd like to get the 1200C, but it's a little out of
> > my budget. If I got the 1200C, I'd have to skimp on things like shorts, helmet, gloves, and a
> > few other necessities. Thanks in advance!
>
> According to the links you gave, the 1200c is only available in three sizes with 58 cm being the
> largest. The 1000 is available in a 63 cm which seems more approppriate for your height.
>
> At 240 pounds, you will want sturdy wheels. These bikes only have 32 spoke wheels. That might be
> ok, but I'd recommend 36 spoke wheels. And more importantly, have the shop tension and stress
> relieve the spokes before you take delivery.
>
> Art Harris

That really amazes me that Trek doesn't offer more frame sizes. No 56 cm in either model. Isn't
56 cm like the size 9 of men's shoes anyway? And nothing bigger than a 58 cm (in the 1200
model). Sheesh!

Since these models appear to be that intro to intermediate category of road bike, I wonder how many
people are riding trek road bikes that don't fit properly?!

Nothing

Kerry

 

[cmitch46]

Originally posted by K-Man
Thanks to all who responded to my original question re getting a road bike or a hybrid. After the
responses here and talking with a couple of guys at my LBS, I'v decided to go the road route. I've
narrowed my choices to two bikes:

Trek 1000C

http://www.trekbike.com/bikes/2004/road/1000c.jsp

Trek 1200C

http://www.trekbike.com/bikes/2004/road/1200c.jsp


Your two choices are both decent bikes. But since you went from hybrid bike to road bike in one fell swoop, let me suggest a third alternative: a good cyclecross bike. Since you seem to be partial to Treks, check out their X01 (http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/road/xo1.jsp) This, to me reprsents the best of both worlds if you're looking for one bike to do it all (i.e. road riding and light off road riding). The bike is designed primarily an off roader but for your longer anticipated road rides, you have drop bars and bigger tires for long distance comfort. I think cyclecross bikes are often overlooked and their versatilty is missed, maybe due to a mistaken perception by bicycle consumers that they're only for "cyclecross racing".

 

[Roy Tang]

On Thu, 20 Nov 2003 08:22:31 -0500, K-Man <[email protected]> wrote:

>Thanks to all who responded to my original question re getting a road bike or a hybrid. After the
>responses here and talking with a couple of guys at my LBS, I'v decided to go the road route. I've
>narrowed my choices to two bikes:
>
>Trek 1000C
>
>http://www.trekbike.com/bikes/2004/road/1000c.jsp
>
>
>Trek 1200C
>
>http://www.trekbike.com/bikes/2004/road/1200c.jsp
>
>
>The guys at my LBS recommended I go with the 1200 if my budge allowed because of the better
>components, specifically:
>
> - Carbon fork
> - Better shifters (Shimano Tiagra vs. Shimano Sora)
> - Better rims (Alexa AT50 vs. Matrix Aurora)
>
>Taking into account that I'm 6'2", 240 lbs and live in a pretty hilly area, will those components
>make _that_ much of a difference. I'd like to get the 1200C, but it's a little out of my budget. If
>I got the 1200C, I'd have to skimp on things like shorts, helmet, gloves, and a few other
>necessities. Thanks in advance!
>
>Ken

That's a really good choice, just what I was going to suggest.

The 1000C or 1200C feel and ride much like a road bike, but have a slightly more upright position
(about the same as a hybrid) but offer the extra hand positions that make it comfortable for long
distances. Also, it does have triple chainrings to tackle tough hills.

I think people are too hung up on components, the 1000C will be a fine bike. If you enjoy riding it,
then it will be a natural to get shorts, shoes and helmet anyway, so you definitely want to leave
room in the budget for that.

Riding a hybrid isn't bad for shorter distances, but the 1000C has all the advantages of a hybrid
like the 7500FX without the disadvantages.

 

[Steve Shapiro]

Originally posted by K-Man
Thanks to all who responded to my original question re getting a road bike or a hybrid. After the
responses here and talking with a couple of guys at my LBS, I'v decided to go the road route. I've
narrowed my choices to two bikes:

Trek 1000C

http://www.trekbike.com/bikes/2004/road/1000c.jsp

Trek 1200C

http://www.trekbike.com/bikes/2004/road/1200c.jsp

The guys at my LBS recommended I go with the 1200 if my budge allowed because of the better
components, specifically:

- Carbon fork
- Better shifters (Shimano Tiagra vs. Shimano Sora)
- Better rims (Alexa AT50 vs. Matrix Aurora)

Taking into account that I'm 6'2", 240 lbs and live in a pretty hilly area, will those components
make _that_ much of a difference. I'd like to get the 1200C, but it's a little out of my budget. If
I got the 1200C, I'd have to skimp on things like shorts, helmet, gloves, and a few other
necessities. Thanks in advance!

Ken

Talk to the shop about the gearing. You might find it more comfortable to switch the cassette to a 12-32 given the hills. The shop should do it for free or short money. They may have to swap the rdr too. Also not a big deal. For the most part it seems like the choice is between 8spd vs. 9spd. The shifters work differently so give them a try to see which you are more comfortable with. Both are good.

Steve Shapiro

 

[Matthew]

"cmitch46" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Originally posted by K-Man Thanks to all who responded to my original question re getting a road
> bike or a hybrid. After the responses here and talking with a couple of guys at my LBS, I'v
> decided to go the road route. I've narrowed my choices to two bikes:
>
> Trek 1000C
>
> http://www.trekbike.com/bikes/2004/road/1000c.jsphttp://www.trekbike.co-
> m/bikes/2004/road/1000c.jsp
>
> Trek 1200C
>
> http://www.trekbike.com/bikes/2004/road/1200c.jsphttp://www.trekbike.co-
> m/bikes/2004/road/1200c.jsp
>
>
> Your two choices are both decent bikes. But since you went from hybrid bike to road bike in one
> fell swoop, let me suggest a third alternative: a good cyclecross bike. Since you seem to be
> partial to Treks, check out their X01 (http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2004/road/xo1.jsp) This, to
> me reprsents the best of both worlds if you're looking for one bike to do it all (i.e. road riding
> and light off road riding). The bike is designed primarily an off roader but for your longer
> anticipated road rides, you have drop bars and bigger tires for long distance comfort. I think
> cyclecross bikes are often overlooked and their versatilty is missed, maybe due to a mistaken
> perception by bicycle consumers that they're only for "cyclecross racing".
>
Not a bad idea, but the cyclecross bike is more expensive than both of the "comfort road" bikes he
is considering. Suprised Mike has chimed in yet, maybe the mid-life crisis has led him to try a
little cyclocross himself?

Matthew

 

[Daniel Ballagh]

> Hybrids are good for nothing - complete compromise and in six months time you'll regret your
> decision. I would suggest buying a good quality hard tail mountain bike with an extra set of
> wheels clad with road tyres (I use hutchinson gold 1" jobs and they do the biz). So it may be a
> couple of pounds heavier but it's not that big a deal especially if you have no intention of
> racing - but you end up with a bike that will go anywhere. I've got a '94 GT Karakoram which I
> keep set up with my road wheels and it does the job fabulously - even on 100 mile rides. Whilst
> the Trek 5200 road bike is a fab machine, it aint going to go very well on the trail!
>

You have a typical SUV mentality. My question for you is, why do you need to have a bike that can go
anywhere? Your "One size fits all" approach isnt my preference. The hybrid bikes are designed to be
used for riders who want more speed than a mountain bike (even with slicks) and they are better
handling on rough surfaces like dirt roads & bad streets. I agree with you that there is a
compromise when buying a hybrid versus a road bike but for most people buying a hybrid comes down to
a price/performance advantage.

Dan.

 

[Ilya Sandler]

Here is my experience:

I owned a Specialized's Hybrid for 4 years and a couple months ago replaced it with Trek-520
(touring bike). I mostly use the bike on paved roads of varying quality of pavement with occasional
dirt road...

Trek-520 made a LOT of difference speed-wise (10-30%, especially on uphills) and (knocking the wood)
reliability wise: on the previous bike I was losing spokes roughly once every 300 miles (I'm about
230lbs), on Trek 520 I have ridden about 700 miles with no spoke breakage...

Trek-520 has wider rims, more and stronger spokes than tradional road bikes and comes with wider (I
think 32 mm or 35? mm I don't remember) tires, so it should handle dirt roads and heavy loads much
better than regular road bike, yet it'd be faster than hybrid..Of course, it's heavier/somewhat
slower than a regular road bike..

See the specs here: www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2002/manuals/Touring.pdf

YMMV

Good luck, Ilya

K-Man <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I'm thinking about asking Santa for a bike for Christmas this year. This will be the first bike
> I've owned since my teenage BMX days back in the early 80's, so I've been doing some research and
> visiting the local bike shops. Most of my riding will be on the road, but I will also be doing
> some offroad riding on light dirt trails and light gravel. I'm currently leaning toward the Trek
> 7300 since it seems to have the combination of features that I'm looking for:
>
> http://www.trekbike.com/bikes/2004/citybike/7300.jsp
>
> I live in Western NC, and we have have a number of great road rides that range from 15 to 50
> miles. My only concern is how this bike will do on longer road rides. Will it be comfortable?
> What's the longest road trip that this kind of bike is good for? Any other bikes you might suggest
> given the kind of riding I'll be doing? Thanks in advance!
>
> Ken