Suggestions for a better hybrid/road bike

novarock

Ive been cycling a Dawes 101 for quite a few years now, has been a great bike, but I want to upgrade now.

Ive never cycled a bike with drop bars, I dont think my commute would be long enough to warrant them, but I would like something of a road bike standard/weight for around 800 euro with straight bars.

My other factor is gears, I would love to get a bike with no front derailleur, only 5 gears if possible. I have never used any more than that.

Any recommendations or advise?

Tonyandthewhale

Why exactly don't you want drop bars? Upgrading to something lighter will make things a little easier especially on the hills but if you want a really noticable difference in speed and comfort I think it only makes sense to at least consider drop bars and the aerodynamic and ergonomic advantages they afford.

As regards having less gears, you could always go for a single-speed which means it would be lighter and simpler but you'd have no bail-out for hills and windy days.
You could also go for something with an internal gear hub which tend to have fewer gears although they're usually quite widely spaced so the gear range is similar to a derailleur system. Finally, you could always remove the front derailleur of whatever bike you buy and fit a single-speed crankset.

novarock

Im not opposed to drop bars, they just terrify me! I have memories of falling off my emmelle racer constantly in the 80's and the fear has stuck with me!

If you remove the front derailleur and replace it with a single cog would that cause any alignment issues with the rear gears?

I had looked at the discovery 601, but the bleedin thing has 27 gears. Makes no sense to me at all, I only ever use the last 4 or 5.

bogmanfan

There's a huge range of 'hybrid' bikes, some are more like mountain bikes while others are more road focussed. Something like the Giant Rapid is basically a road bike with flat handlebars. Might be worth a look. As for the gears, you could just ignore the front derailleur and only use the rear?

Lumen

novarock wrote: »

If you remove the front derailleur and replace it with a single cog would that cause any alignment issues with the rear gears?

No. The usual approach is to remove all but one chainring and add a chainguard/bashring if you want to cycle with trousers.

novarock

I understand what you mean about the range, I want to move a bit further to the road bike side of hybrids. That Giant looks just the job I think.. Ill have a further look into it. Cheers!

L'Enfer du Nord

novarock wrote: »

I understand what you mean about the range, I want to move a bit further to the road bike side of hybrids. That Giant looks just the job I think.. Ill have a further look into it. Cheers!

I can see where you are coming from with regard to preferring flat-bar to drops for a commute, but one thing to bear in mind is sporty hybrids don't hold their value very well.

But if you're buying a good one which will last for years this isn't too big an issue.

wanderer 22

If you're still interested in the Giant rapid - they're going for half price on Wiggle, http://www.wiggle.co.uk/giant-rapid-2-2011/
Great bikes, I had one until I decided to get a drop bar bike.