[Closed] Hybrid / flat bar gravel / general purpose transport - what's out there?

I really like the new sirrus x range, but I’m currently riding an Orange Speedworks last years model for work commuting, canal trips etc. Been a good year riding, although considering changing the tyres as they’re tight grip and every tiny stone gets stuck in them.

Cube SL Road - nice bikes, rider like an old MTB but with road gears

https://www.cube.eu/en/2020/bikes/road/road/sl-road/

Thanks, the sirrus x and cube sl both look good. Limited stock at the moment though it would appear 🙁

Pipedream still have a couple of Alice framesets available at £400, plenty of scope to build on budget.

Just got a Cube SL Road here, seems decent. Went for the base model but the £900 one with carbon fork and 105 group set looks ace. Took about four days from ordering to it arriving at the bike shop.

That calibre bike from go outdoors.

That calibre bike from go outdoors

This one

Yup, if they have stock, the calibre stitch is brilliant. Best value bike I've ever had, all 340 quid or it. 😊

Stuck some 38c tyres and carbon bars on it, probably gonna go single front ring too.

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[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/nobeerinthefridge/48413455521/ ]Stitch[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/59995395@N03/ ][/url] - [url= https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dariogf.flickr2BBcode_lite ]Flickr2BBcode LITE[/url]
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I've got a fairly ancient Boardman hybrid which would be basically perfect for you- lots of tyre clearance (takes big guards with tons of room), mostly mtb component sizes so I picked up a set of really good but unfashionable skinny 29er wheels for peanuts and fitted some awesome brakes for way less than road hydros... It's probably my most succesful bike. Fast hybrids are fab.

Trek FX series would be the obvious comparator to the Sirrus.

I’ve just (before lockdown!) picked up a Sirrus X4.0 for commuting and trailway stuff with the kids.

Also got a Sirrus X3.0 for the wife, for similar duties.

I was going to get a 3.0 too, as commute is only short but couldn’t have the same as the wife.....😉

Really pleased with both. Mine hasn’t yet commuted in anger as been WFH since the week of picking it up!

A

Planet X Bootzipper

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBOOBZ29SX/on-one-bootzipper-29er-sram-sx-mountain-bike

Thanks again everyone.
No online stock of the calibre stitch 🙁
The Cube SL Road Pro looks almost perfect - would prefer a carbon fork and the seat stays look spindly, but I'm sure they'll be fine.
The Bootzipper looks OK, but perhaps too burly for what I'm looking for.
Trek FX seems good but I can't see the sweet spot of price/spec for me.
BUT I am a specialized fan boi - decisions, decisions.

I've used a Whyte Shoreditch for the last few years, as a fast flat-bar commuter. Looks sleek and easily quick enough for most stuff. Personally, I think unless one is really into 'road biking' as a discipline, or has a long commute, fast hybrids tend to make more sense for general riding around town or weekend trips. They're fast (enough) but better vision, grip, comfort, more fun handling, not hunched over drop bars.

If I was buying new now...I too would be looking at a Specialised Sirrus X, or failing that a Whyte Stirling.

The bootzipper is pretty cool but that gearing... 2x still makes tons of sense for this sort of thing

A little bump before I make the final decision. I'm 99% sure what I'm going to buy, but would be keen to hear any views from the weekday crowd.

Orbea Vector or Carpe look pretty decent.

Personally, I think unless one is really into ‘road biking’ as a discipline, or has a long commute, fast hybrids tend to make more sense for general riding around town or weekend trips. They’re fast (enough) but better vision, grip, comfort, more fun handling, not hunched over drop bars.

100% agree, as Northy says, fast hybrids are great.

You see the Race version of the Cube - it’s only £100 more but that’s a carbon fork. Depends if you mind a double chainring rather than 1x but you can’t go wrong with 105 really.

I've just ordered a 2019 Cube SL Road Pro heavily discounted. Tiagra group set and only 2 x 10 and without the carbon fork, but should be good enough for me.
I've not been this excited about getting a new bike in ages 🙂
Just need to choose some less road biased tyres for it now, but I think I'll wait for it to appear first.
Thanks for all your input guys, it's much appreciated.

My wife's basic model came with  Schwalbe CX Comp which are actually quite good for a budget all-rounder tyre

That Cube looks the bollocks

My wife’s basic model came with Schwalbe CX Comp which are actually quite good for a budget all-rounder tyre

Agree, used those for years until going wider. Great all-rounder and inexpensive too. Schwlabe Smart Sam in 700x38 and 400x47 good too though more off-road biased.

I've never got comfortable on drops and have always gone for a 'fast hybrid'. Bar ends can be a great addition too for a different position at times.

700*38  CX Comp are 40mm wide - that's 2mm extra for free!!

😜

Slight change of spec and year and I’m getting one of these instead.

Should arrive this week. Big thanks to start fitness who actually had a bike that appeared in stock on their website. Unlike the 2 previous attempts. 🙄

Looks great, fast flat barred bikes are awesome!

Trek FX and swap the tyres for something more knobbly!

I bloody love mine. It flies!

Looks great, fast flat barred bikes are awesome!

Yep, all I have ridden for the last few years. After trying same bike with various bars I always go back to a flat bar. A great type of bike for mix of road, gravel and easy off road and a better choice than a drop bar gravel bike for many as for me the better handling and just more fun feeling handling of a flat (or riser) bar are more important than the 0.5mph increase in average speed

Aye, agreed.

Spent a week riding in Holland last year, in and out of lots of big towns, the Hague a few times, never seen a single commuter on drop bars! I was very aware, as I was on a drop barred cx!

Only time I saw them was the evening when the road gangs came out.

I love my Pinnacle Lithium.

@wallop
I had a good long look at the Trek FX a while back, which have you got?

I thought they seemed like great bikes, if a little pricey. What put me off was you could get a Tiagra model for about a grand, then it went up to 1500 or so, but it was still Tiagra but now with a carbon frame. To get 105 you had to go to the two grand model. What I really wanted was the aluminium frame with 105.

How much tyre clearance would you say it has? I've read the spec, but you know how they all claim they'll fit any tyre.

It's finally here.

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After telling Start Fitness that I would build it myself, they despatched it on Sunday and it arrived this afternoon. Put it together and had a spin around the block on it and it's great. I was nervous about the sizing, but it's absolutely spot on. The only niggle is that the brakes are setup Euro stylee. So I have to think Gary Neville rather than Ashley Cole, but I'll sort that at the weekend.

I also need some different pedals - I might have a dabble with SPDs again, although I've not used them for over 5 years.

Burgtec penthouse mk4 on my commuter, stick to flats, the ability to jump on it and pop out for stuff is grand, nae daft shoes.

I've just ordered the 2020 Speedwork. Without a doubt it'll be the most expensive, fastest and grown up bike I've ever had. We're ditching a car too. 😎

Cannae wait.

@oldtennisshoes - did you swap the tyres in the end?

Scott matrix that looks good also the Genesis flat bar one.

OTS - I've swapped brakes on well over a hundred Cubes and only needed to bleed twice. Just undo everything, pull the hoses and plug them straight back in. Chances are it'll be fine.

Nobeerinthefridge
fast flat barred bikes are awesome!

Was pondering this while out on my (relatively seldom used) road bike today. I find riding in the drops pretty much unbearable and spend most of the time on the tops or on the hoods.

Since I'm only needed in work for one day a week until the end of term, I figure I might as well ride in for that day (15 or so miles each way).

Thinking that swapping the drops for a cut down set of flat bars and bunging some bar ends on makes more sense for me. Would need new levers and a shifter too I guess. My riding position wouldn't change I don't think.

Tinkering for tinkering's sake, or a worthwhile sidegrade?

Should probably add that it's already clearly an MTBers road bike - flat pedals and a 1x drivetrain (only thing I can't change is go any wider than a 25mm tyre on the back - I built the rear end pretty tight)...

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...swapping the drops for a cut down set of flat bars and bunging some bar ends on makes more sense for me..

Bullhorns are quite a nice in-between option if you fancy going down that route. Just enough for you to get your hands forward a bit more and get your body that little bit lower when doing those long stints into the wind. plus something to grab to give it some welly up the steep bits.

I've never been a drop bar rider and converted to flats as I found myself on the top most of the time. My use case is mostly fitness stuff and steep hills around the city, I never use it for long 40+ mile jaunts. Couldn't say how they work out in those situations

Did have bullhorns on it for a while but had the drop shifter/levers perched out on the end which never felt quite right. Maybe reuse those bars but swap to inboard flat bar levers and a shifter if they'll fit in?

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Thinking that swapping the drops for a cut down set of flat bars and bunging some bar ends on makes more sense for me. Would need new levers and a shifter too I guess. My riding position wouldn’t change I don’t think.

I've just swapped mrs_oab from drops to flat. I had most of it in spares box. For small hands and body the levers on drops are too far a reach, and I was hunting to find bars which have proportionally smaller drop and reach. Flat bars and stubbies ftw for mrs_oab..

https://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/49443057343/in/album-72157712842195688/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/49996130602/in/album-72157714665216283/

@Elshalimo the tyres are actually pretty good. Certainly up to the fireroad and single track mincing from the door.

@Scotroutes aye, I managed to do them without a bleed. It actually didn't bother me having them goofy but OTS Junior borrowed it and nearly came a cropper on it - serves him right for riding too fast.

@colournoise getting parts to fit is a bit of a pain.
Not something I recommend people to do but if there are older suitable levers and shifters lying around, (disclaimer you are impacting the strength of the clamps by doing this, my logic is that I would never put them under that much strain as its always pretty measured braking and shifting) grind out the interior diameter prise apart a little and wangle them around the right angle on the bullhorns

but for all that trouble I suppose it is easier to just stick to flat bar and bar ends.
To take ideas even further into the realms of the ridiculous sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have flats and tri bars, even if its just to have those arm rest pads for those slightly longer monotonous sections.

Coincidentally a guy at Bike Radar (Jack Luke) mentioned he'd done a 277KM flat bar fixie ride from Bristol to Portland Bill and back.
His straight bar/aero bars combo looks interesting for getting the miles in.

Flats and tri bars work fine. I've used that set up for some bikepacking trips that had a decent amount of road work. Getting onto the tri bars is worth a couple of gears in terms of effort/speed.

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Have Go Outdoors stopped selling those Calibre Stitches?
One of my pals has really got into cycling over lockdown. Is churning out 50+ mile rides on a 2 sizes too small 90s Raleigh MTB with cantis and dodgy slicks.
We're planning on cycling to Orkney next month and he's int he market for a new bike - that Calibre looks spot on.

It's good to know there are people who have experience of flats and tris and found them useful.
There are some of us whose general shorter rides dont really fit in with drops but to have the extended option that the tris give is a blessing in certain circumstances.

I ordered those China aero shaped flats to try with the integrated stem which gave a sort of platform for the forearms but that leaves you seriously lacking in control.

For small hands and body the levers on drops are too far a reach,

Good point. I'm only 167cm so that might be a factor.

matt_outandabout
For small hands and body the levers on drops are too far a reach, and I was hunting to find bars which have proportionally smaller drop and reach.

It's a problem with the longer toptube on bikes originally designed for a flatbar.

I've fiddled around with various combinations, and the best so far is an On-One Brian bar (shorter reach) and a very short stem.

I tried it out the other day on my old Voodoo 26" Bokor which I've repurposed as a rough stuff/gravel bike. It was the first lengthy ride I've done when that I haven't felt it to be a stretch after an hour or so.

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The short stem was bought on Amazon for about a tenner.

So I have to think Gary Neville rather than Ashley Cole

Good one!

The above discussion of the Sirrus, the flat barred Specialized Diverge that recently been released and other recent all-road/gravel threads are bringing me round to the idea that the bike that is best suited to the sort of riding I do, i.e rolling bridleway/byways/fireroads is remarkably similar to the skinny tubed flat barred bike I was riding nearly 30 years ago. If I went back to those, Id only really miss disc brakes / A-headset system

I feel like Ive completed a full loop.

I certainly wouldn't fancy taking the early 90s bike for a weekend in Morzine though.

I’d like a flat bar kaffenbak again

Thread resurrection!

Finally got round to tinkering today. Flat bars, inboard bar ends (some trusty x-lites I've had kicking round for ages), and just the one brake (boring story...). Cheapo mech and shifter from Decathlon as I didn't fancy trying to fettle any of the flat bar shifters I have in the spares box to try and work with the Tiagra mech that was on the bike.

Only done the ride up and down the street test so far but it feels good. Riding position pretty much the same (just a little wider) as on the tops, and the inboard position actually feels better than being on the hoods.

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