manapua_man

I would buy this comparison if carbon bikes literally rattled themselves apart all the time. Comparing with BMW might be better.

DropBarFan

Hybrids at least show that suspension forks can be cheap & comfy. Suspension forks becoming common on quality German touring bikes but a rarity in US touring bikes. CF forks have some compliance but it's still only a fraction of even low-travel susp forks.

Squeezebox

Hybrids are certainly a good place to start cycling. If a person has one use it. Great for a beater and/or around town bicycle. Everyone should have one.
But as a person gets more serious about touring, MTB, road, gravel or whatever else. A bicycle better designed for said activity will produce better riding situations and a happier cyclist.
IMHO
For example, bought a low end road bicycle for my son (a non-cyclist) it will get converted to a hybrid.

jefnvk

Yeah, but while there are a significant number of BMW poseurs, there are just as many which actually get out in some pretty nasty terrain.

I'd wager that most of that touring in Germany is along relatively flat river canals and such, where extra weight isn't so much of a concern.

How so? What is significantly different about a hybrid than any other frame design, that makes it impractical for anything but short around town rides or being a beater?

Happy Feet

Ugghh... consider the source.

indyfabz

+1. And the beat goes on.

jefnvk

May be an exercise in futility, but I find the best way to either bring relevancy or kill a point is to make the claimant validate and defend it.

If nothing else, at least it gives the illustration that the claimant cannot support their position when someone else comes across this a couple years down the road, instead of just thinking that "hybrids are crap" is factual and accepted by all.

saddlesores

no reason to think hybrids should come with a suspension fork.

i bought a vsf (fahrradmanufactur bremen) zwitter the first year they came out.
solid steel frame, rigid fork, deore components, 'cept for suntour thumbshifters.
that was the first year when they opened the factory in bremen, with a shop in
berlin run by the local greens.

zwitter translates as "hermaphrodite" or "hybrid", looked very similar to this
current updated model, down to the internally routed rear light power cable.



basically a steel road frame and wheelsize with mtb components, including straight bars.
doesn't that make it a 29"rrr?

willibrord

Does anybody make a Ca F hybrid?

Happy Feet

Assuming you mean carbon fiber and not calcium F

Isn't every "adventure" bike a hybrid? Not quite a road bike, not quite a mountain bike. That's what's so ironic about the Op suggesting they aren't good for touring.. he bought one.

Today's 29'r is also what a hybrid is, just with fatter tires.

So you could look at any adventure/29'r and see if they are carbon.

mstateglfr 

Yeah. Trek, specialized, BD, etc etc.

willibrord

Good news, I wasn't aware there were so many carbon hybrids. Need to look for one for the Baja.

TimothyH

A-Hem...

DropBarFan

Perhaps, though they have hilly regions also. Germany has lots of guest houses & hostels etc, maybe a lot of tourists go w/o camping gear & thus save some weight.

Nice bike but with a stiffer aluminum frame a suspension fork might be more desirable. Anyway IMO it's all about options. Sunday 1-hr hybrid riders can get $500 bike with alu frame & susp fork but tourists riding expensive bikes on 10-hr days (even on gravel) aren't supposed to have option for susp fork?

manapua_man

I don't see anything wrong with running a suspension fork. The folding hard tail that I use as my main touring rig has a decent one and does just fine. If I was to run a non-folding hard tail I'd just make sure that the fork has working lockouts for riding on pavement.

saddlesores

if CaF is what you seek, then you could try colgate or crest or dentyn.
supposedly good for the teeth, although it has been postulated that fluoridation is the
most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face.

i'd rather complain about too many manufacturers adding an unnecessary and
expensive (mostly) useless suspension fork for the image. why add two pounds
of fork to save one pound of frame material?

you'll get the desired effect with something like a girvin flexstem (as seen on ebay).
i added one to my hybrid/29er to ride gravel roads down to the rio grande after
moving to texas.

but now need to ask.....is it still a 29er with 27" rims?

john_mct

"the Baja" as in the Baja Divide route? Or just a Baja tour in general?

john_mct

Cheaper ones tend to be pretty heavy, expensive ones are expensive, and both add just another thing on the bike to maintain (and fork maintenance can be pretty tricky stuff, and expensive to have done at shops)

jefnvk

I bought a cheaper one at a LBS garage sale, it was a new take off, thinking I might have put it on my last build because it was all of $5. Suntour XCM, which comes on LBS lower-mid end hybrids and lower end MTBs. It came in at 5# 11oz, whereas my already hefty Cr-Mo stock fork came in at 2# 4oz.

I'm no weight weenie (quite the opposite, in fact), but even to me 3.5# for a fork I didn't need all that much seemed excessive. Wasn't the only reason it didn't end up going on, but was certainly a consideration.

john_mct

Yeah my first MTB (entry level Focus) came with a Suntour xcm fork. It sucked; heavy, flexy as heck, and pretty much ceased functioning within 6 months of about 3 rides/week. I would get one of the new suspension stems before going for a suspended fork on a touring rig.

willibrord

Baja Divide. I'd like to find a used Carbon or Bamboo hybrid that I could convert to 27.5.

manapua_man

Then go mid range. There's quite a few affordable ones that aren't all that heavy with remote lockouts and everything. Maintenance isn't all that bad IME, so long as you make sure to get the right tools.

DropBarFan

Some bikes come with non-susp fork but designed to allow susp fork. I'd like to see updated suspension stems, seems like they'd be a lot lighter/cheaper/simpler than susp forks. IE rather like susp seatposts which reportedly work quite well for minor bumps.

Gravel & MTB riders usually use wider tires for traction but for road/mild off-road touring a suspension fork could give smooth ride yet allow for lighter wheels, narrower faster tires & better safer handling. My Disc Trucker has long fork-rake for comfy ride but has alarmingly bad handling on descents. Suspension fork would help keep front wheel planted & allow more responsive geometry.

john_mct

Ignoring all the sound advice to go with at least a 3 inch wide tire?

john_mct

This is making some waves in the gravel racing world...

https://redshiftsports.com/shockstop-suspension-stem