Help Choosing a Hybrid Bicycle

chris1012

Hi guys,

I do not know much about bicycles however I need a bicycle in a budget of £300-£400 to use mainly for leisure - local cycling on the roads, some off road (field with hills and some drops) and possible future commuting to work.

From my limited knowledge and a little research, it seems to me I need a hybrid bike.

The few I have had a look and are in budget are the following -

1. 2015 Giant Escape 3 Hybrid
2. Boardman Hybrid Comp
3. Carrera Crosspath Hybrid
4. Carrera Crossfire 2 Hybrid
5. Trek 8.2 DS Hybrid

The bike will be kept outdoors in a bike shed, so ideally I need a bike that can with stand all weather conditions (the bike hanger has a roof to protect from direct rain but the sides have air holes) and ideally less than 11kg in weight (the lighter the better).

I am not sure if there are any other better bikes in my price range and welcome any other suggestions.

Many Thanks

jbainbridge

Of those - probably the Boardman. Also look at the Voodoo Marasa - again at Halfords.

However given your requirements - why not get a mountain bike? The fatter tyres will make it nicer off road. It will still work on the road too - mine does 50/50 on/off road - I enjoy both.

Do seriously consider Gumtree / Ebay. I spent £300 on a mountain bike this year from Gumtree - it was £700 2 years ago and barely used.

Richard53

Just an observation: a shed as you describe, with a roof and ventilation in the sides, is possibly the best of all options for storing a vehicle of any kind. The roof protects it from rain and the ventilation allows it to dry out. Much better than a closed, well-sealed garage, which can make a car (and bike) rust faster than being out in the weather. Just make sure you have your security sorted.

AndyBSG

chris1012 wrote: »

local cycling on the roads, some off road (field with hills and some drops) and possible future commuting to work.

In all honesty, for what you want it for you are going to end up with a bike that does all of what you want but does none of it well because of the bit i've highlighted in bold.

If the bold bit wasn't in there I would strongly recommend a hybrid without suspension because for your budget the suspension is going to be cheap, heavy, prone to failure and not very good so would say avoid the Trek or Crossfire and lean towards the Boardman or Giant(Carrera Subway may also be an option).

The bit in bold though makes me think you may need suspension.

When you say drops do you mean just bumping down the occasional kerb sized drop or more regular drops from higher heights?

Suspension forks are really going to make a huge difference to the amount of effort required to cycle and speed you can reach.

esuhl

I don't know much about bikes, but having ridden a couple of mountain bikes and a couple of hybrids, costing roughly the same, I find the mountain bikes so much more versatile.

I bought a fairly standard (but half-decent) mountain bike with front suspension. The suspension is remote-controlled, so I can lock it off when I don't want it (i.e. going uphill). I swapped the clipless pedals for flats, got some ergonomic hand grips, a comfy saddle, and attached a rack for paniers.

So... I've sort-of converted my mountain bike into what I consider to be a sort-of hybrid or cross-country-ish bike. It's great fun and comfortable on road or off. Technically it's not so efficient on-road due to the grippy mountain bike tyres, but control and braking are superb, so I'm happy with the trade-off.

Keep_pedalling

Not so efficient on road is rather an understatement, sorry but knobbly tyres and heavy suspension is just horrible. Might be OK for a very short ride, but only a cycling masochist would want to ride more than a couple of miles on such a set up.

esuhl

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Not so efficient on road is rather an understatement, sorry but knobbly tyres and heavy suspension is just horrible. Might be OK for a very short ride, but only a cycling masochist would want to ride more than a couple of miles on such a set up.

The suspension is actually really light. I did 50 miles a week or so ago, most of it on the road. Maybe I'm a masochist?!

Keep_pedalling

esuhl wrote: »

The suspension is actually really light. I did 50 miles a week or so ago, most of it on the road. Maybe I'm a masochist?!

Sounds like it , try the same ride with slicks and see how much faster it is.

Kiran

I've got a Cube Nature Pro and find it a really enjoyable ride, up and down hills as well as some off road.

esuhl

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Sounds like it , try the same ride with slicks and see how much faster it is.

Riding with slicks sounds scary! I once tried some Michelin Dry knobbly tyres and they scared the carp out of me with their lack of grip and twitchy handling.

Also, the 1/3rd of the journey that was off-road wouldn't have been much fun with slicks, I imagine. Wouldn't you lose control riding through wet mud?

I find (even my cheapish) front-suspension priceless on the roads, though. I wouldn't like to hit a pothole without front suspension.

But then plenty of people ride stiff road bikes with slicks and no suspension and I don't see mounds of bikes and bodies by the side of the potholes, so somehow they seem to manage them!

Keep_pedalling

esuhl wrote: »

Riding with slicks sounds scary! I once tried some Michelin Dry knobbly tyres and they scared the carp out of me with their lack of grip and twitchy handling.

Also, the 1/3rd of the journey that was off-road wouldn't have been much fun with slicks, I imagine. Wouldn't you lose control riding through wet mud?

I find (even my cheapish) front-suspension priceless on the roads, though. I wouldn't like to hit a pothole without front suspension.

But then plenty of people ride stiff road bikes with slicks and no suspension and I don't see mounds of bikes and bodies by the side of the potholes, so somehow they seem to manage them!

Tread on road tyres does not help with grip, a good set of slicks will grip better than a tyre with tread as you have more surface on the road.. My town bike and recently acquired road bike have zero tread. My touring bike which I do take on tracks (not muddy ones) does have some tread.

You can get knobbly types with a smooth centre section which is probably the best bet for mixed riding.

The truth is one bike is never enough.