NewRiger

Hi,
I want to start commuting and i am having trouble picking up a bike. My commute is 9 miles in each direction (18 total) of mainly road/pavement. I live in Scarborough Ontario. The road a pretty bad around here so i am thinking i might need something with front suspension/larger tires. Plus i like the idea of having the option for more aggressive biking if need be.
My only recent experience on bike is with a trek verve 2 that I rented for two days while on vacation. I absolutely love it, it felt light,fast and in looking for a similar feel with my new bike.
Reading here on the forum , the general consensus seems to be that for a first bike , the best way to pick one is to go to a LBS, tried them all and pick the one that feels the best. I intend to do that , but i still have some questions that a test ride can't answer :

1 - How much (approximatively) efficiency does one loose going form a fitness hybrid to a dual sport ?
My current understanding is that the efficiency loss is mainly caused by the suspension and the added weight. But looking at something like FX 7.4 vs DS 7.4 , the weight difference seems to be less than 5 lbs and the suspension can be locked. How much does that have one efficiency ( are we talking 2,3 % or more like 15, 20 % ?) , same question for top speed ?

2 - How do choose between bikes in the same line ?
My hard limit price wise is 800$CAN (before tax). the range of bike i am interrested in (trek fx, Giant roam) usually range from 500 to 1100. Being a newbie it's hard to compare the value of two bikes in the same line (DS 8.4 vs DS 8.3 for example). Should i go with the cheapest that 'feel good after the test ride ? does each line have a sweetspot value wise ? what feature a considered must have ( right i am requiring suspension lock ,maybe disk break)

3 - i restricted my options to the three main brand people talk the most in here Giant,spec. and trek And for each they most popular sport hybrid and dual sport (ds, fx,sirrus,roam,rapid etc...).Is there something else i should try/look at ?

Thanks for reading

WestPablo

The main difference between a road bike, built for paved roads and a mtbike, built for rocky mountainous terrain, is tire width. That's right! It's tire width, NOT a suspended fork! The suspended fork definitely comes in handy when you're going to be constantly bumping up and down, or if you have arthritis, or some type of medical condition. A condition that needs to have constant vibration cushioning. Otherwise, if you're mainly on pavement with just an occasional, but mild, off-road distraction, then a performance hybrid is the perfect bicycle for you.

The following Performance hybrids I would highly recommend for your commute:
1. The Jamis Coda Comp(32mm) 2. The Giant Escape 1 (32mm) 3. The Trek FX (32mm)
4. The Cannondale Quick 4 (32mm) 5. The Marin Muirwoods 29er(40mm)
6. The KHS Xcel (35mm) 7. The Raleigh Cadent 3 (32mm)

The Marin Muirwoods 29er has the widest tire width of 40mm.

*Also, you don't have to restrict your bicycle companies to just the big three. There are several other excellent bicycle companies from which you may choose. Companies like: Jamis, Raleigh, Marin, Cannondale, Fuji, KHS, Surly, Salsa, Kona, and GT.

spdracr39

We have two entry level trek FX7.1's and have ridden both on light off road but mostly pavement. They are great bikes for medium length rides and perform fine off road with no technical stuff. You do feel a lot of the trails in your hands and arms but that can be solved with some quality grips. I think a performance hybrid would be a great choice for you but only you can decide which bikes feel best.

Jaeger99

Easy - ride them. There's no bad chopice as between FX and DS, IMO - and I don't think anyone is going to be able to quantify the difference in efficiency for you.

I can tell you that I like the quick, nimble feeling on-road of my FX and would not want to sacrifice even a little of that for the extra weight of suspended forks. And the bike performs very well indeed in the crushed gravel paths and groomed woodland trails that constitute my off-road riding. I rode the DS back to back with the FX, and had a clear preference for the FX as the latter felt more lively and responsive on-road. I can't put a percentage on it beyond the fact that it was noticeable to me.

For me, the DS would likely get passed over in any event, becuase if I wanted to regularly ride the type of trails that I would fear to engage with my FX, I'd probably opt for an actual mountain bike, not a suspended-fork hybrid. But that's me and my preferences. Your preferences will guide your purchase decision, and until you ride the bikes you are considering, you won't really have a preference to call your own.

fietsbob

Don't over think this, take Test rides ... Choose the bike shop first .. all brands will have equivalent bikes at a given price point .

NewRiger

Thanks for pointing out the importance of the tires. After trying the verv2 i though the smoothness of the ride was mainly due to the fork. Any idea what kind of tires are on the verve ? I am focusing on well know brand simply as convenience and to reduce the number of bike i have to try. But i will definitely the coda if they have it at my LBS

NewRiger

I was more refering to how to choose between say a 7.4 vs 7.2 . I assume that DS vs FX will be simply be about what feels/fit best when i try them. 7.4 vs 7.2 seems to require more technical knowledge than i currently have .

I will test rinding all the bike a can this week and report back here

WestPablo

The Verve has 35mm tires, but you might NOT want its suspended fork. IMO, the Trek 7.4FX is much better!

NewRiger

dup

Jaeger99

If I had to do it again I would get the 7.4 for the carbon fork and the 9 speed cassette. Still, extremely pleased with my 7.2. It was my first bike since I was 16 and had my 10 speed lifted from my garage (in Scarborough as a matter of fact) and I didn't realize I would love riding so much again.

NewRiger

Thanks guys for the valuables inputs. I decided yesterday on a FX 7.4 (2014 model but i am not sure).
I tried the Giant roam, Fx 7.2,7.3,7.4, and the Giant escape
The ride on the roam was really confortable and the speed was quite nice. Compare to the Escape there is a marked 'feel' difference. The escape of course felt lighter.
The Fx line felt like a middle ground, faster than the roams but more confortable ride than the escape. After trying all three :
The Fx 7.2 is smoother ( probably due to the larger tire) , the gears shifting on the 7.3 seems markedly better than the Fx 7.2.
I handed up taking the 7.4 because for me the carbon fork made a big diffrence, and the price differencial wasnt that big.
So there hope my newbie analisys help someone trying to decide between those bikes

NormanF

You'd probably like Giant's new Any Road or Revolt bikes. These are basically adventure bikes with a drop bar that allows you to sit upright while you explore off-road trails or city streets. They combine the best of the mountain bike with the best of the road bike and marry them into a do-it-all bike. That's redefined what it means to ride a hybrid bike nowadays.

yashinon

You should hop to the U.S. side and check out a local LBS. Scarborough is not too far from the border.

daihard 

Congrats! The 7.4 FX is an excellent ride. (My wife has one.) Now it's time to go out and ride like there's no tomorrow.

Jaeger99

Enjoy your new bike!