Which hybrid bike should i buy

dieseladdicts

Hi,
I am new to this, and a friend pointed me to this site for some sound advice. My bike got stolen and my insurance company have agreed to pay me £450.00 for a bike. They have offered a Bianchi Camaleonte 2 2009. Is this a good bike???, I will be mostly using it to ride on the streets and park to keep fit. No serious off road biking of any sort. I have to choose a bike from www.wheelies.co.uk and they said if i want to go over the £450.00 limit - they will offer me a further 18% discount. Can anyone please give me some tips of what bike to choose.

cheers

sheetal :?

majormantra

I don't know anything about the Bianchi but in a similar vein have you looked at the (slightly better looking IMHO) Ridgeback Flight 01?:

http://www.wheelies.co.uk/products-Flig ... _22396.htm

These are essentially road bikes without drop bars which means they will be nice and light and great fun for nipping around. I have the Flight's predecessor, the Day 01, and I really like it.

Matthew

stumpyjon

You've been quite specific about what you want the bike for which is good. Based on that I'd advise.

- Avoid suspensions forks, you don't need them and they will add cost and weight to the bike. - V brakes are absolutely fine for on road riding, discs are overkill and could even be dangerous on road with thin tyres. - Go for something with thin tyres (1.5 width or less, mountain bike knobblies are hell on tarmac). - 27 speed drive train will give smoother shifting, less gaps between gears and better quality groupsets are available for 27 speed should you want to replace / upgrade later. - Avoid dropped top tubes (like on ladies bikes) tends to be a weaker frame construction.

Maybe look at the Cannondale Bad Boy 2009 (slightly over price).
Nothing obviously wrong with the Bianchi, 24 speed but that's not a deal breaker.

Disks & suspension forks also make bikes more attractive to those thieving scum bags out there who nick them. :evil:

supersonic

I have always been impressed by the Giant FCR series, such as this one:

http://www.wheelies.co.uk/products-FCR-3-2009_20178.htm

What you might call a 'sports' hybrid, or a flat bar road bike - either way leans away from the MTB side of things. What you get is a fast and impressively ligtht machine, last years model was sub 24lbs.

dieseladdicts

hi all, and thank you for your advice. I see a couple of you are pointing me to the hybrid road/sports bike - i am stuck between the

Ridgeback Flight 01

or

Giant FCR 3 2009

as i like the idea of a fast road/sport hybrid, although the Cannondale Bad Boy 2009 probably is a more sensible choice.....................

and again

thank you all for your help

i won't be making my mind up until the end of the week, just in case i get any more replies - also i might take the ones i mentioned for a test ride at evans cycles.

cheers

sheetal

batch78

I'd see if you could test ride the Cannondale and Giant myself, depends which side of the hybrid fence you want to fall, 'Dales probably a little more versatile and has 27 speed, Giants going to be quicker on road and lighter.

Personaly I don't really get hybrids per se, so would opt for the Giant, this gives you pretty much road bike speed and gearing, but with the added comfort and sense of safety that flat bars give, especially through traffic or busy areas.

Do go for some test rides though