Which fast hybrid?

markeymark

Hi, I was hoping for some expert opinions on which bike to buy. I'm looking for a quick hybrid / flat handlebar racer. I'm not an experienced cyclist and I'll be cycling mostly on country roads for short rides less than 2 hours.

Ideally, I'm looking for something less than e850.

I've had a look round the local shops and found a few options. I was wondering if anyone had experience with these or can recommend any other possibilities:

-Giant Rapid 3 e699
-Ridgeback Flight or UltraFlight 02 e679
-Trek 7.4fx e749
-Specialized Sirrus Sport e599
-Lapierre Shaper 100 e595

Thanks!

Keep_Her_Lit

This is certainly worth a look:

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/hybrid/hybrid_comp.html

It's €625 in Halfords (the sole distributor in Ireland). If you stretch your budget to €930, you could get the Team instead:

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/hybrid/hybrid_team.html

Although, I'm a flat-bar devotee for the urban/suburban miles, I would choose a drop bar road bike if it was going to be used mainly for leisure spins out in the sticks. Perhaps you have a particular reason for choosing a flat-bar hybrid but if not, it might be worth reviewing that decision.

Raam

There are no fast hybrids.

Carpenter

Have you fast legs

wersal gummage

remember that bike shops have a bit of a margin to work with. so when you say 850 max, you should probably be looking at list prices of up to around 920 or 930ish. this might take you from the giant rapid 3 to 2 territory ??

as for raam - no fast hybrids. i started on the giant rapid 1 - passed out pretty much every cyclist i ever came across (leisure/training cycling now). a high base fitness counts a lot more than a kg or two in weight of a bike or in drops or flats when it comes to the likes of the rapid. I swapped the flat bars on the rapid over to drops after about a year or so, got a set of 105 shifters on here for cheap enough. I'd suggest going straight for the giant defy (or equivalent in the other brands you've listed). If you're starting out with 2 hour cycles in mind, you'll probably build on from that and want a drop bar set up before long.

markeymark

Keep_Her_Lit wrote: »

Although, I'm a flat-bar devotee for the urban/suburban miles, I would choose a drop bar road bike if it was going to be used mainly for leisure spins out in the sticks. Perhaps you have a particular reason for choosing a flat-bar hybrid but if not, it might be worth reviewing that decision.

I've never really felt comfortable on a drop bar bike, although I've only ever ridden really cheap ones! I think the riding position is a bit uncomfortable for a very casual rider such as myself. I always thought I might move on to a racer if I got into cycling on a more serious level!