Which hybrid for around £500

gaznicholson

Hello,

Firstly apologies if this is in the wrong forum.

I'm currently looking for a new hybrid bike for around the £500 mark.

I've narrowed my search down to the following 3 bikes:

Specialized Crosstrail Sport Disc 2014

Boardman MX Sport 2014

Forme Peak Trail 1.0 2014

I am wanting a bike with disc brakes and having done a bit of looking around on the net, I seem to be finding although hydraulics are generally regarded as better than mechanical brakes (albeit a pig to set up), Avid BB5's which the Boardman has are better than low end hydraulic brakes. So that would be the one I'd choose, however I don't want to be overlooking some really bad specs on it or good specs on others.

Would you guys recommend any of these bikes over the other two or any other bike that I may not have considered for that matter?

Thanks for any advice in advance.

t0pc4t

I went for a cube which was about £600 at the time, it's a good enough bike but what I would do differently after riding it for 5 years is as follows:

1. go for rigid forks, I swapped out the suspension fork on my cube as I always had it locked out
2. find one with hub gears, the time and money spent on maintaining the derailleur is a ballache that I could well do without.

Disc brakes are nice, never had mechanical ones, the cube has basic deore ones which are spot on.

t0pc4t

this is what I would go for:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/cube ... prod111946

apreading

You dont say what you are using it for, but for most people the recommendation to avoid suspension on a hybrid is sound. It will add weight (quite alot of it) and at this price wont work very well anyway.

I would go for the Boardman Hybrid Comp. No hesitation. I bought the Hybrid Team, which is even better.

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

If looking at Specialized then try the Sirrus. Much more relaxed, comfort fit than some like the Boardman, which are more racey. The Specialized arent particularly good value for money unless you get one well discounted - low spec components on a good frame, generally.

If you want to save some money - look at the Carrera Gryphon at Halfords, or something from Decathlon - both serious value for money and should fit the bill.

gaznicholson

Hello,

Thanks for the replies guys, sorry I should have put the type of riding I do.

I am mostly road/pavement however I do go on trails through woodland now and again but nothing to strenous that would warrant an MTB in my opinion. So it was this was that was leading to me to having a front suspension (with lockout) and more durable wheels/tyres than a road bike.

I currently have an MTB and am constantly thinking I wish I had something a bit faster on the roads, but do not want to rule out option of going off road.

However your point about suspension on a hybrid bike possibly not being great at this price range is a good one. I watched the video on your Hybrid Comp link and to me that bike seems pure road/pavement only and the only thing that made it a hybrid is the riding position and the disc brakes.

apreading

The Boardman Hybrid can also take pretty wide tyres and is very similar to their CX bike, which is built for off-road racing, so its tough enough and could be soft enough with the right tyres.

Something like a Cannondale Bad Boy (if you can get one cheap in your size like http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/c ... 093&O_ID=1) or a Carrera Subway sound more like what you have in mind though.

The Boardman Hybrid would be perfectly well suited if you fancied it though.

I worry that if you go for what you have in mind at the moment then it wont satisfy your "wish I had something a bit faster on the roads" requirement. If you already have an MTB for off-road then do you really need the hybrid to be severely compromised on road just to do something that the MTB will always be better suited for? Dont know if you are looking to get rid of the MTB?

t0pc4t

I don't think I'd really fancy doing anything other than fire roads on my Cube, with or without front suspension, keep the MTB for the forest

gaznicholson

To be honest it's a bike to replace the MTB. MTB is really old and parts on it have been replaced several times. Front fork, wheels, chain rings, cassette and cables all need replacing hence I'd rather just get a new bike.

The Rookie

apreading wrote:

The Boardman Hybrid can also take pretty wide tyres and is very similar to their CX bike, which is built for off-road racing, so its tough enough and could be soft enough with the right tyres.

I thought the Boardman hybrid had narrow chain stays limiting tyres to about 28mm?

snowster

One more for the Boardman Hybrid Comp worth every penny and with roads like we have in Devon at mo deals with all those pot holes no trouble

apreading

Boardman Hybrid will go to at least 32mm tyres - loads of room around the chain stays/seat stays and even more around the fork. You may not be able to get knobbly 35mm tyres on it though.