What Hybrid?

cattlegrid_79

Hi all

New here - first post.

Looking to get a new hybrid having not been on a bike in years. My previous heap was a proper old school thing that I got for free and had to spend a few quid on getting roadworthy (hey, i was poor). But now i have a job that pays real money and everything! So, i'm looking to take advantage of the Ride2Work scheme my company offers. Unfortunately this means I only get to choose a bike from Evans. So with this in mind, if my budget is about £500ish, does anyone have any recommendations? I can look at the specs on their website until the cows come home, but having been out of the loop for years, I don't know what is any good these days with regard to components.

Cheers for any help.

markhewitt1978

For £500 I would recommend one of these http://www.evanscycles.com/products/tre ... e-ec040356

I had the 7.1 version and it was really good, but the 7.3 has 9 speed shifting instead of the 7 speed I had.

Although it's tempting to go hybrid first as it's versatile, what sort of riding are you going to be doing? Purely on road? Just for commuting? How far? Are you going to want to disappear off on weekend rides / sportives / charity rides? What about cycle trails, canal paths etc?

Have you considered getting a road bike? These tend to be a bit more expensive and certainly you'd have to spend more than £500 if you want to get a quality level equal to what a £500 hybrid would be, but then you'd be getting a far better bike for on road purposes.

The thing to remember with bikes is, buy cheap, buy twice

cattlegrid_79

Hey Mark

Thanks for your reply.

In all honesty, i'm not going to be doing any "proper" mountain biking (at least not yet - who knows where these things go eventually!). It will be mainly road use, but I really want the flexibility to be able to do the odd weekend jaunts places, throw it in the car when off camping etc. Perhaps the odd charity/fun ride type thing. So i really want to be able to use it on towpaths and similar things like that.

Unfortunately, my budget is what it is, so i know i'm never going to get anything super amazing, but i also don't want something that will start falling apart in a year's time either! The choice is just so overwhelming for someone with no knowledge.

Cheers

Sam

DaveStockman1

I'm no expert, but I started on a hybrid, and I don't think you'll better the Boardman Performance Hybrid Comp.
Join British cycling and you'll get an extra 10% off, too. One thing. Halfords service very very poor in my experience, but the product is first class, for value.

Shaun67

I got a Boardman Hybrid Comp, I paid around £500 less 10% from my British Cycling membership and to be
honest it's not a bad bike for the money. The only problem is Halfords, but once you've bought it you
don't have to go back.

apreading

Trouble is, his scheme only does Evans... Totally agree with the comments about the Boardman though.

passout

I'd forget the scheme and get a Boardman or maybe one of those unusual hybrids planet x / one one do. They had Inbreds set up for road use recently - looked ideal. Theres also the revolution cross bikes. If you stick to Evans then I'd go Pinnacle.

markhewitt1978

DaveStockman1 wrote:

I'm no expert, but I started on a hybrid, and I don't think you'll better the Boardman Performance Hybrid Comp.
Join British cycling and you'll get an extra 10% off, too. One thing. Halfords service very very poor in my experience, but the product is first class, for value.

I started on a hybrid (FX 7.1) but quickly wanted a road bike, as it turns out I now have a road bike, using insurance money after my FX was trashed, but I do miss my hybrid and I think I'd still be riding it from time to time if I still had it.