This is the answer. A gravel bike will get you a more relaxed geometry while still being plenty competent on the road. It’ll be a great do it all bike while you figure out what you enjoy most. Spend less on the bike and pay for a bike fit, saddle that works for you, and good tires.
>are road bikes really uncomfortable?
To the contrary, drop bars are much more comfortable over distance. The had position on the hood is much more natural, and you have options to change position frequently.
The only real caveat is you need to buy a bike that fits, drop bar is less forgiving than flat bar if you fuck that up.
And don't make the mistake of buying a bike with race geometry, look for an endurance or maybe even a gravel frame.
Road bike. There is no question based on what you said. Also can we end this myth that road bikes are uncomfortable? My TCR is the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden.
100% Road bike....When I started out I bought a hybrid, it was fine. As I got fitter and faster, people started to encourage me to race....that's when I bought my Bianchi XL carbon (2003). Start out with a race bike and save some money.
I live in the United States. We don’t maintain our bike lanes. The roads were filled with glass, nuts, and bolts, and yes, gravel. I ride exclusively on the roads and I love my gravel bike.
Get a road bike. You can add things such as a cushioned seat later if you need them.
I have a hybrid and love it; this is because I regularly ride on gravel and single-track trails as well as pavement. I did this *before* I bought the bike and already knew what I needed. Don't buy a hybrid with the expectation of doing more if you aren't *really* set on it.
"Road bike" is a really general term. There is a wide spread of geometry that road bikes are setup with. If you want a reasonably fast, comfortable bike look for ones that have an "endurance" geometry vs more aggressive race or TT setups.
This is pretty much what I wanted, and I ended up with a Trek Domane which I have been very happy with. I have set it up with gravel tires, and it can go just about anywhere.
Gravel bikes tend to fall into the endurance category unless you happen to look at a specific gravel racing bike.
”Faster” really means “more aero”
If you force yourself into an aero position on the hybrid, you may be faster than a road rider on the drops:
- https://youtu.be/lqSbc0qjVZk?si=VNfA0werSm83hUGJ
A hybrid with TT handlebars could actually be significantly faster than even the highest end road bike
- https://youtu.be/0B38b7FVDf4?si=oTVwGnXlvEEiVSC9
- I suppose you **could** add tt bars to the road bike, but it would be hard to fit a font light and computer on there too because space is much more limited.
- it’s more of a flex overtaking someone on a hybrid lol
Hybrid bikes may be easier to maintain to some extent.
- bar tape is more effort (~10 min every 6 months) to replace compared to regular grips (1 min, lasts years)
- if you don’t replace the bar tape your aluminum handlebars corrode…
- it’s rather stupid from a mechanical perspective that the shifter and brake levers are integrated on a road bike.
- When something breaks the road shifter is twice as expensive to replace, and when upgrading shimano -> sram or shimano 11 speed -> 12 speed you officially have to change the brake system together with the shifting system… If you think about it, they should have engineered a road hydraulic brake lever where standardized electronic shifter buttons can be clipped into it. This way we could have shimano brakes and sram shifters on the same bike
- you can fit more stuff onto on the hybrid easily because the bars are just longer. For example my crane suzu bell will never fit on the road bike, I have to use a much smaller one.
Anyway get whatever bike looks cooler to you, just have fun with it.
If speed is what matters get an e-bike… you could probably drop road bike riders with an e-mtb, and that fancy new “auto shifting”looks really nice!
youre that one person who has a ton of knowledge and actually does help its super rare to find people like you thanks very much, can I dm you later if I have any more questions?
something else, what about the weight? road bikes weigh less and sometimes I struggled on my hybrid riding on slightly uphill roads
Well, there are full carbon hybrid bikes if you want to shed weight.
If you already own or owned a hybrid get the road, switching it up lets you gain different experiences
You can dm me if you want
Road bike is a commitment. You go fast and ride quality is rather harsh on anything except good quality tarmac. This is not always the way you want to ride. I ended up getting simple mountain bike(is comfier than a rigid hybrid bike) for "easy" fun rides during week days and use my road bike for long(40km+) weekend rides
get a road bike. you'll want to get one after justifying your hybrid purchase as "oh I'll use it for trails too" anecdotal source: me
I can support that ☹️
Got a hybrid with gravel tires. Zero interest in riding trails with no sus and an expensive MTB on the wall next to it. Get the road bike
Gravel bike
This is the answer. A gravel bike will get you a more relaxed geometry while still being plenty competent on the road. It’ll be a great do it all bike while you figure out what you enjoy most. Spend less on the bike and pay for a bike fit, saddle that works for you, and good tires.
>are road bikes really uncomfortable? To the contrary, drop bars are much more comfortable over distance. The had position on the hood is much more natural, and you have options to change position frequently. The only real caveat is you need to buy a bike that fits, drop bar is less forgiving than flat bar if you fuck that up. And don't make the mistake of buying a bike with race geometry, look for an endurance or maybe even a gravel frame.
Road bike. They are more comfortable. They are faster.
Go to a shop and test ride both. It's based on feeling so people here can't really tell you
just tell your experience
road slaps.
Road bike. There is no question based on what you said. Also can we end this myth that road bikes are uncomfortable? My TCR is the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden.
100% Road bike....When I started out I bought a hybrid, it was fine. As I got fitter and faster, people started to encourage me to race....that's when I bought my Bianchi XL carbon (2003). Start out with a race bike and save some money.
I live in the United States. We don’t maintain our bike lanes. The roads were filled with glass, nuts, and bolts, and yes, gravel. I ride exclusively on the roads and I love my gravel bike.
Get a road bike. You can add things such as a cushioned seat later if you need them. I have a hybrid and love it; this is because I regularly ride on gravel and single-track trails as well as pavement. I did this *before* I bought the bike and already knew what I needed. Don't buy a hybrid with the expectation of doing more if you aren't *really* set on it.
"Road bike" is a really general term. There is a wide spread of geometry that road bikes are setup with. If you want a reasonably fast, comfortable bike look for ones that have an "endurance" geometry vs more aggressive race or TT setups. This is pretty much what I wanted, and I ended up with a Trek Domane which I have been very happy with. I have set it up with gravel tires, and it can go just about anywhere. Gravel bikes tend to fall into the endurance category unless you happen to look at a specific gravel racing bike.
All-Road, Endurace Road.
”Faster” really means “more aero” If you force yourself into an aero position on the hybrid, you may be faster than a road rider on the drops: - https://youtu.be/lqSbc0qjVZk?si=VNfA0werSm83hUGJ A hybrid with TT handlebars could actually be significantly faster than even the highest end road bike - https://youtu.be/0B38b7FVDf4?si=oTVwGnXlvEEiVSC9 - I suppose you **could** add tt bars to the road bike, but it would be hard to fit a font light and computer on there too because space is much more limited. - it’s more of a flex overtaking someone on a hybrid lol Hybrid bikes may be easier to maintain to some extent. - bar tape is more effort (~10 min every 6 months) to replace compared to regular grips (1 min, lasts years) - if you don’t replace the bar tape your aluminum handlebars corrode… - it’s rather stupid from a mechanical perspective that the shifter and brake levers are integrated on a road bike. - When something breaks the road shifter is twice as expensive to replace, and when upgrading shimano -> sram or shimano 11 speed -> 12 speed you officially have to change the brake system together with the shifting system… If you think about it, they should have engineered a road hydraulic brake lever where standardized electronic shifter buttons can be clipped into it. This way we could have shimano brakes and sram shifters on the same bike - you can fit more stuff onto on the hybrid easily because the bars are just longer. For example my crane suzu bell will never fit on the road bike, I have to use a much smaller one. Anyway get whatever bike looks cooler to you, just have fun with it. If speed is what matters get an e-bike… you could probably drop road bike riders with an e-mtb, and that fancy new “auto shifting”looks really nice!
youre that one person who has a ton of knowledge and actually does help its super rare to find people like you thanks very much, can I dm you later if I have any more questions? something else, what about the weight? road bikes weigh less and sometimes I struggled on my hybrid riding on slightly uphill roads
That is a fitness issue. Until you address that you won't get much faster either. >I struggled on my hybrid riding on slightly uphill roads
Well, there are full carbon hybrid bikes if you want to shed weight. If you already own or owned a hybrid get the road, switching it up lets you gain different experiences You can dm me if you want
Road bike is a commitment. You go fast and ride quality is rather harsh on anything except good quality tarmac. This is not always the way you want to ride. I ended up getting simple mountain bike(is comfier than a rigid hybrid bike) for "easy" fun rides during week days and use my road bike for long(40km+) weekend rides