Buying New Bike - Advice Please Cyclists?

Maybe go look at a Cyclecross bike, they are a cross between road bike and Mtn Bike, they look more like road bikes and have drop bars.

Typically they have 700C X32mm wheels that are a bit wider than a road bike and have some tread, If you want something fast that can take a cattle guard, that would be a great choice. They are only slightly heavier than most road bikes and if you get one with a carbon front fork, it will help to absorb vibration.

Go to a local bike store and ask to try one. I recently moved most of my riding from a mtn bike to a Road bike and was astounded at how much faster the road bike was.

Oh.. your buying a bicycle....

When you said a bike.. I thought you meant a Harley Davidson!

I ride a specialized CruX its sexy

I have a Bianchi Volpe cyclocross bike, with the wider tires, and I just love it. It rides so much like a standard road bike, yet I can take it out on cycling trails. It's steel which makes it a little heavier than most, but boy oh boy does that make for a smoooooooth ride.

It has my vote.

As well if you are looking at Trek, Check out the CX Bikes they have in the UK.

http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/road/cyclocross/ion_cx/ion_cx/#

neat

As well if you are looking at Trek, Check out the CX Bikes they have in the UK.

http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/road/cyclocross/ion_cx/ion_cx/#

thats like the XO here in the states aye?

Not sure, I am in Canada, But I see the Ion CX Listed in the USA as well.

As well if you are looking at Trek, Check out the CX Bikes they have in the UK.

http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/road/cyclocross/ion_cx/ion_cx/#

thats like the XO here in the states aye?

Not sure, I am in Canada, But I see the Ion CX Listed in the USA as well.

yeah I just noticed that .....

Cyclocross is more in the area you are looking for i think - Dropped handlebars for a more agressive aerodynamic riding position which will allow for higher average speed and longer distances. Also has the ability to do light off road duties, such as canal towpaths and dodgy road surfaces (what here in the UK, surely not!).
If you like Boardmans then the Team CX is cracking value for money.

Your Hybrid is a heavy old hector weighing in at around 15kg, the Boardman CX is about 10kg so you should feel the difference.
If the cyclocross idea doesn't suit then a road (race) bike with a good sturdy wheelset may do the trick to cope with the rough stuff - all depends on budget - carbon frame mountainbikes look like they weigh a ton but are very light and very strong.
HTH

I'm a bit biased on this one...

Personally I would go for the Boardman Comp, a bike designed by a British cyclist would win it for me! I think Carbon is a bit more forgiving over rougher terrain, I ride an aluminium frame with Carbon forks and a Carbon seat post and that works for me.

I have done many events where we ride over cattle grids and it's not so bad, even over bumpy terrain! You could always put wider tyres if that was a cause for concern.

Good luck in your search, I hope whatever you find serves you well!

the boardman comp looks great, and they get great reviews! The thing about bikes with drop bars though is that they normally help for long distances because you can move your hands about much more.

The normal riding position is NOT on the drop bit of the bars; your hands rest naturally on the bit behind the brake levers - the hoods - (which are also gear levers). You only need to use the drop bits when you're fighting into a really nasty wind, or racing someone (!) or you can put your hands on the horizontal bit at the top, a bit like having a flat bar but much narrower.

It's worth trying a bike with drop bars to see how it feels, a lot of friends have sold their flat-bar bike after six months to get one with drop bars when they get a bit sore not being able to move their hands about as much.

The other big help for comfort would be carbon forks, which absorb a lot of the 'buzz' from road surfaces compared to aluminium.

My wifes first bike was one of these: http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/specialized-dolce-24-12?bct=browse/bicycles/road-bikes

carbon forks, very comfy position and (importantly) extra brake levers on the horizontal bit at the top, which she used quite a lot while she was getting comfortable with the riding position. If you can find one nearby to test, then it might be worth a go! (but it's over budget, a bit.....)

the boardman comp looks great, and they get great reviews! The thing about bikes with drop bars though is that they normally help for long distances because you can move your hands about much more.

The normal riding position is NOT on the drop bit of the bars; your hands rest naturally on the bit behind the brake levers - the hoods - (which are also gear levers). You only need to use the drop bits when you're fighting into a really nasty wind, or racing someone (!) or you can put your hands on the horizontal bit at the top, a bit like having a flat bar but much narrower.

It's worth trying a bike with drop bars to see how it feels, a lot of friends have sold their flat-bar bike after six months to get one with drop bars when they get a bit sore not being able to move their hands about as much.

Drop bars are SO much comfier than flat bars...flat bars give the rider just ONE hand position. And I feel MUCH more stable going down hills at speed in my drops, since it lowers my center of gravity. I do probably 85% of my riding on the hoods, maybe 10% in the drops, and probably all of 5% on the flat top of the bars. I don't know why so many people are averse to riding a bike with drop bars. There are people who even put them on mountain bikes.

And cyclocross cyclocross cyclocross. If I could only have one bike it would be a CX frame. My dream über bike would be a custom Seven Mudhoney in titanium with disc brakes. I'd have one set of light wheels mounted with road tires and a 2nd set of beefier wheels mounted with CX tires so that I could easily swap out my wheels depending upon the terrain I wanted to ride. In the meantime my favorite bike of my 3 is my Redline Conquest CX bike. It's aluminum with a carbon fork and very smooth. It's not super heavy, either...I think maybe 21#s.

Thanks for all the input. I have never cycled with the drop handlebars and to be honest, am a bit wary of trying them, preferring the straight handlebars, another reason I have avoided a road bike. I don't know how I'd get on cycling in that sort of position. I just want a sort of in between in terms of speed, where I am not coming to a crawl whenever there is a gust of wind coming my way.

I cannot spend vast amounts, probably up to around £500, the cost of the boardman comp, would be my limit.

I suppose it is between the boardman and the trek really, as I have not found a local stockist of Giant. There are Marins locally too.
So far, the furthest I have gone in a day is about 50 miles, but the effort it is taking is putting me off going to further out places I would like to go.

You'll love having a new better bike that weighs less, regardless of what style you get. Buy it from a store that let you really test it and properly fits it for you! Most bikes are designed with men's body shapes in mind (longer torsos) so it is particularly important that the reach be correct. I used to teach beginning mountain biking to women and over and over again I saw women come with new bikes that were too big for them.

I'd also say that you may want to think about training for longer distances if that is what you want to do. A classic group ride is a 100 miles and cycle magazines will have good training regimes to get you ready. They generally include shorter speed work days during the week and then progressively longer rides on the weekend. These training schedules are probably on the internet as well this stuff is probably on the internet as well. I found one that is very straightforward and also talks about some strength training to accompany it. Here's that link but I didn't do much searching: http://www.adventurecorps.com/way/centtrain2007.html

Obviously, you don't have to sign up for an organized century, you can just set a day that you want to ride a hundred miles in about 6-10 weeks and start working towards it. Though I recommend having someone to ride it with. I did my only hundred mile ride by myself in hilly Austria and it was lonely (if gorgeous).