which hybrid for ~£250
oli_ramsay
Posts: 6
I currently have my eye on this:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_551221_langId_-1_categoryId_165534
But is there anything better I can get for my money?
http://www.bikemagic.com/reviews/bikes/rigid/carrera-subway-1/reader-reviews/23202.html#review16141
This review is putting me off. Says that a lot of the parts are unservicable and it's not a very reliable bike.
All suggestions much appreciated, the bike will only be used on roads and getting to work. I want something reliable and lightweight
Thanks
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_551221_langId_-1_categoryId_165534
But is there anything better I can get for my money?
http://www.bikemagic.com/reviews/bikes/rigid/carrera-subway-1/reader-reviews/23202.html#review16141
This review is putting me off. Says that a lot of the parts are unservicable and it's not a very reliable bike.
All suggestions much appreciated, the bike will only be used on roads and getting to work. I want something reliable and lightweight
Thanks
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t's £249 and it's Specialized
http://www.cyclesurgery.com/1027989/Spe ... sco-1.html
Okay so it only has one gear, which is perfect for commuting unless you live in the mountains. I almost bought one myself, then I remembered I already have 7 bikesRule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.0 -
artaxerxes wrote:
Being poor, I couldn't afford a pricey bike so I got the Decathlon road bike above. It's pretty good for the price but it's definitely not a hybrid - off-road it's a bit of a bone shaker. BTW my experience of Decathlon's workshop people has been good and they're far less snobbish than the LBS at the end of my road. But you'd have to live near one of their stores to make use of that.0 -
The spec seems good for the price - the bike may be OK - the problems are more likely to be caused by Halfords not setting it up properly0
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I have to admit I am slightly tempted by the Subway (only the Halfords thing puts me off) as a second commuting bike which I would happily add a pannier rack to. It does seem to be able to stand up to to the current weather siutation more than my present flat bar roadie
Tempted but still thinking about itOfficers don't run, it's undignified and panics the men0 -
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I have just pensioned off a Saracen Hytrail hybrid after 5 years and about 15000 miles. I bought it new off Ebay for £175. Nice bike to ride and pretty quick on the flat. Slowish uphill due to it weighing 18kg
The trouble with cheap bikes is that they seem to wear out faster. The Saracen needed a new chain, cassette and bottom bracket at around 1000 miles from new. When I questioned the wear rate at the shop where I got the replacement parts, they were surprised that they had lasted do long! Their view was that cheap bikes are normally bought by people who ride them twice and then put them in the shed so wear wasn't normally a problem!
I bought better quality parts to replace the originals which came to around £100. These lasted for about 3000 miles each time, but eventually I got a bit worried about the safety of the now rather wobbly front forks and decided to buy a £999 bike on the Ride to Work scheme.
Only time will tell if it will last longer. I haven't noticed any wear in the first 500 miles at least.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
MarkGenesis Croix de Fer - my new commuting mount
Saracen Hytrail - the workhorse - now pensioned off
Kinetic-One FK1 roadie - the fast one - hairy legs though!
Cannondale Jekyll Lefty MTB - the muddy one which keeps tipping me into gorse bushes!0 -
This is perfect at £250:
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... 333c018336
Or the Classic at £225 with 26inch wheels instead. Really don't think you can get better for the money.0 -
The above looks like a bargain. I havve never heard of the brand but the spec is excellent for the money.
Go for it.Genesis Croix de Fer - my new commuting mount
Saracen Hytrail - the workhorse - now pensioned off
Kinetic-One FK1 roadie - the fast one - hairy legs though!
Cannondale Jekyll Lefty MTB - the muddy one which keeps tipping me into gorse bushes!0 -
Subway ones are great bikes, I work for Halfords (boo hiss, lol) & it's a bike I always try to sell people. We rarely have any problems with those bikes as they are supplied with decent quality components.
I can't talk for every store but at mine only full time experienced employees setup customers bikes, I personally built 200+ bikes last month & none came back with any problems. However if any do come back we always go out of our way to fix them for free (even if it's a user error fault).
Those reviews you pointed to are a bit out of date, the jockey wheels bit is wrong as they now use SRAMX4, also as it's 21 speed all 7 speed cassettes come with a 12t cog. The lack of replacement parts again is wrong as we sell/can order in all the parts on that bike.0 -
Canny Jock wrote:This is perfect at £250:
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... 333c018336
Or the Classic at £225 with 26inch wheels instead. Really don't think you can get better for the money.
I've got one of these - when I was looking for a new hybrid at around this money it was the best specced bike available, and still is I think. Simple, durable, light and comfortable. Done 1,000 miles on mine so far and apart from eating brake blocks no complaints, except I got plenty of p*nctures on the original tyres (although Contiental did stump up for new tryes and tubes under their guarantee). Edinbugh co-op were also very decent to deal with.0 -
I have to admit I am looking at extending my budget a bit and going for one of these next
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f_ProductID=10834&f_SupersetQRY=C440&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct=c003155c018343Officers don't run, it's undignified and panics the men0 -
markp2 wrote:The above looks like a bargain. I havve never heard of the brand but the spec is excellent for the money.
Go for it.
I've been commuting on a second hand classic for a few months, it's great and I would have carried on until the cyclescheme started at work and I went a bit mad
They are really simple - the single front cog and 8 speed is all you need for city commuting unless you live somewhere really hilly. I only use 3 gears for my commute.
As above, they are also a decent shop to deal with.0 -
I have a carrera subway, been commuting on it since March 2009 and it seems to be fine for the job. Nothing has broken on it yet and the only thing I have replaced on it is the brake pads.
Can't compare it to anything else as it was my first bike for over 10 years but I've been perfectly happy with it so far.0 -
I got the Triban Road 5 last month, but haven't really had much of a chance to ride it yet due to the weather.
For the money, you simply cannot argue with the spec. The Dual Drive system alone (whether you like it or not!) costs more to buy than the whole bike. The short ride I took it on confirmed that this system is ideal for city riding, with stationary gear changes being particularly handy.
Or try the Triban Trail 7 which I can heartily recommend.
Better than all this, the service and support at Decathlon is second-to-none, presumably because they face an uphill struggle to attract a fairly dismissive biking market in the UK.0