Any strong hybrids with some suspension and high gears?

ruprect

My last bike (nicked) was a giant MTB with front suspension. Got thin slick tyres and a new freewheel so the gearing was 48T and 11T on the back with a 26" wheel. I still found myself rarely using any gear lower than the highest and wanted a 52T ring on the front but the frame wouldnt take it.

I am looking at hybrids now, it seems the highly geared ones look a little weak for me (dublin cyclelanes are like fecking rocky mountains). I saw the claude butler levante and the specialized sirrus. Some say they are tough but are they flying up and down kerbs at full speed? The levante has no seatpost suspension and I tried a racer on a cycle lane and it was a killer, does it ride like a racer, i.e. feel every bump (I know the sit up style is more comfortable).

The hybrids that veer towards the MTB all seem to have very low gearing on them.

Is there a bike out there, comfy, highly geared and that will stand up to hard abuse well? maybe I am looking for a MTB with high gears and just changing to slicks, but I would like it ready to go without having to fork out more.

godfather69er

ruprect wrote:

My last bike (nicked) was a giant MTB with front suspension. Got thin slick tyres and a new freewheel so the gearing was 48T and 11T on the back with a 26" wheel. I still found myself rarely using any gear lower than the highest and wanted a 52T ring on the front but the frame wouldnt take it.

I am looking at hybrids now, it seems the highly geared ones look a little weak for me (dublin cyclelanes are like fecking rocky mountains). I saw the claude butler levante and the specialized sirrus. Some say they are tough but are they flying up and down kerbs at full speed? The levante has no seatpost suspension and I tried a racer on a cycle lane and it was a killer, does it ride like a racer, i.e. feel every bump (I know the sit up style is more comfortable).

The hybrids that veer towards the MTB all seem to have very low gearing on them.

Is there a bike out there, comfy, highly geared and that will stand up to hard abuse well? maybe I am looking for a MTB with high gears and just changing to slicks, but I would like it ready to go without having to fork out more.

forget hybrid go for a decent cross country mtb, the ratios are quite good as they are used for racing , why would your previous frame not take the high ratios?? when i am commuting i agree that the roads are **** and as for the anti skid stuff on the cycle lanes what the ****!!!!my back wheel spins when i take off!!! a good xc frame with 75-100mm forks will be ideal, my bike is 24speed and the thing flies i am as fast as medium speed traffic,so 24spd for you should be fine. check out konas they are good the lanai ad fire mountain id reccommend also a carrera vulcan and gt agressor 3

ruprect

Thanks for that. Plenty of names and stuff for me to search up on. I didnt like the thought of taking off tyres and never using them if the MTB came with no slicks, but I suppose I will use them in winter if it is icey or very wet.

my old giant just couldnt take a bigger ring on the front, the crank arm had snapped so I needed a new one and wanted a 52. My mate was trying to get a big one, he is a bicycle mechanic and rang round a lot of mates who have tons of old stuff, nothing fitted, even the 48 ring he did get was very slightly grazing the frame. Needed to get a new bottom bracket, it was nicked before it was fitted though :mad: so if you see some bollox on a blue giant with mismatched crank arms and a megarange freewheel with a massive cog on it, spit in his face for me

godfather69er

ruprect wrote:

Thanks for that. Plenty of names and stuff for me to search up on. I didnt like the thought of taking off tyres and never using them if the MTB came with no slicks, but I suppose I will use them in winter if it is icey or very wet.

my old giant just couldnt take a bigger ring on the front, the crank arm had snapped so I needed a new one and wanted a 52. My mate was trying to get a big one, he is a bicycle mechanic and rang round a lot of mates who have tons of old stuff, nothing fitted, even the 48 ring he did get was very slightly grazing the frame. Needed to get a new bottom bracket, it was nicked before it was fitted though :mad: so if you see some bollox on a blue giant with mismatched crank arms and a megarange freewheel with a massive cog on it, spit in his face for me

do slicks really make a difference?? sure on a road bike they do , but 26x1.95 or even 26x1.75 on a mtb wont make much difference, frame wight and quality of parts and gear ratios come into play a bit more. ive panaracer trail blasters and they arnt bad

mockerydawg

1.75 slicks pumped to 80 psi are a lot quicker rolling than similiar 1.75 knobbly tyres, that usually only go to 60 -65 psi max. The difference on road is very noticable.

I have a Voodoo, pretty much the same design as a classic Kona (one of the founders moved on to start his own company) and its running a racer chainset. Big gears on a comfortable sturdy mountainbike. Problem solved.

And while on the subject of spitting at bike theiving scumbags, if you see a steel Kona Hahanna (white and blue frame) with a mavic 521 rear rim, titec hell bent risers, yellow tacky looking grips and kona tyres, please feel free to wait around for the "owner" to return and kindly give him a belt with your lock or seat post. I loved that bike....:(

liamo333

I have this bike and cycle to school on it every day. Give it loads of abuse and its still held together. It has high gears and lockout and i love the geomotery.

daymobrew

ruprect wrote:

Thanks for that. Plenty of names and stuff for me to search up on. I didnt like the thought of taking off tyres and never using them if the MTB came with no slicks, but I suppose I will use them in winter if it is icey or very wet.

mockerydawg wrote:

1.75 slicks pumped to 80 psi are a lot quicker rolling than similiar 1.75 knobbly tyres, that usually only go to 60 -65 psi max. The difference on road is very noticable.

I've mentioned many times before that I have Continental Sport Contact 26x1.3 tyres on my 2000 Specialized Rockhopper for my commute. I keep them around 80psi. It makes a big difference. I use them all year without any problems. Great puncture protection too.

My bike has front suspension, but if I were to get a new bike I would probably go for one without suspension. While suspension absorbs bumps I often find it absorbing power thus preventing me from going as fast as I want. I might consider one of the LaPierre Cruiser models (priced e440, e630, e800 or e1340 [top two models have carbon forks]). I met a guy a while back who had the lower priced model and he loved it. Obviously the Cruiser models are not suitable for going up and down kerbs (I hope you're not saying that you cycle on the path )

Civilian_Target

Like Mockery says, even slick, wide tyres make a huge difference over the knobbly tyres, I've found anyway.

Suspension's a waste of time IMHO, unless its just the seatpost thats suspended. You're just pouring effort into a spring. With a decent saddle there's no reason to really want a suspension anyway.

Anyhow, I made the move to hybrid and got an Orbit Orion and it's a beauty to cycle. Only downside was that it was second hand and came without manuals and stuff so I'm having a lot of bother getting the tweaking on the gear hub right...

godfather69er

a good mtb/commute bike with no suspention is the carrera subway range, you have a nice selection of standards in the range.
unless you get a dual sus ya shouldnt notice the suspension as much as above unless the fork aint set up properly. my bike has 100mm travel and the bike flies .

Trojan

daymobrew wrote:

I've mentioned many times before that I have Continental Sport Contact 26x1.3 tyres on my 2000 Specialized Rockhopper for my commute. I keep them around 80psi. It makes a big difference. I use them all year without any problems. Great puncture protection too.

My bike has front suspension, but if I were to get a new bike I would probably go for one without suspension. While suspension absorbs bumps I often find it absorbing power thus preventing me from going as fast as I want. I might consider one of the LaPierre Cruiser models (priced e440, e630, e800 or e1340 [top two models have carbon forks]). I met a guy a while back who had the lower priced model and he loved it. Obviously the Cruiser models are not suitable for going up and down kerbs (I hope you're not saying that you cycle on the path )

I strongly recommend the Conti SC 1.3s too - fantasic tyres with much less rolling resistance than non-slicks.

FergusF

ruprect wrote:

Thanks for that. Plenty of names and stuff for me to search up on. I didnt like the thought of taking off tyres and never using them if the MTB came with no slicks, but I suppose I will use them in winter if it is icey or very wet.

my old giant just couldnt take a bigger ring on the front

If you're buying a new bike, just ask them to fit the tyres and gears you want; most places shoud do this free of charge if you're forking out for a new bike they will just swap out the parts

godfather69er

FergusF wrote:

If you're buying a new bike, just ask them to fit the tyres and gears you want; most places shoud do this free of charge if you're forking out for a new bike they will just swap out the parts

no they wont, sure if thats the case i should buy a e100 piece of **** and ast them to 'swap' a deore gropset and maybe marzocchi forks;) .

Trojan

Ok, back in the real world, they *will* swap out equivalent or even upgrade parts when you buy a new bike. It depends on the cost price on the components and the profit margin on the bike.

godfather69er

Trojan wrote:

Ok, back in the real world, they *will* swap out equivalent or even upgrade parts when you buy a new bike. It depends on the cost price on the components and the profit margin on the bike.

and to the real world again:rolleyes: what i said is from the horses mouth i work in a bike shop and the policy is if you want the bike upgraded ya pay for the parts, then you keep the standard parts, sorry for going off topic but i have ta say it to ya not to expect it

Trojan

godfather69er wrote:

would you haggle at the supermarket over the price of your groceries or maybe over bus fare????? this seems to be a common thing amongst us irish when buying bikes we see the price and decide its too expensive so think its more of a guideline that only other suckers have to pay

(source)

This guy works in a very different bike shop from the ones I frequent - and I'm rather glad of that fact.

I recently got new 2 bikes, both over 50 euros cheaper than the marked price (which averaged 450). I bought my original Trek 4300 with Conti SC 1.3s instead of the stock MTB tyres for no extra cost.

Bike shops are not the customer unfriendly places protrayed by godfather69er in his posts reminscing back to the good old days when customers knew to do what they were told.

cargrouch

Yeah, we have one of those shops in Cork too. I mean, I know their bikes are individually crafted from diamonds by elves so they really are doing me a favour selling me a bike.

On the other hand, most of the shops that sell bikes and parts made by robots or cheap labour in taiwan are quite happy to let you swap some parts - eg I don't like gripshift, can I have equivalent levers? Can I change that saddle? Or give a discount on accessories purchased with bike etc.
Obviously there's a limit, but they all have wiggle room in the prices, whether it comes from minor upgrades or discounts it's all the same isn't it?

cargrouch

godfather69er wrote:

you ALWAYS PAY for what you think you get free, you should check that thread out btw. the bike is prob marked up 10% to take these lil things into account, youd be very naieve to think that these shops are givin you free stuff , they are laughing at you for payin more for the bike,... the shops have to make money thats why they are there, its NOT to erode profits by givin stock away free.

Weren't we pr1cks the last time for asking for a discount, but in this thread you're calling us pr1cks for paying full price? Make up your mind.

godfather69er wrote:

do you really think sombody is gunna buy a **** saddle that was removed from a bike because it was too hard,unless they are lookin for pennance id say no,

I did. Last week. Joe Soap treats himself to an expensive mountain bike, but asks for the racing type saddle to be changed. Joe Soap likes big comfy saddles and won't ride the 800-1000 yoyo bike it came off to 25% of it's capability. I like proper saddles that don't get in the way when you hang off the back. I broke my saddle but needed to be riding again the next day. I spot saddle in basket of odds and ends, it's got a few spashes on it from a test ride, buy it for 10yoyo. Everybody's happy.

cargrouch

godfather69er wrote:

right sh1t for brains, i dunno wat the **** is up with your last post a sorry excuse for english i think, why do you bother posting??? you have no idea and give ****ty advice. when i tell him a FACT about the bike shop i work in day in day out, where do you work??? it aint a bike shop that for sure, if i wanted to buy a car id talk to a mechanic not a half wit wannabe who makes hang sangwiches:rolleyes:
this is the problem providing broadband to the boglands ye have to deal with these cork muppets, go back to the farming forum, civilised city folk are trying to talk

Poor snookums, did the muck savage confuse you with his bogman English?
Should I remove all the capitals, half the apostrophes, and just fire asterisks in everywhere so the civilised city folk can read it? Do u wnt it n txt spk r wot?

ruprect

godfather69er wrote:

do slicks really make a difference??

they did to me,

daymobrew wrote:

I've mentioned many times before that I have Continental Sport Contact 26x1.3 tyres

I had the exact same ones, they looked a bit odd and many people commented on them. My MTB had very narrow rims so took them no problem. I remember when I first got them I kept checking my gears since I was sure I was in a lower one!, I used to piss along with them, legs couldnt keep up so I went for a megarange freewheel, so I had 48T and 11T on the back (still not high enough for me).

I remember I had a puncture and had to use my brothers brand new €1,200 MTB with big thick tyres, it had a suspension lockout (think its called that, I could turn it off or on and to different levels) and was lighter than my own, but was a beast to move, they were not pumped up highI kept my slicks at 80psi.

I have also heard of bike shops swopping stuff, tyres are an obvious one, easy to change and the shop could sell on the unused ones. Of course it will depend on how much the bike is worth and potential mark-up, no way they will turn down €500 profit if it means swopping over tyres in 10mins and loosing out say €20 in profit, many bike shop workers have plenty of time to spare on quiet days.

I am currently on a MTB with no suspension but huge beefy tyres and I really do miss the suspension, cycle lanes are certainly not smooth, I remember always wondering why people on racers still went on the road when there was a "perfectly good" cycle lane there. Then I cycled on a racer on one, far from perfect!

Many are saying they have MTBs with high gears. Most sites and mags I am checking to not actually quote the number of teeth, I have not seen one with higher than 48T on the front. I am looking for 52 or 54 and 11 on the back. I do think it will be harder to find a shop willing to swop a chainset, unless spending big bucks.

Fists of Steel

godfather69er wrote:

forget hybrid go for a decent cross country mtb, the ratios are quite good as they are used for racing..... agressor 3

Where did you get that from? The big ring on the vast majority of XC cranksets is only 42t with XTR having 44t.


Ruprect,
Why don't you just put slicks on your current bike and a bigger chainset? A wider BB should solve any frame clearance issues. Something like this:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=1002
in 68/73 - 118 should do it.
You might have to change your front mech too to get the reach.

blorg

ruprect - I have a Specialized Sirrus which I am _very_ happy with for commuting and general leisure cycling. Do about 160km/week. Top gear is 52-11, 700x28 tyres. No front suspension, just seatpost.

Personally I have _no_ problem cycling this anywhere in Dublin on this; the quality of the surfaces are never too bad. It would not however be suitable for kerb-hopping (do you actually really have to do that often, or is it just what you're used to?) And I just don't use the up-and-down over driveways cycle paths, I just stick to the road when that is all that is available.

ruprect

Well I went with this in the end.
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/index.html?pageTitle=Giant_Cypress_EX_Bike_2006&pageDesc=This_Cypress_EX_comes_with_Shimano_Deore_Components_throughout_for_Maximum_Performance_Comfort_and_D&action=detail&maincatID=0&catID=&prodID=9476&brandID=

I had decided on the cypress range since they all had seatpost and front suspension, but then I end up getting the only one without front suspension! oh well. I was thinking of the sirrus but saw a few complaints on forums of broken spokes and dodgy wheels. Didnt see too much on the cypress, but all were good. Hopefully since it is in that range it is strong like the others i.e. veering more towards MTB.
All the parts seem good and it was a good price, £299 +£23 postage, so I went with it, should be here this week. retail is £425. I noticed most irish shops charge more than the RRPs given.

It doesnt say it there but it is 11T - 48T, which should be enough for me since it is 700 wheels.

blorg

You'll be glad to not have the suspension, I guarantee it.

Of the big manufacturers Giant tend to be better value for money than the American brands which I think you pay an unnecessary premium for.