What flat bar road bike/fast hybrid

[cirian75]

Currently riding a Giant defy disc 2, great fast bike................but I real what a flat bar hydro braked fast flat bar.

A drop bar in Manchester on the evening commute home is PITA, just as I get up to speed got to slow down, and of course there is the once every 3 days idiot pulling out on you "oh st" moment.

I've tested a few hybrids, the pinnacle lithium and the Marin Fairfax sc4 but they feel like bloody choppers with near 600mm stack heights, the defy is 567mm.

but the visibility was easier as not so leant forward hummmmmm?

I want to keep it below £500, minimum 2 x 9 or a 3 x 9 gears

Looking at the Boardman Hybrid Comp that has a less chopper'ish 575mm stack which is £500 and I get 10% with British cycling membership = 450

Other suggestions.

[Usget]

I have a similar use case for my partner and haven't found a clear winner.

If you're not precious about disc brakes, have a look at the Triban 540 FB. All-round Tiagra spec and under 9kg for £499.

Alternatively, the Boardman Hybrid Pro is £800 at the moment - apply British Cycling and voucher trick discount and you get to £650, which is good value for hydraulic discs, SRAM 1x11 and again sub 9kg.

[Watchman]

This is what Whyte specialises in but for slightly more than £500.

I had a Portobello and my wife still has a Carnaby. Both great on the road.

Can I challenge the 2x or 3x gear requirement. With a big enough spread at the back, a 1x should provide the same range.

Those Whyte bikes really are road oriented though. There's no clearance for wider tyres so I bought a Planet X London Road frame and forks which I'll build up with CX tyres but otherwise a similar spec to the Portobello. I bought the frame in one of their sales so my overall costs should be similar to the purchase price of the Carnaby. The London Road frame is much lighter though.

[cirian75]

Is a 1 x 9/10 with 42 tooth chain ring enough?

low speeds look good but looks like it runs out of gears at 20mph'ish

[TwistingMyMelon]

cant you just fit flat bar to your current bike?

[cirian75]

Yes but the 2016 tiagra shifters are quite expensive.

The pull ratios changed with these so you can't use other shifters

Plus a set of hydraulic brakes and a completely cable.

[Doofus]

Watchman said:

This is what Whyte specialises in but for slightly more than £500.

I had a Portobello and my wife still has a Carnaby. Both great on the road.

This. I recently bought a Shoreditch. 1x10 gearing, hydro disks, 28c tyres. It accelerates really well, bounces up and down kerbs, is lightweight and cost me £525, I think (2016 model. The 2017's look a lot nicer, IMO).

[Usget]

Doofus said:

Watchman said:

This is what Whyte specialises in but for slightly more than £500.

I had a Portobello and my wife still has a Carnaby. Both great on the road.

This. I recently bought a Shoreditch. 1x10 gearing, hydro disks, 28c tyres. It accelerates really well, bounces up and down kerbs, is lightweight and cost me £525, I think (2016 model. The 2017's look a lot nicer, IMO).

Brilliant find. I'd discounted the Shoreditch as the 2017 is too expensive but there are still some 2016s available. Thanks!

[Doofus]

Usget said:

Brilliant find. I'd discounted the Shoreditch as the 2017 is too expensive but there are still some 2016s available. Thanks!

I really wanted the 2017, but the chap in the shop said he'd had a couple of brightly coloured bikes pinched, and the 2017 Shoreditch is orange. the 2016 is a subtle grey.

[Watchman]

cirian75 said:

Is a 1 x 9/10 with 42 tooth chain ring enough?

low speeds look good but looks like it runs out of gears at 20mph'ish

Flat bars means reduced aero so you would have to work very hard to go above 20mph. I don't have the legs for that sort of speed so I've never considered it an issue.

[Usget]

cirian75 said:

Is a 1 x 9/10 with 42 tooth chain ring enough?

low speeds look good but looks like it runs out of gears at 20mph'ish

Only if you're grinding along. 20mph in 42-11 is only 70rpm! At a more sensible 90rpm you'd be doing 27mph and frankly any more than that is kind of beyond the use case of this sort of bike...

[Barchettaman]

Watchman said:

Flat bars means reduced aero so you would have to work very hard to go above 20mph. I don't have the legs for that sort of speed so I've never considered it an issue.

Not necessarily. I've set up bikes with narrower bars, Ergo grips and with a decent saddle to bar drop that were as fast as a standard drop-bar setup.

Great fun round the city!




This parts-bin mongrel, set up in the photo for my BiL who is a bit shorter than me, has a cut down 44cm flat bar and 700c28 tyres. When I used it I flipped the stem and raised the seatpost, the positin was still comfortable but it really flew.
(I still prefer a drop handlebar though!)

Edited by Barchettaman on Wednesday 21st June 10:46

[idiotgap]

I ride flat bar on my commute but miss the multiple positions of my road bikes. On the odd occasion when I do commute on a road bike I stay on the hoods on the sketchier bits and feel ok. When I want to get out of the wind on my commuter I end up posting my posterior over the back of the saddle and hands as far forward as possible on the shifters.

Please don't let me kill any man-maths n+1 justification, that isn't my intention. I only went flat bar because I didn't want the commuter to look flash and get nicked, there is a slight regret there.

[cirian75]

n+1

Got the defy and a Cube 29er MTB, but need commuter.













I'll be back in 6 months looking at CX bikes

[cirian75]

ordered the Boardman Hybrid Comp 2016 as new ex display for £425

[MrsMiggins]

I have a similar problem to the OP. My 8mile commute is a mix of quiet roads and urban cycle paths, some pretty bumpy. Tarmac all the way. I'm using a Btwin rockrider 8.1 at the moment, but fancy slightly narrower bars and something a bit lighter too. I want mudguards, discs and ideally 28s at least. Don't need a luggage rack. Budget is pretty flexible - up to £1500 - but need something special to justify that spend. Don't particularly want a carbon frame. Was googling to see if DI2 is an option, but not finding much. Is that a thing on flat bar bikes?

Edinburgh bicycle have a couple of Whyte bikes and I might give one of them a go. Just looking for options really.

[Watchman]

Whyte's unsprung hybrids come with 28s but you won't get anything bigger on them, or even anything that has any appreciably-chunky tread pattern (I have pics to show where the clearances are too tight). But they're nicely spec'd and the geometry is very comfy.

A PX London Road can take up to 40s and the f&f is lighter than the Whyte's.

[cirian75]

the boardman has 622-17mm rims and can go from 25mm to 35mm wide tyres

[Doofus]

Watchman said:

Whyte's unsprung hybrids come with 28s but you won't get anything bigger on them, or even anything that has any appreciably-chunky tread pattern (I have pics to show where the clearances are too tight). But they're nicely spec'd and the geometry is very comfy.

Here are some quick and dirty pics of my unsprung Whyte currently on 28s. There's plenty of space.

Front:


Seat Stays:


Chain stays:

[Watchman]

Both my Portobello and my wife's Carnaby have very minimal clearances. Nothing like what you have there.