Sub £500 Hybrid

[Mr Obertshaw]

As I will be moving house to be a little closer to work soon I think it's time to start riding to work. The commute is around 8 miles each way, 5 miles along a flat but very poorly maintained coastal cycle path and then a gradual 3 miles up hill inland.

At present I do have a roadbike, however in all honesty I struggle on the hill sections due to being "powerfully built" and the gearing being too high for my level of fitness. The poor surface on the cycle path is also renowned for buggering peoples wheels.

With this in mind I'm thinking a hybrid would be the most suitable bike. I want something solid and reliable that wont leave me at the side of the road with a broken spoke every other day.

So far I'm drawn towards http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/m9b0s18p5324/GT-TRANS... I need an XL frame as I'm 6ft 4.

Anyone got any other recommendations? Hybrids and city bikes seem to get grouped together for most reviews/ tests, however Hills are my main issue in my area as I can't leave the house without going up or down one...

[Pieman68]

I was looking for something similar and spent ages researching and came to pretty much the same conclusion, although I went a little cheaper and got the GT Transeo 3 from Pauls. Just had a mail to say that it has been despatched today so hopefully will see it for the easter weekend

Don't think that you will get much better spec for the money and the lock out fork would seem like a good option with what you are saying about the coastal path

[Magic919]

It's getting hard to know what to call some bikes. To me that's a hardtail MTB, not that it matters.

I think that will do the job in terms of having a large selection of low range gears and tougher wheels than a 'city' bike.

The bikes that I'd call a hybrid would be more road-orientated and wouldn't match that for your purpose.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Depends how bad the path is

I'm wary of cheap suspension, as seizes up over time and not great, although things might have moved on

I have a commute with 9 miles road and 2 miles gravel path/bridleway and used a Kona Dew, they retail for £300:

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/hybrid-bikes...la-227388940804|crid:83789280484|nw:g|rnd:17509789279867344245|dvc:c|adp:1o1&gclid=CPLbzNHS1ssCFQUq0wod_HUHPA

Is a great bike for commuting and I have commuted on about 10 different bikes over the years (road/mtb/single speed)

Although there is one 100m stretch of bridleway with large flints and stones/ruts where is starts to struggle a bit, on loose gravel its great and on tarmac I am as quick as I am on a road bike (only commuting, not on a long ride)

It also has a triple with a 28/32 lowest gear, possibly the lowest gear you can get, perfect for riding up the steepest path I have ever seen with a toddler on the back , it was near vertical! Otherwise the middle ring was perfect for commuting every day

Edited by TwistingMyMelon on Wednesday 23 March 11:00

[Liquid Knight]

This...



...was £280

A few accessories and suspension forks and I'm tackling Norfolk's finest potholes in relative comfort.



They're a little heavy but do the job.

Edited by Liquid Knight on Monday 11th April 16:01

[Watchman]

Liquid Knight said:

Their a little heavy but do the job.

Are they any good? I've always wondered how effective they are. Mind you, at 1.5Kg I'd need to weigh my existing forks to see how much of a disadvantage they would be. My existing forks are aluminium - translated as "very rigid". My fingers go numb on some roads.

[Liquid Knight]

There is no adjustment but it isn't a conventional fork. You need to reset your geometry.



Once sorted it's a lot smoother than rigid forks and lighter (and for what little difference it makes) more streamlined than telescopic ones. Little bumps and stuff are fine but you still need to avoid holes and tramlines.