Hybrid bicycle/Mountain Bike required for commuting and off road

chris1012

Hi guys,

I do not know much about bicycles however I need a bicycle in a budget of £300-£500 to commute to work 3 days week 15miles and occasional off road biking.

A friend who knows far more about bikes than I do has suggested to go for a hardpan (front suspension bike).
For me the main requirements are -
1. Weight, the lighter the better
2. Comfort (need a good seat)
3. Reputable in terms of quality/longevity (it will be kept in an out door bike shed)


The few I have had a look at are the following -

1. Evans Cycles - GT Avalanche Sport 2015 Mountain Bike
2. Trek 8.2 DS
3. Boardman Hybrid Comp Bike

I am not sure if there are any other better bikes in my price rangea, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Many Thanks

rsvtoddy

I have a Boardman hybrid and rate it highly (also a very light carbon road bike as a comparison) and take it off road on forest tracks where it is fine. If you are commuting on roads for a large part do not get a bike with suspension as this makes it harder to pedal. Saddles are a very subjective item re comfort - a wide gel saddle will not be comfortable after a few miles! I changed mine to a chargespoon as that's what I know is comfortable for me. If you join British Cycling you will get a 10% discount at Halfords on top of any other discount and they quite regularly do reductions on the Boardmans. Just remember to also get a decent lock to keep it safe.
Good luck!

Keep_pedalling

When you say off road do you mean the odd track or tow path or something a bit more hard core? A mountain bike with suspension and big fat knobbly tires is about the worst thing you can buy for commuting.

You say you want light, but cheap sus forks = heavy

chris1012

Thank you for your responses.

When I say off track I mean odd dirt tracks, hills/uneven mud track.

AndyBSG

chris1012 wrote: »

Thank you for your responses.

When I say off track I mean odd dirt tracks, hills/uneven mud track.

If that is the case then getting front suspension forks is a waste IMO for several reasons.

- You don't need them for dirt tracks/a few bumps. Front forks are only really needed if you are going to be doing lots of jumps and drops down real steep/off road terrain.

- They add a lot of weight that will just need more effort from you and slow you down.

- For your budget you're only going to get cheap, not very good forks.

- It's just something else that can go wrong on the bike and cost money to maintain and repair.

You're much better off getting a hybrid with no suspension so the money wasted on forks is actually being budgeted for elsewhere in the form of brake, gear, tyre upgrades.

Halfords Carrera Subway is a good value entry level hybrid which will leave plenty of change for accessories like decent tyres, pump, lock, lights etc.

At the top end of your budget the Boardman Hybrid Comp is a nice bike(can't believe the first two bikes i've recommended are from Halfords!).

Others to look at are the Pinnacle Neon, B'Twin Triban, Giant Escape, Giant Rapid, Specialized Sirrus or Cannondal Quick.

Out of all of those, I'd probably go for the Giant or Cannondale.