I've got three working bikes at the moment, and I'm not sure it it makes any sense to consider any of them as the best - even if I knew what best means.
I can only think of it as the bike I use the most and would choose if I could keep have one, and that would surely be my Raleigh Royal tourer (which I built on a modest budget). I do more miles on that than the other two together.
But my other two are more what I'd call fun, in different ways. I've got an Orbit 531c currently set up as road bike with slim wheels and tyres, and no mudguards, racks or anything extraneous - I love shorter fast rides on that, but I'd hesitate to ride all day on it. And I have an old MTB on which I love riding round local fields and woods and getting covered in mud (so not much of that in the current weather).
But then, I've currently got near-slick tyres on the MTB and have a rack on it, so it's fine for all-day rides. And Continental Sport Contact tyres pumped reasonably hard are great for canal towpaths and hard/dry off-road tracks, and I'm much faster on them than with anything even vaguely knobbly.
And then my Orbit is the only one I've had from new, and previously it was configured more as a tourer - the frame will take up to 32mm tyres, and up to 28mm with mudguards. So maybe I'd keep that one and rebuild it again?
No, maybe I don't have a "best" bike after all, by any meaning of the word.
I can only think of it as the bike I use the most and would choose if I could keep have one, and that would surely be my Raleigh Royal tourer (which I built on a modest budget). I do more miles on that than the other two together.
But my other two are more what I'd call fun, in different ways. I've got an Orbit 531c currently set up as road bike with slim wheels and tyres, and no mudguards, racks or anything extraneous - I love shorter fast rides on that, but I'd hesitate to ride all day on it. And I have an old MTB on which I love riding round local fields and woods and getting covered in mud (so not much of that in the current weather).
But then, I've currently got near-slick tyres on the MTB and have a rack on it, so it's fine for all-day rides. And Continental Sport Contact tyres pumped reasonably hard are great for canal towpaths and hard/dry off-road tracks, and I'm much faster on them than with anything even vaguely knobbly.
And then my Orbit is the only one I've had from new, and previously it was configured more as a tourer - the frame will take up to 32mm tyres, and up to 28mm with mudguards. So maybe I'd keep that one and rebuild it again?
No, maybe I don't have a "best" bike after all, by any meaning of the word.
as for the best, probably the MTB as commuting to me is a necessity but not really fun per se, so the hybrid does its job and does it well and it's a lovely bike, but it's far from fun.
