Western Canada - Suggestions for a hybrid for a new biker? Please help!

Hey guys,

I thank everyone in advance who is willing to give me some advices! I'm a new biker and have a cheap starting bike from Sports Mart. But I'm ready to move onto a better bike because I want to ride my bike more. I live in Vancouver and there's a lot of hills, the previous bike is much too heavy for transit, commuting, groceries etc. I also like to go trail riding, but nothing really intense. I've done some searching and hybrid seems to be a good bet for my purposes. I've read that Trek 7000/7100 and Trek 7.2 fx are nice bikes, and Jamis 2008 Coda is also supposed to be really good. However, I don't know much about bikes and would love some advice from more experienced bikers.

I'm a grad student so I can't afford an expensive bike . My budget is ~$500 (the less the better!). I thought about getting used bikes but I don't know enough about bikes to make wise decisions. Any comments about those bikes I mentioned above would be great, and suggestions of other hybrids are greatly welcomed.

Also, if anyone here lives in Vancouver can recommend a good local bike store would be great too, I only moved here <a year ago.

Thanks everyone!

Krystal

Have a look at Devinci performance hybrids http://www.devinci.com/10996_an.html A new 2007 Amsterdam might be in your price range. I've had one for 3 years and love it. It's my daily commuter/road trainer.

Ooo that looks like a really nice bike! I don't know anything about the company, is it Canadian? Because I would like to support Canadian companies.

Also, I heard from a friend that I should get a hybrid with a suspension, how does the Da Vinci feel when you go off-road to light trails?

Thanks for the suggestion!

They are Canadian and based out of Quebec.

As for suspension, take a test drive. My preference is no suspension because I ride primarily on pavement but I also don't find that I need it on smooth trails or hard pack gravel. I'm a fairly big guy and I find most suspension too mushy/responsive for the kind of riding that I do. I also think that you'll find that most performance hybrids do not come with suspension. Plus both the gearing and tire sizes are closer to road than mountain.

From experience, buy a bike WITHOUT suspension; you don't need it. Look at the Kona Dew, that is a decent bike. The Dew install some fenders (Vancouver) should be under your $500 limit. Enough left over for a decent floor pump and spare tubes.

http://www.konaworld.com/bikes/2k8/images/625/2K8_DEW.jpg
Kona Dew (http://www.konaworld.com/08_dew_c.htm#)

One more thing from experience, disc brakes on a $599 bike are not worth it. You will ride in Van city in the rain, and all the road crap with become caught between the brake pad and disk producing a nice annoying sound for you to listen to as you pedal. In addition, when you remove the front wheel from the bike, then install the wheel back, those cheap disk brakes will have to be adjusted. This can and will become very annoying over time.