# Can you recommend a reliable hybrid bicycle? Help please



## WhiteEagle197 (4 Feb 2012)

Hi,
I'm an enthusiastic amateur from Cambridgeshire. We have loads of lovely ultra-low traffic asphalt roads around here and I love to cycle on those. I have a five years old cheap (£160) Halfords Apollo hybrid alloy bicycle and I am not very satisfied with it at all - things get broken all the time, on a regular basis. So I decided to buy a better quality hybrid bicycle around March time. The only problem is that I am a dummy to better(ish) bicycles so I would need some help to choose the right one. If you can recommend any brand/model/etc or even link a few good ones from manufacturers'/shops' websites or from eBay/Amazon/etc that would be great. Here are the specs:
- Must be a hybrid bicycle
- Frame size/load to fit for a 184cm tall (between 6'0"-6'1") 80kg man
- 27"-28" wheel size - not too wide, not too thin and preferably reinforced/durable wheels (on my present bicycle a number of spokes broke so I had to replace the entire rear wheel...)
- 21-24 speeds
- Preferably alloy frame 
- Preferably telescopic suspension in front fork and in seatpost
- Preferably straight handlebar
- Preferably reinforced/durable bottom bracket/reinforced crank/bearings (more than one of my previous bicycles had bearings and other crank/pedal-related problems, and they were not the cheapest to have fixed)
- And most importantly: be reliable! If I go for a 50-60 miles round trip/tour around our town then I don't want to worry what brakes down this time and whether or not I get home by my cycle or I need to push it on the way home (also happened, took a few hours...).
- And finally, I am not very rich, so I couldn't really spend more than £400 at the most. But I hope there are a few good enough ones at or below that amount. I needed it for short tours only, not for racing etc so it doesn't have to be mega-hyper-superb, just good and reliable.
Thanks,
WE197


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## vickster (4 Feb 2012)

Why are you looking for suspension on a bike for those sorts of distances? Is it all rough terrain? Suspension adds weight and on a cheaper bike, will be heavy and not very good

You'd be better off with carbon forks if you are looking for comfort on the road 

The Halfords Carrera range seems pretty bullet proof and will be well within budget


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## NotFabian (4 Feb 2012)

Hi WE197,
I have had my Marin Mill valley for a couple of years now, Alu frame with rigid carbon forks and seat stays so very comfy, it was £1050 new but i know theyre around £700-800 on offer in places. Good components (part ultegra)and decent shimano R500 wheels. I know its over your budget 2nd hand may be an option??
Just so happens mine is about to go onto gumtree for around £300.


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## HLaB (4 Feb 2012)

I would stick away from suspension unless you are intending on going on fast off road downhills, its just an extra weight and another thing to go wrong. There's a lot of bikes out there which will meet your needs for less than £400. Personally I would also consider 700c wheel and increase your options. Typical recommendations are the Carrera Subway, Giant, or Spesh or Ed Co Ops own brands. I own a Ridgeback Velocity which for me has been a very reliable bike.

Edit: cross post, vickster has said similar to me with regards to suspension ;-)


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## WhiteEagle197 (4 Feb 2012)

vickster said:


> Why are you looking for suspension on a bike for those sorts of distances? Is it all rough terrain? Suspension adds weight and on a cheaper bike, will be heavy and not very good
> 
> You'd be better off with carbon forks if you are looking for comfort on the road
> 
> The Halfords Carrera range seems pretty bullet proof and will be well within budget


 
Thank you. As I said I'm dummies to bicycles, I don't know the technical details, I just ride them :-) My present bicycle is not very comfortable when using on older roads (rougher surface, some holes too etc), it shakes me, so I thought suspensions would help. Sometimes I go on dirt roads as well, but they are not very though, nothing that would call for a mountain bike. Maybe all I need is a gel seat and soft foam handlebar grips?


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## vickster (4 Feb 2012)

Certainly better grips will help - ergo ones with bar ends for more hand positions,. but not a gel saddle, they feel comfortable to sit on intially but not support. You are better with a well designed saddle and quality padded shorts

Suspension is energy sapping even when locked

I would find a good local bike shop and ask for advice


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## HLaB (4 Feb 2012)

WhiteEagle197 said:


> Thank you. As I said I'm dummies to bicycles, I don't know the technical details, I just ride them :-) My present bicycle is not very comfortable when using on older roads (rougher surface, some holes too etc), it shakes me, so I thought suspensions would help. Sometimes I go on dirt roads as well, but they are not very though, nothing that would call for a mountain bike. Maybe all I need is a gel seat and soft foam handlebar grips?


A good saddle helps not neccesarily gel but what is right for you, with some folk gel causes more movement and chaffs/ hurts more. Use your arms and legs for more effective suspension. Padded grips may indeed help as well as running your tyres at a comfortable pressure. Padded shorts and gloves help too :-)


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## WhiteEagle197 (4 Feb 2012)

NotFabian said:


> Hi WE197,
> I have had my Marin Mill valley for a couple of years now, Alu frame with rigid carbon forks and seat stays so very comfy, it was £1050 new but i know theyre around £700-800 on offer in places. Good components (part ultegra)and decent shimano R500 wheels. I know its over your budget 2nd hand may be an option??
> Just so happens mine is about to go onto gumtree for around £300.


 
Tell me more details :-) Is it in good shape? How many speeds? What size wheels? Any photo maybe? Where are you located - no point if you in Scotland :-))


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## WhiteEagle197 (4 Feb 2012)

HLaB said:


> I would stick away from suspension unless you are intending on going on fast off road downhills, its just an extra weight and another thing to go wrong. There's a lot of bikes out there which will meet your needs for less than £400. Personally I would also consider 700c wheel and increase your options. Typical recommendations are the Carrera Subway, Giant, or Spesh or Ed Co Ops own brands. I own a Ridgeback Velocity which for me has been a very reliable bike.
> 
> Edit: cross post, vickster has said similar to me with regards to suspension ;-)


 
Thank you. What is 700c? :-) I guess 700 is the diametre in mm, but what is c? My present bicycle got 700mm dia 35mm (or 38mm I'm not sure) wide tires, those seem about to be the right size for me.


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## Peteaud (4 Feb 2012)

For your money i would go for a good rigid, like the carrera. Your main problem is the forks in your price range are going to be heavy.

If you need forks, look at the giant roam 3 or trek 7000 (7.1 or 7.2) or maybe the spesh crosstrail.


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## HLaB (4 Feb 2012)

WhiteEagle197 said:


> Thank you. What is 700c? :-) I guess 700 is the diametre in mm, but what is c? My present bicycle got 700mm dia 35mm (or 38mm I'm not sure) wide tires, those seem about to be the right size for me.


It just refers to width of the wheel and tbh you hardly ever get (if at all) now a,b or d, just people commonly refer to 700c, if you want to read up on it Sheldon does a good piece. My Ridgeback Velocity runs 700c by 37 mm tyres, basically the wider they are the slower they are but the more comfortable they are and they are less likely to pinch p'ture.


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## WhiteEagle197 (4 Feb 2012)

Also, a tricky question. There is a feature of my present bicycle that I don't like very much. Although it has 21 speeds, they are not enough for speed. Let me explain: when I ride on a straight plain road (0% rise - we have load of them :-)) even if I move that chain on the largest cogwheel (front) and the smallest (bottom) it is still not very fast. When I reach approx. 18-20mph speed on one of those roads I feel that I have to pedal to quickly. I feel I could pedal MUCH harder and create bigger torque, but it feels awkward to pedal faster. So I would change one gear down if there was one even smaller cogwheel at the bottom (or a bigger one in front). But there isn't. So I limited to that 18-20 mph speed, why I feeld I could do 22 or even 24 if I had more cogwheels. I hope it is clear what I try to explain, I don't know the right terms/expressions. And especially don't know how to look for faster gears, what are the key words/specs. Because if I buy a bicycle that has 24 speeds it may be that it has cogwheels sized so that I can reach higher speed OR it can be that the gears just mean more fine steps between the same min. and max. transmission.


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## WhiteEagle197 (4 Feb 2012)

S


WhiteEagle197 said:


> Also, a tricky question. There is a feature of my present bicycle that I don't like very much. Although it has 21 speeds, they are not enough for speed. Let me explain: when I ride on a straight plain road (0% rise - we have load of them :-)) even if I move that chain on the largest cogwheel (front) and the smallest (bottom) it is still not very fast. When I reach approx. 18-20mph speed on one of those roads I feel that I have to pedal to quickly. I feel I could pedal MUCH harder and create bigger torque, but it feels awkward to pedal faster. So I would change one gear down if there was one even smaller cogwheel at the bottom (or a bigger one in front). But there isn't. So I limited to that 18-20 mph speed, why I feeld I could do 22 or even 24 if I had more cogwheels. I hope it is clear what I try to explain, I don't know the right terms/expressions. And especially don't know how to look for faster gears, what are the key words/specs. Because if I buy a bicycle that has 24 speeds it may be that it has cogwheels sized so that I can reach higher speed OR it can be that the gears just mean more fine steps between the same min. and max. transmission.


Sorry I made a few spelling typos, load=>loads, why=>while, etc


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## NotFabian (4 Feb 2012)

WhiteEagle197 said:


> Tell me more details :-) Is it in good shape? How many speeds? What size wheels? Any photo maybe? Where are you located - no point if you in Scotland :-))


 
Scotland..? Worse(geographically)...N.Ireland.

Anyway, its 21" frame in White, i'm 6" 1" and its a perfect fit and its in great shape,2.5years old and recently serviced, new chain, cassette, cables. 18speed with compact chainset, 700cx25 wheels/tyres, carbon bar-ends, spd pedals, the only blemish is a *tiny* rip on the outter/bottom edge of the saddle. Having to sell cause I've been bitten by the bug and have 2 other bikes now so need to free up space.


No Pictures taken yet but if you google it it'll give you an idea.

BTW 700c is the diameter, I think it originates in France(prob way wrong there but...) basically its the most common road wheel size.


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## WhiteEagle197 (4 Feb 2012)

vickster said:


> Why are you looking for suspension on a bike for those sorts of distances? Is it all rough terrain? Suspension adds weight and on a cheaper bike, will be heavy and not very good
> You'd be better off with carbon forks if you are looking for comfort on the road
> The Halfords Carrera range seems pretty bullet proof and will be well within budget


Thanks - that Carrera range seems to start from around £350 (on bicycle) and all the others are well above £400, some of them even £500. Or am I looking at the wrong place?


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## WhiteEagle197 (4 Feb 2012)

How about the Raleigh's? There seem to be quite a many of them for cheap enough on eBay etc., especially second hand? Are they any good?
And how about Peugeot? Here is one, is this any good: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PEUGEOT-H...0804953636?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item19cc7d6a24


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## WhiteEagle197 (4 Feb 2012)

Peteaud said:


> For your money i would go for a good rigid, like the carrera. Your main problem is the forks in your price range are going to be heavy.
> If you need forks, look at the giant roam 3 or trek 7000 (7.1 or 7.2) or maybe the spesh crosstrail.


What is the difference in weight? 1-2kg? By the way, what is a light, average and heavy bicycle in this category/size? 15kg?


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## vickster (4 Feb 2012)

Most are around that price, this one is £200

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_821659_langId_-1_categoryId_165534

To be honest, a good hybrid is going to be £300-400 minimum

A fast hybrid like a Specialized Sirrus is around 12kg, the Crosstrail with suspension, 16kg?

Raleighs are a very mixed bag


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## Cyclist33 (4 Feb 2012)

Chap on here was selling a Felt hybrid for about £200 recently, and you couldn't go wrong with that for the sort of preferences you have as a package. Don't know f it's still going...

Stu


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## vickster (4 Feb 2012)

Sold it, the QX65

Would be a sensible choice http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/felt-qx65-hybrid-item162904.html

Or one of these? http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/giant-escape-2-city-gents-hybrid-bike-id57787.html

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/marin-kentfield-fs-city-bike-id61141.html

Or you could go 2nd hand...


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## rollinstok (4 Feb 2012)

Hi, if you try " Edge Cycleworks" they have a Marin Sausalito hybrid, 20.1/2" frame for £449 on sale..normally £799. It has ncx-lo front suspension and a suspension seatpost. It meets your criteria albeit £50 over budget. I have the same bike myself and it has a decent spec.. edgetech 3 frame, deore and deore lx groupset, wtb 700c wheels. I used the bike for casual rides for a while and it was very comfy ( I,m a midges off 6 ft ). I,ve recently been doing more serious rides and swapped the fork for a carbon cross fork and upgraded the post and saddle, It is now very light ( just under 22 lbs ) and suitable for anything except really rough stuff...so its easily upgradeable as and when you wish.


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## 2wd (4 Feb 2012)

I just sold a Felt QX65 Hybrid which was a superb bike

Rutland did have it on offer for £200 recently but none left now

This looks like the next model up and is still a good price

http://www.rutlandcycling.com/30982/Felt-QX70-2011---Hybrid-Bike.html


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## vickster (4 Feb 2012)

The QX70 has suspension forks though - you can get the QX65 but it's £300 as I posted above  (cross posting I think)

Rutlland only have the 52cm in the 70, going to be rather small for a 6'1 chap


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## 2wd (4 Feb 2012)

Your right Vickster,my fault for speed reading

this place is advertisng the QX65 for £279.99,in stock within a week on certain sizes

http://www.cycle-world.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b1s18p9594

Not sure of carriage charges though


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## vickster (4 Feb 2012)

Free shipping for UK it seems


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## Tomba (5 Feb 2012)

£400 is bang on the nose for a Ridgeback Velocity.

I've had one since June last year so can speak from experience. Great hybrid, think it came with 700x32c Conti tyres as standard. Pretty much bullet proof. I never had a puncture on them. Since changed to 28c Conti Grand Prixs.
The Alex rims are pretty sturdy although I had to have one trued when a dog walker forced me off a cycle path 

24 gears and rapid fire shifters has again been pretty much bomb proof. I had been a bit negligent on cleaning the chain at times and the gears have worked perfect.

I've done a few decent distance rides on it, 52, 44 and lots of 30+. So its reliable. Touch wood i've had no punctures or mechanicals (yet).

At that budget you've got plenty of hybrids to choose from. Specialized Sirrus always get a good write up.


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## WhiteEagle197 (5 Feb 2012)

Thank you very much for all the answers - now I have plenty to choose from! Thanks!


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## vickster (5 Feb 2012)

Probably too many  Happy shopping


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## david k (5 Feb 2012)

+1 for subway


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## jowwy (5 Feb 2012)

2wd said:


> Your right Vickster,my fault for speed reading
> 
> this place is advertisng the QX65 for £279.99,in stock within a week on certain sizes
> 
> ...


 

i have a qx65 for riding cycle tracks, towpaths etc - its a very nice bike and very strong - weighs in at 13kg 
21 speed with rapid fire shifters - can't go wrong for the price to be honest.


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## 2wd (5 Feb 2012)

jowwy said:


> i have a qx65 for riding cycle tracks, towpaths etc - its a very nice bike and very strong - weighs in at 13kg
> 21 speed with rapid fire shifters - can't go wrong for the price to be honest.


 
I had one as well and just sold it last month for a bargain £150 with less than 100 miles of use

Great bike,can highly recommend one for the OP

Only reason for sale was I was doing all my cycling on roads and hankered for a road bike


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## jowwy (5 Feb 2012)

2wd said:


> I had one as well and just sold it last month for a bargain £150 with less than 100 miles of use
> 
> Great bike,can highly recommend one for the OP
> 
> Only reason for sale was I was doing all my cycling on roads and hankered for a road bike


 
i have a road bike too - but the Felt will have conti's fitted in a few weeks ready for the commute to work - just have to have a little knee surgery to recover from first.


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## Peteaud (5 Feb 2012)

nice looking as well


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## MarkF (5 Feb 2012)

Dawes Discovery 501/601/701, underrated, not fashionable and therefore very good value. I' ve used my 501 to commute for 4 years, it's been all over the North of England, toured Europe and I will do Spain C2C on it in June this year. I have had zero issues with it, and none with 201 or 301's that preceded it.

I went for a faster day bike, a Giant Rapid and currently have a Sirrus Sport, both of these bikes feel very insubstantial compared to the Dawes.


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## vickster (5 Feb 2012)

Very good suggestion, Deore triple for £400

http://www.ashcycles.com/site/dawes-discovery-501-gents-2011?zenid=772477df85d097de2ce26292039b3758


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## Dunlopdave (6 Feb 2012)

vickster said:


> Certainly better grips will help - ergo ones with bar ends for more hand positions,. but not a gel saddle, they feel comfortable to sit on intially but not support. You are better with a well designed saddle and quality padded shorts
> 
> Suspension is energy sapping even when locked
> 
> I would find a good local bike shop and ask for advice


Energy sapping while locked sorry but that's bollocks


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## vickster (6 Feb 2012)

It is on my MTB...the forks are never 100% locked

And My Specialized Crosstrail with locked suspension was far harder work to ride than my Sirrus...now this may be down to the extra weight of the bike or tyres, but I have never seen a new <£400 suspension bike under 14-15kg on skinny tyres...

Only talking about my own experience, if that's bollocks as you so charmingly point out, then so be it...

The OP is going to be riding longish distances on reasonable surfaces pretty much on the flat, not sure why suspension is required


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## Peteaud (6 Feb 2012)

The forks on my Hybrid lock fully and they are totaly rigid. The forks on my MTB do not lock fully and always have a degree of movement.

The hybrid (Trek 7500) is pretty good with the forks locked but not in the same league as a roadie. Its also heavier than a standard rigid.

But, i have the option so it suits me.


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## Dunlopdave (6 Feb 2012)

vickster said:


> It is on my MTB...the forks are never 100% locked
> 
> And My Specialized Crosstrail with locked suspension was far harder work to ride than my Sirrus...now this may be down to the extra weight of the bike or tyres, but I have never seen a new <£400 suspension bike under 14-15kg on skinny tyres...
> 
> ...


Sorry about the bollocks had a bad day and a few beers.But seriously there's no give on the suspension on my bike when it's locked out.


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## vickster (6 Feb 2012)

Men and booze eh


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## PoweredByVeg (6 Feb 2012)

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m9b0s18p3305

How about the GT Transeo above, at £320 it seems good value


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## WhiteEagle197 (7 Feb 2012)

Just please tell me that all the bicycles recommended in this topic so far are good enough for an enthusiastic amateur :-) I don't go for the Tour de France :-)))


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## growingvegetables (7 Feb 2012)

Fwiw - and perhaps not on the same wave length! I went down to a good LBS, sniffed around, looked, and asked a few questions - I wanted the bike to carry panniers for tours, tackle canal towpaths and easy off-road tracks, but be good on the road for commuting.

And I tried a couple.

Bingo! The one that had caught my eye in the window turned out to be just what I wanted/"needed" - but I won't tell you about my Dawes Discovery 201 cos my "perfect" ain't yours?


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