Hybrid Bikes

roonster

Can anyone please recommend a good Hybrid bike. I am looking for something good on the road and climbing hills but can also cope along the river (it can get bumpy) and through the odd field. The longest journeys i do are about 30 miles. So far I have looked at Trek 7500, 7300 , Dawes Discovery 301, GT Transeo and Mongoose 350 rigid. I am looking to spend 300 - 450 pounds. I also take my child out on siesta bike seat.Thanks for any advise.

The Chingford Skinhead

I can only tell you what bike i've got and what the guy in the shop said the last time I took it in for a service. I've got a Ridgeback Velocity - about 7-8 years old now. It has been reliable and coped well both with the commute and with regular canal and riverbank rides.

I took it into the original dealer (London Fields Cycles) for a full service. The guy basically said it was a very good bike for the price (now about £340) and he described it as the Ford Escort. Essentially it is reliable, robust and generally fault free. Every year Ridgeback's main dealers tell the company that when they come to fiddling with the new line up "don't mess with the velocity, it's perfect as it is"

So, it isn't going to particulalry turn heads or set the world on fire but if you want robust reliability at a cheap price it is worth a look.

Best of luck in your search

Roger_This

+1 for Ridgeback, although mine is a 2008 Flight T1. I see that this year's version comes with 28mm Continental Contact tyres as standard, so probably better for canal paths and the like than the narrower 25mm Continental Ultrasports fitted to mine.

Takes mudguards too.

Good luck.

Roger.