Hybrid Bikes - Must Be The Best Of All Worlds For The Leisure Cyclist

What makes a hybrid bike? Essentially a hybrid combines those attributes of mountain and road bikes that most appeal to the leisure cyclist

. Those who do most of their riding on the road find the wide knobbly tyres and small frame of a true mountain bike hard toil. The other side of the coin is that the narrow tyres and characteristic riding position of a road bike don't suit those who like to venture onto the tracks and trails.

So how does this compromise work?

1) Flat handlebars. Far more relaxing for everyday leisure cycling than drop bars. You can change hand position regularly and thick padded grips smooth out vibration.

2) Medium-thickness semi-slick tyres. This gives a superb combination of grip for the grass together with reduced rolling-resistance for the road. The wheels are customarily road size, 700mm, instead of the 26" rims fitted to mountain bikes.

3) Either a beefed-up road frame, or an extended MTB frame, according to what the designer wants to do. The frame material is more often than not aluminium, although carbon is an alternative for those with deep pockets. Suspension forks figure on many designs. Many versions come in either mens or womens variants.

4) The gears are planned with low ratios for hillclimbing together with high ratios for covering the miles on the road.

However, no compromise is ideal for everyone, so there is a choice to be made depending on the style of cycling you will be doing most, and also on your personal taste.

Will you be predominantly an on-road rather than an off-road rider? If that's the situation, a bike that leans more towards road-bike design will probably suit you best. You would need the rather sleeker frame and narrower tyres that a road-oriented hybrid would offer. If on the other hand you like to do a greater amount of off-road riding, you will most likely look for a bike with suspension forks a wider tyres.

So no matter what you see yourself doing, the ideal option is probably out there. For the cyclist who simply wants to get out and about, there's little doubt that a hybrid has the most to offer.

by: Stephen Bailey

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