Bicycles Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for people who build and repair bicycles, people who train cycling, or commute on bicycles. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I am wondering why would someone choose a touring bike which is twice as much as a hybrid bike, after evaluating this.
An aluminum frame hybrid bike is capable of carrying more weight than a steel frame touring bike. Apart from the geometry and steel (for flexibility) what is the rational for choosing a touring bike? Even with same drive train components touring bike costs less. Could someone shed some light on this? What am I missing to appreciate between the two?
Other points - you've assumed that from this pair, all steel bikes have lower load limits than aluminium ones.
a. This is a sample of two, and we can't be confident that either represents the "average" of those frame styles.
b. Components. Its not stated in the example, but "N-speed disk brake" could include cable-braked Tiagra, or hydraulic brakes on GRX or any number of other combinations from SRAM or Microshift or other suppliers. So the component choice can make a large difference to the price.
c. As pictured, one bike has front and rear racks, (worth several hundred dollars by themselves) and therefore has hard points to mount them. A bike where the racks are wrapped around stays and brake bolts might be lighter, but are not as robust.
d. Tyre clearances - noone wants to ride for days on a pizza cutter tyre. The wider tyre will be more comfortable, as long as it fits in the frame. Either frame material can have clearances, but that may be relevant in one's choice.
Last point is a little cynical. If a bike maker can sell you another bike, then they make more money. Whether you need a road, CX, gravel, hybrid, and touring road bike, or a dozen different MTBs for various disciplines, that's irrelevant. What matters is if they can convince you to buy another bike.
You can totally ride a commuter on a tour, or commute on your racy road bike, or take that road bike on some singletrack. Will it be "best" ? No, but it'll be fun.
Noone has a bottomless wallet, so we do have to make fiscally-responsible choices, like choosing 105 instead of Duraace. Some people have to choose Tourney because the alternative is no-bike. Rather than agonise over choice, go with the choice you personally find most comfortable.
I have both a steel tourer and an aluminium hybrid, of the trekking subtype. The hybrid has mounting points for front and rear racks, and I've run with both. Taking into account inflation they were a similar price (hybrid: £700 in 2010, tourer: £900 in 2017) but because the tourer is newer it's got 27 instead of 24 gears, and disc brakes. They're a similar weight and run similar tyres (32-35mm, puncture protected).
Touring with short days would be perfectly possible on the hybrid, and I've done some 70km commutes on it. But it's nowhere near as good for multiple long days in the saddle because:
The frame weight limits aren't an issue in either case. I can't recall them but both are plenty for me and all my kit in practice (I've probably exceeded the limit on the hybrid, meaning a new back wheel after only 5 years - but accelerated wear isn't a big deal). Only the lightest bikes sold as tourers will have a lower weight limit than many hybrids, but there are some rock-solid hybrids as this style is popular including with heavier riders
Lots of reasons - Start with a couple-
Material - Steel is reparable by any competent engineer with a welder is probably the biggest advantage in this case. Aluminum has a fatigue life steel does no suffer from, so a steel frame can last forever. Throw in the lack of reparability of Aluminum, and steel is a superiors choice for people wanting a bike that lasts and head into the far corners of the world.
Geometry - while the geometry might be similar, tourers are build for hours on the road with heavy loads, hybrids tend to be aimed at commuters and weekend warriors. Simple things like slightly longer chain stays so heels clear panniers make big diffrence.
Fixing points Tourers are designed for lots of racks of various configuration's. They usually have multiple fixing points so weight distribution can be optimized. Hybrids, if they have fixing points, tend to have one position for everything.
Wheels Tourer's wheels are usually more robust. Weight rating is one thing, but carrying maximum weight for thousands of kilometers without need to truing is far more important of a tourer than a hybrid.
One word, drop bar. It's comfortable, offers lots of hand positions, and most positions are very aerodynamic with a drop bar. A flat bar has only one hand position and it's very unnatural, unconfortable and unaerodynamic.
Even if I was offered a non-drop-bar bike for free, I wouldn't take it. I don't want to store such crap in my limited storage areas.
It is very unfortuate that drop bar bikes are rather expensive today, especially if considering "reasonable" bikes, bikes that can take kickstand, fenders, lights, wide tires, pannier racks, and can carry cargo and don't have the handlebar 20 centimeters below the saddle. I don't think there's any technical reason for that. Drop bar shifters are somewhat more expensive but some money can be saved by choosing bar-end shifters as opposed to STI shifters. There's some labor and material needed for wrapping the handlebar with bar tape. Also manufacturing a drop bar is probably more expensive than manufacturing a flat bar as the bar needs to be curved, but even given that, 30 euros is enough to buy a quality drop bar. So I don't see how the manufacturing difficulties would increase the price more than 100 - 200 euros.
