2 Commuters pro's/con's

[Flanker37]

I dont have much of a budget to play with, about £400

I am looking for a fast disk brake equipped hybrid thats fairly light. These 2 come straight to mind, as i have been eyeballing them for a while

http://www.falconcycles.co.uk/Corporate/URBAN/Explorer500.shtml
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_273345_langId_-1_categoryId_165534

i cant make up my mind about them.

The Gryphon is the lightest of the 2, but there are a few complaints on their site about wheels buckling. I like the idea of having the front suspension on the CB Explorer. Where i live the roads are a damn disgrace, and i would love to know what the council are doing with the road repair budget.

I also have a lot of proper cycle trails, 3 of the biggest being the 6, 63 & 52. some of this is beside the road lanes, and the rest is cinder trail.

It needs to carry panniers & full guards.

Which of these should i really consider - or should i be looking at a different bike all together

 

[mark barker]

I tried a Gryphon a couple of weeks ago and found every tiny imperfection in the road came straight through the handlebars. It was horrid. However, the owner of the bike didn't notice this, so maybe it was just me!

 

[Flanker37]

I can imagine mate. I have had a Ridgeback Velocity since 2001. A nice hybrid at the time. 7005 aluminium with steel forks. but no matter how much i upgrade it over the years, it still feels very harsh to ride (a right bone shaker) and very heavy still.

I put shimano R550 wheels on it. Put specialized armadillo elite tires, super light weight aluminium handlebars & seat post on it, and yet it still feels like a pig to ride.

I am pretty sure i am liking the idea of the suspension forks more & more, just to soften out the ride. I know these add a little weight to the bike. But if you ride between 20 & 100 miles in one go, isn't comfort more important?

 

[HLaB]

I can imagine mate. I have had a Ridgeback Velocity since 2001. A nice hybrid at the time. 7005 aluminium with steel forks. but no matter how much i upgrade it over the years, it still feels very harsh to ride (a right bone shaker) and very heavy still.

I put shimano R550 wheels on it. Put specialized armadillo elite tires, super light weight aluminium handlebars & seat post on it, and yet it still feels like a pig to ride.

I am pretty sure i am liking the idea of the suspension forks more & more, just to soften out the ride. I know these add a little weight to the bike. But if you ride between 20 & 100 miles in one go, isn't comfort more important?

If you are planning on riding between 20 & 100 miles that where cheap suspension fork become most uncomfortable if you catch my drift; you will notice the extra weight over that distance. To get to a stage where they are an advantage you have to be doing some seroius off road downhilling and spending £1k plus on the forks alone.