Hybrid Advice

[1nc0gn1t0]

Hi Overclockers community

This is not my normal name but my husband lives on these forums so i have to be anonymous with this question

i am looking to buy him a bike for xmas, just something to go here and there with, but i dont want to spend too much. probably around £350 but no more than £500. looking at either the Voodoo Marasa or the Carrera Subway 2 at halford. Saw someone say the CS2 is really great for the price but it doesnt seem like the reviews are all that good. I know absolutely nothing about bikes and tbh i doubt my hubby knows a whole lot either so the specs and features etc mean absolutely nothing to me and i dont know if i should be looking for this over that.
We live up a steep hill if that helps.
are either of these any good or are there any others in that price range worth getting over them?

 

[UTmaniac]

I bought a Voodoo Marasa as a replacment commuter in late July. As much as I would love to have bought something like the Boardman ADV 8.9 instead, I needed a bike I could lock up at work or at the shops and not be absolutely paranoid something would happen to it. It's a decent workhorse bike

The 26/36/48T triple chainset with a 9-speed 11-36 cassette gives a good gear range which helps offset its ~12.9Kg up steep hills, I commute home up https://www.strava.com/segments/19814823 , but it's a steady seated climb in the easiest gear.

The supplied Vee Speedster tyres are great (little stones can jammed into the honeycomb tread and eventually pierce through if sharp), but replacement tyres are easy enough to sort out.

I should probably have chased up the store about the wheels, the spokes were quite flexy upon pickup and they already have a bit of a wobble, while I've been no heavier than ~82Kg since the summer.

The Subway 2 isn't a bad bike for the money, but I was put off by the 27.5" wheels, when I have plenty of 700c/29" tyres that fit the Marasa. It doesn't have such a big gear range with a double 30/46T chainset and a 9-speed 11-36 cassette (although it's very marginal, a slightly harder easiest gear and a slightly lower hardest gear). It's also a bit heavier at ~13.7Kg.

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/hybr...bike-2021---silver---s-m-l-frames-366198.html is ~11.2Kg according to https://www.boardmanbikes.com/gb_en/products/2365-hyb-8.6-silver-2021.html , Boardman frames have a good rep too. Probably would have bought one if they had been in stock at the time, but bikes were like hen's teeth in the summer.

British Cycling membership will give you 10% discount off Halfords bikes.

 

[1nc0gn1t0]

Thank you... now you've got me looking into the Boardman :S Seems the Boardman has the same number of gears as the Carrerra, does that matter or is it down to the "chainset"?

 

[UTmaniac]

The Subway2, the "all weather" edition https://www.halfords.com/bikes/hybr...n-mens-hybrid-bike---s-m-l-frames-229822.html (that has a few extras that might be worth the extra £50) and the Boardman HYB 8.6 all have the same gearing, 30/46T chainset and 9-speed 11-36.
However, the Boardman is ~11.2Kg, the Subway2 is ~13.7Kg and the All Weather is ~14.5Kg as supplied... Many would feel the weight difference between the Boardman and either Carrera when going up inclines, especially steep ones. Consequently, the easiest gear will feel easier on the Boardman.

However, on the flip side, the Carreras come with wider tyres than the Boardman. I'd hazard a guess that the Carreras have clearance for wider tyres, so if the bike is likely to be used more off tarmac, the wider tyres would normally offer more grip unless it's a quagmire.

 

[doodah]

Thank you... now you've got me looking into the Boardman :S Seems the Boardman has the same number of gears as the Carrerra, does that matter or is it down to the "chainset"?

Bought the Boardman HYB 8.8 6 months ago and absolutely love it. It's a lovely weight, built well and had little issue with the gears, only rarely wanting a gear in between some of the others. The brakes are decent. My only issue, as I'm about to make a thread on, are the tyres but that might be more my use perhaps (4-5 punctures in that time, all from unlucky encounters with glass).