Hybrids offroad

[john_p]

What's the "worst" sort of terrain you can expect a hybrid bike to cope with?

I assume they're OK on dry grass, gravel paths etc - just not too hot on rocky downhills/mud pits? (Not that my current MTB is either!)

Thinking of going the hybrid route for longer road trips, but still like the ability to slightly offroad (5-10%) so guess a road bike is out.

[jacobyte]

Hybrids are fine for anywhere that doesn’t have deep mud etc. As long as any gravel/dirt/mud is not as deep as the sidewall you should be fine.

If you’re running road tyres (say 32 width slicks), you might want to lower the pressure to about 50-60lbs on hard stony paths. Or get some 40 “city” tyres with a knobbly edge.

My OH has a Trek 7.5, which is spot on for road and the local forest gravel paths. It would be fairly useless for proper offroad stuff though.

[mk1fan]

The most limiting factors of 'hybrids' are usually the tyres and the stupid suspension forks. Cyclo-cross bikes cope just fine with riding off-road.

If you're going to buy a second bike for use on the road and 'canal paths' off road then a flat bar road bike with 700cx32 treaded tyres (Schwalbe Marathon Plus spring to mind) will give sufficient roll on road and grip off road. The size of the tyre will also give some cushioning from road buzz.

[pawsmcgraw]

we've tried a couple of hybrids and its worled real well.A CRX city pro from Giant with cyclocross tyres on was awsome fast!Climbs the mtb tracks fine, just steady downhill.Very harsh, obviously, on the rough, but smooth enough on the tow path type terrain.Loads faster on the tar seal too!