New Hybrid/ road cruiser advice appreciated

dub_skav

Hi,

I'm new to the cycling board and looking to buy a new bike and looking for help.
I will be using it for cycling to work/training and maybe a few spins down to my folks. I do not envisage doing any really long cycles, so just want a comfortable, light, quick bike.
My budget is anything between €400 & €700 - I realise that isn't huge in bike terms.

I have been heavily considering getting the Lapierre RCR 300 or possibly the cheaper RCR 100 if it meets up to my needs.

However, I have also been checking out the Specialized Sirrus, Trek 7.x FX series and the Giant FCR range.

Does anybody have any advice on the brands in general or the bikes in specific, or even any alternatives.

I'm not too up on bikes these days so any help would be appreciated

blorg

Best is to try a few and see what suits. I've used a Specialized Sirrus Elite, Trek 7200FX/7300FX and a Dawes Discovery 201 and any of these are decent bikes. The Treks will be a little more mountain bikey with thicker tyres, MTB gearing etc. (up to the 7.3 anyway.)

If you want to be doing more than commuting- e.g. for exercise, etc. then best go for one of the lighter/"sportier" types, RCR 300 certainly looks like a nice bike and that it would fit that description.

Ghost Rider

I cycle a Giant FCR3 and really like it. As a hybrid, it's closer to a road bike than a hybrid, mainly because of the thinner wheels, the gearing (apparently) and the geometry of the frame. It's described by Giant as a "fitness" bike, but I use it for commuting and will use it for touring this Summer. It is quite light for a hybrid but I carry a relatively heavy pannier with tools and books and all kinds of sh*te in it, as well as two fairly heavy locks mounted on the bike itself, so that cancels a lot of the lightness out...!

Before I decided what to buy, I tried a Specialized Sirrus. It felt nice too but the tyres were a bit thinner and I "felt the road" a bit more. I guess you might get a bit more speed out of it, if that's what you're looking for.

I also tried a Ridgeback Velocity, which was really comfortable and seemed like really good value (around €480 in Cyclelogical). But, by virtue of being a bit more mountain bike-y (in terms of wheels, tyres and frame weight), it felt a wee bit slower.

I also tried a Trek 7.1 FX (I think). I can't comment on it with much authority, though, as it wasn't set up right in the shop and the frame size was probably too small for me. It certainly looked more like a mountain bike-style hybrid, though, as Blorg said.

dub_skav wrote:

Hi,

I'm new to the cycling board and looking to buy a new bike and looking for help.
I will be using it for cycling to work/training and maybe a few spins down to my folks. I do not envisage doing any really long cycles, so just want a comfortable, light, quick bike.
My budget is anything between €400 & €700 - I realise that isn't huge in bike terms.

I have been heavily considering getting the Lapierre RCR 300 or possibly the cheaper RCR 100 if it meets up to my needs.

However, I have also been checking out the Specialized Sirrus, Trek 7.x FX series and the Giant FCR range.

Does anybody have any advice on the brands in general or the bikes in specific, or even any alternatives.

I'm not too up on bikes these days so any help would be appreciated

Civilian_Target

Looking for something thats more sporty than utilitarian I take it? (If so, probably best not to listen to my advice )

dub_skav

Thanks for the replies folks. Looks like I'll rule out the Trek straight up so.
I'll head into Cycleogical, Cyle Ways and the Cycle Superstore with an open mind and test a few.

Again thanks for the tips.

Ghost Rider

Commuting Solutions in Rathmines do the Giant FCR series - might be handier if you're already in town.

dub_skav wrote:

Thanks for the replies folks. Looks like I'll rule out the Trek straight up so.
I'll head into Cycleogical, Cyle Ways and the Cycle Superstore with an open mind and test a few.

Again thanks for the tips.

DirkVoodoo

Wow, that FCR looks fantastic...I bought an SCR 2.0 there recently, great bike. If I was going to get a more proper commuter bike without sacrificing speed, it would definitely be that FCR!

ronanm98

The "FCR", Am I right in saying that this bike will not take mudguards as the forks are too narrow, surely this is a concern if you are commuting in bad weather!

DirkVoodoo

On the SCR, in some bad weather, ive found that the wheels are so narrow that they end up deflecting much smaller amounts of water than larger ones. Also the lack of deep treads makes it hard for water to build up in large pockets...also makes it hard to stay stable in the rain.

Ghost Rider

No, you are not right. The forks are plenty wide to take mudguards. I have a pair of Viper ones mounted on my bike right now.

ronanm98 wrote:

The "FCR", Am I right in saying that this bike will not take mudguards as the forks are too narrow, surely this is a concern if you are commuting in bad weather!

Dirk Gently

Ghost Rider wrote:

I cycle a Giant FCR3 and really like it. As a hybrid, it's closer to a road bike than a hybrid, mainly because of the thinner wheels, the gearing (apparently) and the geometry of the frame. It's described by Giant as a "fitness" bike, but I use it for commuting and will use it for touring this Summer. It is quite light for a hybrid but I carry a relatively heavy pannier with tools and books and all kinds of sh*te in it, as well as two fairly heavy locks mounted on the bike itself, so that cancels a lot of the lightness out...!

Just put a deposit on one of these today. I had got touring in the back of my mind for when I build up my fitness levels on it but am not sure if it's the right bike for touring on. I am delighted to be getting one for training around dublin (phoenix park / howth) but as you said, carring anything on the bike will cancel out it's speed so maybe something a bit meatier for touring?

Has anyone toured on one of these. (with pannier / bags )