creativepart

I've been riding my new Trek FX 7.5 for a month. I've gotten very comfortable on it. Yesterday I bought a used Trek 2100 Road Bike to see what they were like. I had my first ride this A.M..

I've set up the road bike pretty much the same as the hybrid.

I know others come here looking for advice about which style - hybrid or road - they should buy. So, here are my first impressions:

The road bike is much faster.
The steering on the road bike is much more responsive - twitchy, sort of.
The road bike has a harsher ride.
The road bike stresses different muscles - neck, shoulder, arms.
The road bike doesn't make my hands numb like the hybrid does, but they hurt in other ways.
The hybrid is smoother all the way around - but the road bike is like a sports car to the hybrid's sporty coupe. Bumpy ride, twitchy steering, fast acceleration and all.

Right now I'd take the hybrid over the road bike any day. But lets give it more tme than one day.

qmsdc15

Get drop bars if comfort is your thing. Lots of hand positions. If you like to put your hands in many positions. If you don't care about comfort, you don't like to put your hands in many positions. You like to ride hard, you ride flat bars, much lighter and more aerodynamic if you position them correctly, low and long stem. Like TT bike.

I think I'm getting a carpal tunnel thing in my wrist.

AdelaaR

You first impressions seem logical and correct.
What do you mean by "much faster"?

kaliayev

I love my hybrid for city cruising and running errands on, however, I prefer road bikes for longer/quicker rides. To help out with comfort on your 2100 you might go with 25mm tires over 23mm. My first road bike was a Trek 1200. On smooth bike paths comfort was really no problem, but on harsher roads comfort suffered. I have since switched to a Voodoo Rada with a Reynolds 853 steel frame that I built up. A much more compliant ride and is actually quite a bit lighter coming in at 16.5lbs.

Fiery

Neck is expected, but sore shoulders and arms imply a bad fit and/or weak core. The additional load of the more aggressive position should be carried by your back, not your arms.

I agree with qmsdc15, you should get a drop or trekking handlebar for your hybrid if you don't want your hands to get numb and if you weren't satisfied with a full on road bike.