Hybrid Bicycles - hybrid shopping help

hi everyone, new to the forums. ok so i am in the market for a new bike and a hybrid is the way i want to go. ive been to a few lbs and a few caught my eye the trek kaitai, utopia and the giant roam 1. im no expert on bikes or components, so i can use all the advice i can get on which would be the best value for my money. any bikes not mentioned are welcomed as well. thanks

Have you looked at Trek's FX series? I like my 7.5, but there are cheaper ones as well. I wouldn't look at anything below the 7.3 however.

Generally bikes on the same price range are the same...

The real question you should be asking yourself is how your ride feels with all those bike choices you mentioned.

You should go and ride all three of them. Pick out which feels best for you. If all of them are still equal, pick the best looking bike to you...

When buying a bike with an LBS repair and maintenance are not a problem so whichever bike you choose you have peace of mind with it.

Good luck!

The term 'hybrid' covers a broad spectrum of models- Giant markets their e-bikes (in the US) has hybrids. Better to determine what kinds of environments you see yourself riding in or on.

Generally bikes on the same price range are the same...

The real question you should be asking yourself is how your ride feels with all those bike choices you mentioned.

You should go and ride all three of them. Pick out which feels best for you. If all of them are still equal, pick the best looking bike to you...

When buying a bike with an LBS repair and maintenance are not a problem so whichever bike you choose you have peace of mind with it.

Good luck!

+1 - #1 how does the bike feel to you, and #2 do you like the shop? Generally, you will find that these two items converge, because a good shop will make the effort to fit the bike to you.

As others have mentioned, "hybrid" covers a lot of different kinds of bikes that are made for different kinds of riding.
There was a lot of difference in the service perks offered with a new bike purchase in my area. If you like the bikes equally, check on the perks that come with it.

thanks all for the input. i will be doing my riding on roads, but i will be riding on the strip so i will need to jump some curbs. im kinda leaning towards the roam 1 and utopia over the kaitai just because they have disc brakes even though i dont know if i need them.

My 2 cents worth...I recently went through this process...not knowing anything about bikes let alone hybrids...and I reckons there's a few key questions and facts that'll help you decide:

1. Do you want front suspension? From what I can tell Hybrids are all classified into 2 sub-categories: "urban" hybrids (tend to have thinner tires and no front suspension) and "cross" hybrids (tend to have wider tires [generally 35mm] and front suspension). Which one you get depends on the sort of riding you're going to be doing. If its all city riding go for a city bike...if you plan on going on some trails at some point go for a cross bike. I'd recommend one that comes with lockable front suspension.

2. Not all bikes are equal. Someone above said that "Generally bikes on the same price range are the same..." I didn't find that. I started off looking purely at Cannondales and the CX1 (AUD $2100) was heavier and had lower specs than the Scott Sportster 20 (for AUD $1300)...which brings me to the third point.

3. Specs. I had no clue (maybe sitll don't) about what to look for initially. But after a little research I found that the components on bikes come in a hierarchy. A hybrid generally uses a MTB setup so look for XTR, XT, SLX, Deore, Alivia, Acera, Altus (in that order of best to worst)...again someone with more experience feel free to correct me here.

Be aware though that very few hybrids come with a top of the range spec...I only found one in my research that had an XTR spec - a Cube Tonopah. This bike was unfortunately not available in Australia.

Anyway, I hope my recent experience helps you in some way and for the rest of the guys on here that no-doubt have a truck-load more knowledge about this stuff. Please feel free to correct me - I won't take it personally!

thanks lex, yeah shocks would be the way to go for me, the majority of my riding will be on roads but grass, dirt and curbs will factor in. luckily the two bikes ive had my eye on the utopia and roam 1 both have lockable front suspension. well enoughs enough ill be visiting my lbs this afternoon to make my decision, ther prob tired of seeing my ugly mug go in and walk out without a bike enough times already lol wish me luck

let us know what you end up getting! post pictures so we can drool ;P

i went to both shops and took them for a test ride, they felt the same, so i opted for the best deal which was the roam 1. $599 and 1yr tune ups opposed to the utopia $799 and 3 months tune ups. as i was driving home i could not help wonder if i would regret not getting the utopia, i really liked the look, but today as i stare at my roam sitting in my living room, i know i made the right decision. not to mention an extra 2 bills in my pocket, yes. only draw back is the roam shop is twice as far. ill post a pic when i figure it out. thanks everyone for the help you have made me a fan of the forums, i can see myself visiting often

Congrats on your Roam. I'm loving mine.

Yeah, congrats again! I just found some trails with my son by us, not on any maps cause it's a watershed. We went with my daughter tonight, had a blast with our strap-on led headlights! My Fenix E21 lit the way for the difficult parts, you can never have enough light.

thanks guys. nice, i found a cool lil trail by my place today but learned very quickly that i will be needing a light myself, any recommendations

You definitely want a bright light you can strap to your helmet or wear on your head. A secondary flood light on the handlebars would always show you where the bike is headed and help you with a way out when the path is suddenly not looking good. As far as particular lights, that's all according to your budget. The $10 led lights at dealextreme and meritline are great until they break. Usually one drop does it or the switch or head just gives out. They gladly send out replacements if it hasn't been too long since you purchased it, but the replacements last about the same. I just ordered 4 different universal mounts from Meritline, they should arrive by the end of this or next week. I learned a lot over at candlepower forums, there's about 5-10 brands that make quality lights, fenix being one of them.

ill have to check it out, im hoping i can get a decent one for around $50> thanks again