Choosing a New Hybrid Bike

bikegangster

Hi, I'm planning on buying a new bike. Which of these is the fastest? I'm looking for a hybrid that can match the speed or even go faster than a road bike. My budget is £800. I know road bikes are usually faster than hybrids but I test driven a bunch of bikes with drop bars from Evans and didn't like them. So its flat bars and upright position for me! I'm happy to slouch over the flat bars to reduce air resistance when needed.

My current bike is a Pinnacle Neon 2 2013 and I'm planning on replacing it because I want a better bike. The rim brakes on the Neon made my wheels concave and prompt me to replace both wheels and I wasn't happy. So I'm looking at hybrids with disc brakes, and say goodbye to worn out rims.

I'm currently looking at:

Giant Rapid 1 2016

http://www.cyclesurgery.com/giant-rapid ... sting=true

I got a feeling the frame is pretty aero. And it looks sick as well.

Liv Thrive 1 2016 http://www.cyclesurgery.com/liv-thrive- ... sting=true

This looks like a smaller version of the Giant Rapid, plus its cheaper. Could a woman's bike be lighter than men's bike on average?

Eastway Flyback H2 2016 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/eastway-flyback-h1-tiagra-2016/

Great price. It doesn't look like I could fit mud guards and probably won't be able to fit a 700 x 32c tyre on the front - no space!

Christopher Hoy Shizuoka .003 2016 https://www.evanscycles.com/hoy-shizuok ... e-EV246156

This could also double up as a cyclocross bike.

Are these any good? Is there any good hybrid bikes that may be better than those four? Thanks.

apreading

Top of my list would be Boardman Hybrid Team and Whyte Portobello, in that order. Light, lively and great ride.

Of the ones you list, I would probably put the Giant and Hoy at the top end.

If you want a more comfortable, upright cruiser type ride (you dont sound like you do though) then look also at the Specialzed Sirrus although its not great value for money.

The Boardman is streets ahead of the others in my opinion though, the spec is just so much better and its a great bike to ride, really fast and racy.

Tektro brakes on alot of these arent the best and you will probably want to replace them with Avid or even better Shimano at some point. (Boardman already has shimano)

Sleeper Service

They're all pretty nice bikes, although you're correct that the Liv is a woman's bike.

Out of the three I'd take the Hoy, purely because it has Apex components rather than Tiagra, but they're all pretty decent. In addition, the Boardman Hybrid Team is worth a look, although I personally feel the 2014 model has a better spec than the current one.

mcstumpy

Triban 540 flat bar, good spec, relatively light, fast. For 500 quid.

The Rookie

A Hybrid will never be faster than a like for like road bike, as fast, yes, faster, no.

For speed the Triban has the edge on the Boardman, but only just, for a commuter I'd take the disc brake benefit for the tiny difference.

bikegangster

Cheers. Evans are on its way to prepare the Hoy Shizuoka so I can test drive it and I'm looking forward to it.

I went to Cycle Surgery as I want to test drive the Rapid and see if its better or worse than the Hoy. Getting test drives there ain't straight forward. I can't test drive it because the staff said I have to pay for the bike before I can test it. Customer service at Surgery was rubbish too.

How about the BMC Alpen Challenge AC02? I don't like triple cranksets though, I almost never use the smallest gear. Apparently Alpen Challenge bikes are fast, especially the AC01 (this one's a bit above my budget range though). Is that true or just marketing/BS?

I ain't tried Halfords yet, I don't think they do test drives. Otherwise I'll test out the Boardman. I don't wanna buy a bike without testing and then regret it.

The Rookie

Also have a look at the Giant Fastroad as well, and Giant offer good test rides.

lincolndave

I looked at a giant rapid 1 the other week, it Is an excellent bike, but I also saw the fast road at he same time, my idea was to buy the rapid 1, I am picking the fast road up to morrow, they are well worth a look before you make your mind up

bikegangster

I just test driven the Hoy Shizuoka 003. It was a sweet ride, it's slightly lighter than my current bike. High chance I will say yes to it and buy it at the end of the month.

But before I do that, I need to check the Giant Rapids. Cycle Surgery sell the Rapids, Evans does not. You can test drive any bike you want at Evans. Not so easy with Surgery, you have to buy the bike before you can test it, urgh.

I looked at the Giant's website test ride page and I can't find either the Rapids or the Fast Roads. The available choices are bloody Anthems mountain bikes and similar variants (I hate mountain bikes!) and purpose built racing bikes like the Defies and the Propels. Not a single hybrid to be seen!

Is there a way to find out how much any the Giant bikes weigh?

I still haven't checked Halfords yet. I'm a bit worried the Hybrid Team its a bit on the heavy side. 10.5 kilos for a medium frame.

I can't buy a bike that I can't test drive. I don't want to buy a bike and then regret it straight after.

The Rookie

Don't trust bike weights from manufacturers, there is no standard and some will use an XS frame and no pedals and no something else (in some cases they must take something off to hit their claimed weight!), that is what Giant as policy don't declare weights. If you want to know the weight, weigh one.,

bikegangster

The Canyon ranges are nice. The Roadlite AL 6.0 looks great. The specs are great too, much better than the Hoy Shizuoka (I just asked to return my deposit actually!) and Boardman's Hybrid. Shimano 105's group sets. No Tektro parts or FSA parts to be seen, just pure Shimano. Got nothing against Tektro or FSA, they're cheap and good. But obviously test drives aren't possible since Canyon is online-only store. Shall I gamble? Perhaps.