Hybrid Bicycles - Help needed - Hybrid for c.£450

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA

View Full Version : Help needed - Hybrid for c.£450

Ailsabob
09-02-09, 10:06 AM
I'm looking to get off my lardy backside and get a hybrid bike. It will predominately be used for pretty gentle terrain - roads, paths, etc. It will also occasionally be used for commuting (c.8 miles each way).

So, a couple of questions:

1. What would be a good choice for my budget of c.£450.
2. Would it be worthwhile considering a bike with an internal Nexus 8 hub? Do the pros (reduced maintenance) outweigh the cons (fewer gears to select from, and slightly increased weight?).

If I go with a hub, I was thinking of Specialised Globe Vienna 4 or Giant Escape R8
If I go "normal", I was thinking Trek 7.3 or Cannondale Bad Boy Hybrid, although there are lots of other options out there, no doubt.

Any help greatly appreciated.
Cheers.

meanwhile
09-02-09, 01:45 PM
Don't confuse the number of gears with the range they cover - the Nexus is pretty good. One obvious choice would be the Nexus Revolution Courier:

http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f_ProductID=9452&f_FullProductVersion=1&f_SupersetQRY=C105&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct=c003155c002910

- Nexus version of a very popular bike and on sale for a remarkable £300 if you're fast enough.
stapfam
09-02-09, 02:03 PM
Will offer the advice that you will find out about.

First of all find the Local Bike Shop (LBS). Plenty about but finding the one that will treat you right is the difficulty. And second- One you have decided on a bike- or bike type- Test ride. And not only the one you are thinking of. You may be thinking Nexus hub- but try a bike with conventional gears aswell.

meanwhile
09-03-09, 04:49 AM
Will offer the advice that you will find out about.

First of all find the Local Bike Shop (LBS). Plenty about but finding the one that will treat you right is the difficulty. And second- One you have decided on a bike- or bike type- Test ride. And not only the one you are thinking of. You may be thinking Nexus hub- but try a bike with conventional gears aswell.

Normally, yes. But the EBC Courier series is usually considered as good or better than big manufacturer bikes costing £50-100 more. That Nexus model's usual price was £400. So at £300 it's the equivalent of a bike that a typical LBS would sell for £450-500 - at that bigger a discount, I'd take a risk and leap. The worst case would be that the OP would have to mail order it - and UK law gives him a one week return period on mail order.

The EBC's position is a little lower and sportier than the Vienna's, btw. Unless you have a back problem, very weak arms, or a lot of fat around the stomach, I'd recommend it - the Vienna would be an absolute pain to ride into a headwind. The EBC bike doesn't have racing biking aerodynamics, but it's in what I'd call the sensible middle of the range.