It's hard to avoid the packs of guys on the weekends in their semi-pro gear cycling in their spiffy bikes. So I thought it would be a great way to broaden my social circle by joining a club which gets together on a fairly regular basis. But, in order to join, I'd first need to get a bike.
It seems the most popular bikes in these packs are the racing/road variety. But, I think I'd rather go the route of a fitness/hybrid sort with its somewhat thicker 28mm tires. And, although I don't need necessarily to fit in, I wouldn't also want to stick out like a sore thumb nor be limitied to a fewer groups because of the lack of a true racing bike.
Do most clubs have certain requirements, or are they pretty informal in nature? Judging by the selection of hybrid fiets in some of the local bike shops, the hybrid/fitness bikes seem very limited and fairly unpopular. It seems most guys have either a stadsfiets or omafiets and/or a race fiets. Is it that they are an undiscovered variety, or are they unpopular for a reason?
Any thoughts for a newcomer to NL and someone who is new to the road bike?
