Hybrid bikes for £400 budget- which one is best?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Danjb2

New Member
Hello

if anyone can give me some recommendations for which bike would be best out of the ones below or any others that can compete/are better for my needs, would be greatly appreciated!

I'll be mainly using the bike for commuting to university which is 25 minutes away. Some of the commute will involve road and paths like in the picture below and will involve riding uphill.
I will also use it for leisure and light exercise, nothing intense
Just want a good quality bike that lasts, doesn't need too much maintenance
My height is 6'1

241634742_362314355605452_1317777290405052457_n.jpg


Carrera subway 2
https://www.halfords.com/bikes/hybr...ke-2020---black---s-m-l-xl-frames-346198.html

Trek fx 1
https://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/bikes...MImre4sLjw8gIV1YBQBh1eAgVtEAQYAyABEgLmOPD_BwE

Giant escape 3
https://www.rutlandcycling.com/bike...MIsN-mn7nw8gIVNoBQBh0J_Qp9EAQYASABEgLrafD_BwE

Ridgeback comet hybrid
https://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/bikes...MIrK-Z4rnw8gIVXIFQBh0O2AbzEAQYAyABEgJad_D_BwE
which has a massive discount

1631140922822.png


Thank you
 
All I'll say is that paths that look like that now, will be looking significantly ... different .... in a couple of month's time and you might want to make sure any bike you look at can easily accept mudguards, unless arriving at your lectures/job/back home with your books, your clothing and yourself interestingly striped with different shades of mud and road dirt is totally acceptable ...
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
In terms of price there's not much in it, and given that, I would stump up the extra twenty quid over the Ridgeback in order to get a triple chainring as it massively improves your choice of gears when riding up gradients or into a headwind.
It comes down to availability and suitable frame geometry. None of them are bad bikes.
However, personally I would not even consider riding a brand new shiny bike to a university, or even to anywhere in a university town, because the places are magnets for bike thieves as criminals know they are full of students bikes and new term means more new bikes to steal. Myself, I would source a usable 90's vintage Raleigh Pioneer which at your height will be a 23 1/2" frame size just like I ride myself and put some distinctive reflective stripes on the frame or rat it with dull looking paint.
 
Last edited:

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
As John says it comes down to availability as just finding a bike in stock right now is difficult. There’s no such thing as a bad or overpriced bike on that list but you’ll pay more for the big names like Trek etc. If you’re set on buying new budget for a good bike lock as well, the lack of bikes and parts means it’ll be gone as quick as you can say thieving barstewards if you don’t. Thread about locks here: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/good-enough-bike-lock.279074/#post-6525434
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
I'd opt out for the Carrera out of those listed above, for two reasons. Firstly it's got the best level of components fitted, with full Hydraulic disc brakes and a very good range of gears for commuting. Secondly it's got the largest volume tyres - they will make the ride much more comfortable and you'll get better grip through mud on the off-road sections when they inevitably turn to mud in a couple of months as @KnittyNorah said above.

The Carrera subway bikes have always had a good reputation, and that seems like a good solid bike to me. It's biggest compromise is that it is a bit heavier than some more expensive bikes, but otherwise that looks like a good deal. It's well priced too leaving you some money to get some good lights for when it gets dark as well as mudguards which I'd highly recommend. Also you'll need to factor in a puncture repair kit/replacement inner tubes and tools to carry with the bike.

Edit to add: I forgot to mention, the Carrera comes with trigger shifters rather than grip shifters which the others seem to, these are much much much better. Almost all grip shifters are terrible, especially in the cold and wet, they're built to be cheap, not good.
 
Last edited:

All uphill

Still rolling along
Location
Somerset
Is there a community bicycle workshop in your town? There is in most university towns and cities. They can be a good source of serviced used bikes and will be able to help you with getting the right bike for you.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
You could possibly get a second hand lightly used Subway for half the price of a new one. As said, you'll want to budget a good £50+ for locks, might want to look into insurance too. When you park the bike up, take the saddle and seat post with you, makes a bike less attractive to thieves :smile: Get a tiny fold up backpack from Decathlon for about £3 to carry it in if you don't have space in your bag or pannier
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
The Carrera subway bikes have always had a good reputation, and that seems like a good solid bike to me. It's biggest compromise is that it is a bit heavier than some more expensive bikes, but otherwise that looks like a good deal. It's well priced too leaving you some money to get some good lights for when it gets dark as well as mudguards which I'd highly recommend.
Get the Decathlon ELOPS as suggested by @nickyboy and you wont need to buy all that, or any batteries plus you’ll get a rack. Cool factor goes down a notch or two though :sad:
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
Get the Decathlon ELOPS as suggested by @nickyboy and you wont need to buy all that, or any batteries plus you’ll get a rack. Cool factor goes down a notch or two though :sad:
True, but it has lower volume tyres which will be less than great on the muddier parts of their route, not to mention the Carrera has disc brakes and significantly better gearing. You can add lights and mudguards on later, but retrofitting better components onto a bike is much harder.
 
OP
OP
D

Danjb2

New Member
Thanks for the input, given me some points to think about. The uni itself is pretty rural and they have many bikesheds to encourage cycling, so that reassures me a bit more, even then have to be very careful. The decathlon elops looks good, just availability wise not so much. There's a carrera all weather edition which is available, does that look worth the price?

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/hybr...n-mens-hybrid-bike---s-m-l-frames-229822.html


Get the Decathlon ELOPS as suggested by @nickyboy and you wont need to buy all that, or any batteries plus you’ll get a rack. Cool factor goes down a notch or two though :sad:
 

Bonefish Blues

Banging donk
Location
52 Festive Road
Sad to see Ashley is taking the Pinnacle brand down market just as he did with Muddy Fox. Don’t know what the after sales is like if you run into any problems.
But fundamentally it's an Evans era bike, well-designed and great value - besides, there really in bludger all to go wrong. Downmarket bikes don't have frames of that quality, or Conti tyres and so on. I'm teetering on the edge of non-recommendation of a line of bikes that I've always held in high regard, but I think, at the price, it's a very good buy.
 
Top Bottom