£300ish to spend on a hybrid bike - suggestions please?

pcdj

I'm a 24 year old male looking to purchase a new bike to generally keep fit and possibly take part in the london to brighton this year. I've been reading up on a few things and apparently a hybrid bike would be ideal for the sort of casual road/park/canal path riding i'd be doing quite regularly, so i'd like a few pointers as to good bikes to go for. I wouldn't class myself as a beginner, but i'm no expert either.

I've noticed that quite a few online stores are doing sales at the moment - i recall reading somewhere that this was something to do with manufacturers bringing out new models at this time of year, so hopefully this should make my budget stretch a little further but it means purchasing quite soon i guess.

Anyone have any suggestions for any brands/models i should be looking at, and also any links to particular online deals?

Lagavulin

Specialized Sirrus or Globe?

topdude

Another vote for Specialized, Sirrus for mostly road use, Globe for mostly offroad use.

pcdj

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Which particular features do these have that warrant the recommendations? And do you know of any stores at the moment that have the best deals?

pcdj

I've just had a quick look around and evans seem to be by far the cheapest in terms of price - good store to deal with or not?

My main question now is - what with the large difference in price - what is the advantage of one over the other of the following:

Globe 2007 - £230
Globe 2008 - £250

Globe sport 2007 - £270
Globe sport 2008 - £300

Sirrus 2007 - £300 (discounted from £400, though only available in an xsmall so i'd have to try and find a similar deal elsewhere).

Thanks again.

feel

Have you considered the Boardman hybrid comp, it is supposedly very good -£399 and available at larger halfords. Look HERE for the web site.

I have found Evans staff to be helpful and knowledgeable, but there are plenty on here who have had the opposite experience. You tend to only get the good offers on the very large or very small sizes.

pw1brown

Another suggestion - the Revolution Courier Nexus. I haven't tried one, but they look tough and fairly sporty and are the right price.