Hybrid City Bike with a £600 -£800 Budget - Which bike to go for?

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SometimeCyclist

New Member
Location
London
Hi All,


I am hoping for some advice.


I currently ride an XL Giant Roam which I’ve had since 2014

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/2014-giant-roam-2--dark-blue--2014


It is a hybrid but is more like a mountain bike with a chunky frame, front suspension forks and thicker gripped tyres. I am 6’2 and 13 stone so the big frame and solid build were originally a big selling point. However there are a number of drawbacks to the bike.


However, I have recently moved to a new flat which is located at the top of a steep, narrow staircase. The front door is also very narrow which makes getting the bike in tricky.


The new area I live in (North London) is very hilly as well and so I am now considering a new bike.


I mostly use the bike for getting around on the weekend and evening, usually no more than 5 mile journeys. The area I live in has opened lots of cycle lanes which really helps. However, I am also planning some long cycle rides in the spring. My friends both have road bikes which are good for these long rides but I don’t like using in London as I struggle with the riding position and like to have a good view of the traffic around me.


Having been out on the bike today in the rain and traffic I really appreciate the hydraulic brakes and so these would be a pre-requisite.


I went to test ride an XL Neon Pinnacle (£600). I think I’d likely need an XL whichever bike I went for. I was impressed at how light it was, the build quality and the ride. I trialled it on a number of hills that I know well and it performed really well so much easier than on the Roam. I also found the bar ends really helpful as hadn’t considered these before.


I can access the bike2work scheme at work which means that I would get a good saving. I’ve pretty much decided to replace my bike and get a road bike style hybrid. However, I have been looking on the Evans Bikes website and there are a number of bikes that, whilst on sale, would only be marginally more expensive. The question is whether I should push by budget a bit further?


The bikes I’m considering are:

XL Neon Pinnacle (£600)

BMC Alpenchallenge AC02 Alivio 2017 Hybrid Bike (£699 reduced from £849)

BMC Alpenchallenge AC02 Nexus 8 2017 Hybrid Bike (£649 reduced from £999)

Cannondale Bad Boy 3 2018 Hybrid Bike (£764 reduced from £899)


Which would you go for? I can probably stretch to £800 - £900 if necessary but if the improvement in quality of the more expensive bikes isn’t that much higher then I’ll probably go for the Pinnacle Neon.


Does anybody else have any other suggestions in this price range?


Another question relates to the width of the handlebars? The Roam has a handlebar diameter of 70cm. Whichever bike I buy I am thinking of having the handle bars shorted by up to 10 cm (reducing the length to 60cm). Is this too much? I have quite broad shoulders but I don’t think this would be too narrow and would really help when getting the bike and out of the flat and when riding in traffic in between cars.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?


Thanks

John
 

vickster

Legendary Member
As the ones you have listed are all available from Evans, so go test ride them and see what you think :smile:
 

vickster

Legendary Member
Roadbike or gravel type bike with crosslevers and mechanical disc brakes? Lighter. Have much narrower handlebars. Probably need close to the full 1k C2W allowance for a roadbike with quality disc brakes. For Cycling to work, you’ll want a bike that can take full mudguards and perhaps a rack
 
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