# 29er vs hybrid with 700cc



## schwag27 (Jun 1, 2011)

looking at buying my first bike. how much advantage will the hybrid road style bike give me on a 10 mile one way ride to work vs a mtb bike with 29ers. 

it is about 5 miles of paved trail and 5 miles of street/city.

thanks for any input

mike


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## AllisonWunderland (Jun 7, 2011)

Hybrid is for road riding. It's a toned down racing bike -- a bit heavier, capable of carrying loads, luggage. Frame geometry on a hybrid is not as responsive as a racing bicycle. "Responsive" as in "skittish" -- fast steering, and reactive to every little quirk in you riding style. Hybrid is tamer. 

29" wheel is for MTB -- off road. You could set it up for road. There are smooth tread tires for road riding and you pump them up to 80 psi or thereabouts. But you're spending $$$ for suspension, and the suspension on the road just sucks up your pedal energy. (Which is why road racing bikes are stiff framed.) 

For a commute on pavement you'd be best served with the hybrid. Faster, lighter, more efficient. But you don't want to take it off the pavement.


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## schwag27 (Jun 1, 2011)

*thanks - i guess it comes*

down to wanting suspension or not. what if i am able to lock the front suspension and just cruise? is there still a big drop off?

how easily do rims on the hybrids/road bikes get bent or out of whack?

the two bikes in question are a diamondback overdrive (around 450) and a marin belvidere (around 400) due to the pricing i can get on them.

appreciate the info.


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## tpm7 (May 14, 2007)

schwag27 said:


> down to wanting suspension or not. what if i am able to lock the front suspension and just cruise? is there still a big drop off?
> 
> how easily do rims on the hybrids/road bikes get bent or out of whack?
> 
> ...


If you're doing any mountain biking at all with it, either get a 29er or get a mountain bike for the trails and a cheap road bike beater for commuting. If it's just for commuting a hybrid will do the job well. I guess it all comes down to want you want to do with this bike and get out of riding it? You have tons of options, you just have to narrow down your needs a bit.


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## schwag27 (Jun 1, 2011)

i guess it seems mostly commuting but i suppose i would like the option down the road of doing some light trails

will the lockable front suspenion but helpful when commuting on paved trails or not much of a difference?


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## LyNx (Oct 26, 2004)

Do yourself a favour, don't waste your money to buy a cheaper HT as the fork will SUCK. You cannot get a decent suspension fork on a bike under $700 (seems obvious since a good fork costs at least $250 retail). Look at a rigid 29er MTB bike with better components and then, down the road when you're ready to hit some trails if the rigid is too rough for you buy a suspension fork then. I own a SURLY Karate Monkey and it gets used mainly to commute using 38mm semi slick tyres, but on occassion I throw on some knobbies and have fun off road with it. If you're doing light rail trails a rigid with some nice high volume tyres will be fine.


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## tpm7 (May 14, 2007)

schwag27 said:


> i guess it seems mostly commuting but i suppose i would like the option down the road of doing some light trails
> 
> will the lockable front suspenion but helpful when commuting on paved trails or not much of a difference?


The lockout will help a lot IMO (personally I've never ridden lockout before, but the difference between an unlocked fork and a rigid fork is huge). In that case you could get a 29er and get a set of slick tires for it. If you're riding light trails you could also go for a rigid fork on a 29er, which will give you the stiffness up front you want, the lightweight for commuting and the off-road capability as well (provided you swap to knobby tires for the trails).

I'm sure others will have some better input on this but if it were me that's the way I would go for an all-round bike for your needs: a rigid 29er and a set of slicks for commuting. I believe the Redline D 440 would probably fit the above criteria well.


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## Ice Cold (Aug 20, 2008)

Cannondale Quick CX 3 or CX 1 best of both worlds. I know I own them.


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https://flic.kr/p/5779158497

just look at it goes on trails no problemo, Continental Double Fighter II's perfect.

I use Slick Continental Sport Contacts for Street use and lock out the front suspension. Thanks to 700c this bike is super fast.


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https://flic.kr/p/5760538359

very high quality bikes

25 and 26 lbs respectively. thats pretty light for what they are.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...Bikes&rt=nc&si=aKHGb6b3WwBh4CrV4lhH0d3bmeY%3D


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## schwag27 (Jun 1, 2011)

*good info - thanks*

i was lookoing at comparing these two

2010 29er diamondback overdrive - will be about $450

.rei.com/product/813911/diamondback-overdrive-29er-mountain-bike-2010-special-buy[/url]

or possibly this

2010 marin belvidere hybrid - will be about $400

.rei.com/product/822201/marin-belvedere-hybrid-road-bike-2010-closeout[/url]

i can't post links yet - sorry


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## Crash Test Dumby (May 3, 2011)

I own the 2010 Diamondback Overdrive and I love it. BUT, I don't think I would recommend it as a commuter. I am seriously thinking about digging out my ancient Panasonic Villager and changing it over to a flat bar for my city street rides with the wife and kids. The DB does ok, but I don't want to wreck my knobbies, can't afford a complete second wheelset, and am not going to be changing the tires out multiple times a week. I have no experience with the other bikes mentioned, so I don't want to throw out speculation.


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## pfox90 (Aug 8, 2010)

DB makes a dual sport bike perfect for the commute. It's called the Trace. They have 3 models I think the entry level one would be in your price range. If you have a Dick's around you they can order it through special order or you can order it from the website.

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10850663


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## Ice Cold (Aug 20, 2008)

Because it may help the OP I use Slick on my Cannondale Trail SL 3 2011 all matte black looks alot like this bike

they are Michelin Wild Run R tires very fast low rolling resistance. This is what you need. And the slicks get alot of dirty looks from people with MTB's running knobbiy tires for city street which makes absolutely no sense.

Heck I have since switched over to 700x37c because 26" make little sense when my riding is all street.

Have never looked back

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VVlI0nbpYbk/TC4Ctldap3I/AAAAAAAAAHM/Q7431B1lp9g/s1600/P1030607.JPG

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VVlI0nbpYbk/TC4CtKmxDiI/AAAAAAAAAHE/HOtWHKH-gwU/s1600/P1030605.JPG

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VVlI0nbpYbk/TC4CsrKZ8qI/AAAAAAAAAG8/4ylUk7fs2ZU/s1600/P1030598.JPG


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## getagrip (Mar 26, 2008)

Honestly, I think you would be a lot better off with a mountain bike. Yes, they have fatter tires, but many are equipped with tires that can handle both on and off road (e.g. Trek 820, 3700). Basically, you will be extremely limited with what you can do on a hybrid, but a mountain bike is more versitle. Above and beyond that, a mountain bike will feel a lot more "solid" on the road too.


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## PerthMTB (May 2, 2011)

I have a hybrid and an MTB. Hate the MTB on the road, geometry all wrong, unnecessarily complex, suspension is a PITA - but then wouldn't use anything else on the trails where it really comes into its own. Sounds like OP will do 99% of his riding on roads, with the occasional tame trail - so there's no doubt a hybrid will give him a better ride on the road. For some easy trails he can put some medium sized nobbly tires on, and it'll be fine. When he gets the bug for more serious off road, he can invest in a 'proper' MTB. There's no true 'do it all bike', so if trying to get away with just one bike, pick the one that's right for the majority of your riding....


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## H200 (Mar 4, 2011)

I have 700x47 tires on my hybrid which gives a nice soft ride


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## KVW (Aug 11, 2011)

I find my 32x700c hybrid is only about 1 - 1.5mph faster *avg *over my regular 16 mile paved trail rides than my hardtail 29er with locked out fork (at the same pedal effort - i always push myself).

Both weigh about the same at about 25lbs, both have flat-bar handlebars (ie. same wind resistance), the only significant change is the wider tire and knobbies on the mtb which adds rolling resistance.

Perhaps the 29er makes up for it's rolling resistance some by the sheer size of the wheel. It keeps it's momentum once brought to speed and there's not much slowing down on the street vs actual mtb trail riding.

I've tested this repeatedly and it actually surprised me at first, making me feel as if my road bike is obsolete by my mtb. What's the point if it only nets me a 1mph gain right? The mtb is also alot easier on my bum over the bumps. The only reason why I still choose to ride my road bike instead is because it's worth a lot less and I don't stress over it when I leave it locked at the gym or safeway.


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## Rush 29 (Oct 3, 2011)

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

Good info, I'm still looking for a 29er, started thinking about a Hybrid since most my initial use will be paved paths,
But keep coming back to . . . . 

Trek Marlin w/tallest longest frame (22) & locking suspension fork :madman: ( I'm 6' 7" )

Don't have the huge budget & new marlin from LBS is 580.00,
they will to put any tire I want on it.

:thumbsup:


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