Krystal.chin

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

learnmore

Welcome to this great forum! I am certainly no expert, but I can share my experience. I looked at several bikes and decided to buy a Trek 7500. I am extremely happy with the 7500. It is very comfortable and the build quality is very good. I have two friends that own 7100's and for the money they feel they got a good value and a solid bike. Good luck with your decision.

DBinsight08

Well here's a suggestion from my stand point. My Dad just bought the Trek 7100 and likes it. I bought the DiamondBack Insight and I love mine. I have had it 2 months and have over 200 miles on it. I know there are not many if any reviews on it right now as its a new bike, but all I can say is for the money its great. Its on the lower end of the price range on Hybrids, but it seems to be a very well built bike. It just comes down to how much you want to spend.

ilmooz

Welcome to the forums. If you have Kona bikes around you check out their Dew series for something in your price range. Good bang for the buck.

SambaMixte

I bought a Jamis Aurora a few months ago and love it- have looked at the Coda- but can't do another bike without a divorce! REI (Seattle) usually has some good deals at the end of season on the lines they carry.

Krystal.chin

I went to a store with Kona bikes the other day, and it rides quite smoothly and it's Canadian (I would like to support local companies) but the Dew (not the Dr. or Deluxe) have no suspension. A friend suggested I get a hybrid with suspension, but I would like to know how different does it feel with/without the suspension on light gravel roads. I've been looking at Norco (Malahat) and it looks promising, does anyone know any good/bad things about it?

Thank you so much for the suggestions guys! I find this forum is great for beginners like me and everyone is so friendly!

East Hill

Unless you are doing some serious downhill riding, you probably don't need a rear suspension, and a beefy front suspension will simply make you slower . If you are riding on light gravel roads which don't have a lot of hills, a simple rigid MTB should work quite well.

Welcome to BF, and feel free to PM me with any questions !

East Hill
Forum Moderator

DBinsight08

Rear suspension as East Hill said is not worth it. Its horrible on the road as you get a bouncing effect going on as you pedal hard. If you must get a bike with front suspension, look for bikes that have a lock out feature on it for when you are on the road, and you can unlock it when you go to ride on the trails. You also can upgrade most bikes front shocks with ones that can lock.