bjjoondo 

Sorry, that's bit of a PIA topic header but what I'm asking is "IF" I spend the money for a "carbon framed" hybrid, (flat bar road bike), will it ride uphill's as easy as a steel/alum. framed hybrid with the normal 48/38/28 and 11-32 or 34 tooth set up?? I look at the "road bike" gearing on the flat bar road bike hybrid's, with it's "compact double" and 11-25 cassette, looks like it would KILL my arthritic knees!!! I love the looks of the flat bar road bike hybrid, the sexy road bike derailleurs, cool wheel's, ect. but it's worthless if I can't make the bike ride up hills without beating me up. Thanks, all opinions and comments are appreciated.

badger1

I think it's entirely a matter of gearing. 61 y/o here, with lots of 'issues', including congenital scoliosis and degenerative osteoarthritis (upper/lower spine, knees, etc).
I ride 6 to 7000 kms every year, and love climbs. My bike is a heavily-modified Sirrus Comp ('10), with carbon fork/seat stays and full road gearing. Apex/Rival mix; weight with pedals about 19.5 lbs. The trick is: I use a 48/34 double up front (simply switched the stock 50 ring to a 48) with a 12/32 cassette. No problems whatsoever; I rarely use the 34/32 (could climb a wall with that low a gear!), but I like knowing it's there.
If necessary, one could always go with a road triple; that would give one all the low gearing required -- but I really don't think it's necessary (but that's me; your requirements may differ). Gearing is pretty easy to modify to one's needs!

GeorgeBMac

Uhhh, well,,,, Get ye old lazy butt down to ye old loyal LBS and try one!
... Besides, if hills are an issue, they can probably make necessary adjustments.

So, don't use hills as an excuse for not adding another bike to the stable!

johnread

My carbon fiber Specialized Sirrus Limited has a bit of a split personality: the 50/34 compact crank coupled with the 11-32 cassette does a great job on our local Rails-to-Trails and it's a good bike for recreational riding with the family. But I think the upright seating position would get old if I were to ever try to ride with the racers that work out of my local shop. I spend most of my time in the 34 chainring, and the 10 gears on the cassette give great versatility. The 34-32 combination makes it possible to make it up even the steepest hills.

On the other hand, the 23mm tires that came with the bike means that I don't go offroad or even gravel bike paths. My particular model will fit a 28mm tire, but that's about it. So it's basically a flat bar road bike, which is fine for the type of riding I do - mostly fitness and weekend recreational riding with my wife.

I may stand corrected, but I think the Trek flat bar road bike is more geared for street than the gearing on the Specialized. I really like the 32 tooth rear cog and would not want to be without it.

Dunbar

If it comes with a 11-25 cassette there's nothing stopping you from swapping a different one on there. The 2012 Shimano Tiagra and 105 officially accept a 30T low gear (and you can safely go 1-2T past that.) Plus, for around $100 you can always install a mid-cage GS derailleur that accepts a 32T low gear. SRAM Apex has been accepting a 32T low gear for a while now. 34-32 is a pretty low gear for pavement. I ride a compact double with an 11-28 cassette on my road bike and my lungs give up long before my knees start aching.

jbchybridrider 

I can only give an opinion from bikes I've owned and ridden. I own bikes steel carbon and alloy and like setting bikes up in many different ways. I think many people believe "mainly roadie's" that carbon everything means fast but I think there's to many factors that go into a whole bike to exactly reach a perfect formula.
Having said that though I believe wheel weight for climbing plays the biggest role. I have a set of Bouwmeester Hors Category race wheels "1kg for the set" they'll turn any bike no matter what the frame and components into a mountain sprinting goat like no other wheels I have and I have quite a few.
If I put these wheels on my carbon Pinarello then swap them to my steel Olympia with all the same components I find the steel bike is far better at climbing, but the steel frame weighs 500grams more.
I think the carbon frame feels dead and to rigid were the steel frame has a springy lively feel so I don't think weight means everything looking at the total weight of the bike and then the type of steel plays into how a bike feels same for carbon I guess.
There's many more factors to why a bike feels better to ride or climbs better and I think a lot of it comes by accident, you could ask this question in the road forum and I bet the experienced riders that have owned many bike before will have similar answers. As for alloy I hate it for it's harshness, nuff said.

jbchybridrider 

Adding to my above post I've also used the components on my carbon JBC hybrid as my alloy Scott Sportster, the difference is minimal, maybe the lighter weight of the JBC in the frame makes it climb better but the Scott has a very harsh jarring ride even with the same carbon fork used on both bikes so in this case carbon is a easy win.

johnread

Excellent post, jbc! Although I enjoy my carbon framed bike immensely, I will admit that it does not exude the personality that my old steel framed road bikes had. The carbon is light and stiff, but I don't think that translates to speed. Not that it would matter anyway - at 15 mph, I'm not posing a threat to the road bikes, nor do I have any aspirations to do so. I think for my type of riding, the carbon frame is more a novelty and the real value is the upgraded components in the hybrid genre. I like the SRAM Apex componentry - it's of high quality. Same would go for the Shimano 105 that I believe Trek uses for their most expensive Fitness Bike. But those components don't contribute to increased speed, and since I'm not in it for that, it's mostly just an appreciation for quality.

AS for the OP's post, like you said, gearing is easily modified and the modern componentry will easily accept a change of cassette for the particular fitness level/riding conditions that you need.

Good thread!

bjjoondo 

Thanks all, I guess I was trying to get "away" without having to "change" componets as the "COST" factor of carbon fibre frames alone would put a serious hurt on my meger bike budget, I think I'll stay away from the high end of the hybrid line and be happy with my steel/alum. framed bikes with the more mountain bike componets and standard wheel's, again thanks!

AdelaaR

Do not overestimate the weigth difference between carbon and aluminum frames. It's quite small, really.
If you can't go fast up hills now ... a carbon frame with a hundred grams less won't change that.

grasse

If going up hills is the main criteria, then lighter wheels will make a lot more difference. A few hundred grams saved on the wheelset will do a lot more good than reducing it elsewhere. I can certainly feel the difference when I switched from a 2.1kg stock wheelset to 1.55kg Fulcrum racing 3. My opinion is that if you want to reduce your bike weight, start with the wheelset.

Kanon25

How much did that cost? My impression from shopping for a bike recently (was looking for good deal on a new bike that I could later upgrade) was that the price of upgrading wheelsets meaningfully was well on the way to the point where it could be more cost-effective to have just bought a better quality bike in the first place.

bjjoondo 

That makes sense but how much to you weigh?? I'm a Clyde, 230lbs., I really wonder how those "few spoke", extra lite wheel's would work for a "bit of poker" like myself??

Dunbar

If it's just a cassette they can be had for $30-50. The shop may even throw it in for free if you request it up front. I wouldn't write off a $1500-2000 bike over such a small amount of money.

grasse

The Fulcrum racing 3 new are in the $500s but can be had for much less on ebay, where I got mine. If you are getting a new bike to start with, then choose one with components, including wheelset, that make sense for you. Upgrading components later are always going to cost more. The bit you saved from a good deal (assuming a few hundreds off msrp) might not be worth it. Just my 2 cents.

grasse

Yes, those weight-weenie wheelsets do have a max weight limit. I think the Fulcrum wheels are rated to 220lb with 16/21 spoke counts. I'm well under that at ~160lb. But I'm pretty sure there are plenty of 20/24 wheelsets out there that are rated for higher max weight limit but might weigh a bit more (1.6-1.7kg). I think it would still give a noticeable improvement.

cs1

I really like the Sirrus concept. I wish Specialized would get rid of the Zert inserts though. This coming from a guy with almost a dozen Spec's in the herd.

Nice bike, when I grow up I want one.

PatrickGSR94

There's an extremely highly rated road wheelset on Nashbar weighing in at just 1,575g for the set, for $249. I plan to make that my first upgrade on my road bike, maybe next year heh.

Dunbar

The Roubaix is quite popular because of the Zertz inserts. I know they aren't standard across all road bike models.

jbchybridrider 

1575g for an upgrade is a little on the porky side, for a worthwhile upgrade to a roadbike look around 1300 max, around 1200 can still be durable and transform your bike.

PatrickGSR94

Based on my research a 1575g wheelset (both wheels together weigh 1575 grams) would shave almost 2 pounds of rotational mass off my bike. Sounds pretty good to me for 250 bucks.