mstateglfr 

Well thats just hilariously wrong. And exclusive.
I have multiple bikes that cost $500 or less and I think they are fantastic. I have taken most on family camping trips and short in-state tours without issue. They are all quite capable for what i want to use at the time.
...I built them up and/or purchased them used and changed what I wanted to comply to my needs.

mstateglfr 

- Get a used steel hybrid. Schwinn CrissCross. Schwinn CrossCut. Miyata TripleCross. Univega Via ____(lots of models), Trek multitrack(750 or other models). This should cost $150 or less. A total overhaul will be $200 or less(plus parts, if needed) and would include repacking all bearing points, wheel true, new cables, and a total cleaning of the bike and drivetrain. These bikes from 20-25 years ago, if in good mechanical condition, are just as good and often times better than new hybrids for $500 or less. You simply cant buy something new today for under $500 which has a double butted cromo frame. Often times the components are of a higher quality, and they perform just as well now as anything cheaper. Deore, LX, and Exage from then are still very much serviceable and useful now. Technology in the $500 and under category of bike these days really isnt better than what was offered 25 years ago.
These bikes will have 700c wheels, a comfortable geometry, mounting points for fenders and/or a rack, and will have triple cranks to help with towing the trail behind.

- use a butterfly/trekking bar. You can switch basically any components on a flat bar bike to butterfly bars. These allow for more hand positions to reduce fatigue and improve comfort with both the hands/wrists and with your back since you can stretch out when needed.





As for heel strike, the Axiom Journey rack is $25 and allows panniers to be mounted further back to help avoid heelstrike. I have size 14 shoes and can say that this for sure helps. https://www.amazon.com/Axiom-Journey-.../dp/B003UWEUK6


My family bike camped a handful of times this past spring and summer and managed this way
- i hauled 2 panniers and towed the weehoo carrying our 4yo. the weehoo bags were filled too.
- my wife pulled an old burley single trailer that i had converted into a cargo trailer with a solid floor.
- our 8yo daughter had a few sleep pads and/or sleeping bags strapped to a rack on her bike.


I have had a 90s hybrid as one of my bikes for a long time now. I love them. Just recently sold a Schwinn Crisscross that came with butterfly bars. It was an excellent family bike/around town hauler- comfortable workhorse.

The Trek FX series is incredibly popular if you want to buy new. I would figure maybe buying used is better even for them since itll save $ and its not like there has suddenly been some major advancement in hybrid bikes in the last year. The components are, in my opinion, not impressive, but they will be new which is often times worth peace of mind and whatnot.

RubeRad

First off, it sounds like your husband is pretty picky about bikes, and not likely to react like you want to a surprise.

Second, how did you get a biruni that was not electrified? I looked up on the website, and I see only one model (already electrified) for MSRP $3K. If that bike is not meeting your needs, by all means sell it!

Also the partly-parted out Giant, sell it -- although if it's missing parts, good luck getting any more than $50 for it!

Old Cannondale mtb? Sell it! (although again, don't expect much from craigslist)

Or, would it be possible to make a suitable frankenbike out of the two MTB? I.e. the rackable, fitting frame of one with the full component set of the other?

rumrunn6

my 2 cents, let him pick it out

brianinc-ville

This. Get a frame you like, then figure out what kind of bars you like best. Moustache, butterfly, albatross, North Road, porteur...there're lots of choices.

CliffordK

An interesting looking bike. Probably pretty heavy. But, if he likes riding it, then one option would be just to reconfigure it with the gearing he wants. You could probably replace cassettes, freewheels, chainrings, etc for well under your budget.
Be careful about pannier placement. I always choose panniers that are V-shaped at the bottom, and then mount them as far back as they will go. I added some funky pegs to my bike rack for the panniers, but there are racks with a better design to give rear support to the panniers.

Anyway, an option would be to work on getting the proper rack/pannier setup for this bike.

elmore leonard

Maybe a 22" BMX with chopper handle bars and a long seat post.
Eg.

RubeRad

I read about a bike like that recently, maybe JohnnyMullet would be willing to part with it?

DogBoy

I have no real advice beyond that given. I mostly wanted to say that I had to read the thread title 3 times because I thought you were asking for advice on a new husband suggestions for your bike.

PatrickGSR94

What about getting a frame and using mostly parts from other unused or under-used bikes? That could go a long way to keeping you within your budget. My utility bike I just built up using mostly parts I already had, cost me about $200-$250, and it's equipped similarly to $700-$800 bikes.