|
Bicycles Online > Comfort and Hybrid
Bikes
Comfort and Hybrid
Bicycles Online
Are you looking for a good all
purpose, practical and comfortable bicycle that can handle distance as well as rugged
trails?
If so, the comfort and hybrid bicycle category
is what you want. The most common Hybrid Bicycles are a cross between
mountain and road bicycles. They can handle pretty difficult terrain but are still good
for distance riding and are usually pretty comfortable too. Some manufacturers refer to
these as All-Terrain bikes, Comfort Bikes, Bike Path Bikes and a few other categories.
The most common Hybrid Bicycles are the Hybrid/Comfort bikes and the Hybrid Cross or Hybrid Performance bikes. Both are a cross between mountain and road bikes but some are more specifically designed for comfort while others are closer to either a mountain or a road bike and designed more for performance.
The Hybrid/Comfort bikes usually include handle grip shifters, a shock absorbing seat post and fork,
adjustable handlebars (height and angle), wider, padded seats, wider tires and you usually site in a more upright position.
The term Comfort Bike is really a fairly generic term and can refer to hybrid bikes, cruisers, bike path bikes, urban bikes, etc. (Mountain bikes and Recumbents can also be considered "comfort bikes" although they are really separate categories).
Then there are the Hybrid Road/Mountain Cross bikes which are also a cross between road and mountain bikes and are still comfortable to ride but their real goal is performance in a variety of situations rather than for comfort alone.
Recommended Hybrid / Comfort Bikes
See Schwinn Voyager GS Review for the Best Comfort / Hybrid Bike (2009) currently available and on sale online.
See Novara Corsa Hybrid/Comfort Review for a comfortable and well made 2010 comfort / hybrid bike.
See Novara Mia Women's Hybrid/Comfort Review for a comfortable and well made 2010 women's comfort / hybrid bike.
See Fuji Crosstown Review for a very comfortable and high quality comfort bike.
Recommended Hybrid (Road/Mtn Cross) Bikes
See the Fuji Sunfire Review for an excellent Road/Mountain Hybrid with an design emphasis for bike trails.
See the Fuji Absolute Review for an excellent Road/Mountain Hybrid with an design emphasis for roads as well as bike paths.
See the Raleigh Cadent Review for a stylish, light weight, high performance Road/Mountain Hybrid.
If you are looking for a larger selection, we have found some great retail sites where you can buy comfort and hybrid bicycles online. Browse our selected bike dealers below for best selections of hybrid bikes and bike accessories for sale online.
Recommended Hybrid Bike Brands and Online Bike Sites |
** REI.com - Cycling
has a great selection of Cannondale, Raleigh, Scott, and Novara brand Hybrid Bikes that you can buy online. Some REI brand hybrid bikes (like cannondale) must be delivered to an REI store but the brands that can be delivered directly to your home come with only minor assembly required.
* Performance Bicycle has a nice selection of comfort and hybrid bicycles for sale online including Schwinn, K2, Mongoose, GT,and Dahon brand bikes. Bikes can be delivered to your home or to a Performance store for FREE shipping.
See Bikes at Wal-Mart for a good selection of hybrid and comfort bikes at very low prices. Walmart offers Schwinn, Kent, Mongoose, and Huffy brand hybrid bikes for sale online.
Some notes on hybrid bicycle sales
online
Many of the bicycle sites that you find on the
internet will have good information, detailed descriptions and sometimes prices for the bicycles that they manufacture
or sell but will not actually sell the bicycles online. Instead they will refer you to a
local dealer or one of their own bike shops.
The online bike resources referenced on our site do have many bikes for sale online. For example: Schwinn, Cannondale, Huffy, K2, Mongoose, Scattante, Columbia, Kent, Electra, Nirve and Nashbar Brand are some (but not all) of
the name brands that you can actually buy online. Some brands (like Cannondale, for example) can be ordered on line but must be shipped to a local shop.
Browse our recommended bike sites above if
you are looking for these brands of new bicycle for sale online (or for plenty of bicycle
accessories online).
Other brand names, such as Trek, Giant, and Gary Fisher are high quality, popular brand names, but if you
are searching the internet to find these brands of bicycles for sale online, you will most likely
just find references to their approved dealers or used bikes. If you are looking for these or other higher end bikes you'll most likely have to check out a local bike shop or you could try ebay or craigs list.
Since the term "hybrid" can be a
very general term and apply to a number of different combinations, there are a few other
kinds of hybrid bikes that I have found to be very nice. Personally my favorite category
is the high performance, or fitness hybrid bikes... This is a
little different than the more common hybrid/comfort bike (above) in that it is not really as
much of a "comfort bike" as the more common hybrid definition above,
but it is also not a road bike (with the skinny tires and wrap down handle bars...)
It is somewhere between a mountain and road bike (but maybe a little closer to a road
bike).
These hybrid bikes still have the 700X35c
tires but they usually don't have the shocks or adjustable handlebars, are lighter and
geared closer to (or sometimes the same as) a road bike. It's really like a more
comfortable road bike (you sit a little higher), with wider tires... (some samples are the
trek 7300FX, 7500FX and Giant Cypress SX).
Although hybrid mountain/road bicycles are
probably the most common reference to hybrid bikes, there are also hybrid bikes that fall
completely into the road bike category. For more information on
these types of bikes, see Hybrid
Road Bikes, Sport Bikes.
Cycle Computers (bike
speedometers, odometers) A good cyclecomputer is one of the most useful and
interesting accessories that you can have on your bike. Speedometer, Odometer, Trip Meter,
Date and Time, Riding time vs Elapsed time, averages... Many wireless models are available
too!
Bicycle Clothing Mostly what
you really need as far as bicycle clothing goes, of course, is what makes you
comfortable (some people may require more style to be
comfortable than others :-) ).
Bicycle Bags Good bicycle
bags (cycle bags, packs and racks, panniers (bicycle saddle bags)) are essential for
trails, distance, touring and utility rides. I have always found that a basic behind or
under the seat pack works very well for typical rides (trials, quick trips, etc.)
More helpful online bike sales resources:
See Best Buy Bikes Online - for the latest sales and deals on quality brand names bikes for sale online.
Most popular bike brands in US - WIth so many bicycle manufacturers, bicycle types and popular brand names sold in the US, that it can be difficult to find a comprehensive summay of the top 20 bike most popular bike brands.
See Online Bike Stores - for a complete listing of where to purchase the most popular brands for all bike types online.
|