Cycling Weekly have put together what they think will be the 8 best hybrid bikes in 2024. Choices span a huge number of brands from Specialized, Triban, Trek, Cube, Cannondale, Vitus, Giant and more.
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00:00 Gravel bikes and e-bikes might be grabbing all of the headlines at the moment, but if you're riding
00:04 nothing too gnarly, you want a more upright position, and you prefer getting from A to B
00:09 under your own steam, there are hybrids out there that are perfect for the job. In this video,
00:14 we're going to look at 8 of the best hybrids for 2024 over a range of different price points.
00:19 With its radical double diamond frame design, the brand new Specialized Cirrus is one of the most
00:29 eye-catching new bikes. Thanks to its compliance junction, a gap where you'd normally expect to
00:34 see the seat tube meet the bottom bracket shell, the Cirrus' carbon frame flexes vertically,
00:39 massively increasing ride comfort without increasing rearward saddle tilt. Along with
00:44 the suspension from the frame, there's Specialized FutureShock 1.5 system under the stem, which gives
00:50 20mm of travel, and big fat tyres. There's clearance for up to 42mm rubber. The top of
00:57 the range Cirrus 6.0, which costs £2,400 here in the UK, has a 1xSRAM GX Eagle Lunar groupset,
01:04 and SRAM Level TLM hydraulic disc brakes. Alternatively, there's a Cirrus X 5.0 that
01:11 comes in at just under £2,000, with SRAM NX Eagle and wider 38mm Pathfinder tyres for more mixed
01:18 terrain. Of course, Specialized still sells the more traditional aluminium frame Cirrus without
01:23 the compliance junction, with lower specs, to suit those smaller budgets.
01:27 Talking of smaller budgets, the Triban RC500 is one of the best value hybrids out there.
01:38 For £645, you get a flat bar version of the most comfortable road bike from Decathlon's house brand.
01:46 The RC500 has a 6061 T6 aluminium frame with drop seat stays and clearance for tyres
01:53 up to 36mm. It comes with a Shimano Sora 9-speed groupset, including the chainset,
01:58 which is pretty impressive at this price. There are ProMax cable operated disc brakes,
02:03 which are simple but effective, and 28mm tyres that could be set up tubeless with Triban's own
02:10 brand wheels that have tubeless ready rims. The RC500 is more aimed at tarmac than gravel
02:15 or mixed terrain, but when we reviewed it, we found it was comfortable on broken road surfaces
02:20 too, thanks to the compact geometry that allows a good length of the seatpost to flex,
02:25 and tyres that were more supple than we expected.
02:28 This is Decathlon's only hybrid, but it could be the only one you need.
02:32 The 2024 Trek FX Sport 6 is the lightest and fastest bike in Trek's fitness line-up of flat
02:44 bar bikes, and the American brand says it has every feature of a high-end road bike,
02:49 with the added benefit of flat handlebars for additional comfort and control.
02:53 It has a 400 Series OCLV carbon frame, Bontrager Aeolus Elite 35 carbon wheels,
03:00 and a 1x Shimano GRX drivetrain with hydraulic disc brakes.
03:04 They say road, but it's more capable than many hybrids at tackling some gravel should you wish
03:09 to venture off the beaten track. It comes with 40mm Bontrager GR1 Team Issue gravel tyres. An 11-42
03:17 cassette that, combined with the 40-tooth chainring you get up front, will mean that steep slopes are
03:23 made much easier. The FX Sport 6 retails at £2,775 here in the UK, but the range starts with the £500
03:32 FX1. The FX1 has an aluminium frame, rim brakes, and a 21-speed Shimano Tourney Altus drivetrain,
03:38 or if you're desperate for discs, you could go for the FX2 at £650.
03:43 The new Kwik is Cannondale's all-rounder fitness bike that does what it says on the tin,
03:53 or rather, aluminium. In Cannondale's words, it's a swift, sporty bike that's perfect for
03:59 getting a workout, city cruising, or just getting out and feeling good, and its natural habitat
04:04 is the street. As we know, Cannondale was a pioneer of aluminium frames. Remember the iconic
04:10 CAD frames with their oversized tubes? Well, it's great to see all of that historical expertise
04:15 resurfacing in a range of affordable bikes. It's already a nicely designed bike, but it's great to
04:21 see Cannondale sweating the details. The Kwik has full rack and mudguard mounts, 360-degree
04:27 reflectives on the frame, and comes with an integrated wheel sensor that connects to Cannondale's
04:32 app for activity tracking, calories burned, bike registering, servicing reminders, and more.
04:38 The flagship model is the Kwik 1, which retails at £1,250 here in the UK. The entry-level is the
04:46 Kwik 6, which gets the SmartForm C3 alloy frame, but comes with a steel fork, V-brakes, and
04:52 MicroShift 3x7 gearing. That bike retails at a highly competitive £525.
04:58 Some hybrids are just flat-bar road bikes, but Cube's Hyde Pro is a very different animal.
05:10 It draws its inspiration from the German brand's 29er hardtails, but is perfectly adapted for the
05:16 city with its stripped-back aluminium frame, fully rigid fork, and belt drive connected to
05:21 an 8-speed Shimano Nexus hub. Naturally, it gets Shimano hydraulic disc brakes too.
05:27 Cube's strapline for it is 'Battle the City', and it is as close to an ultimate urban warrior
05:33 as you'll find. The geometry is designed for weaving through traffic, braking, and cornering,
05:38 and it has huge clearance for 58mm tyres, and comes with SRAM's Big Apple 55mm or 2.1-inch rubber.
05:46 The Hyde Pro retails at £999, and it's actually not the flagship bike in the range.
05:52 That's the £1,199 Hyde Race. The Hyde Race is more like a traditional hybrid,
05:59 with a slightly less compact frame and clearance for 42mm tyres. Our choice would be the Hyde Pro.
06:06 If you want a road-going mountain bike, you might as well go all-in.
06:15 The Vitus Mach 3 has a wheel in both camps. It's not a flat-bar road bike restricted to tarmac,
06:20 but it's not a repurposed fully rigid mountain bike either.
06:24 Its build is combining classic hybrid versatility with modern looks and performance,
06:28 and is perfect for cycle paths, country lanes, or wide forest trails.
06:33 But how does it do that? Well, it's more like a flat-bar gravel bike than we've seen so far
06:38 from Vitus. There might even be something of the French Randonneur about it, which would be a nice
06:44 nod to the tradition given Vitus' French origins. Its predecessor leaned more towards the road,
06:49 with even a hint of beach cruiser with its kinked top tube. But this latest version is right in the
06:55 middle of the dial, with a nicely balanced geometry, a 6061 T6 aluminium frame, with drop
07:01 seat stays that are almost expected, and 38mm Tamil tyres. The top model, Mach 3 VRX, which
07:08 retails at £999, is specced with a 1x11 SRAM Apex groupset, with a 40-tooth chainring and 11-36
07:16 cassette. The entry level in the range of three sells at £699 and has micro-shift gears on the
07:23 same frame. The Marin Kentfield is affordable, comfortable, and reliable. It's also one of the
07:34 most simple and stylish hybrids out there, with its straight aluminium tubes, micro-shift 1x10
07:39 groupset, Clarks mechanical disc brakes, and 40mm tyres. Marin has years of experience at making
07:45 mountain bikes, so we have no doubt that the Kentfield can take anything you throw at it in
07:50 the urban environment that it's designed for. That steel fork is slender, but tough. It's got
07:56 rack and mudguard mounts, so you can use it as a daily commuter. But stripped down, it's light and
08:01 fast enough for trips out of town. The geometry is designed for a short stem and maximum manoeuvrability.
08:08 The top version, the Kentfield 2, has a retail price of just £595, which we think is pretty
08:14 incredible value. The Kentfield 1 goes for £495 and has 7-speed Shimano Tourney instead
08:21 of the 10-speed micro-shift. Last but not least from the world's biggest bicycle company,
08:31 a bike that can haul huge loads and comes with some of the terrain-smoothing tech
08:35 that its road bikes use. The Giant Toughroad is another hybrid that does what it says on the tin.
08:41 This bike is seriously rugged. The fact that it comes with 50mm tyres tells you it can do a lot
08:47 more than just a trip to the shops. Think full-blown bikepacking adventures. The aluminium frame is made
08:54 with Giant's Alux SLR technology, which delivers the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any Giant
09:00 aluminium frame set. To build in plenty of comfort, it uses Giant's D-Fuse alloy seatpost,
09:06 which is designed to flex more than a round seatpost thanks to the D-shape profile, while a
09:11 carbon fork reduces vibration from the rough surfaces. There are two versions of the Toughroad.
09:17 The SLR 1, which comes fully adventure-ready with front and rear racks, has Shimano Deore 2x10
09:23 gearing and costs £1,499 here in the UK, while the SLR 2 comes in at £1,299 and comes without
09:33 racks, though it does of course have the mounts for them and Shimano Altus 2x9 gears.
09:38 Let us know down below, which of the bikes in this video would you go for? If you enjoyed the video,
09:45 then please do drop it a like, subscribe to the channel for more content and we will see you again
09:49 very soon.
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