Traditional road bike vs. flat bar hybrid



ByJeff

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Jul 26, 2013
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I'm interested in doing some long distance riding and perhaps multi-day tours. I've narrowed my choices to a Cannondale CAAD10 or Specialized Sirrus but I've heard some people complain that flat bar bikes aren't as comfortable to ride as a traditional road bike at long distances. I'd think the more upright position of the hybrid would be better. Anyone have experience with both at long distances? Comfort is the priority over speed.

Thanx,
JB
 
For long distance comfort dropped bars on a road bike are the way to go.

First you've got a lot more hand positions on dropped road bars, you can ride with hands close together near the stem, out on the brake hoods, partway around on the bends towards the brake hoods, down in the drops and other variations. That ends up being a big deal for long hours on the bike so your hands don't go to sleep and get numb from holding the bars the same way all day.

You could conceivably set up similar positions on either style of bike, but most folks sit more bolt upright on a flat bar bike and a position with more forward lean to the bars on a road bike. That helps in terms of aerodynamics which matters for long days in the saddle but it also helps in that each and every road bump isn't transferred straight up your spine in the less upright road position. Again the bar style doesn't dictate different fits so you could set up a flat bar bike just like your road bike but in practice many folks ride quite upright on a flat bar bike and over distance that ends up being less comfortable.

For long days in the saddle I'd take a road bike with dropped bars any day over a flat bar bike. I've certainly done long technical and non technical rides on a MTB and my MTB position isn't exactly bolt upright but it's just not as comfortable late in the day and my hands definitely pay a price to not have all the alternate positions offered by drop bars.

-Dave
 
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I tried the Hybrid thing for about 100 miles with a Trek 7.3 fx. It was a fine bike for the money invested. It just wasn't what I was looking for. Yes it's comfortable to sit on for shorter rides, but it's not very fast. Longer rides become loooong. My LBS fortunately took it back for an exchange on a Trek 1.5. Huge difference. The drop bars are the way to go IMO. Road bikes are geared differently, lighter, and more aerodynamic. Whole different animal. The hybrid is great and very comfortable for "not so long" distances just because its not as fast and will take you longer to get from point A to B.
 
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Originally Posted by daveryanwyoming .

For long distance comfort dropped bars on a road bike are the way to go.

First you've got a lot more hand positions on dropped road bars, you can ride with hands close together near the stem, out on the brake hoods, partway around on the bends towards the brake hoods, down in the drops and other variations. That ends up being a big deal for long hours on the bike so your hands don't go to sleep and get numb from holding the bars the same way all day.
+1 for this reason alone! also, dropped bars make you more areodynamic, which over long distances, small increases in performance really add up in MPH gains.
 
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