Advice for a hybrid bike

[tomtomato]

Hi,

I am looking for a good hybrid bike, so I need advice please!

Usage:

• Road/City (50% of the time)
• Offroad like Towpath/park (50% of the time)
• Pretty much on the flat, apart from a few slopes

Requirements:

• Light! Ideally, lighter than 12kg
• Can install light mudguards
• 32 or 42 x 622 anti puncture tires (for gravels etc). Ideally, the best compromise between road friction and path/traction
  
• Price below £700
• Quality drive train components
• Not necessarily bothered with disc brakes (they seem to be much harder to maintain)

I am not sure if I need front suspensions or not. My current bike has a NCX one, but it does not seem to be hardly moving. My current bike also has hydraulic disc brakes (a pain to adjust), and Shimano Deore XT derailleur.

I am thinking about:

• Boardman hybrid comp, which seems to be very light (11.2kg) for the price (£500). Not sure I trust Halfords with that kind of money. Not sure if the tires are anti-puncture
• Boardman hybrid team, even lighter, and with I assume high spec Shimano equipment. Would a carbon fork be better on paths?
  
• Pinnacle Lithium 3 2016 Hybrid Bike
• A specialized bike, not sure which one. I live not far from a Specialized shop, but they don't publish the weight of the bikes
• A Giant bike (again, I live near a shop)
• I also live not far from Evans. I believe they allow to test bikes?

Thanks!

Tom

 

[vickster]

Boardman bikes are good. Some halfords mechanism are too. You could always get it checked

Join British cycling for £34 and save 10% at halfords

Evans do hassle free testrides and have most brands, just need photo ID and a bank card

The trek 7.x bikes are good

Personally I don't like specialized (I had three very dull flatbar bikes from them, one crosstrail and two Sirrus models) but ymmv

Any £700 non suspension bike will be under 12kg, especially with rim brakes

For your uses, unless you have to lug it up lots of stairs, a kilo of weight here and there will make diddly difference

Where in the country are you? Have you tried local non chain shops, worth looking at other brands like ridgeback, Whyte, Merida

 

[Supersuperleeds]

A Specialized Sirrus I think will meet your requirements - as you say they don't publish their weights. My Sirrus is my winter bike / pootling with the missus bike

 

[NorthernDave]

I've got two Boardman bikes and would recommend them to anyone.
Joining BC is a great idea if you are buying from Halfords as you'd get the membership fee back (and more) with the bike purchase.

 

[tomtomato]

Where in the country are you? Have you tried local non chain shops, worth looking at other brands like ridgeback, Whyte, Merida

I am in Greater London (South West London, close to Richmond Park), and have Evans, Specialized, Halfords, and Giant all very close.

 

[tomtomato]

A Specialized Sirrus I think will meet your requirements - as you say they don't publish their weights

The Specialized Sirrus Sport Disc 2016 would seem to be a good choice, but it seems to be impossible to find its weight! Do you cycle off road with it?

 

[MichaelW2]

Disc brakes need almost no regular maintenance, wheel removal is no problem, pad replacement is easy and Superstar ones are cheap and good. Keeping lube off the disk surface is no different to keeping it off the rim braking surface. My Shimano cable disks are OK in the dry and continue the same in the wet. If you commute in all weather in the city, discs make a lot of sense

 

[tomtomato]

If you commute in all weather in the city, discs make a lot of sense

I am only riding a bike for leisure, mainly week-ends, so tend to avoid riding on the wet.

 

[tomtomato]

The Trek 7.4 FX 2016 seems to be a good option too. I like the carbon fork, v-brakes, integrated cabling and ergonomic handles.

However, is this a bike for paths/gravel, or only a road bike?

The Giant Escape 1 seems to be equivalent, but without integrated cabling etc.

 

[leahcim]

If you find a bike £750-999 in evans and you have anything vaguely bike shaped to carry to the shop you can get £75 off. £100 if you pay £1000, but that's busting your budget a bit.

Personally I would get hydraulic disks and an alfine 8 if I was buying a hybrid. Something like the Charge Grater 3 2016 £799 but £725 if you get the trade in and you get a pair of mudguards included by the looks of the picture. I had a bike with the nexus 8 and really liked the gears. They have the range for hills, albeit some of the steps are a bit big. If you're on mostly flat stuff they'd be sound. The hub adds a bit of weight I suppose, but I think they are better than the cheaper groupsets - at least my hub seem to be trouble free for far longer than the gears on the £350 Ridgeback it replaced. The 105 on my road bikes seems fine but it's not on sub £700 bikes.

You said you didn't want hydraulics though. Trek 7.5 in Evans £750 has Tiagra but only 28mm tyres. Cannondale have a sora 9 speed compact hybrid with 700x30 for about £650.

 

[vickster]

I am in Greater London (South West London, close to Richmond Park), and have Evans, Specialized, Halfords, and Giant all very close.

The giant shop in twickenham are good
Can also go to Pearsons in Sheen, or Sutton for hybrids, Jim there is very helpful

Evans, I'd use Wimbledon and not Kingston, based on personal experience

Most manufacturers don't publish weight because they vary across the range

Go to the Specialized shop in Kingston, I'm sure they'll let you lift up the Sirrus or tell you how. much it weighs in your size. Disc brakes will likely be heavier than an equivalent v brake bike

I've never had integrated cabling, don't see any great benefit and people say it can rattle which would annoy!

 

[tomtomato]

Most manufacturers don't publish weight because they vary across the range

Go to the Specialized shop in Kingston, I'm sure they'll let you lift up the Sirrus or tell you how much it weighs in your size. Disc brakes will likely be heavier than an equivalent v brake bike

I am sure the manufacturers could publish the weights of the various sizes of their bikes, if they wanted to do so.

The Specialized "Sirrus Sport Disc 2016" does not seem to have a carbon fork, so at £600, it would seem to be less competitive than the Trek 7.4 FX, or the Giant Escape 1.

 

[vickster]

Quite a few disc bikes don't have a carbon fork

For your uses, I'd prioritise the carbon fork over disc brakes, and yes, you do tend to get a lower spec from Specialized than other manufacturers. However, get yourself to Evans in Wimbledon and get some test rides

 

[grumpyoldwoman]

I've got the Boardman mx sport. Great bike,puncture resistant tyres. Use mine on roads/cycle paths/canal paths/railway cycle paths and up in the woods and she copes very well. Not done any 'real' off roading as it's not for me.

 

[tomtomato]

I've got the Boardman mx sport.

I saw the Boardman MX in a shop today. I have realised that the Boardman hybrid is basically just a road bike, with very narrow and slick tyres. Therefore, absolutely not designed for the kind of towpath I am planning to ride on.

The MX, with its Schwalbe 700x35c tyres, was more suited. However, I don't really think I need a suspension fork (adding to the weight), and would prefer a carbon fork instead.

Still looking at the Trek hybrid bikes, which seem to be good value for money. However, struggling to understand the differences between the FX and Allant versions. Might just be the riding position that is different...