Hybrid recommendations

[Hodgey1968]

I am going to be buying a hybrid bike soon on the cycle to work scheme, I have up to £600 to spend on the bike. I am really getting it to get myself fit, will be doing road cycling but would like a rugged enough bike to go off road on trails etc... I have seen the Cube Nature pro hybrid & Specialized Crosstail disk & the Boardman hybrid comp (Halfords) that I like however I don’t have much idea, Which would you guys recommend or can you recommend me another bike to do the job ?

 

[vickster]

Don’t bother with suspension if mostly riding on roads. Testride your shortlist and see what you think

If you do get suspension, make sure it has a quality lock out fork

Personally I rate Whyte bikes If you can get locally on your C2W scheme

 

[Bonefish Blues]

What will be the proportion of each that you're doing? If the very occasional trail, then choose more or less what you like, with 28-32c tyres, nice and light, double chainsets and most of all, whatever fits best.

If you'll be doing a fair bit off road, then it might be as well to look at the more mountain bike end of the hybrid spectrum, with triple chainsets and wider tyres 37c+ like the Evans Pinnacle Lithium range - still light, but with lower gearing.

...and agree, front suspension is seldom, if ever required in this scenario, adding weight and reducing the overall spec to no great purpose.

 

[Cycleops]

Evans own Pinnacle brand are quite good. Halfords have a contender in the Boardman range as you suggest, worth a look. Don’t forget Decathlon who offer some great value bikes.

Don’t have any specific suggestions but please don’t buy suspension forks, they just add weight and little extra comfort, even on tracks.

The forgoing rules out the Nature Pro, Cube bikes have rather nasty birds poo unfinished frame welds too, Boardman smooth theirs.

As suggested try a few. Good luck.

BTW welcome to the forum.

 

[vickster]

Cross trail has suspension, if you like Specialized, look at the Sirrus

Just go to a decent sized Evans with photo ID and bank card and test ride several bikes in your budget and size

 

[Levo-Lon]

You wont go far wrong with the Boardy, mudguards were about £25 quid
Bike was around £560 iirc

 

[BoldonLad]

I chose Giant Escape 1. Only had it 2 months, but, happy so far. It replaced an earlier Giant Hybrid, (CTC 2.0), which I had for ten years without any issues.

As other have said, essential to trial ride, IMHO.

 

[Hodgey1968]

Are the none suspension bikes still ok for odd trail and going off road as hope to do a few rides half road half off road !

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Are the none suspension bikes still ok for odd trail and going off road as hope to do a few rides half road half off road !

Yes. It's not so long ago that mountain bikes were all rigid. Some (of us!) still ride rigid. If you are going off road regularly what will help is a bigger tyre volume, as I mentioned earlier. You'll not pay a particular price on road these days, either. Here's the one I referenced https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-lithium-4-2018-hybrid-bike-EV275574

 

[Cycleops]

I ride a steel frame and fork ‘adventure ‘ bike here and as you can imagine many of the roads are hard or soft dirt, it copes well. Tyre pressures have most influence over comfort.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I ride a steel frame and fork ‘adventure ‘ bike here and as you can imagine many of the roads are hard or soft dirt, it copes well. Tyre pressures have most influence over comfort.

...and the wider, within reason, the tyre, the lower the pressure it can be run at, of course.

 

[User32269]

My posting history on this subject is 100% for buying a rigid, preferably steel 90's mountain bike. Always pointing out the need to avoid suspension.
However, I would now suggest the Specialized Crosstrail Disk, in green, purely for the reason that is the bike really cool guys ride.

 

[vickster]

My posting history on this subject is 100% for buying a rigid, preferably steel 90's mountain bike. Always pointing out the need to avoid suspension.
However, I would now suggest the Specialized Crosstrail Disk, in green, purely for the reason that is the bike really cool guys ride.

But they need their wives to choose and buy it for them

 

[Cycleops]

However, I would now suggest the Specialized Crosstrail Disk, in green, purely for the reason that is the bike really cool guys ride.

Now I wonder why you say that.

 

[User32269]

But they need their wives to choose and buy it for them

Now I wonder why you say that.

Sorry for thread hijack!