Light, low geared hybrid?

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
dodgy
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Joined: 31 Dec 2010, 5:53pm

Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by dodgy »

I'm looking for a new bike for my partner who is getting back into cycling after a few years off. She's fairly short and doesn't want to be stretched out so drops are probably out. So we're looking for either a flat bar road bike or hybrid which, as we live in a hilly area (Kendal) needs to be lightish and with low gears.
The only bikes we can come up with are the Liv Thrive 2 or the Liv Alight 1, neither of which are ideal.

Any ideas?
AndyK
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Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by AndyK »

To give us a steer, what are the problems with the Liv bikes you mention? Gears not low enough, or something else?
Jamesh
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Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by Jamesh »

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/reviews/b ... ybrid-bike

Boardman hybrid? 44-46 x1 gearing?

Cheers James
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TrevA
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Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by TrevA »

My wife rides a ladies Trek FX2, not that light but very low gears, hydraulic disk brakes and a comfortable upright position, and without the suspension forks that aren’t needed for road and trail riding.
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Bonefishblues
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Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by Bonefishblues »

Whyte Carnaby. My wife loves hers with a passion.
djnotts
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Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by djnotts »

Jamesh wrote: 15 Oct 2021, 1:22pm https://www.cyclingweekly.com/reviews/b ... ybrid-bike

Boardman hybrid? 44-46 x1 gearing?

Cheers James
Lowest gear c.26"?
gcogger
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Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by gcogger »

What price range are you considering? My wife has an IslaBikes Janis and loves it, although it's a step through frame. It's very light and has very low gearing.

https://www.islabikes.co.uk/products/icon-janis
dodgy
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Joined: 31 Dec 2010, 5:53pm

Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by dodgy »

Thanks for the replies.

We're really concerned about the hills around here! We only moved north from a really flat area recently, so are focused on light and low geared. Probably an £800 ish limit.

She has in the past used an old MTB with 1.5" slicks and really low gears 24 x 30 = 20 inch? and would like similarly low gearing if poss.

The Liv Thrive is light but the gears seem too high. The Liv Alight's gears seem ok but looks like it may be a bit heavy and tyres are a bit on the wide/chunky side. Perhaps we're being picky but with spending £800 I'd hoped to get something just right?
Eyebrox
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Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by Eyebrox »

I had an Orbea Carpe 20 (£650/£750) in for servicing. Was impressed by how light it was and the gearing (single 42T alloy ring at front and 36 biggest cog at back).
philvantwo
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Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by philvantwo »

Mick F will tell you what gearing you need!
He can pedal up any hill except this one.....
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CyberKnight
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Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by CyberKnight »

the liv alight has these tyres according to the spec sheet
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Nigel
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Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by Nigel »

dodgy wrote: 15 Oct 2021, 5:29pm .........

The Liv Thrive is light but the gears seem too high. The Liv Alight's gears seem ok but looks like it may be a bit heavy and tyres are a bit on the wide/chunky side. Perhaps we're being picky but with spending £800 I'd hoped to get something just right?
Tyres are simpler, and usually cheaper, to replace than gears... And a bike shop might even swap them at an advantageous price if the "wrong" ones are not ridden.

I'd quite happy with a bike with "wide" tyres; they're usually more comfortable on anything bumpy or pot-holed, or using coarse surface gravel in the tarmac. Heavy and chunky might be an issue.
djnotts
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Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by djnotts »

Eyebrox wrote: 15 Oct 2021, 5:42pm I had an Orbea Carpe 20 (£650/£750) in for servicing. Was impressed by how light it was and the gearing (single 42T alloy ring at front and 36 biggest cog at back).
Over 30" is far from low in OP's terms!

Even my full carbon road bike has a 22" bottom gear!
slowster
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Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by slowster »

dodgy wrote: 15 Oct 2021, 5:29pm Perhaps we're being picky but with spending £800 I'd hoped to get something just right?
Yes, you are being picky. Rightly so in respect of something so important and potentially expensive to change later as the gearing. Wrongly so in respect of the tyres on Liv Alight 1, not only because tyres are a consumable, but also because 38mm is a good size for general riding and touring (especially so when road surfaces are not great), as well as light off-road. In my experience the improvement in ride comfort of 38mm vs. 28mm tyres is noticeable even on an average chip and seal road surface, and I would much rather have the wider tyre, lower pressure and wider contact patch on the downhills in your area. In short, the ability of a bike to take 38mm tyres is a major plus point for me compared with some of the other bikes suggested.

It's certainly possible that the stock tyres on the Liv Alight 1 might well be not very good 38mm tyres (mass market manufacturers typically cut costs by fitting cheaper tyres). The benchmark fast light touring tyre is the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme, which used to cost ~£30 per tyre, but is now typically ~£40. Even at that higher price they are worth it. (One option would be to use the stock tyres for winter, and switch to faster, lighter tyres, like the Supremes, for summer.)

With regard to gears, as you say her MTB would have had a 20" bottom gear (assuming 26" wheels). The Liv Alight 1 has a bottom gear of 23". I would suggest she try to get a test ride of the bike to try to determine whether that is low enough. That will be a difficult judgement to make based on a short ride in flattish terrain, but it is potentially critical. Alternatively could she borrow a bike with a 23" or lower gear to try on your local hills? If she finds 23" low enough for the hills where you live, there is no problem. If she wanted even lower gears, there would be two options:

A. Fit a Spa Super Compact 40/24 chainset and square taper bottom bracket (cost of parts ~£100, potentially more if the front derailleur needs to be replaced, i.e. the long cages of some front derailleurs will foul on the chainstay when lowered for a chainset with a very small diameter outer chainring).

B. Fit an MTB triple chainset with 22t inner ring, e.g. like the one in the link below. That would necessitate replacing the road front and rear derailleurs and road shifters with MTB derailleurs and MTB shifters, in addition to fitting a square taper bottom bracket (cost of parts probably £150-£200, and more work to install and set up.)

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Shimano-FC-M37 ... _63608.htm

I doubt you would find an off the shelf bike fitted with either option A or B, so at the end of the day she might simply have to buy a bike like the Liv Alight 1 and see how she gets on with the stock gearing, changing it in due course only if she finds it necessary.

The link below illustrates the differences between the standard gearing on the Liv Alight 1 vs. a Spa Super Compact 40/24 chainset:

http://www.ritzelrechner.de/?GR=DERS&KB ... 6&UF2=2200

The link below illustrates the differences between the standard gearing on the Liv Alight 1 vs. a MTB 44/32/22 chainset:

http://www.ritzelrechner.de/?GR=DERS&KB ... 6&UF2=2200
dodgy
Posts: 30
Joined: 31 Dec 2010, 5:53pm

Re: Light, low geared hybrid?

Post by dodgy »

slowster wrote: 15 Oct 2021, 8:53pm
dodgy wrote: 15 Oct 2021, 5:29pm Perhaps we're being picky but with spending £800 I'd hoped to get something just right?
Yes, you are being picky. Rightly so in respect of something so important and potentially expensive to change later as the gearing. Wrongly so in respect of the tyres on Liv Alight 1, not only because tyres are a consumable, but also because 38mm is a good size for general riding and touring (especially so when road surfaces are not great), as well as light off-road. In my experience the improvement in ride comfort of 38mm vs. 28mm tyres is noticeable even on an average chip and seal road surface, and I would much rather have the wider tyre, lower pressure and wider contact patch on the downhills in your area. In short, the ability of a bike to take 38mm tyres is a major plus point for me compared with some of the other bikes suggested.

It's certainly possible that the stock tyres on the Liv Alight 1 might well be not very good 38mm tyres (mass market manufacturers typically cut costs by fitting cheaper tyres). The benchmark fast light touring tyre is the Schwalbe Marathon Supreme, which used to cost ~£30 per tyre, but is now typically ~£40. Even at that higher price they are worth it. (One option would be to use the stock tyres for winter, and switch to faster, lighter tyres, like the Supremes, for summer.)

With regard to gears, as you say her MTB would have had a 20" bottom gear (assuming 26" wheels). The Liv Alight 1 has a bottom gear of 23". I would suggest she try to get a test ride of the bike to try to determine whether that is low enough. That will be a difficult judgement to make based on a short ride in flattish terrain, but it is potentially critical. Alternatively could she borrow a bike with a 23" or lower gear to try on your local hills? If she finds 23" low enough for the hills where you live, there is no problem. If she wanted even lower gears, there would be two options:

A. Fit a Spa Super Compact 40/24 chainset and square taper bottom bracket (cost of parts ~£100, potentially more if the front derailleur needs to be replaced, i.e. the long cages of some front derailleurs will foul on the chainstay when lowered for a chainset with a very small diameter outer chainring).

B. Fit an MTB triple chainset with 22t inner ring, e.g. like the one in the link below. That would necessitate replacing the road front and rear derailleurs and road shifters with MTB derailleurs and MTB shifters, in addition to fitting a square taper bottom bracket (cost of parts probably £150-£200, and more work to install and set up.)

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Shimano-FC-M37 ... _63608.htm

I doubt you would find an off the shelf bike fitted with either option A or B, so at the end of the day she might simply have to buy a bike like the Liv Alight 1 and see how she gets on with the stock gearing, changing it in due course only if she finds it necessary.

The link below illustrates the differences between the standard gearing on the Liv Alight 1 vs. a Spa Super Compact 40/24 chainset:

http://www.ritzelrechner.de/?GR=DERS&KB ... 6&UF2=2200

The link below illustrates the differences between the standard gearing on the Liv Alight 1 vs. a MTB 44/32/22 chainset:

http://www.ritzelrechner.de/?GR=DERS&KB ... 6&UF2=2200
Wow! Thanks so much for taking the time to give me such a comprehensive answer. Much food for thought there, cheers.
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