Ideas for a hybrid bike to cycle with kids for under £350?

Nickib

I want to get out with my kids on local cycle tracks / round parks etc. Won’t be doing anything extreme!

Was thinking of a hybrid bike but am utterly clueless on what to buy. Don’t want to spend more than £350 if possible.

Anyone got any suggestions?

Thanks for your help

mrfpb

I had a Ridgeback Speed for 12 years from when the children started cycling, and for commuting to work. Very versatile gearing, low enough gear to peddle comfortably at child speed. Good for towing children's bikes with a trailgator, fast enough for an urban commute, came with mudguards and a pannier rack. Wide enough tyres for most off road activities canal paths, gravel tracks, most woodland tracks. Just not for dedicated mountain bike trails.
RRP is £400 but last years model is available in £200 - £300 range if you shop around.

slowbike

How big are the kids?
I'm currently riding a childs bike just for fun with my toddler - although I'll ride my normal sized bikes when we're going somewhere.
riding a Childs bike looks silly - but actually it means I'm down at his level - plus I can throw the bike when I need to pick him up. And it's going to be his bike when he's big enough.

Nickib

Slowbike wrote:

How big are the kids?
I'm currently riding a childs bike just for fun with my toddler - although I'll ride my normal sized bikes when we're going somewhere.
riding a Childs bike looks silly - but actually it means I'm down at his level - plus I can throw the bike when I need to pick him up. And it's going to be his bike when he's big enough.

The kids a little older than this - 6 and 9 years

Nickib

mrfpb wrote:

I had a Ridgeback Speed for 12 years from when the children started cycling, and for commuting to work. Very versatile gearing, low enough gear to peddle comfortably at child speed. Good for towing children's bikes with a trailgator, fast enough for an urban commute, came with mudguards and a pannier rack. Wide enough tyres for most off road activities canal paths, gravel tracks, most woodland tracks. Just not for dedicated mountain bike trails.
RRP is £400 but last years model is available in £200 - £300 range if you shop around.

Thanks very much! I’ll have a look into this. The kids are 6 and 9 so on their own bikes, but like the idea of the rack to be able to take stuff out with us without weighing down a rucksack too much.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Voodoo Marasa at Halfords, it's been the best bang for the buck hybrid for years, don't forget your 10% British Cycling discount which will bring the current promo price down to £288 each. It's just over 13Kg by default (which is about average for a hybrid at this price point), you could easily knock the best part of 1+Kg off that with different pedals; tyres; tubes. It can easily take 2"/50mm tyres apparently, if it can take 2.35", it will open up a huge range of popular off-road tyres for increased comfort and grip.
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... -20-frames
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... -18-frames

Or for £360 with BC discount at the mo (£338 for the womens version), the Boardman Hybrid Comp is actually a great buy, coming in at ~11Kg with a similar spec to the Voodoo (except it's 2x9, rather than 3x9 speed gearing). Boardmans tend to have nicer welding on the frame. It comes with 32mm tyres, which is fine for light off-road, I've no idea how much bigger you could go but I'd hazard a guess that 40mm could happen.
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... 9cm-frames
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... 5cm-frames

Nickib

NitrousOxide wrote:

Voodoo Marasa at Halfords, it's been the best bang for the buck hybrid for years, don't forget your 10% British Cycling discount which will bring the current promo price down to £288 each. It's just over 13Kg by default (which is about average for a hybrid at this price point), you could easily knock the best part of 1+Kg off that with different pedals; tyres; tubes. It can easily take 2"/50mm tyres apparently, if it can take 2.35", it will open up a huge range of popular off-road tyres for increased comfort and grip.
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... -20-frames
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... -18-frames

Or for £360 with BC discount at the mo (£338 for the womens version), the Boardman Hybrid Comp is actually a great buy, coming in at ~11Kg with a similar spec to the Voodoo (except it's 2x9, rather than 3x9 speed gearing). Boardmans tend to have nicer welding on the frame. It comes with 32mm tyres, which is fine for light off-road, I've no idea how much bigger you could go but I'd hazard a guess that 40mm could happen.
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... 9cm-frames
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/h ... 5cm-frames

Thanks very much for this info! I will go and have a look at both these bikes. Didn’t know about a British cycling discount either, so that’s great thanks!

Nickib

Nickib wrote:

I want to get out with my kids on local cycle tracks / round parks etc. Won’t be doing anything extreme!

Was thinking of a hybrid bike but am utterly clueless on what to buy. Don’t want to spend more than £350 if possible.

Anyone got any suggestions?

Thanks for your help

Should I be thinking of creeping my price up a bit to get a different grade bike?

mrfpb

There's always a more expensive bike that looks nicer!

I'd say set a realistic budget and get the best you can for riding with your kids. If you really want something better later then you can spend what you like on a bike for the type of riding you like.

I did 50 mile rides and a 100km London to Brighton on my Ridgeback Speed before deciding I really needsed a better bike for my first 100 mile ride.

Nickib

mrfpb wrote:

There's always a more expensive bike that looks nicer!

I'd say set a realistic budget and get the best you can for riding with your kids. If you really want something better later then you can spend what you like on a bike for the type of riding you like.

I did 50 mile rides and a 100km London to Brighton on my Ridgeback Speed before deciding I really needsed a better bike for my first 100 mile ride.

Good point! Thanks for reigning me back in!