Opinions on the New Breed of bike

I started shopping for a fast hybrid and found that there is a new breed of
bike out there. So new that it does not even have a name yet. The genre
has flat handlebars like a hybrid but configured like a performance road
bike. The following brands and models are all pretty similar in price but
would appreciate any positive or negative experiences people have had:

Cannondale Road Warrior 600

Marin Mill Valley

Giant Pegasus

Trek 7700 FX

Mikado WestMount


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Dt wrote:
I started shopping for a fast hybrid and found that there is a new breed
of bike out there. So new that it does not even have a name yet. The
genre has flat handlebars like a hybrid but configured like a
performance road bike. The following brands and models are all pretty
similar in price but would appreciate any positive or negative
experiences people have had:
Cannondale Road Warrior 600
Marin Mill Valley
Giant Pegasus
Trek 7700 FX would the fuji royale fit into that category? They call
that ,according to thier catalogue- a road bike w/ straight handlebars
Mikado WestMount
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in message .com, DT
') wrote:

I started shopping for a fast hybrid and found that there is a new
breed of
bike out there. So new that it does not even have a name yet. The
genre has flat handlebars like a hybrid but configured like a
performance road
bike. The following brands and models are all pretty similar in price
but would appreciate any positive or negative experiences people have
had:

If you want a performance road bike you presumably want to ride on the
road moderately quickly. If you don't want to ride moderately quickly
you don't want a performance road bike. With me so far?

I ride a lot on mountain bikes since the cycling I most enjoy is up in
the hills on sheep tracks and landrover tracks and so on. You need
wider handlebars on such a bike (although not as wide as current
fashion) because on twisty or viciously uneven tracks you do a lot more
actual steering, much of it at low speed. You also need a more upright
posture, because you need a very good view of the path ahead.

But the consequence is you don't go so fast. Seriously. The _winning_
guy in the downhill at Fort William averaged 38 km/h (23.78mph) - on a
course which drops 500 metres in 2.6km. Now, OK, part of that is that
the course is extremely rugged, but these are ultra fit adrenaline
junkies and they aren't messing about. Imagine you get in a tuck on a
racing bike on reasonable tarmac on a hill with an average slope of 1
in 5. What will your average speed be? What would the average speed of
an ultra-fit adrenaline junky be?

Drop bars are as widely adopted as they are on performance road bikes
for a good reason. Getting your torso more horizontal and your arms
ahead of your torso rather than to the side of it reduces your frontal
area and improves your aerodynamics.

So, in summary, your new breed may have a role in inner urban areas
where riding is essentially a sprint from one traffic light to the next
and you never actually get up to a reasonable cruising speed, but other
than that they don't make a huge amount of sense. The people who choose
these over drop barred bikes because they want more comfort would
almost certainly be better off on a recumbent. The people who choose
these because they don't have the experience or confidence to ride a
drop barred bike would almost certainly be better to buy something
cheap to develop their confidence on, and then get a better bike later
when they have some experience to base their choice on.

All in my opinion, of course. And I'm feeling more than usually crabbit
this morning, so this may be unduly sour.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

-- mens vacua in medio vacuo --

I started shopping for a fast hybrid and found that there is a new
breed of bike out there. So new that it does not even have a name yet.
The genre has flat handlebars like a hybrid but configured like a
performance road bike. The following brands and models are all pretty
similar in price but would appreciate any positive or negative
experiences people have had:

I suppose they're good for the traffic light sprint, being light with
skinny tyres, but above 15mph wind resistance really starts to be
noticeable. They're going to be a lot slower than bikes with drops.

Having said that, it's irrelevent if you're only considering flat barred
bikes. I suppose they'll be quick to accelerate, easier going up hills
(but may run out of gears quicker - higher gearing than mountain bikes on
these) and will have less rolling resistance from the skinny tyres.

On the down side the wind resistence is really, really going to slow you
down and the skinny wheels won't take nearly as much punishment as a
hybrids would so you can't really hop on & off kerbs. They'd also be as
uncomfortable as a racer but with fewer hand positions on the bars so
might not be as nice on the wrists.

If it has to be flat handlebars then they'll be the fastest out there,
but if speed is your thing (or you don't like headwinds) then go for the
drops.[1] They only a few rides to get used to and will go much faster.


[1] Okay okay, or a recumbent.

"DT" wrote in message
gers.com...

I started shopping for a fast hybrid and found that there is a new breed of
bike out there. So new that it does not even have a name yet. The genre
has flat handlebars like a hybrid but configured like a performance road
bike. The following brands and models are all pretty similar in price but
would appreciate any positive or negative experiences people have had:

Cannondale Road Warrior 600

Marin Mill Valley....

I have had the cheaper "bear valley" (same range) for about a year now but taken
off those silly "bar ends" and given it better 23c tyres. I have not had much
trouble with wind resistance due to the flat bars as other posters have suggested.
It's very fast and light and i've been happy with it.

On Tue, 29 Jun 2004 01:38:27 GMT, "DT"
wrote in message
.com:

Cannondale Road Warrior 600
Marin Mill Valley
Giant Pegasus
Trek 7700 FX
Mikado WestMount

Looks like they are designed for London cycle commuters.

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University

I think this drop-bars-for-aerodynamics aspect is being overplayed.
That's not the only reason people use them. Some of us just find drops
more comfortable, even when they're raised up a bit beyond the usual
racing position, and suitable enough for urban cycling too. Conversely,
plenty of MTB riders have their flat bars low enough for reasonably good
aerodynamics. So it's more a case of ergonomics and personal preference.

The road bikes with flat bars are aimed at those who are attracted by the
lightness and speed of road racers but are put off by (or can't get on
with) drops. The result may not be /as/ fast as a true racer but will
still be faster than a mountain bike. Fair enough, except plenty of the
buyers of these "new-breed" bikes probably haven't given drops enough of a
chance first. Unfortunatley, drops can take an awful lot of adjustment to
get them comfy, including trying the levers up and down on the
bars--something many never bother trying as it involves messing with bar
tape and cables.

~PB

DT wrote:
I started shopping for a fast hybrid and found that there is a new breed of
bike out there. So new that it does not even have a name yet.

But not so new they haven't been around for a few years!

has flat handlebars like a hybrid but configured like a performance road
bike. The following brands and models are all pretty similar in price but
would appreciate any positive or negative experiences people have had:

Not tried one (don't have any use for such a bike) but you may wish to
add entires from Specialized (Sirrus) and Ridgeback (Genesis) to your list.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Simon Brooke wrote:
in message .com, DT
') wrote:

I started shopping for a fast hybrid and found that there is a new
breed of
bike out there. So new that it does not even have a name yet. The
genre has flat handlebars like a hybrid but configured like a
performance road
bike. The following brands and models are all pretty similar in price
but would appreciate any positive or negative experiences people have
had:
[...]
So, in summary, your new breed may have a role in inner urban areas
where riding is essentially a sprint from one traffic light to the next
and you never actually get up to a reasonable cruising speed, but other
than that they don't make a huge amount of sense. The people who choose
these over drop barred bikes because they want more comfort would
almost certainly be better off on a recumbent. The people who choose
these because they don't have the experience or confidence to ride a
drop barred bike would almost certainly be better to buy something
cheap to develop their confidence on, and then get a better bike later
when they have some experience to base their choice on.

Or they might plausibly buy such a bike and consider fitting drop
bars later. Especially if most of their riding is inner urban sprints.

in message , Pete Biggs
') wrote:

I think this drop-bars-for-aerodynamics aspect is being overplayed.
That's not the only reason people use them. Some of us just find
drops more comfortable, even when they're raised up a bit beyond the
usual
racing position, and suitable enough for urban cycling too.
Conversely, plenty of MTB riders have their flat bars low enough for
reasonably good
aerodynamics. So it's more a case of ergonomics and personal
preference.

I have my MTB bars pretty low - 100mm below the saddle, and I have
ergonomic bar ends on them for multiple hand positions. And my bars are
narrower than the 'riser' bars offered on many new mountain bikes. It's
still not as aerodynamic - or, as you say, as comfortable - as drop
bars.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

pSchroedinger's cat is blinkstrongNOT/strong/blink dead./p