What is a hybrid bike? Well, it is a bicycle is a combination of several types of bicycles: road bike, mountain bike, touring bike, and comfort city bicycle combined to create an all-in-one bicycle with versatility and a wide range of usages. A hybrid bike is a vehicle designed to ride in most diverse conditions, which makes it an efficient bicycle to ride in any terrain.
As mentioned earlier, a hybrid bike is originally designed for a variety of uses. Thus, it is a perfect bike for trekking, commuting, racing, or even for pleasure. The hybrid bike can be divided into various sub-categories; the right category of hybrid bike will be determined by how you plan to ride it. If you are looking for a decent hybrid bike, find out more on our best hybrid bikes for beginners.
What is a hybrid bike used for?
The reason for riding the hybrid bike may vary since it is recognized as a very versatile vehicle. According to a survey, most people are riding hybrid bicycles for:
1) Riding for commuting
Lots of people, especially those who live in urban areas, are prefer riding their commuter bikes from home to work or to school. In this case, the right category of hybrid bikes will be a commuter bicycle or a city bike. This type of specialized hybrid bike is mostly optimized for best use in a busy urban area. The city bike or commuter bike will be equipped with a relatively lightweight frame, which is either aluminum or steel, a derailleur gear, a full fender, standard 700c wheel, and probably a bike rack. For instance, the bicycle in this category is L-train Brilliant commuter bike.
2) Riding for pleasure
A comfort bicycle is definitely a perfect choice to ride for fun. Designed to ride for recreation and pleasure, the comfort hybrid bicycle is good to ride in a short distance on the paved and smooth road surface. Most comfort bicycles are outlined and built to offer the maximum comfort to riders. Thus, they are equipped with a comfortable, cushion saddle and a sturdy suspension system. However, this city bike is not suitable for cruising on dirt trails or uneven roads as it has already traded off its performance with comfort.
3) Riding for adventure and long-distance
Since the hybrid bike is the combination of a road touring bicycle and a mountain bike in a single unit, it is not surprising that you can take the bicycle to many dirt trails across the country. A cross bike or a trekking bike is designed for the adventurous purpose. While a cross bike is very similar to a road bike in terms of geometry, the trekking bike is, on the contrary, more like a mountain bike. Thanks to its wider rims and knobbier tires, this bike is capable of cruising on various unstable terrain without hassles. Want to know more about the difference between a hybrid bike and a road bike? Find out more from hybrid bike vs road bike.
What are the good features and components a hybrid bike should have?
What is a good hybrid bike? It is a perfect combination of the best features of a road bike and mountain bike together to create a single vehicle for rolling in any type of terrain. Now, let’s talk about each element or component of a good hybrid bicycle.
Wheels
Most commuter bicycles or city bicycles are equipped with standard 700c wheel rims, but some specialized hybrid bike opts for smaller 26-inch wheel rims. Mostly, your riding style will determine which type of wheel rims you should go for. Small wheel rims work well on bumpy roads while standard wheels provide a speedier ride.
Gear
The board range of gear installed in the hybrid bike can be varied from a simple single-speed bike to a sophisticated multiple-gear mechanism bike. However, your riding style will determine the gear mechanism of the hybrid bicycle. If you are riding for commuting or pleasure, a single-speed commuter bike will do the job well. By the way, you may consider a multi-gear mechanism bicycle if you plan to challenge yourselves on dirt trails.
For those who don’t want to deal with complex gear mechanisms, buying a single-speed city bicycle would be a great idea. Alternatively, you may consider a hybrid bike with fully-enclosed hub gears as chains and cranks might quickly get damage.
Handlebars
Flat handlebars are very common for the majority of hybrid bicycle handlebar types in the market as they allow the cyclist to ride in a more upright position. Unlike a drop-bar kind, the flat bar type carries more weight, but it will keep you on a more comfortable posture while riding. Additionally, the upright position does provide you with a better vision on the road ahead. The only drawback of flat bar type is its relatively low speed due to the massive weight of flat bar type comparted to a drop-bar variety.
Another common handlebar type is a riser bar. This handlebar type is designed to bend upward, allowing the cyclist to sit in a comfortable upright position.
What is the best position to ride a hybrid bicycle?
The hybrid bike is intentionally designed to let rider sit on the upright position. Taking advantage of the upright position, you will be able to view the road ahead and be alert for possible danger. Moreover, it usually comes with a comfortable cushion seat, which enables you to maintain the upright posture as long as you want.
Frame
The vast majority of hybrid bikes are built on three types of frame construction. The steel frame provides durability with a low-price tag while the aluminum alloy frame is preferred for its lightweight and durability to withstand any impacts while riding. The carbon fiber frame is the most expensive type of structure, but it beats both steel and aluminum frames in terms of weight and resilience.
Brakes
The brake system of hybrid bikes can vary from one model to another. Anyway, the most common type is rims or V-brake. The rims brake is composed of dual pads that are installed on bicycle rims.
The majority of hybrid bicycles feature V-brakes as they are cheaper than any other type of brake while providing adequate stopping power for most bicycles. Furthermore, the rim brake pad is easily replaceable when it gets worn out. The V-brakes are usually mounted on wheel rims, and they use the cable to pull the arm to allow the brake pad to rub the wheel rims forcefully.
However, the rims brake has a poor performance on wet or muddy road conditions.
Only a handful of hybrid bikes are equipped with a disc brake system. There are two types of disc brakes in the market, a hydraulic disc brake, and a mechanical disc brake. Unlike rims brake, the disc brake is mounted on the wheel hub to provide more aggressive stopping power. Since disc brakes are more expensive than ordinary V-brakes, we have only found higher-model hybrid bikes equipped with disc brakes.
Tires
Generally, a hybrid bike comes with knobby tires that are thicker than those of the road bike. Taking advantage of these large and thick tires, a hybrid bike usually offers more stability and traction than a typical road bike.
Fender
Fender has recently become the standard equipment of the hybrid bike as it is designed to protect the rider from water or muddy splash when riding on rainy days. On a sunny day, you may remove the fender from your bike to lose some weight as the fender is removable.
The suspension system
More than half of hybrid bikes in the market don’t have the suspension forks equipped because the suspension system tends to add more weight to the bicycle, which results in less pedaling efficiency.
Thus, to attract more commuter cyclists, many manufacturers have decided to exclude the suspension system from many models. However, some street bicycles may equip with a front suspension fork to provide better shock absorption when rolling on uneven terrains.
The bike racks
The bike racks have become a popular selling point for most hybrid bikes. You can find hybrid bikes with bike racks equipped in a commuter bicycle or comfort bicycle, which most riders usually are housewives, students, or even young professionals working in the city. Like fender, bike racks are also removable, and you can do it to lose some weight from your bike.
Is a hybrid bike worth it?
The essential point to consider is your riding style. If you are a cyclist who prefers to challenge yourselves on various types of terrain, either flat surface road or dirt trail, then the answer is yes, hybrid bikes are worth a try. Since a hybrid bike is designed initially to be a versatile vehicle, you may be able to use it for many purposes.
For commuting purposes, the commuter bicycle is equipped with a cushioned seat to comfortably keep you on the bike while riding to work or school. On the other hand, you can ride your city bike for pleasure or recreation purposes during the weekend. If you want more challenges on a dirt trail, with some tweaks, you can test your skill with the same old hybrid bike on any dirt trails or even in any competitions.
Overall, the hybrid bicycle is a perfect choice for those who don’t want to limit their riding experience on either flat surface roads or dirt trails. If you enjoy riding any terrains and don’t want to spend your valuable money, buying both road and mountain bikes, a versatile hybrid bicycle may be a great option not to be missed.
