Looking for a new hybrid - advice please

The glove

As the title suggests, I'm looking for a new hybrid for my 22 mile round trip commute - 2/3 days per week.

I'll be purchasing through cycle to work so have a budget upto £1k. I would like suspension forks and disc brakes so I can use it with the kids at the weekend and would really appreciate some advise

I've been looking at the Giant Roam XR1, not that I've seen one in the flesh but my LBS is a Giant dealer, I've sat on an XR2 so feels ok -

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Giant-Roam-XR-1 ... _48773.htm

Am I getting value for money and what else should I be considering?

Thanks in advance.......

jefflad

I've the XR2 of 2010 flavour and love it, really good bike. IMHO much better than the Boardman’s that a lot of people shout about but then I guess if their C2W scheme only includes Halford’s then that’s what they choose.

You'll find the bike is excellent both on the up and along the flat... I’d even argue you possibly don't need another bike. When I got mine my mates were so impressed 3 of them bought the same bike and not one of them has anything bad to say.

Steve@Tern

Hi
A couple more you could consider:-
Specialized Crosstrail Pro - £900, suspension forks, hydraulic discs and 27-speed triple Deore, should do everthing you want, or
Scott Sportster 20 - a fraction cheaper at £870, suspension forks, hydraulic discs but now 30 gears, again from Shimano Deore.
I think that if you want to get out-and about off-road, the sort of bike you talk about would be fine. Be a bit careful though - everything is a compromise. If you actually end up doing most of your riding on the road, the wider the tyres the more resistance you get. Don't dismiss a more road-oriented bike such as a Sirrus or Bianchi Camaleonte.
Steve

MichaelW

2x11miles is approaching a Long Distance where an efficient bike has an advantage over any other.
I would chose a bike that runs on 28/32mm tyres with the clearance for studded winter tyres. A cyclo-cross style (eg Boardman CX) is ideal and is designed for riding off road on tracks and trails.
If you dont like drop bars then you can get non suspension hybrids in a similar style, ie with flat bars.
Suspension forks add weight and it is usually tricky to attach full length mudguards. Cheaper sus forks are not so useful off road and even worse on road.
Disc brakes are great for all weather commuting; they work the same in wet or dry.

godders1

It's a myth that you need suspension for anything other than a perfect surface. I would avoid it unless you plan on actually doing some proper MTBing on it. 28mm tyres will be fine on canal towpaths, bridleways etc (I find 25mm quite tolerable).

Disc brakes are a good shout for a year round commuting bike.

Horses for courses and all that but the thought of an 11 mile commute on the sort of bike you looking at would fill me with dread. I'd at least try a bike without suspension and with skinnier tyres etc.

jefflad

Godders1 wrote:

It's a myth that you need suspension for anything other than a perfect surface. I would avoid it unless you plan on actually doing some proper MTBing on it. 28mm tyres will be fine on canal towpaths, bridleways etc (I find 25mm quite tolerable).

Disc brakes are a good shout for a year round commuting bike.

Horses for courses and all that but the thought of an 11 mile commute on the sort of bike you looking at would fill me with dread. I'd at least try a bike without suspension and with skinnier tyres etc.

You can lock the suspension off (which I do) and are you stating the tyres are 28mm width or stating they're the preferred width as they are actually 35mm.

For me the bike handles my commute of just under 11 miles each way fine but I've never road a proper road bike but am considering adding one to my collection in the near future. However, I do ride on a couple of stretches where I ride on dolomite so I feel this is the bike for me and one the OP wouldn't be disappointed with.

arthur_scrimshaw

MichaelW wrote:

2x11miles is approaching a Long Distance where an efficient bike has an advantage over any other.
I would chose a bike that runs on 28/32mm tyres with the clearance for studded winter tyres. A cyclo-cross style (eg Boardman CX) is ideal and is designed for riding off road on tracks and trails.
If you dont like drop bars then you can get non suspension hybrids in a similar style, ie with flat bars.
Suspension forks add weight and it is usually tricky to attach full length mudguards. Cheaper sus forks are not so useful off road and even worse on road.
Disc brakes are great for all weather commuting; they work the same in wet or dry.

+1 it'll cope with a lot of offroad stuff and will be much better suited to the commute than any flat bar bike.

twist83

I have to echo the above. Having a Hybrid with a suspension fork in that price range usually means firstly it will be a cheap suspension fork which will equate to being heavy. A flat barred Hybrid with 700c wheels or a CX would be my choice. As above they will handle pretty rough surfaces.

I know people bang on about Boardmans but they do really offer fantastic value for money. The components are far higher quality than the Equiv Spec etc and they do ride incredibly well.

Have a gander at the Boardman HYbrid Pro or Team.

godders1

jefflad wrote:

Godders1 wrote:

It's a myth that you need suspension for anything other than a perfect surface. I would avoid it unless you plan on actually doing some proper MTBing on it. 28mm tyres will be fine on canal towpaths, bridleways etc (I find 25mm quite tolerable).

Disc brakes are a good shout for a year round commuting bike.

Horses for courses and all that but the thought of an 11 mile commute on the sort of bike you looking at would fill me with dread. I'd at least try a bike without suspension and with skinnier tyres etc.

You can lock the suspension off (which I do) and are you stating the tyres are 28mm width or stating they're the preferred width as they are actually 35mm.

For me the bike handles my commute of just under 11 miles each way fine but I've never road a proper road bike but am considering adding one to my collection in the near future. However, I do ride on a couple of stretches where I ride on dolomite so I feel this is the bike for me and one the OP wouldn't be disappointed with.

Sure but there's still the weight (and more to go wrong).

28mm is (in my opinion) the sweet spot between comfort and efficiency on the types of surfaces we're talking about.

I'm glad you like your bike and you may well be right in that it would be the right bike for the OP too. Just giving my opinion/perspective (having ridden/owned lots of different types of bikes and commuting 32 miles a day).

arthur_scrimshaw

jefflad wrote:

I've the XR2 of 2010 flavour and love it, really good bike. IMHO much better than the Boardman’s that a lot of people shout about but then I guess if their C2W scheme only includes Halford’s then that’s what they choose.

You'll find the bike is excellent both on the up and along the flat... I’d even argue you possibly don't need another bike. When I got mine my mates were so impressed 3 of them bought the same bike and not one of them has anything bad to say.

Well you guess wrong in my case My C2W scheme excludes Halfords (Cyclescheme) so it was more aggro for me to buy a CX but after looking at quite a few options I decided it was the bike I needed. I started commuting seriously on a Spec Sirrus and while it's a reasonably fast hybrid it was only after I got my Cannondale Six that I realised what a difference having drops made. I'm slower on the CX than the Six but faster than the Sirrus and it's far more comfortable on longer trips. It also feel bombproof but not in a bad (ie heavy) way.

There's also no chance any roadie will acknowledge you on a flat barred bike no matter how much you want them to.