First Hybrid Cycle Advice

[rotavator]

You might say that I am just looking for an excuse to add n+1 to my current fleet of 4 however the routes I have in mind are the private estate and forestry roads in Scotland which range in quality from pretty smooth and suitable for narrowish tyres, say 28 mm, to really rough and only suitable for a proper MTB, i.e. with suspension. I guess that something like a Genesis Longitude would handle most of these roads and has the eyelets for carrying luggage e.g. for a Munro bagging mission. The Giant Toughroad is a similar purpose beast and is reasonably light but has an aluminium frame so the eyelets may not last long, based on my recent experience of using an Al Btwin Triban 520 for a short tour.

[Vorpal]

If the eyelets have failed on a bike, I would suppose thet it is due to a quality issue, unless it was abused. Being made of Aluminium doesn't make any difference with regard to that.

[reens80]

Hi all

Thanks so much for your reply’s.so much insight and info for a novice.

The update is we went into Evans and decided on the

Specialized Crosstrail Hydro 2019
Specialized Ariel Hydro 2018

Chose this over the Pinnacle 4 as these have suspensions which might help on bumpier bridle paths etc.

Both are RRP £550.

Thoughts on this model please?good bikes??

One query I had does anyone know the actual weight difference between a A1 premium aluminium frame and the A1 premium SL aluminium frame?

Thanks again

What does the SL bring ?

Reason being is Evans told be it’s nothing just the same, however the 2018 is same price as 2019 but 2019 has the SL. Would it bother me as a novice?

[SimonCelsa]

I bought a Specialized Crosstrail in 2009 as a utility bike primarily, with the option to take it off road on Highland tracks.

Cheap & cheerful, bottom of the range model, but is still going strong.

However, admittedly over the years I've changed bits out and of the original bike the only parts that remain are the frame, front derailleur & seatpost clamp.

Enjoy your new bike(s) & hope you get many happy years pedalling!

all the best, Simon

[Bonefishblues]

Perfectly good bikes if you feel a suspension fork is important to you. By and large the consensus on here is that cheaper forks add weight for not much benefit overall, which is why they haven't been mentioned by posters.

The components are serviceable, but as stated above, their durability will be the trade-off. The brand itself is highly regarded. Frames change little year on year so don't worry about that - colour-based choices are equally valid

Enjoy your cycling

[Vorpal]

The update is we went into Evans and decided on the

Specialized Crosstrail Hydro 2019
Specialized Ariel Hydro 2018

Thoughts on this model please?good bikes??

One query I had does anyone know the actual weight difference between a A1 premium aluminium frame and the A1 premium SL aluminium frame?

What does the SL bring ?

Reason being is Evans told be it’s nothing just the same, however the 2018 is same price as 2019 but 2019 has the SL. Would it bother me as a novice?

If you can't tell the difference riding the bikes, I wouldn't worry about it. Specialized like to change the lingo relating to their aluminium periodically, and I doubt it is anything more than marketing. If it is better, it will be because it saves a few grams, that only mean anything to cyclists who spend much more on their bikes. Specialized have proprietary names for the process by which their frames are made, so it's not easy to know exactly what the difference is.