alicestrong

I plan on living a very lloonngg time...

But shhhh...you're not supposed to tell how many I have...

Too bad I have a neighbor who sells bikes way too cheap...

I still am trying to learn how many bikes I actually need.

TamaraEden

And so, the original question, how many hybrids do you own? OK, Hybrids/City/Urban bikes

alicestrong

Just two. The Marin San Rafael and a Univega Activa Trail. The Activa is a "spare" bike.

I had a Bianchi Advantage, but it was a little small so I sold it.

I had a purple Bianchi Avenue, also, that I gave to a friend...

Bionicycle

When I built my Mixte I tried to incorporate as many of the user friendly features as I could, in it, that I have admired over the years in European City Bikes I‘ve seen. My bike really doesn’t fit neatly into any category, but City Bike, seems to come pretty close.

I picked the Mixte frame for ease of mounting/dismounting even with full panniers or a large item on the rear rack. (I also have hip flexibility issues). I chose wide upright handle bars, and up straight seating position for comfort and stability at low cursing speeds, with possible heavy, or uneven loads on the bike. Future plans include a granny geared triple front crank set,(50-40 up front now, with 14-30,6sp in the rear) and possibly wider 700c tires and rims, or I may try and convert it to some 26 inch rims… Anyway, this is my interpretation of a City Bike, I’m not sure I would call it a Hybrid, in the modern sense of bicycles, but it is a true hybrid of ideas about types of bicycles.

Kevrob

An Activa Trail is my main ride. Have you had to make any repairs to it? I see a replacement for the fork in my future, and I'm wondering how hard that might be to source.

My "other bike" is a FauxMTB I bought at Target, that's laid up with a bad rear derailleur. I'm planning on getting that fixed up so I have a backup.

Kevin

badmother

To me a mixte is truly a hybrid, one of the early ones. Great thing about the bike is it can be modified to be anything from a light fast bike to a more upright "comfort/city bike like yours.

I am in the process of modifying mine- again. I do not like the thumb shifters so I need to put some "proper" shifters or go IGH. I like IGH

TheCappucinoKid

Does weight make a difference to how comfortable a bike is to ride, in the sense of how it absorbs road shock/bumps? I took two of my bikes out today to compare them; one a 70's or 80's Norco city bike and the other a 90's Minelli mountain bike. The Minelli is CroMo frame, but the Norco was heavier, so I thought it was probably straight steel. Not sure, but it seemed to absorb road shock a bit better than the Minelli.

Gotta say, I love those European city bikes!

alicestrong

It's nice to have a back up, in case a bikeless friend wants to ride or your main ride is down.

I've not done anything major to the Univega. You can't fault the construction/design of those bikes. Mine also has a really pretty paint job.

A friend fell in love with it, though, so I don't think it will be around too much longer...

Sixty Fiver

Tires have the greatest effect on ride quality as on a non suspended bike, these are your suspension... bigger wheels provide a more comfortable ride as well.

After that the frame geometry and saddle have the most significant effect and city bikes sport some slack frame angles which makes for neutral handling and does a great deal to disperse shock / vibration.

The weight on a city bike stems from the fact they are usually made with straight gauge tubes and are built for strength (they are very utilitarian) and when you add all the accessories and fittings you will have a bike that is heavier.

Internal gear hubs and generators will also add a good deal of weight to any bike.

NormanF

Weight has little to do with how a bike handles. The difference between the weight on English roadsters/Dutch city bikes and Walmart bikes becomes apparent from the very first ride. The former are constructed of very good materials and are designed to take abuse and last a lifetime. Once you get past the superficial differences, you'll understand why with some bikes the weight doesn't detract from it but rather adds to its intent and character.

alicestrong

I don't have an issue at all with riding a "heavier" bike, but lifting it up onto the bus rack here in LA? Anything over about 35 lbs can be a strain (for me at least, fairly petite woman).

I don't think I would want to carry it up and down stairs if I lived in an apartment, either.

My fixie is the only bike I own that I can lift easily with one hand...

TheCappucinoKid

It's true the Norco city bike had fenders and a rack, but I felt the frame was heavier, thus my guess that it might not be CroMo, like the Minelli. BOTH bikes however had 26" tires (and similar gel sprung comfort saddles). What's more, I switched the tires to each bike, so I have an idea what effect the tires have. I'm trying to eliminate that in my mind, to get a sense of what effect the frames etc. have on the ride. The frame geometry is a bit different. The Norco city bike having a straight, standard diamond frame, the Minelli having a diamond frame with a sloped top tube, and -larger- tubes. The Minelli mountain bike's rims are also more narrow and lighter than the city bike, I noticed. The Norco has no IGH or generators. It is not a classic European "city bike" as pictured in your posts here. I call it a "city bike" because of its large tires and upright handle bars.

So I'm still not sure what effect weight per se, is supposed to have on the feel of a bike on the road? Surely, all else being equal, geometry included, straight steel and CroMo frames will have different ride characteristics?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so... this is what I mean by "city bike" (Norco):






This is the Minelli (mountain):

TheCappucinoKid

I'm trying to determine what exactly does weight "add" to the feel of a bike? More specifically, I am trying to determine whether a heavier bike frame and components (whether it's a Huffy or a Pascha) absorbs more road shock than a lighter bike. All else being equal. (ie. tires, saddle & accessories)
It would seem obvious that a heavier bike would absorb road shock better than a lighter bike; since this same principle applies to heavier vs. lighter cars.

alicestrong

Lots of chrome absorbs road shock. Yup. Scientifically proven...

Interesting article about Bowery Bikes with links to pictures of their city bikes...

NormanF

Browery Lane Bicycles can be found here:


https://www.bowerylanebicycles.com


Their bikes surprisingly are made in America and for a city bike, are a solid value. Better than any offerings by Trek or Electra! Check it out!