Hybrid to road bike or new road bike
 

. Let me make it as simple as possible I have a diamondback hybrid bike with flat bars front suspension that locks up I want to convert it to a road bike skinnier tires carbon fiber forks add a stem different handlebars is it ever really going to ride like a dedicated road bike?

I got $250 invested in my Diamondback it's going to take another 200 to convert it or should I just go spend $500 and just buy a road bike that's already set up can you convert a hybrid over to a road bike and it'll handle like a road bike?

Road bike = drop bars, you don't seem to want to do that, so not really sure what the question really is (far too much info up there, and very confusing)

From how I'm reading it, your looking to either get an endurance road bike or keep your current DB Trace, get CF forks and riser stem and not sure what else (saddles are personal, and you may want to change on any bike)

Your commute is short, and any bike should be able to do it, do you carry anything, need fenders (probably not in CA) racks etc can the endurance bike do the same as the DB Trace.

For the forks, getting good CF disc forks may be expensive (your current bike has discs) can you fit these /any parts or will you be paying a shop to do this.

For the tires, why smaller? it comes stock with 45mm's which will be far more comfortable to ride with than 32mm's and droppign the size that much will change the handling of the bike a bit. There are good fast rolling 45mms avaliablefor future replacement.

That looks like a good bike. I'd start by raising the stem. To do this you might have to buy a spacer kit designed for that purpose. Their may also be fore and aft adjustments you can make to the seat. These adjustments alone might be all you need to make it comfortable.

As for the tires, 45mm width is fine for your bike. Their are plenty tires up to 50mm wide that roll just as easily as many decent road bike tires. Google "bicycle tire rolling resistance" to find one. Tire pressure is important here, confirm that you are using the correct pressure now. It is printed on the sidewall of the tire. Your tires might just need air.

You can install new riser handlebars, or have the bike shop do it later if need be.

Keep the forks, just adjust the preload if you can to a firm setting. The added weight is well worth the improved ride and sometimes increases speed of your ride as you don't have to slow down on rough roads or trails. I wish I had bought a bike with them.

Also I wouldn't lock them out, It might be why they are snapping. Big recall.

It is a pretty good bike and I have to say that I got a really good deal on it for 250 it's basically hardly ever been ridden I never really wanted to get rid of it it's just the more I rode it the more things I found I wasn't liking.

The tires say 50 to 85 lb I'm running 70 lb in am right now it has made a difference in the way it rolls but it don't roll anywhere close to a 28c road bike tire. Like I said for about $175 I can put a carbon fiber Fork on the front which is going to shed probably about 4 or 5 lbs off the bike I can put like 32c tires on it get a stem and change the bars all for about $175 and I got to believe it's going to ride a lot better.

It's just when I hopped on that road bike man I can feel the lightness of the bike the bike was probably 22 23 lbs my bike is like 32 but I think a lot of its the front suspension forks I don't think the rims are probably not the lightest rims you can get what I'm saying is I just felt a big difference on that road bike I felt like the lightness of the bike was tremendous when I start riding it.

Then I may just go ahead and switch to tires which the bars and just go that route which I'd rather do cuz then I don't have to hassle selling the bike I mean the frame is sweet there's a lot of good things about the bike I have to say and I know Diamondback makes very good bikes.

Not clear what you really want to do here, but if you want a road bike, i'd sell the hybrid and buy a road bike.

It will never ride like a dedicated road bike. Simple answer. And no, it is not worth $200 to convert it if you want a real road bike. That isn't to say that you couldn't improve the ride, but if you want a road bike, buy a road bike.

Thanks for all the replies guys it's kind of a mixed bag but from other research I've done it seems like a waste of money not a waste of money but it seems like I'll never get my bike that I currently have into a road bike I should just buy a road bike.

Now the question is what road bike can I get for about $550 I know it's not a lot of money as far as a road bike goes but it's really all I got to spend I've done some research on some different cell phone Google you know best road bike for $500 or under they all kind of come up with the same thing but I don't know if it's just Amazon clickbait now affiliate links leading me to buy a bike but the reviews on Amazon are decent on a couple of my been looking at.

But this is a bike Forum so I'm wondering if you guys anybody know any decent road bikes in the 550 dollar price range.

Or am I better going on OfferUp and getting a used one but a brand name cuz I know for $550 I can't get a trek, Cannondale or Specialized or any of the big-name bikes.

Thanks again for all of your input.

try looking at bikes direct, they have a lot to choose from in your price range.

I'm looking at the Diamondback Century 1 seems like a pretty decent bike in my price range.

Bikesdirect.com does have a lot of bikes never heard any of any other brands that are in my price range I'll have to Google them and find out if they're any good.

Seems like you sure don't get much of a road bike for $550 seems like I need like more like 900 to 1000 seems like it gets me a much better bike.

BD sells generic bikes with famous brand names from history. You can get something nice there but you should apply zero value to the decals.

Here’s a vote for another bike

Check your local Craigslist or similar, there are often good deals to be had.

That's a decent bike. If five miles is torture, then look for other problems. Does the bike fit you?

This Giant Escape disc might work well for you. It has hydraulic disc brakes, 700c x 35mm puncture protect tires and 3 x 8 gears for $550. Looks like a lot of bike for the money. The base Escape at $420 is almost a steal.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/escape-2-disc

Yep, what he ^ said. It sounds like you know your way around bikes enough to know what to check for. I've gotten a few bike deals on CL, and see other good ones, all the time.
And you're right, a $550 new road bike probably ain't gonna be worth the trouble. If that's the option, I'd personally be more inclined to upgrade an existing bike, if I liked it otherwise.
Also, instead of a carbon fork, maybe consider steel. It's also known for it's vibration-absorbing qualities, but is much more robust and resistant to damage, and will also shave weight versus a suspension fork. I recently saw some 700/29" forks ebay made by Marin, at very good prices.

You know what you're right I'm finding you need $1,000 to get a decent entry level road bike 550 gets you garbage I either have to up my budget or keep my current bike and do a few things to it.

Those are not your only two options. A third option would be to carefully search Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and other classifieds for a used bike.

Why don't you let us help you by saying in what city you live? Also, something about your height and proportions (e.g., high waist, long torso, etc.)?We could scan your local Craigslist and find something in your price range.

I live in the DC metro area, and you can find pretty excellent road bikes in the $550 range, if you know what to look for. Especially if you're a bit beneath the average height ...

Since you already have a working bike that you like, keep riding that and start a thorough search for a used road bike. A new $550 road bike will be pretty low-end, but you can likely find a much nicer second hand bike for the same price.

Where are you located? I like searching online ads for bikes so I could recommend a few for you.

Also, how tall are you? - the size of the bike is very important. In fact, you dissatisfaction with your hybrid makes me think it might be a poor fit for your body.

Well I really wasn't planning on going to use route I wanted to buy something new. Unless I can find something in really excellent condition I don't like buying somebody else's problems.

I do need to sell my bicycle first because I need the money from my bike and so far no takers no action a couple of flakes asking if I still have it.

I'm 6" 200 pounds pretty good size frame I'm not thin person.

Most bike shops of all told me the same thing I need a 56cm bike.

Like I said I basically need $1,000 to buy a new bike and if I can't find something that's in really really good shape that I don't have to dump money into in the used Market I'll probably just keep what I have until I have thousand dollars in hand to go buy a new bike.

I do appreciate all of your guys time and effort and I'd like to see what you can dig up.

Forgot to tell you I live near Costa Mesa California.

Part of me wants to just convert the bike that I already have over would be a lot simpler than looking for something and having to deal with all the Craigslist flakes OfferUp flakes it could take months to sell this bike.

That one giant bike listed above that giant bike it's like a hybrid bike I rode that the other day when I was test riding bikes it really doesn't feel any different than the current bike I have a little bit lighter but other than that it's basically the same thing.

Got another question for you guys relating to my current Diamondback that I have.

I have front suspension forks on it if I did want to just end up doing the conversion I'm curious about the forks I would ditch the heavy suspension forks.

There's offset forks and then there's just regular straight Forks how do I determine if my bike has offset Forks or not does it matter?

I was just looking at some forks I found several interesting Forks are straight once and there's offset one so I don't know no idea which ones to get if I go that way.

A hybrid will never be the same as a road bike....different geometry.

why carbon forks?

you biggest bang for the buck (imho) is to put skinnier tires on the hybrid, lock the fork and ride it like that until you find a nice road bike

this is what I see for $1000 in OC....have no idea on you size but will get you a flavor

Fuji https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/...901239478.html

specialized https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/...911681613.html

brian Rouke custom https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/...917870532.html

Not trying to turn it into a road bike it'll never be a road bike just checking into different options when I get off work I'll look at those bikes you listed.

Just looked at those bikes you listed I think I'm going to just wait till I have $1,000 and buy a new bike appreciate your effort. For now I'm just going to slap wheels on my bike thinner wheels and ride it until I have the money take me two or three more weeks to save up the money I may end up having to keep this bicycle I have cuz it doesn't seem like nobody's interested.

$750 in your pocket should get you a 2 year old gently used bike, that was $1500 when it was new.

Agreed

If you're willing to turn your hybrid into a used semi-road-bike, I'd think you'd be at least as happy with a used born-and-bred road bike. Anything less than a grand (more?) for a new bike will get you a bag of low-end components you'll be wanting to upgrade in no time. Do some research, listen to these guys, go ebay. FWIW, I'm about your size (6', 185) riding a range of road frames from 54 to 60; the 54 is too small, the 60 is do-able but noticeably big, but those are just vintage 10-speeds that I got for nothing and keep around for fun and oddity. Just last year replaced a 56cm Orbea that served me well for 8 years (with upgrades, that's how I know about that) with a 58cm Wilier that, yes, I could feel the difference, but now used to it.
-Dan