Urban Commuter Bike - down to a choice of 4

[pete_alfine]

Hi first post. Considering a new bike following the failure of my Alfine hub and now working at a company with cycle to work scheme getting me a 35%+ discount on below prices.
Options are

1. Ribble Hybrid AL Trail Enthusiast - 2.0, currently £599
2. Giant Escape Disc 0 2021, £674
3. Pinnacle Neon 2 2021, £679
4. Boardman URB 8.9 Urban Hybrid Bike - £875

First three are all derailleur, Boardman is Nexus hub and Gates belt.
Current bike (Scott Sub Speed 10) is a Alfine hub/Gates belt combo and has been pretty reliable and low maintenance until recently. Previous bike (Edinburgh Cycle/ Nexus hub combo) also had IGH with chain drive. Chain and rear sprocket used to need replacing every 18 months.
Like the Shimano IGH for low maintenance but also appreciate that even in London decent mechanics that know this stuff aren’t easy to find hence considering going back to cassette & derailleur although hopefully I should need to call on expertise for a while !
Like that the Giant and Ribble have only 11 gears as I don’t use many. Like the 105 group set on the Pinnacle but feel like it's to many gears for a commute bike but maybe it would tempt me to longer rides.
Not sure I need the suspension on the Ribble. The Pinnacle feels like a flat bar road bike.

All views appreciated.

 

[stewpot]

I'm not a fan of internal gear hubs. They do go wrong and are difficult to fix yourself. Having had a couple of bikes in the past (Alfine and Nexus) I much prefer the simplicity of a derailleur/sprocket set up which is easier to maintain yourself. Heck - I actually enjoy cleaning and oiling my chain every now and then and it gives you an excuse to fettle about in the garage. My IGH experience is over 10 years old though, so maybe they're more reliable now and I've no experience of a belt drive

I would avoid any bike with an alloy fork (too much feedback from the road). So for me that leaves the Giant or the Ribble. What is your commute like? Like you I would question whether the suspension fork (with it's additional weight) is necessary but if your commute includes a bit of of off road you might prefer it.

It goes without saying to try them all if you can.

 

[Moogie Wonderland]

I saw a review of the Boardman a few months ago and it was very positive. As an urban commuter it's a pretty compelling prospect.

I have no experience of the Nexus hub though but if I was looking to buy now I think I'd be rather drawn to it.

 

[bikingdad90]

The ribble hybrid AL does look pretty nice, comes with rack and mudguards I believe (as shown in the clearance section), but you do have to pay a surcharge for cycle to work on sale bikes and delivery I believe.

 

[Alex321]

Unless you have significant gravel/off-road in your commute, I wouldn't consider one with a suspension fork. It adds weight and complexity for no benefit on road.

Last time I had hub gears was the old 3-speed sturmey-archer, so I really can't comment on that.

And you should never really think you might have too many gears. While some people prefer the simplicity of a 1-by, with no front derailleur, those will tend to have bigger gaps between gears, and often a lower top and/or higher bottom gear.

Looking at the Giant and the Pinnacle, the Giant has a top gear of 42x11, and a bottom of 42x42, while the Pinnacle has 50x11 and 34x32

So not much difference in bottom gear, but way higher top gear on the Pinnacle. But the steps between gears are definitely bigger on the Giant, with an 11-42 cassette as opposed to 11-32. If your ride is all flat or gentle hills, then smaller steps is the most important.

Also worth considering that the Giant comes set up with Tubeless tyres, the others don't.