On Your Bike - Commuting Guide

Looking for a reliable bike to get you from A to B on a daily basis?

The ideal commuting bike for you depends heavily upon the nature of your commute: are the roads smooth? Are you planning on trundling through your local park? Or combining a stint on public transport? To help you wade through the huge volume of choice on offer in the cycling world, here’s a look at some of the most popular bike styles favoured by commuters… Hybrid bikes

Good for: Urban riding, gentle off-road if you choose one with wider tyres

Hybird bikes are the most popular commuting option. They’re a mixture between road and mountain bikes – often combining a lightweight aluminium frame with slick yet wide tyres and dics brakes.

There are many different styles of hybrid bike – some are closer to mountain bikes and come with suspension and wide tyres (35c+), whilst others are effectively road bikes with flat handlebars (with tyes around 25-28c).

The more rugged your ride, the closer to the mountain bike end you should go – but if you’ll be mainly cruising on city streets then you might as well bypass the weight of suspension and beefy tyres and opt for a more nimble cousin of the road bike.

Three hybrid bikes to consider:

B’Twin Triban 520 Flat Bar – £429

B’Twin Triban 520 Hybrid bike

An aluminium frame which is almost identical to the drop bar road version – meaning it’s built to be quick and nippy. A carbon fork drops the weight and there’s plenty of gears.

Specialized Sirrus hybrid bike – £425

Specialized Sirrus 2017 hybrid bike

The Sirrus is a fast selling hybrid range from Specialized, with an assorted range at various prices. We tested out the entry level version, which sports an aluminium frame, steel fork plus triple chainset and rim brakes.

Cnyon Urban 7.0 hybrid bike – £1149

Canyon Urban 7.0 2016 hybrid bike

A nippy aluminium frame with eight hub gears and a belt drive – both of which keep maintenance to a minimum. A clever ‘IXOW’ system meant it’s difficult for anyone to tamper with the seatpost or wheels without knowing how, handy for those parking up in urban areas.

Folding bikes

Folding down takes mere seconds. Photo: Chris Catchpole

Good for: Commutes with a train journey in the middle

Folding bikes are ideal if you’re combining your journey with a train ride. Doing so can drastically cut down your travel time, giving you the chance to ride to a faster train station or cut out the walk each side.

The nature of the folding bike also means you can pop it under your desk at work, removing the risk of bike theft associated with the alternatives.

Folding bikes come in all sorts of wheel sizes. The smaller the wheel size, the easier it’ll be to get the bike on a train, but a bigger wheel will be quicker.

Folders are also popular among those who want a bike they can take on holiday with them with ease – in the boot of the car or back of the caravan.

Three folding bikes to consider:

B’Twin Hoptown 320 folding bike – £179

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B’Twin Hoptown folding bike

An entry level option from Decathlon, the B’Twin Hoptown comes with six hub gears and offers plenty of adjustment when it comes to saddle height, so it’s perfect for sharing.

Brompton Bikes – from £995

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Brompton folding bike

The market leaders, Brompton, allow you to spec your own folding bike with the ideal handlebar type, gear set up and accessory selection. The bikes fold quickly and easily via a clasp at the centre.

Tern Verge X11 folding bike

A top of the line version, ideal if you’re looking for marginal gains in your journey from home to station. The frame is built around 22 inch wheels, and disc brakes – the greater diameter makes for faster rides but means the folded unit isn’t quite as small as traditional options.

Dutch bike

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Bobbin Brownie dutch bike

Good for: Carrying luggage and flat roads

The traditional town bike, sometimes called a Dutch bike, sit up and beg or step-through. These bikes are often designed with practicality at front of mind and speed a little bit further down the list of demands.

Expect features such as hub gears – which require a lot less maintenance, chain guards to keep muck off your trousers, kickstands, dynamo lights and built in racks.

These bikes put the rider in a very upright position – so you can ride one with a bag slung over your shoulder with ease, and they carry luggage well.

Dutch bikes often feature a limited number of gears, and are pretty heavy compared to the majority of other options (expect around 13kg). The additional weight means they often feel very stable – but they’re rarely a good choice if you live somewhere particularly hilly (though there are electric options out there).

Dutch bikes to consider

Pinnacle Californium women’s hybrid bike – £240 to £265

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Pinnacle Californium 2 hybrid bike

Available in two different build specs, the Californium comes in at 13.5 or 13.6kg, with three to eight gears depending upon what you opt for.

A chainguard and kickstand provide a nod to practicality, and a sturdy, genuinely useful basket comes as standard.