Which bike to choose

sully13

Hi,
Looking at buying a bike in the next weeks and looking for opinions/advice on what to choose.
It will only be for casual cycling maybe the Greenway near westport and some road cycling.

Should I go for a racer or a hybrid

I was told that if I go for a hybrid I might regret not going for a racer???

Dancor

I bought a hybrid on my bike to work scheme last December. It's a great bike but after a few months of cycling I now regret not getting a road bike.

Cee-Jay-Cee

sully13 wrote: »

Hi,
Looking at buying a bike in the next weeks and looking for opinions/advice on what to choose.
It will only be for casual cycling maybe the Greenway near westport and some road cycling.

Should I go for a racer or a hybrid

I was told that if I go for a hybrid I might regret not going for a racer???

If your thinking of using it more on the greenway than on the road then a hybrid with knobbly tyres would be more suited or you could go with a cyclocross bike which suits all your needs.

idiottje

You probably won't be able to use the Greenway on a road bike when the ground is wet. The thinner tires just sink into the mud/soft ground. A lot of that Greenway is compacted sand/gravel and not tarmac underneath.

If the section you plan on doing is not the compacted stuff, then I would go for a road bike.

Daroxtar

I have a hybrid and it's great for greenaway/canal paths/ forestry roads. If that's what you're going doing then the hybrid is definitely a better choice. If you are staying on paved roads then buy a road bike.
However, if f you buy a hybrid in a year's time you can convince your OH that you now need a road bike. If you buy a road bike it's harder to convince them that you need a better road bike

sully13

Daroxtar wrote: »

I have a hybrid and it's great for greenaway/canal paths/ forestry roads. If that's what you're going doing then the hybrid is definitely a better choice. If you are staying on paved roads then buy a road bike.
However, if f you buy a hybrid in a year's time you can convince your OH that you now need a road bike. If you buy a road bike it's harder to convince them that you need a better road bike

Sorry what do you mean by OH?

PCX

sully13 wrote: »

Sorry what do you mean by OH?

It means other half. ie wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend

superelliptic

sully13 wrote: »

Sorry what do you mean by OH?

OH = Other Half.

sully13

Thanks she not impressed with getting bike in first place!

With the hybrids what are they like on long journey?
Would you miss not having handlebar with different position

Brian?

sully13 wrote: »

Hi,
Looking at buying a bike in the next weeks and looking for opinions/advice on what to choose.
It will only be for casual cycling maybe the Greenway near westport and some road cycling.

Should I go for a racer or a hybrid

I was told that if I go for a hybrid I might regret not going for a racer???

If you buy a hybrid you'll more than likely regret it. You can compromise by getting a cyclocross bike which would be grand for green lanes.

Cyclocross is inherently cool as it's dominated by Belgian hard men. You do want to be cool don't you?

sully13

Brian? wrote: »

If you buy a hybrid you'll more than likely regret it. You can compromise by getting a cyclocross bike which would be grand for green lanes.

Cyclocross is inherently cool as it's dominated by Belgian hard men. You do want to be cool don't you?

Ha Ha !! The cyclocross look cool but looks like there a bit out of my price bracket

Brian?

sully13 wrote: »

Ha Ha !! The cyclocross look cool but looks like there a bit out of my price bracket

What's your budget?

sully13

Brian? wrote: »

What's your budget?

€1,000 all in - need to bring helmet, peddal, shoes in under this

Brian?

sully13 wrote: »

€1,000 all in - need to bring helmet, peddal, shoes in under this

You should be able to get a cyclocross bike for that.

blueyblue

Any lads & ladies i am looking for a little advice, i just had my motorcycle stolen and it will be a month or so before insurance and a bike bike can be bought. In the mean time i want to get a bike to cycle to and from work but also do some cycling in say in the Wicklow mountains bray that kinda stuff on the weekends. Can anyone suggest what sort of bike i should be aiming for that will suit both, Thanks in advances for any advice.

Jim Rockford

Forget about what anyone else buys or has, decide what you want to be doing on the bike, and your build, and buy the bike best suited to that. A good hybrid never goes astray, as you can use it for so many things, including just going to the shop and the pub.
Hybrids come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, some are closer to mountain bikes, whereas as some are very close to road bikes.
Yes they are a jack of all trades, rather than a master of one, but that is not always a bad thing.
The upright position is more comfortable, and you get to see round you a lot more.
Road bikes are all the craze at the moment, if you're built like a greyhound / jockey and find yourself wanting more and more speed on the road, and want to enter competitions or join a sports cycling club, and do the odd triathlon, go straight to buying a road bike.
It really is horses for courses. It's like buying a sports car, versus an all round car. They both have advantages and disadvantages.
No one bike will ever do everything exceptionally well.

Brian?

Jim Rockford wrote: »

Forget about what anyone else buys or has, decide what you want to be doing on the bike, and your build, and buy the bike best suited to that. A good hybrid never goes astray, as you can use it for so many things, including just going to the shop and the pub.
Hybrids come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, some are closer to mountain bikes, whereas as some are very close to road bikes.
Yes they are a jack of all trades, rather than a master of one, but that is not always a bad thing.
The upright position is more comfortable, and you get to see round you a lot more.
Road bikes are all the craze at the moment, if you're built like a greyhound / jockey and find yourself wanting more and more speed on the road, and want to enter competitions or join a sports cycling club, and do the odd triathlon, go straight to buying a road bike.
It really is horses for courses. It's like buying a sports car, versus an all round car. They both have advantages and disadvantages.
No one bike will ever do everything exceptionally well.

I completely disagree. A road bike is the best option for cycling on the road, simple as that. Hybrids are a strange contraption designed for people afraid of drop bars. They are never the best option, they're a compromise.

Want to cycle on the road: road bike.

There are then sub categories of road bikes; touring bikes, racing bikes, leisure bikes.

Jim Rockford

Brian? wrote: »

I completely disagree. A road bike is the best option for cycling on the road, simple as that. Hybrids are a strange contraption designed for people afraid of drop bars. They are never the best option, they're a compromise.

Want to cycle on the road: road bike.

There are then sub categories of road bikes; touring bikes, racing bikes, leisure bikes.

read it again, there's a good lad, the OP wanted a bike he could also ride on greenways

quozl

My road bike is perfect for green-ways thanks to 28mm tyres. As would be the touring bikes mentioned by Brian? above.

Brian?

Jim Rockford wrote: »

read it again, there's a good lad, the OP wanted a bike he could also ride on greenways

Read it again yourself. The OP wants to ride on green ways. I reccomended a cyclocross bike. A far better option than a hybrid.

The next person looking for advice never mentioned green ways.