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New bicycle - coming from a road bike

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Deal Addict
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Oct 15, 2008
3969 posts
4720 upvotes
Victoria

New bicycle - coming from a road bike

I am considering purchasing a new bike. My current one is a road bike - nothing fancy, a Norco with a mix of Shimano 105 and 600 components. I don't ride it as much as I used to, and I'm thinking it's because it's so limiting to where I can ride it. There is some great cycling in Victoria, but some of it is gravel/trail. I'm also finding my back & neck get sore after anything longer than 30 minutes. So I've started considering a hybrid, but there are so many subcategories under that term. Comfort, urban, fitness, commuter, sport...it's a bit overwhelming.

I've done some initial research and spoken to one salesperson at a LBS (took me forever to discover what that meant) and narrowed it down to a few models. But I wanted to get your opinion on whether these bikes would be suitable for the odd non-paved trail. I'm looking for a used one, as my current road bike was purchased used from a LBS and has lasted me a good 10+ years. I won't be using this to commute, nor do I plan on riding in the rain. I just hope I don't regret the decision to switch from a road bike, as I do enjoy going fast. But it can be annoying when going for a leisurely ride with my wife, who's trailing behind on a comfort hybrid (I think that's what it's called...)

KHS Vitamin B (very little info online, but is the best price)
Trek 7.2 FX
Giant Escape (1, 2, 3, City...???)
Specialized Sirrus
Cannondale Quick
Kona Dew
Brodie Voltage
Norco VR3

Thanks in advance
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Deal Expert
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Mar 6, 2003
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Ottawa
I'll stick with Trek for my examples

For non paved but relatively smooth trails, you just need a city oriented hybrid (e.g. Trek FX). If you ride in loose dirt trails, you'll probably want swap out for more dirt oriented tires.

For non paved rough trails intermixed with road use, you want a hybrid with front suspension. These are "dual sport" hybrids. (e.g. http://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes/ci ... /ds_series)

It all depends on how much trails you want to ride on.
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Oct 15, 2008
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Thanks warpdrive, much appreciated.

I definitely don't want suspension - either fork or seat. I think what I'm looking for is a middle ground where I'm not giving up much of the speed of a road bike, but with a more upright seating position and thicker tires for the odd bit of gravel or non-paved trail.

Frame geometry is something I know nothing about, so I'm wondering if the KHS Vitamin B, for example, is different than the Trek 7.2 FX or Giant Escape in that regard.
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Mar 6, 2003
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Basically no, there is not much of a difference from my quick look at the specs. They all have relatively “relaxed” geometry and long wheelbase which makes them stable and less twitchy than a normal road bike.

If you’re looking at the newer Giants, I like the fact that the chainstay tube is bent downwards, so the chain is less likely to hit the chain stay when the bike is bouncing up and down. You’ll probably want a tire with slightly more aggressive tread but with a smooth center so that it still rolls well on the road.

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