Advice welcome - what hybrid to buy
 

I am hoping to get a bike for a short commute to work (around 4 miles) and for when my family and I have some fun at the weekend (cycling in the park, maybe some very light off-road) but I am at a total loss at what to buy. I have up to £1k to spend.

I have a Giant bike store locally so popped in there and they advised I get a hybrid, pointing me in the direction of a 2014 Giant Roam 0 on the basis it's a good commuting bike for short distances but with the ability to go off road if need be. I also liked the look of their Anyroad 1 as well.

But here lies my problem. I'm not sure what else is out there, whether either of these would be a good buy or not, or even whether Giant are a good manufacturer. I've tried hunting round for some reviews or comparisons but I'm not having much luck.

So I was hoping to get some views on what the best manufacturers are out there for my money and any recommendations on what models to go for.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

If you're mostly commuting on well-paved streets, and doing only "light-off-road" cycling, then the Giant Escape is for strictly for you. It's a performance hybrid! Since there's no suspended fork, it will make your commute faster. It also looks better than most other hybrids made by Giant, IMHO.

The Giant Escape is one top of the line hybrid! :thumb:

Check out the Specialized Sirrus line..

+1

The Sirrus is a good performance hybrid too! :)

You didn't mention what price range you wanted to be in. I have and have suggested the following for those who don't want to spend a lot of money. I didn't want to spend too much as this was my first attempt getting back into biking after many years. I have not moved to a full road bike. But the bike I am mentioning is the Diamondback Insight. I have the Insight 2 but the Insight 1 is a very nice bike. You can find it at your local Performance bike shop. It's considered a performance hybrid, or what others call an urban bike. And the best part is the price is around $399.00 and can be had on sale for $350.

This guy does not have access to Performance. He lives in the UK...

I've got about £1000' or $16000 to spend, but I am in the uk. I had seen a couple of specialized. How do they compare to Giant?

Really nice line of bikes. They make a variety of price ranges so you can certainly find something that you like.

At these price points, a lot of different bikes have a lot of similarities. They tend to generally share a lot of components (there are only so many drivetrains etc). A lot of it comes down to differences in geometry, which feels more comfortable to you, and if you feel the dealer is one you want to do future business with.

IMHO, Giant is better when it comes to both value and customer service here in the U.S.

Checkout the Giant Rapid 1! :thumb:

The Jamis Coda Elite is nice too!