rlk1000

I'm somewhat of a newbie. Last year, I bought an old junker road bike for $100 for a small commute to test whether or not I'd like biking and want to invest in a better bike. I liked it. I bought a Giant Roam hybrid bike in large size this year. The two major changes:

hybrid. logic: I got a couple flat tires. I drive on roads but there's a lot of gravel and glass and I'm 200 lbs, and my logic was that a hybrid bike with fatter tires would be better for flat tires.
large frame: I'm 6'2, so I went with a larger frame.

I put on more road like tires 32's with slicker tread, and thought it was a pretty heavy bike, I felt good about its road abilities. I loved the bike and put a lot of miles on it. I did two hour bike rides about once a week.

I absolutely loved my bike.

A couple other things to know about me. I put a rack on the back, and would tie down a gym bag for clothes and sometimes laptop, and sometimes overstuff the thing with groceries or what not. So, I put a lot of weight on the bike. Also, the bike came (used) with these handle bar riser things, which i quite liked, being able to shift positions at times, and ride even more upright at times. I'm 47 and have back issues.

My bike got stolen. So I'm looking for a replacement.

My main questions are:

1. Should I open my search to road bikes in addition to hybrids, based on what I say I like about my bike.
2. How important is the large frame?

The reason I ask is that it's so difficult to find the exact spec of what I want, so I'm wondering if my assumptions on what I liked about my last bike were based on incomplete information. ie maybe the difference in regular and large frame is more subtle than I think, and the main difference in feel between the two bikes I had was the weight or the tire size or riding position. or likewise, were the things like confidence in tire flats or the comfort in riding due to other differences between the two bikes and not necessarily a road vs hybrid thing.

aricc24

Most here will say go to a LBS for proper fitting. Id mirror that too, but some people just wanna buy used for price savings which is completely fine.

If you do that, look up the brand and bike type online and most sites have a sizing guide. A good rule of thumb is that when you straddle the crossbar, you should be able to pick it up and have an inch or so minimum of room. If its touching your gooch while you stand its too large.

In terms of bikes, depends on what you are doing with it. like you said, if you ride on roads that have a lot of potholes, arent kept, and want to take it on trails, Id suggest a hybrid. I went with a hybrid with 35mm tires and felt like I could even be fine with 32s. The giant ROAM I believe has front shocks which slow it down a bit but add comfort.

If It was me, Id buy a hybrid with rigid fork with a more aggressive geometry. The FX series from Trek, Escape from Giant, and Quick from Cannondale are models I looked at. Liked them all, just went with the one that was priced best at my LBS. The "fitness" hybrids offer a good balance between comfort and speed, can be pretty zippy on pavement but also forgiving on bumps and are fine on well kept limestone trails. Im likely biased though because that is what I ride. There are people on here that will bash hybrids and say they arent particularly good at anything, which may be true, but they arent particularly bad at anything either. Like you im fairly bigger (6'2, 230lbs) and enjoy the fatter tires. Plus there are tons of limestone rail trails around here which are NOT fun on a road bike.

If you want more speed for longer rides a road bike may be better suited.

kevindsingleton 

Consider what they're now calling "gravel grinders", or CX bikes (two different, but similar, types of bikes). Drop bars, rigid forks, more tire clearance that typical road bikes, and some have rack mounts and more spokes, to carry more weight. I rode with a friend, this weekend, who has a Diamondback Haanjo (Shimano 105-equipped) with mechanical disc brakes, and it's very light and capable. Next up on my list, for sure.

rlk1000

Thanks. On the size...it's not so much a matter of being fit or not knowing my size. My question is more a question like, how important is getting the perfect frame size? ie, for example in a hybrid that is usually sized M or L, there are much more M's than L's (talking about the used market), so is it better to sacrifice the perfect fit to get what you want for all your other parameters? or better to wait for the right size that match the other parameters?

Doctor Morbius

Road bikes vs. hybrids are very personal choices. 12 years ago if you had asked me if I would ever own a hybrid I would have gotten a little chuckle out of it. But now that's my favorite type of bike. I also own a Roam-2 and it has become my go to bike for several reasons, the main one being it's just a more enjoyable bike to ride.

IMO WRT road bikes you're sacrificing comfort for speed and efficiency. I'm sure the hard core roadies will disagree.

MRT2

Pretty important, IMO. At 6'2" there is no way a medium sized hybrid should fit, or at least unlikely. A too small bike will leave you feeling scrunched up. Can you fix it with a super long seatpost and stem? Not likely.

aricc24

It depends on your height. Bikes fit a range of size inseams and heights. Say a bike fits someone that is 5'8 to 6 foot and we shall call it medium (making this up). If you are 6 foot, technically you should get the medium, but going to a Large likely wont make that big of a difference.

On the other hand, if you are 5'11 and trying to go down to a Small, or are 5'8 and want to try that large out, odds are it is not going to fit right. Similarly, if you are in the middle of the height range (say, 5"10) in this example, it also likely means the sizes below and above are not going to be best.

Which is why most people advise going to a LBS and being professionally fit. I personally was on the cusp of both the large and XL, and chose the XL because i liked the color better. Either size fit me well.

In terms of getting the specs, size, color, etc all in one, the best bet is to just find the LBS near you, test ride, and take the best one home. To me, its much better value to pay the price of premium/new bikes than sorting through used ones and finding one that "will do" compared to one you will LOVE.

dksix

I think the consensus is that if the sizes are border line go with the smaller size because you can make it feel bigger with longer stem, set back seatpost and I guess different handle bars. The thing you won't be able to do anything about is toe overlap, more of a problem for people like me with big feet (I wear a size 14 or 49).

Another thing to consider is sizing is subjective with modern compact frames. You certainly can't use the old 2 finger rule with slopping top tube frames. I've found this to be a good sizing guide https://www.competitivecyclist.com/S...ulatorBike.jsp

I'd say find a geometry chart that gives stack and reach for your old frame and compare that to potential new bike's stack and reach.