Originally posted by dennis dee
The width of a hybrid is probably no wider than a typical roadie. But in terms of frontal area, an open hybrid is probably less because of its height. A closed-coach hybrid is a hybrid with fairings. The advantages of such is obvious.
I'm sorry, I think you're talking rubbish, and would like formally to take the opposite position.
My old hybrid was a typical Sirrus. My new roadie is a typical bianchi. Neither is special or weird.
The hybrid is MILES wider. 4.5" wider, or 6.5" wider once you take barends into consideration. I wouldn't dream of using a hybrid without barends. It's also taller. On the handlebars of both my hands are an inch or two higher on the hybrid, even higher if I'm on the barends, which I would be, a lot. I could reduce the stem further technically, but my hands feel sore then and it feels weird. Tried that already.
On my bianchi roadbike, even on the hoods, my body position is lower. My arms are closer together also. The wheels, despite both being 23mm tyres, are also lighter and have lower volume tyres. If I'm on the drops, my body postion is SO much lower!
How you can say this will make me less aerodynamic, god knows!
Some pics....
(p.s. I've never heard of a closed coach hybrid with fairings - can't imagine such a thing, do you have a pic or two? Can I buy it in Halfords?)