In a post I wrote back in May about a personal dislike for the hybrid bicycle , or more aptly stated, a lack of understanding as to why someone would want one:
“But that’s the point, why get a skinny tire bike that makes you sit on it like a fat tire bike and rob you of efficiency?
I just can’t get there in my head. If any of you have an opinion on this, I’d love to hear it….”
Jason replied:
“I have a hybrid bike, a Specialized Sirrus Elite, and it makes perfect sense really, I’ve never ridden a road bike and rarely do long distance rides, but I knew I never wanted a mountain bike for road riding so what did I do? I got the one I was most comfortable on and made the most sense, a hybrid. I didn’t need suspension, I didn’t need knobbly tires, but I also didn’t need the drop handlebars, super thin tires and ultra thin saddle.
I know I can’t beat a good road bike for out and out top speed, but downhill I have achieved a respectable 40mph mostly freewheeling. OK, on a good road bike with my engine downhill maybe I could do 5-10 mph more… But hey, all I know is my hybrid rarely lets me down…”
Fair enough.
Indeed. Solution? Buy both. I did!
I’m sticking with the road bike and the mountain bike – I can turn that into a hybrid with $40 into some decent road tires.
😉