Budget-y Hybrid Bike

[WhisperingWasp]

Just ordered my wife a Specialized Sirrus something-or-other that I am going to put some chunky tyres on and a rack over the rear wheel. Want us both to have a bit of a do-it-all bike to explore our local area via some light off-road tracks but also his & hers bikes to put on the roof of the car and take away with us (got a week in Wales next year for example).

I need one for myself now too of course! Looking at no more than 500 quid really. Open to lightly used for me but ideally new. Please share with me any bargains you have noticed. Also PM me if you have anything that might fit the bill.

5'11" so looking at 54-56, M/L I reckon.

Cheers.

[Barchettaman]

Loads available. I would look for hydraulic disc brakes at that price point, they’re really excellent.
Drivetrain is irrelevant really, even something ‘old fashioned’ like a 3x8 setup will be fine if it’s set up nicely.
Front fork travel isn’t massively important for your intended use.

I would normally suggest Decathlon but their hybrid options seem to have mechanical disc brakes, which aren’t as good.

Have a look here.

https://www.evanscycles.com/bikes/hybrid-bikes#dcp...

Having written all that I bought this excellent hardtail for €75 this summer which would do the job. Only v-brakes but they’re great.

[Evanivitch]

You should easily find a Boardman MTX 8.9 on Facebook Marketplace for that money.

[WhisperingWasp]

Thanks both. Not on Facebook I'm afraid. Searching eBay and Gumtree mainly.

Barchettaman - I'm ideally looking at a rigid bike, just so it is the same as the one I've ordered. Guess this keeps cost down too.

Let me pop a couple of links to ones on my radar:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225737542485
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/186119962382
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335073637983 (probably too expensive)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225810710380 (really like this but Microshift...?)

And this looks a bargain new but do I want a Raleigh?! It's not 1996...
https://www.raleigh.co.uk/gb/en/strada-city-hybrid...

[Xenoous]

Watching this thread as I'm curious too. I'm changing jobs in a month and will need to travel into central Cambridge. Rather than driving the 10 miles, I'm thinking cycling it. Will save plenty of money on fuel and probably wont take me any longer. However I don't want to spend more than £300. There's not a whole lot to choose from that I can see. I'm against buying second hand from where I am due to the rate of which bikes are stolen in Cambridge. Don't want to fall into a trap of buying a stolen example.

https://halfords.com/bikes/hybrid-bikes/carrera-su... - This seems like the best bet at the moment.

Hope you find what you're after OP.

[Barchettaman]

Xenoous said:

Watching this thread as I'm curious too. I'm changing jobs in a month and will need to travel into central Cambridge. Rather than driving the 10 miles, I'm thinking cycling it. Will save plenty of money on fuel and probably wont take me any longer. However I don't want to spend more than £300. There's not a whole lot to choose from that I can see. I'm against buying second hand from where I am due to the rate of which bikes are stolen in Cambridge. Don't want to fall into a trap of buying a stolen example.

https://halfords.com/bikes/hybrid-bikes/carrera-su... - This seems like the best bet at the moment.

Hope you find what you're after OP.

Do you have secure parking for the bike at your new place of work?
If so, I would strongly suggest an e bike for a 10 mile commute. That’s pretty much the ‘sweet spot’. Any less and you’ll be fine with a non-assist, much more and you’re looking at an hour of riding.

My Bosch commuter has all the fruit (lights, ‘guards, rack etc) and is pretty much unbeatable as a commuter.

[Xenoous]

Barchettaman said:

Do you have secure parking for the bike at your new place of work?
If so, I would strongly suggest an e bike for a 10 mile commute. That’s pretty much the ‘sweet spot’. Any less and you’ll be fine with a non-assist, much more and you’re looking at an hour of riding.

My Bosch commuter has all the fruit (lights, ‘guards, rack etc) and is pretty much unbeatable as a commuter.

I simply don't have the money to invest in one of these, unfortunately. I would love one though. 2 kids, mortgage, childcare is destroying my wages at the moment.

The £300 I've mentioned is essentially me selling my remaining annual leave back so I can get a bike. 10 miles isn't ideal, granted, but it's doable.

[Pieman68]

Only speaking from personal experience here but the GT Transeo would be a good fit. I have a Transeo 3 which is below your budget and has mechanical discs - and has done the job adequately for me but I'm not an enthusiastic cyclist.

I believe the Transeo 2 has hydraulic disc brakes and comes in slightly over your budget.

Good solid frame, lockable front forks (I always tend to lock them out when on the road) and not a bad weight. I noticed a huge difference from an old MTB when I moved to mine

[Barchettaman]

Xenoous said:

The £300 I've mentioned is essentially me selling my remaining annual leave back so I can get a bike. 10 miles isn't ideal, granted, but it's doable.

Apologies, I missed the available budget in your post. Best of luck.

[jamm13dodger]

Xenoous said:

Watching this thread as I'm curious too. I'm changing jobs in a month and will need to travel into central Cambridge. Rather than driving the 10 miles, I'm thinking cycling it.

Where are you cycling from? I commute most days from St Ives to Cambridge along the path that follows the guided busway. I've done it on an EMTB, a gravel bike and a road bike. The route really doesn't need very thick tyres and is car free most of the way. I'd say a decent hybrid would do the trip easily.

Also worth trying out these guys https://www.papworthtrust.org.uk/owl-bikes/ to see if you can get a bit more for your budget.

Edited by jamm13dodger on Wednesday 18th October 19:44

[Xenoous]

jamm13dodger said:

Where are you cycling from? I commute most days from St Ives to Cambridge along the path that follows the guided busway. I've done it on an EMTB, a gravel bike and a road bike. The route really doesn't need very thick tyres and is car free most of the way. I'd say a decent hybrid would do the trip easily.

Also worth trying out these guys https://www.papworthtrust.org.uk/owl-bikes/ to see if you can get a bit more for your budget.

Edited by jamm13dodger on Wednesday 18th October 19:44

I'd be coming in from Burwell so no guided bus way unfortunately. However it's a route I've cycled a few times before. Thanks for the link, I might pay them a visit. I'm mulling over whether or not to go grab that Carrera I previously linked as I'm currently eligible for 20% off using my Blue Light discount card, making it about £234. Seems good value for that.

[GregK2]

I have that Carrera Subway, had it for 2 years and it's been a great bike, hard to fault for the price. The Subway 2 model has more gears and hydraulic brakes for under £400 remarkable value.

[Xenoous]

GregK2 said:

I have that Carrera Subway, had it for 2 years and it's been a great bike, hard to fault for the price. The Subway 2 model has more gears and hydraulic brakes for under £400 remarkable value.

That's great to know, thank you. I have confirmed that I can get it for £236 which is a steal, so I'm going down that route. Off to Halfords this evening to make sure I get the right size.

Sorry to hijack your thread OP... As you were.

[WhisperingWasp]

Xenoous said:

That's great to know, thank you. I have confirmed that I can get it for £236 which is a steal, so I'm going down that route. Off to Halfords this evening to make sure I get the right size.

Sorry to hijack your thread OP... As you were.

No problem at all - chat away!

So I’ve bought this:


Better pic of a new one:


Year old. Maybe more road-oriented than I was after… not sure. Anyway, think bit of a bargain so happy with my choice. Collect Sunday.

[Xenoous]

Looks like a cracking bike Wasp.

Mines been ordered, pick it up next Friday. Can't wait.

[WhisperingWasp]

Thanks mate. Good work on yours too. Hard to go wrong at the £200-250 mark as guess you can always punt on on Gumtree for minimal loss.

Tried to avoid looking too much on Halfords (/Tredz) as that opens up C2W for me and a whole world of man maths! Kept things simple this time.

[WhisperingWasp]

Collected earlier. Long but easy drive and straightforward handover.

Bike a little scruffier than I thought/hoped but overall really happy with. Size is spot on and on a quick 5k ride to try it out it felt great on the gravel tracks that I intended it for. Also came with a Cateye computer thing. For what I paid I’m really pleased.

Gave it a good clean when I got it home:

[Xenoous]

WhisperingWasp said:

Collected earlier. Long but easy drive and straightforward handover.

Bike a little scruffier than I thought/hoped but overall really happy with. Size is spot on and on a quick 5k ride to try it out it felt great on the gravel tracks that I intended it for. Also came with a Cateye computer thing. For what I paid I’m really pleased.

Gave it a good clean when I got it home:

Looks great OP. Hope it serves you well!

For the sake of closure, here's mine. Decided to build it myself because why not. Just need to sort the front mudguard and ride height out, but for the money, I'm unbelievably happy with it.

[WhisperingWasp]

Xenoous said:

Looks great OP. Hope it serves you well!

For the sake of closure, here's mine. Decided to build it myself because why not. Just need to sort the front mudguard and ride height out, but for the money, I'm unbelievably happy with it.

Looks great! Love the colour scheme. Looks like we have the same or similar tyres too.

[Xenoous]

WhisperingWasp said:

Looks great! Love the colour scheme. Looks like we have the same or similar tyres too.

Cheers! Kenda Komfort puncture resistant tyres. 27.5x1.95. Will do for now. My old road bike has had Continental Gatorskin's on for a few years now and never had any issues with them, albeit its been in the shed for the last year unused. Having kids does that to a person...

Looking forward to using it in the coming weeks. All in, I managed to get the bike, mudguards, 700lm front light, 100lm rear light, and a Cateye Padrone for £300. Didn't think it was possible without going second hand, and my issue with that in and around Cambridgeshire is I don't want a stolen bike!