Why a hybrid bike?

I ride a KHS hybrid bike, since I find it gives me the best mix of road and off road at a great price. My gearing is superb - it’ll really climb - and smooth. My KHS hybrid has been known to ride around Lake Tahoe - not with me on it however. LOL.  I’ve made some real converts from other brand bikes for the money.

I find that my KHS hybrid is well suited to commuter style road cycling, but I’ve kept up with my serious road cyclist friends, too. I can also veer off-road onto dirt and unpaved roads without much problem.

           Features borrowed from mountain bikes:

• a more upright frame, offering a more comfortable riding position
• a stouter frame that can handle more weight — in rider and/or cargo — as well as absorb the day-in, day-out punishment of potholes, etc., that you might encounter in a commute
• slightly wider tires for better traction and stability
  

  Features that come from road bikes

   Features borrowed from road bikes:

• lighter rims for faster riding
• lighter components and taller gearing for going faster

My KHS is highly customizable, with an adjustable stems so that I could custom fit my bike to me and how I ride - and I have about 800 miles on my bike this summer alone. It’s also easy to trick out my bike with a Topeak ‘trunk’ and pannier bags to make my rides easy and fun - including shopping.

This year, I customized my handlebars with Ergon GC3 grips and have been really happy with them.  These grips give me more hand positions on longer rides, and reduce hand fatigue and numbness.

I ride with bike shoes and use cleat pedals, since I think they are far safer than toe clips ( which I call death clips) which I cycled all over Europe with waaaaay back in the day. Cleats also offer much better transfer of power, making you a faster, stronger, more dynamic rider.

Wheels: The wheels on a hybrid bike are a true combination of what you find on road and mountain bikes. Wider, like a mountain bike for greater stability and durability, but then with a higher recommended air pressure that puts them in the same level as a road bike when it comes to inflation level. The higher air pressure allows them to go faster by reducing rolling resistance. Think about how a properly inflated basketball bounces compared to one that is even slightly flat. Same concept.

The rims and spokes on hybrids are lighter too like a road bike, since the assumption is that you won’t be doing the rougher off-road riding that mountain biking entails.

Frame: Most hybrid bike frames are made of lightweight aluminum or steel (also called “cro-moly”), due to the strength and durability the materials offers and their (relatively) low price.

Handlebars: The handlebars on a hybrid are typically flat like a mountain bike, and go straight out from the stem. With a wider grip, usually about shoulder width, these handlebars allow riders to sit upright and offer a better position for vision and control of the bike than the handlebars on a road bike.

Riding position: Like a mountain bike, a hybrid’s design allows riders sit upright in a position that gives them best control of the bike with well-placed center of gravity and in a posture that reduces strain on the rider’s neck and back.

Gears: Hybrids have a wide range of gearing to allow the rider to both climb hills and go fast on flats and downhills. Not usually equipped with gears in as low range as a mountain bike, the hybrid’s gearing set-up is more similar to road bikes.

Typically a hybrid bike will have either two or three chain rings in the front as part of the crank assembly, again along the lines of what you’d find on a road bike. In the back you’ll find eight or nine gears in the cassette on the rear wheel, a combination that allows for anywhere from 16 to 27 possible gear combinations, which will account for virtually every need a hybrid rider will have in town or on the bike path.

Pedals: Basic hybrids bikes come equipped with platform pedals. This is useful if you’re the type of rider who frequently puts your feet down. Other more advanced riders may prefer to use toe clips or even clipless pedals that allow the rider to secure his or her cleated shoes to the pedals, but people have different levels of comfort when it comes to being fully attached to the bike given the frequent stops you migth encounter riding in traffic.

Accessories: for a hybrid bike include a cyclocomputer, frame pump, tool bag, water bottle and cage. This is about all you need to be self-sufficient when riding in town.

What does it take to make a city truly bicycle friendly?

Uh, Copenhagen just might have some answers. I’m soooo jealous. Especially about the embedded LED lights in the roadway to protect cyclists from right turn incidents.

Here’s how the Dutch let you store your bike securely at the train station

And check out what the Norwegians can do to get you -the cyclist - up a hill easier and faster

or even in Paris, France