Road Bike vs Hybrid

Everyone wonders whether to get a road bike vs a hybrid bike.  I will be the first to tell you that I can't make that decision for you and no one else can.  I will tell you my experience.  As I said, I have a lot of catching up to do on this blog.  Last year, almost a year ago now, I test rode a road bike and hybrid bike back to back.  I ended up not buying either because of my budget not allowing me too.  I probably could have squeezed in the hybrid, but after riding both I decided that I liked the road bike better. 

I will start talking about the hybrid by saying there is nothing wrong with a hybrid and they have a place for some people.  Those who tend to ride only on the road and not do long distances will probably enjoy a hybrid bike.  They are a great fitness bike and great for those who have children as they can be ridden with them.  I noticed in my test ride of the Trek FX 7.1 that it didn't turn as well as the Trek 1.1 road bike, but I felt more stable.  Now this was the first time I had rode a bike in about 15 years so that probably had a little to do with how I felt about the stability.  Hybrids are not bad bikes, but they are heavier than a road bike.  However, they are much lighter than most mountain bikes.  Again we are talking about beginner level bikes.  Hybrid bikes are almost ideal for those who want to take a short afternoon ride and don't care about riding 25, 50, or 100 mile endurance rides.

I rode the Trek 1.1 road bike after the FX 7.1.  The steering felt more twitchy with the road bike and one of the first things you notice is just how narrow the tires are.  I will say this was the first time I had been on a road bike as I had always owned bmx, freestyle, and moutain bikes as a child.  I did notice the the road bike turned much better in my opinion and I felt more comfortable as I rode it.  For those starting out, the shifters on a hybrid with the mountain bike style rapid fire thumb shifter may be easier to use than the road bike shifters.  The Trek 1.1 has shimano 2300 shifters which requires shifting up by moving the brake lever in and shifting down using your thumb on a trigger to the inside of the handle bars.  The hybrid does have a more relaxed feel, but the road bike isn't bad when you are on top of the hoods, which is where you have to be to shift down. 
My advice if you are trying to decide between a road bike vs a hybrid is to ride both.  I would suggest you try to ride them back to back to get a feel and maybe even ride them twice.  I would also suggest that you ride different brands and different models within brands.  Each bike tends to have it's own fit and feel.