2 similar bikes, so what makes them hybrid and mountain?

Kernel_Sanders

Johnmcl7 wrote: »

it doesn't sound like you're going to be using it on rough stuff and if that isn't the intention I'd be upping the budget for a better mountain bike.

That doesn't change the meaning at all! :wall:
After some time pondering this though, it dawned on me that you should have used but or however instead of and in the part that I quoted in #10. Can you not see how that changes the meaning?

custardy

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

If you're just saying that the range of gears may be no different then I understand that, it's just that one reviewer for the Raleigh wrote The top gear is not as big as I expected; in fact I seem to be able to ride in top gear almost the whole time, which suggests the gearing is too low.
It's true that I've mentioned weight a number of times but noone has explained why it's less important at the bottom range. Halfords are claiming the Carrera is a £400 bike, so would that make any difference? I've just discovered the excellent Bike Radar site, and £400 would appear to be a quality threshold.

With regards to gearing
It doesnt mention the ratios but the will be around the 'standard' MTB gearing with a triple ring up front
So this gearing leans to the lower end allowing for off road use,hills,mud etc
More road based hybrids(like my own) run a double up front with higher gears on the rear(The bigger the ring on the front,the higher the gear. The reverse for rear gears where the small cogs are the higher gears)
So even on my gearing,I will be in the higher gears most of the time
on a normal day in hilly Edinburgh. Its all rrelative to conditions and level of fitness

Johnmcl7

No, because the first part of the phrase is already negative but given this isn't a topic about about grammar, it's just wasting space. In short, if you want to do any form of off road riding I wouldn't buy that mountain bike and would be looking at one of the Decathlon bikes which are well rated for cheap mountain bikes but they are a bit more than the hybrid you've posted. If the budget is tight and you're cycling on road and only light off road I'd go with the Carrera.

John

armyknife

Johnmcl7 wrote: »

No, because the first part of the phrase is already negative but given this isn't a topic about about grammar, it's just wasting space. In short, if you want to do any form of off road riding I wouldn't buy that mountain bike and would be looking at one of the Decathlon bikes which are well rated for cheap mountain bikes but they are a bit more than the hybrid you've posted. If the budget is tight and you're cycling on road and only light off road I'd go with the Carrera.

John

That 'reworked' sentence of yours is nearly as clunky as some of my gear changes.

fred7777

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

so is it just the suspension and knobbly tyres that make the Raleigh a MTB?

That and the marketing department.

In reality you could easily use both bikes for most cycling.

I had a "mountain bike" when I started to cycle to work so fitted mudguards and slick narrower tyres during the summer. The suspension can be switched off and most of the time it is apart from one bridleway down a steep hill on the way home!:D

So I bought it as a "mountain bike" but most of the time it's set up like a hybrid. In reality though I would be OK riding either.

Strider590

In my recent quest for a hybrid bike, I can tell you that at the low end of the price scale, hybrids and MTBs aren't much different.

Beyond that, a hybrid can be one of two basic things:

a) A mountain bike with road tyres.
b) A road bike with flat handlebars.

I recently got myself a Specialized Sirrus Elite, it's definitely the later.

Kernel_Sanders

fred7777 wrote: »

The suspension can be switched off and most of the time it is

Can it be switched off instantly, whilst on the move?

Strider590 wrote: »

Beyond that, a hybrid can be one of two basic things:

a) A mountain bike with road tyres.
b) A road bike with flat handlebars.

I recently got myself a Specialized Sirrus Elite, it's definitely the latter.

It is, in fact they describe it as a road bike here. Yet scroll down to the bottom and they define a road bike as having drop bars!

Johnmcl7

Some suspension forks have a remote lock out on the handlebars which allow you to lock out and release the fork on the move, some have the lock out control on the top of the fork itself and others may not have a lock out at all. The one you've linked to above doesn't seem to have a lock out I can see plus obviously you still have the weight of the fork when it's locked out.

John

Strider590

Kernel_Sanders wrote: »

It is, in fact they describe it as a road bike here. Yet scroll down to the bottom and they define a road bike as having drop bars!

If you could see the frame/forks and headset more closely you'd see they look like something from a road bike, in reality the only thing that isn't road bike on the Sirrus, is the oversized stem used to the fit 31.8mm flat MTB handlebars, the brake levers and gear shifters.

IMO, if your after a hybrid, then anything MTB based is a waste of time/money.

As for the issue of weight in your original post, my Sirrus weighs about 25-26lb, my Kona Kikapu (full sus) weighs around 27-28lb, admittedly the Kona was a £1500+ bike, but I can't work out why the Sirrus isn't much lighter, I suspect it could be the re-enforced tyres (Nimbus FlakJacket), because the wheels are MUCH heavier than those on my Kona.

Weight helps, but isn't as important as some would have you believe, when I was 18 I had a 34lb steal framed Diamond Back (£200 new) and I used to easily keep up with the local semi-pro MTB racers (on £2000+ bikes) on our weekend rides.

Kernel_Sanders

Johnmcl7 wrote: »

Some suspension forks have a remote lock out on the handlebars which allow you to lock out and release the fork on the move,

Would this facility be absent from the cheaper end of the market? If weight is not that much of an issue then this would be ideal. Most of my cycling is in the evening when I take advantage of clear pavements, thus there's a lot of crossing of uneven dropped kerbs. If I had intermittent suspension, I could easily drop down onto the road when pedestrians appear, and there's also a major grass-and-gravel short-cut I could use. I'm thinking of something like this, but it doesn't state if the suspension can be turned off.