Buying a New Hybrid Bike

lauriep

Hi everyone,

I am currently looking at getting a new bike, after the bike I have had for the last 8 or so years (since I was a young teenager) is starting to show signs of it's age. It's main use will be social/commuting - generally fairly short (<20mins) bikes to and from uni or town, with the vast majority on roads/tarmac cycle paths (ie very rarely off road/bridlepaths etc.). Hence I'm looking for a hybrid bike in the price range of roughly 200-280, and probably more on the 'road bike' end of the hybrid spectrum than the 'mountain bike' end of the hybrid spectrum. I come here based on the advice that you're a friendly bunch!

I have looked around a few independent shops as well as Evans and Halfords, and have kind of narrowed it down to one of these 2:

Kona Dew City 2012 Hybrid Bike - Evans - £250
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kona/dew-city-2012-hybrid-bike-ec034477#features

Carrera Crossfire 1 Hybrid Bike - Halfords - £250
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... 65534#tab2


Whilst I have heard some bad things about Hal(Hell)fords, my family have brought all their bikes from there and never had any problems. I guess my question is basically which of these would people recommend? Or if their is anything else along these lines which it would be worth me looking at?

Thanks for any help, and feel free to ask more questions/tell me I'm wrong/stupid!

L

corshamjim

I very much doubt you need front suspension for the kind or riding you have described, and even if you do I doubt it would be any good at that price. The Kona Dew looks like the winner to me. It's a good discount on what was already a good value bicycle.

p.s. Welcome to the forum!

gaz79

I think either of these bikes would do the job, particularly as you don't appear to be doing any significant distance. I would recommend the standard Carrera Subway which i think is at the the lower end of your budget. I had the disc brake version and was extremely happy with it. I think its has a pretty good reputation for a bike within this budget range.

supersonic

The crossfire is indeed let by down the fork, and the whole bike is very heavy. As above, the Subway ias a better bet. The Kona is ok, but the seven speed freewheel based gearing is a weak point.

This is a nice machine:

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/product ... brid-bikes

But lacks low gears.

muzzle1

I've got the Revolution Courier Race that supersonic linked to, and I love it. It's been a great bike for my daily commute to work (5 miles each way). If you have any really steep hills to contend with, bear in mind that the lowest gear isn't especially low with only the single chainring up front, but you get used to it and I use it regularly around hilly Sheffield with no problems.

Commuter84

Can 100% concur with GAz79

I'm just about to upgrade from a Carrera Subway 2. Had the bike for apx 3-4 years, done well over 1000 miles on it, with only 2 services in the time. For the money I payed at the time (£289 I believe), I was extremely happy with the bike and am quite sad to see it go, but instead of paying for another service I've decided to upgrade.

If you don;t mind losing a bit of speed I would recommend getting a set of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres for it. Then you'll never have to worry about punctures again.

Good luck with the hunt! Let us know what you go with.

bigmonka

My Revolution Courier Race Disc is being delivered tomorrow so it's great to hear a positive review!
On all my previous bikes I've only ever used the highest three gears so the lack of lows gears isn't an issue (helps that York is pretty flat).

lauriep

Thanks for the help guys!

@supersonic that does look alright to me, but I'm not too sure about buying online, I think due to my limited knowledge I'd like to get the feel of something before I buy it. Or maybe it would be okay and I'm just being overly pessimistic, who knows?

I agree about the front suspension thing, and had had a look at the Subway, but to my incredibly untrained eyes it didn't look as good a deal to me! Definitely seems highly recommended here though.

I have ordered the Dew City into my local Evans in the right size so I can have a test ride, and am hoping it will come in sometime next week.

lauriep

Also, am I right in saying that the main difference you are paying for between the £199 (http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_892925_langId_-1_categoryId_165534#tab2) and the £279 (http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_810731_langId_-1_categoryId_165534#tab2) versions of the Carrera subway is the disk brakes? Or are some of the other differences significant? £199 seems a bit on the cheap side to me from what people have said...

supersonic

It does sem the Subway has been downgraded somewhat - used to be lighter and have 24 gears.

lauriep

supersonic wrote:

It does sem the Subway has been downgraded somewhat - used to be lighter and have 24 gears.

Probably not worth it then? Looking like the Dew City is front runner at the moment.

L

father_jack

check kona sizing, I find the top tube is stupidly short. Even on a very large frame the bars are virtually touching my knees. The Crossfire has front suspension, you don't want that.

Why not consider a flat bar road bike?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534

lauriep

Father Jack wrote:

check kona sizing, I find the top tube is stupidly short. Even on a very large frame the bars are virtually touching my knees. The Crossfire has front suspension, you don't want that.

Why not consider a flat bar road bike?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534

I'll keep an eye on the knee space, cheers for the heads up!

That particular bike is a bit out of my student price range, but I am potentially interested in the theory - originally I was wanting a road bike but got advised I might as well have a hybrid, as they are supposedly fairly efficient to ride and more comfortable (Although I'm still not sure how convinced I am!) What defines that as a flat bar road bike, rather than just a hybrid? I always thought I would want the road end of the hybrid spectrum rather than the MTB end of the hybrid spectrum.

L

father_jack

I'd say difference is top tube length, type of bars, wheels/tyres, and gearing. Hybrids sometimes have front suspension. A flat bar road bike wouldn't have suspension. If a hybrid has 26" wheels it definietly isn't a flar bar road bike, must have 700 wheels with maximum of 28mm tyres. 35mm or above and not a flar bar road bike (thick rims) Hybrids sometimes have riser handlebars. Flat bar road bike bars are straight. Gearing on hybrid is usually MTB chainset and cassette. Flat bar road bike should have higher gearing.

But it's not so simple you could see a flat bar road bike with MTB chainset, depending on the build.

Personally I wouldn't get a Subway unless you're riding on really bad city streets, cobbles, and also going on rough paths. Subway is a MTB with road tyres.

IanLD

Don't be guided by tyre size, but rather make sure it has 700c wheels and decent clearances. My Orbea Carpe H10 has 32mm Continental Sport Contacts as standard. Currently running Continental Top Contact Winter II or Schwalbe Winter Marathon which are 37 and 35 wide.

It has 27 gears, 700c 19mm wide rims, flat bars and mudguard eyelets. I've added bar ends, SKS mudguards, SPD pedals and a decent road bike saddle.

Hybrids cover a reasonably wide range, but I'd steer clear of anything with suspension. Disc brakes are worth getting if you can, but decent V brakes will work too. Make sure you've got mudguard eyelets front and rear and enough clearance to fit them over a range of tyres. If you want to ride on ice and snow, you'll need studded tyres that add a bit to the height and width of the tyre.

lauriep

Going in for a test ride today - will let you all know how it goes/if I get it!

lauriep

Bought the Dew City yesterday (http://www.evanscycles.com/products/kona/dew-city-2012-hybrid-bike-ec034477#features).

It seems nice... the gear changes are a bit clunky but they said in the shop that's relatively normal in this price range. It's definitely easier to ride than my very old and worn mountain bike!

I also can't seem to fit my old kickstand onto this bike... in the little space in front of the wheel there isn't enough room due to the proximity to the chainset and the gear changing cable. Any advice on how I could fit a stand? It is this type of fitting (http://www.evanscycles.com/products/raleigh/propstand-ec045206) where a bolt holds it onto that little section of frame, is there a different type that would be suitable?

Thanks for all the help thus far.

penski

supersonic wrote:

The Kona is ok, but the seven speed freewheel based gearing is a weak point.
.

@supersonic Good call on this...4 years later, the freewheel/hub has fallen apart. Bike wasn't used much (probably done about 400-700 miles)