Advice on upgrade to old mountain bike

[Thorell79]

I have an old Apollo Twilight and I'm looking to upgrade it. Probably looking at a hybrid bike I think. But I've had my trusty old thing for 14 years so I'm really confused as to what to look for 🙈

Budget 400-600
Height 5"6
Weight 52kg
Female

Use -
Roads
Cycle paths
Some grass, gravel, track
Inclines
Short adventure down a bmx track (it's small for scaredy cats like me lol)

Rides are usually 30-45 mins long and we do about 9-12km depending. Just wanting something lighter and a bit better quality really.

Bikes I've looked at

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/hybr...ns-hybrid-bike---16in-18in-frames-445521.html

https://www.halfords.com/boardman-hyb-8.6-womens-hybrid-bike-529328.html

https://www.halfords.com/boardman-mtx-8.6-womens-hybrid-bike---l-529419.html

After looking on here I've looked at a few Whyte bikes that look good but unsure about what model would suit.

Completely open to brand and company to order from.

Thanks for any help you can give 🙂

 

[tom73]

Trek FX range maybe worth a look. You may have a dealer near by or can order direct.
Mrs 73 has a FX3 and loves it and rides same sort of places.

 

[vickster]

How hilly are your rides and what percentage will be road vs. Rough off road (if any of it)?

 

[Thorell79]

How hilly are your rides and what percentage will be road vs. Rough off road (if any of it)?

I'd say prob mostly roads or cycle paths. We do some rough off road but it's really not much. Hillwise, my area isn't flat but it's mostly gentle long slopes. But in the cycle paths and off road there's lots of sudden steep inclines but we don't really have actual 'hills'

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I have an old Apollo Twilight and I'm looking to upgrade it. Probably looking at a hybrid bike I think. But I've had my trusty old thing for 14 years so I'm really confused as to what to look for 🙈

Just wanting something lighter and a bit better quality really.

My current bike is the most basic of MTBs from the mid/late 90's so I'm not understanding your dilemma

Lighter & better quality are not great criteria for choosing a new bike.
If it was me I'd think about what I really wanted to change on my existing bike and then look for that in the new one.
I might also think of a wishlist - things I'd like on a bike.
I'd also make sure that the things I really liked about my current bike were going to be present on the new one.

Of course, there's always the possibility that your existing bike could be upgraded or made more suitable for your needs.
Sometimes a change of tyres can change things significantly!

Then you'd probably have a few hundred of your budget left over for a bicycle holiday

Good luck!

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

My current bike is the most basic of MTBs from the mid/late 90's so I'm not understanding your dilemma

Lighter & better quality are not great criteria for choosing a new bike.
If it was me I'd think about what I really wanted to change on my existing bike and then look for that in the new one.
I might also think of a wishlist - things I'd like on a bike.
I'd also make sure that the things I really liked about my current bike were going to be present on the new one.

I'm not understanding the dilemma either, and my bikes all date between the early 70's and the late 90's. There's nothing about any current bikes on the market that appeals to me enough to want to replace mine, and they would still be powered by the same legs. So I just keep running my old ones.
From what I can glean, the Twilight is a cheap hardtail MTB, which will have the most basic type of suspension fork. Apollos tend to be heavy bikes, and a suspension one certainly will be, but that doesn't make it not useful.
I have a very cheap fully rigid Apollo 26" MTB from the mid 90's, which I do a lot of miles on. It cost me bugger all and it's worth bugger all, but it does the job of getting me from A to B. I could spend a four figure sum on another MTB, but it would just do exactly the same job, and on my manor, it would probably soon get stolen if left unattended even for a short period.
It's easy to lose sight of the fact that in the hands of a fit powerful rider, even a cheap heavy bike can be fast, and an expensive light bike can be almost as slow as a cheap heavy bike in the hands of a less fit and less powerful rider.