What bike

[Olivera]

Not cycled for a long time, so I'm looking for some advice on what kind of bike I need, or even a specific model.

I intend to cycle mostly on back roads near where I live, but also might want to use it on some light trails at a nearby windfarm.

Budget is perhaps up to around the £1000 mark. A colleague mentioned it's worth trying to go for one with hub gears?

Help appreciated.

[jockinthebox]

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/fitness-bikes/onroad-...

And a spare set of tyres for light off road rides, buy a helmet, shoes, gloves, shorts ect with the change

[Ilovejapcrap]

Look up cube SL road pro

They do a
SL road race
SL road pro
And SL road SL (top spec one)

It’s basically a road biased hybrid with wider wheels and flat bars, I fitted bull bars and love mine.

You’d want different tyres

[milu]

Have a look on Planet X. They do some good all rounders. Take no notice of the haters.

[SVS]

What’s to hate about PlanetX?

[milu]

Nothing from me
I’ve bought all sorts. But some seem to sneer
Like some folk do with Skoda. Poor mans whatever.....
I can’t fault them

[CooperS]

Wasn't the hate back 10 years ago when you could get a boardman or Planet X full carbon bike for £1000.

The issue for me was that their branding being pretty brash but seeing the new breed of Trek they seem discreet but today's standards.

[milu]

You can get one for less now. Hydraulic disc available too

[WhatHappenedThere]

Bump ?


I walked in to Halfrauds a year ago for some oil for my MX5 (PH content pass) and walked out with what at the time seemed a reasonable 'all rounder' Carrerabike for circa £300 - you know the craic 'too good a deal / discount' not to.

I used to ride quite a bit in my youth - in fact dusted off my old Specialized Hard Rock for the GF to ride this week, and am finding this Carrera is getting used more than originally thought I would, and the componentry is in reality Crap.
The SRAM front shifter has bust, but I'll replace that today, however the GF and I enjoyed a 16 mile ride out on Suynday and thinking buying a 'reasonable' Hybrid each to be OK.

I have just seen / thought and signed up for the Cycle to Work scheme (I am a PH Director - of my own Ltd company)

So - the post ?
A Hybrid to mainly use on the road, occasional trail / bridleway - not 'mountains'. So a reasonable volume tyre.
Jump on it to pedal round the block with my daughter, or do a daily pedal of 10 miles round the villages.
To suit a six footer, weighing 13-14 stone. Budget circa £500 - £750, that I can do through the cycle to work scheme.......

just read : https://www.cyclingweekly.com/group-tests/hybrid-b...

Obviously you get what you pay for, but a fair spread there of £500 to £1000,

And no doubt a tonne more options out there !
Whats 'wrong' with this for example ? Specialized Crosstrail Hydro Disc 2019 Hybrid Bike
https://www.evanscycles.com/specialized-crosstrail...
@ £575
vs.
Pinnacle Cobalt 4 2019 Hybrid Bike
https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-cobalt-4-2019...
@£800

Edited by WhatHappenedThere on Tuesday 23 April 09:16

[lufbramatt]

The Specialized will be a perfectly good bike. The extra money gets a much better groupset (Deore is 3 levels higher than Altus in the Shimano range) with 2x10 gears rather than 3x8 which is very dated. Hard to find good quality 8 speed component these days when bits wear out. The pinnacle has an air fork which you can tune to your weight, the Suntour on the Specialized is coil sprung. I'd argue that a suspension fork is a waste of time anyway for that sort of bike- I spent the winter having lots of run riding proper off road trails on a fully rigid mountain bike- but that's what they come with so not much you can do about that.

I wouldn't rule out 29" hardtail mountain bikes, you can always put slick tyres on them for road use but always have the option of putting knobblies on for rougher stuff. Hybrids have always seemed a bit pointless to me.

e.g. https://www.evanscycles.com/cannondale-trail-4-1x-...

Better forks and groupset, stronger frame and wheels.

[WhatHappenedThere]

Thanks for that.
I PH budget creep exists in bicycles as well as cars…

It really is a minefield out there on all the different tech levels of kit even from well-known brands that I recall and remember.
My general thinking is that specialized, Cannondale, giant, etc are all good gear but I don’t want to fall into the minefield of buying something because it easy....... and then regretting it (again)

[WhatHappenedThere]

lufbramatt said:

I wouldn't rule out 29" hardtail mountain bikes, you can always put slick tyres on them for road use but always have the option of putting knobblies on for rougher stuff. Hybrids have always seemed a bit pointless to me.

e.g. https://www.evanscycles.com/cannondale-trail-4-1x-...

Better forks and groupset, stronger frame and wheels.

Just looking at that - it is 11 gears ? Surely not enough to move along on the road ?
I'm no lycra legend but would say 4 minute miles are our pace.

[rastapasta]

WhatHappenedThere said:

lufbramatt said:

I wouldn't rule out 29" hardtail mountain bikes, you can always put slick tyres on them for road use but always have the option of putting knobblies on for rougher stuff. Hybrids have always seemed a bit pointless to me.

e.g. https://www.evanscycles.com/cannondale-trail-4-1x-...

Better forks and groupset, stronger frame and wheels.

Just looking at that - it is 11 gears ? Surely not enough to move along on the road ?
I'm no lycra legend but would say 4 minute miles are our pace.

I ride a Trek Crockett 5 most of the time. Great bike - absolutely love it. Wider tyres fork and Handlebars make it very easy to get around on plus its quite quick. Plus you can hit the gravel and a little bit of the rougher stuff without having to worry too much unlike the fancy roadbikes with all the carbon etc (I have one of these too). Mine has a 105 group and hydraulic brakes so its pretty reliable in that respect. I just think these bikes are much better fun. You can sacrifice a little top end for pure enjoyment. Best of luck with whatever you choose though.

[WhatHappenedThere]

Yes I've seen these 'chunky racers' - are they really that bombproof off the tarmac ?

Thanks

[FarQue]

After many years on halfway decent MTBs (current one being a Whyte T130RS) I'm enjoying knocking around on a new Whyte Shoreditch: 1x10 gearing, hydraulic disc, carbon fork, light (compared to my MTB) and it's coping well with tarmac, potholed tarmac and light gravel paths. RRP of £700.

[Robmarriott]

I bought a 27.5" hardtail MTB for this purpose 5 years ago, 3 and a bit years I managed with it perfectly, tyres weren't too chunky so it's not impossible on the road (although, in comparison to a road bike, it's awful), when I decided to do more road riding, I bought a dedicated road bike and now don't use my MTB on the road if I can help it.

The MTB would be better if the tyres were changed for something even less chunky but it's still heavier than a road bike because of the suspension fork and the fact it's aluminium not carbon.

I'd probably go for a gravel bike if I wanted something for mixed terrain (and only wanted one bike), no need for huge suspension, or even any at all, you wouldn't get the wider tyres on a road bike though. Not sure if any would be in budget but some of them do have suspension now which would remove some harshness.

[lufbramatt]

WhatHappenedThere said:

lufbramatt said:

I wouldn't rule out 29" hardtail mountain bikes, you can always put slick tyres on them for road use but always have the option of putting knobblies on for rougher stuff. Hybrids have always seemed a bit pointless to me.

e.g. https://www.evanscycles.com/cannondale-trail-4-1x-...

Better forks and groupset, stronger frame and wheels.

Just looking at that - it is 11 gears ? Surely not enough to move along on the road ?
I'm no lycra legend but would say 4 minute miles are our pace.

11-30 on 29" wheels will top out about 22-23mph. It's easy to change the chainring to a bigger one though. TBH it was the first one on the list when I set the max price to £800

Edited by lufbramatt on Tuesday 23 April 16:35

[WhatHappenedThere]

How about one of these then ?

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/reviews/hybrid-bikes...
B’Twin Riverside 920

[Gareth79]

WhatHappenedThere said:

Yes I've seen these 'chunky racers' - are they really that bombproof off the tarmac ?

"Gravel" or "Adventure" bikes seem pretty rugged and worth a look. I think your bones would probably be shaken apart before they are damaged from what you ride over. If it's mostly flat "firetrail" and bridleways it should be ok.

[Kermit power]

WhatHappenedThere said:

lufbramatt said:

I wouldn't rule out 29" hardtail mountain bikes, you can always put slick tyres on them for road use but always have the option of putting knobblies on for rougher stuff. Hybrids have always seemed a bit pointless to me.

e.g. https://www.evanscycles.com/cannondale-trail-4-1x-...

Better forks and groupset, stronger frame and wheels.

Just looking at that - it is 11 gears ? Surely not enough to move along on the road ?
I'm no lycra legend but would say 4 minute miles are our pace.

It's all about the gearing...

You might think you get a lot more gears with a 27 speed 3x9, for example, but in reality you don't, as there's lots of overlap in those gears. A big ring on front and back will give you similar gearing as a small ring front and back, for example, and you're constantly having to actually use the front gears to avoid the chain rubbing against the front mech and being at a horrid angle if you're running it big/big or small/small.

An 11 speed setup, on the other hand, has no redundant gears (it can't, as you can't change gear at the front!), and the chainring on the front is positioned towards the middle of the cassette, so you can go from 1st to 11th gear without bending the chain line too much.

Having said that, there isn't as much spread on a 1x11 as there would be on a 3x9. I'm a fat old knacker, but I've just ordered a 1x12 that has exactly the same spread as the 2x10 I'm replacing, and that's perfect for the sort of riding I do, which is pretty much all off road. If I was travelling significant distances on tarmac to get to the trails, I'd have to compromise on a 1x11 between running out of climbing ability going uphill or running out of flat out tarmac speed!

For what you're looking for, personally I'd probably look for a 2x10 setup within the price range, and failing that, 1x11. I definitely wouldn't go for a 3x anything, though as it's far more work moving the gears around and keeping everything running smoothly in my experience.