Hello all!
Brand new to the forum - what a wealth of knowledge! Like the rest of the world during these times, I'm considering a bike. Started some research, though made more difficult given you can't really test ride anything. I have a short (well, long) list for my price-range which is <£500 (and am happy buying used for less).
I'm a little stuck on the question of whether front suspension is needed, so was hoping for some opinions/guidance? A few things below which might help:
- I plan to ride largely for fun & exercise, not for racing around. But have opted for Hybrid rather than MTB.
- Live in London. So will be a lot of roads, though I do plan to take paths/trails and take it out of the city for that purpose. But not "proper" MTB terrain.
- I've had a bunch of surgeries on my right wrist. It's fine, but where possible would like to reduce amount of stress/jarring/vibration.
- So despite lots of reading, somewhat unsure whether front suspension will help, or if it will make no material difference as long as I have a decent tire width (36-40). If relevant, I'm not too fussed about the extra 2kg of weight. Sure, lighter is better, but I don't need a fast commuter bike, so it's probably not that big a deal
Hopefully that's enough info. I've seen lots of recommendations for the usual suspects - Carrera Subway 2, Specialized Sirrus/Crosstrail, Giant Escape 2, Pinnacle Lithium 4, Cube Nature, Ridgeback Storm, Voodoo Agwe/Marasa, Canondale Quick CX etc etc.
Oh, and I realise the Decathlon bikes are missing there! They look good (and I like Decathlon), but would rather buy from a bike shop, and I also understand they can be a little harder to repair should the need arise). In any event, I'm sure any of the bikes above could work from my, so the list is long enough!
Thank you, and hope everyone is keeping well!