As I mentioned earlier I have been riding my hybrid since the pandemic started. Its been a long time since I have ridden on the road. My friend lent me his Cannonale 29er with two sets of rims - mountain and road.
Anyway here are some things I have noticed from riding both on the street and off road.
Hybrid:
My hybrid is more road bike than mountain bike. On anything but very smooth roads the bike shutters over the less than perfect roads that we have. I do my best to stay away from pot holes, debris and other stuff that rattles my teeth. The bike is ok enough for riding on the road.
I tried to take it off road but it got bogged down very quickly. Unless the trail is really packed down it just sucks. The tires aren't wide enough to go over anything. And you absolutely have to avoid pretty much anything. Even riding across the grass on my property was an ordeal.
29er:
This thing is a true mountain bike. On the road with the smooth tires it rode BETTER than the hybrid. Why? Because of the front shock and wider tires. It easily eats bad road for breakfast. I found I could pedal just as fast as the hybrid. Both bikes had an upright riding position so it makes no difference.
Off the road with the mountain tires it eats up terrain like its nothing no matter where I road. Mud, grass, sand... it didnt care. Even fooling around on my property it handled it very nicely.
Here is the reality - if you want one general purpose bike I think a mountain bike is the answer. It rides on all terrain regardless. You want to go faster, put smooth tires on it and you have a hybrid.
Hybrids make no sense. They are just ok on the road but not great, not so good off road, at least mine. They don't do anything great.
You guys probably knew this all already but for me its a revelation. I had suspected this for years and now this confirms it.
I should have bought one sooner.
Anyway here are some things I have noticed from riding both on the street and off road.
Hybrid:
My hybrid is more road bike than mountain bike. On anything but very smooth roads the bike shutters over the less than perfect roads that we have. I do my best to stay away from pot holes, debris and other stuff that rattles my teeth. The bike is ok enough for riding on the road.
I tried to take it off road but it got bogged down very quickly. Unless the trail is really packed down it just sucks. The tires aren't wide enough to go over anything. And you absolutely have to avoid pretty much anything. Even riding across the grass on my property was an ordeal.
29er:
This thing is a true mountain bike. On the road with the smooth tires it rode BETTER than the hybrid. Why? Because of the front shock and wider tires. It easily eats bad road for breakfast. I found I could pedal just as fast as the hybrid. Both bikes had an upright riding position so it makes no difference.
Off the road with the mountain tires it eats up terrain like its nothing no matter where I road. Mud, grass, sand... it didnt care. Even fooling around on my property it handled it very nicely.
Here is the reality - if you want one general purpose bike I think a mountain bike is the answer. It rides on all terrain regardless. You want to go faster, put smooth tires on it and you have a hybrid.
Hybrids make no sense. They are just ok on the road but not great, not so good off road, at least mine. They don't do anything great.
You guys probably knew this all already but for me its a revelation. I had suspected this for years and now this confirms it.
I should have bought one sooner.