Any Marin riders out there?

[countryrider]

I'm in the market for a new bike and am looking for advice. I've been riding a Marin hybrid for many years, and I love it, except that I can't keep up with other riders on road bikes. Marin now has a new line called the Alp that is classified as a road bike, but has slightly wider tires, flat handlebars and brake and shift levers like a mt. bike or hybrid. So, it still sounds like a hybrid to me, but they claim it's faster. Has anyone tried one of these? If so, how do you like it? Has it helped your speed?

[Zen]

That looks very similar to the Trek FX series.
Trek calls them "fitness bikes". A higher end model could be considered a flat-bar road bike.
It will be faster than your hybrid but whether or not you can keep up depends on the riding ability of the other riders and you.

[countryrider]

Thanks, Zen!
You're right, of course, and I don't ever expect to keep up with the really fast riders; I don't even want to. It's just that several of the women I've been riding with regularly say I'm a strong rider, and they don't think I'd have any trouble keeping up if I were on a road bike. But I don't think I'd like the more bent over position of the traditional road bike, so I'm leary of buying one. On the other hand, if the Alp is just another hybrid packaged as a road bike, I won't be any better off than I am now.

[Cataboo]

You can ride a road bike without having to bend over. you can just ride on top of the hoods or on the flats of the bars - just make sure when you go to a bike shop to tell them that you want a relaxed non-aggressive position. I think specialized has pretty relaxed geometry on some of their bikes (the ruby), as does a few of the other manufacturers.

I have had a marin and have a marin frame I'm building up now - but I haven't tried the marin that you're talking about.

[Zen]

On the other hand, if the Alp is just another hybrid packaged as a road bike, I won't be any better off than I am now.

There are different levels of that bike. The higher end ones are as good as some road bikes.
In other words, it is a road bike, it just has flat bars.