nbseer

62 years old.. ride mostly for exercise.. most trips are 30 miles or less.

Been riding a Fuji Absolute 3.0.. a bit too small for me (I'm probably a 54). Mostly flats, but on a recent 30 mile ride in Pa., going up some of the steep hills was very tough.. wonder if its the gearing on the Fuji?

Anyways, I've been wondering if I should bite the bullet and get a real road bike. Would probably test ride Fuji Roubaix 3.0, Giant Defy 2, etc.. under $1,000 bikes.

But if most of my rides are 30 miles or less, is it really worth getting a road bike, or should I just stick with my hybrid..

NOS88

I think that depends on what you're looking for in your rides. For some, a road bike would reduce what they seek in riding. For others it allows them to so longer distance at a faster pace. Some like the responsiveness that a road bike offers. Others, want the stability of a hybrid. Do you want to be able to jump curbs, or ride off road? Why not consider having two bikes" Or, perhaps see if you can rent or borrow a road bike that fits. AND... while on that topic, fit is extremely important. Perhaps you'd be happy with a hybrid that fits better and has a wider range of grears?

Mountain Mitch

Do you prefer a sedan or a sportscar?

We can't tell you which to like better. Get out and try a few road bikes and decide for yourself. Riding is good. The type of riding you prefer is up to you.

kingsqueak

Gearing and components can be had pretty much alike in either one. The principal difference is the ergos. Do you like the flat bar or not is the main question.

You can upgrade a hybrid to quite a high spec level if you like the flat bars.

The real question is what about the hills was hard? Did you stand up and pedal? Were the bars a problem? Did you not have enough gear? Do you currently have a triple up front in that case? If it was just your own power that was the issue, a road bike won't fix that for you.

Dudelsack 

Do you like ice cream, or cake?

Chocolate, or vanilla?

Starbucks, or Seattle's Best?

Redskins, or Cowboys?

Yankees, or Red Sox?

Bruins, or Flyers?

Ohio State, or Notre Dame?

Barbasol, or Edge?

Old Spice, or Axe?

Chevy, or Ford?

Somebody please stop me.......lithium, or Valium?.........

sreten

Hi,

Bar ends or ergonomic grips including bar ends might help with the hills.

A 30(28) front and 28 rear is pretty low gearing, and lower than most road bikes.

As your bike claims to be a road bike based hybrid, a less aggressive
riding position, flat bars rather than drops and triple front gears rather
than a double, a change to a road bike needs careful consideration.

At 50+ I changed my road bike drops to bull horns, and other than
the bars I can't really see any advantage to changing your bike.

Modifying your bars seems the best bet to me. The extra stretch
available on bull horns, barends, etc should nullify any size concerns.

Checkout your handlebar options available, it's a lot cheaper.

rgds, sreten.

RonH

Me too but I'm 68.


Cowboy up and get a road bike!! Many of my rides are 30 to 35 miles and my road bikes don't mind the "short" rides at all.

NealH

Given you are riding 30 miles, you've mostly already outgrown the hybrid and a road bike is in order....especially since the hybrid is not the right size. The Giant Defy is a good choice, and don't forget to look at the Specialized Roubaix and Trek Domane. A good fit is in order too, as well as being important, as it will ensure your comfort and pleasure on short and long hauls. I ride my road bike (Tarmac) on the greenways, the road, gravel and sometimes dirt if I have too. Compact gearing is called for if you have hills. Club rides are great.

DnvrFox

As mentioned earlier:

Mtn bike = Jeep
Hybrid = Buick sedan
Road bike = Sports car
Recumbent = Goatee
Tandem = Divorce

Me - I have a mtn bike and 2 road bikes. I use them for different purposes. My wife had a road bike, and after 600 miles went to a hybrid. No accounting for tastes

I tried a 'bent, but couldn't grow an appropriate goatee.

Hey, there is only one way to find out!!

BTW, it is OK to have 2 bikes.

Condorita

Some people are perfectly continuing to ride hybrids and commuters. And even have gone so far as to turn a road bike into an upright ride.

Biker395 

Sage advice. My guess is that you'll wonder what took you so long.

The analogies made up there are accurate with one distinction ... all of them ... the Jeep, the Buick Sedan and the sports car ... are all going to use the same engine.

tsl

Speaking as a flatlander, hills can be tough no matter what you ride. Well, maybe not those electric bikes...

If you don't have a place to practice hills, then going on a ride where they have them will be a challenge.

Still, I would never go back to my hybrid, primarily because the thing was tank going up hills. It was like dragging an anvil behind me. When I first switched to road bikes, it was more like pulling an anvil in a trailer.

My point is that changing bikes will help. But, a road bike alone won't turn you instantly into a climber.

What I've had to do was string together several small hills, and repeat them--ride up, down, up again, down again, lather, rinse, repeat--to get any sort of hill climbing power. My usual route takes me 20-30 miles (depending on how many repeats) without ever being more than three or four miles from home. (My hill repeats route.)

I'm much, much, much better at climbing than I used to be (I've long since lost the anvil), but still lag behind those who are "native" to hill country.

(But try a road bike anyway.)

sknhgy 

The only thing bad about road bikes is you have to stay on smooth pavement.
That said, I have a road bike, a hybrid, a commuter made from an mtb, and an mtb with knobbies for off-roading. They all have their purpose.
I can't see limiting myself to just one bike. What if it breaks and you have to order parts or put it in the shop? What would you ride in the meantime?

tsl

Fixed it for you.

tsl

Oh baloney. These are part of my regular commute, and part of my hills training route (linked above).





I ride 'em with my "pure" roadie with 25mm tires 20 spokes in front and 24 in back, and with my "commuter" roadies with 28 mm tires, even with the panniers fully loaded. Not shown is the unpaved gravel section.

Road bikes are not the delicate little flowers many people make them out to be.

EDIT: I raced a Volvo Cross Country up that second one last week. Gave it a halfway up head start. Still beat it to the top.

sknhgy 

Well, we have roads like that here and I don't like riding them on my Sequoia. Maybe for a block or two, but after that I'm looking for a detour.
Extended rides on surfaces like that ain't no fun.

Gnosis

I wholeheartedly agree!

godeacs

As do I! Couldn't imagine riding a road bike on surfaces like that on a regular basis.....talk about a jarring ride.

surfjimc

N+1 is always the correct solution.
You will definitely have need for both in your future travels.

Biker395 

You ride through a cemetery? That would be creepy at night!

digibud

Personally I vote road bike. You're here. You're at least somewhat serious about cycling. You're asking the question. I'm guessing you know you're ready for a road bike because there's something "off" right now. And if your current bike does NOT fit you like a glove that's enough reason to dump that bike.
So if you have a lot of dirt roads to traverse or other roads that you don't think a road bike is appropriate for...then fine. Stick with the hybrid. But if you want to join the folks on the road...a road bike will be more fun for most -serious- riders. Yeah yeah.. I know...you can be serious on a hybrid. You just go slower. For most folks, going faster is fun.
Just my personal preference, of course. btw, I'm 62. Did 60mi today on my Spec. Roubaix. Spent a chunk of time at 19.2mph but mostly at 17-17.5mph. I spin around 85-90 most of the time when I'm not tired. It was simply a lot more fun for me to get to this point on a lightweight road bike. Climbing hills makes a huge difference on a road bike as compared to a hybrid. I've dropped 90lb in the last three years and for me, riding around on a hybrid is just riding a bike. On a road bike at 17mph I feel like I'm really translating power and it gives an entirely different feeling to riding. It's very encouraging in terms of challenging myself to learn to ride better and it's more rewarding in the simple but critical "just fun" category.
You may be doing 30mi or less now, but with a nice road bike you'd be able to do closer to 50mi with the same effort. And in the process you'll learn a great deal more about cycling.

Dudelsack 

If you look closely there's a zombie in that little house off the left..

nbseer

Thanks for all the great responses. I'm in pretty good shape, but trying to power that hybrid up those Pa. hills was tougher than I remembered.
It should be interesting learning new shifting, going clipless, etc.

Right now looking into the Giant Defy 2, Cannondale Synapse or Caad 8, etc. Trying to keep it just under $1,000, waiting for bike shop sales.
From what I've read, guess I should go for Tiagra or 150?
Gary

Phil_gretz

(1) Neither. I don't pour sugar in my gas tank.
(2) Chocolate is better.
(3) Neither. I can't afford boutique coffee.
(4) Redskins
(5) Neither. Baseball is uninteresting.
(6) Flyers (1st expansion team to win the Cup)
(7) Baylor
(8) Barbasol
(9) Neither
(10) Ford (1st car was a 1967 Mustang)
(11) Neither

Phil_gretz

Oh, and to nbseer's question, I'd say that Tiagra is fine.