El Davisimo

Long story short - My Giant escape hybrid was stolen in the middle of the night. Luckily I have awesome renter's insurance and got reimbursed almost immediately. (Also lucky that my $4000 Trek Emonda was inside). I am looking for a new hybrid for my fun rides with my son, commuting, etc. I have been looking online at the Raleigh redux 1 and their Cadence 3. All come with disc brakes. I think the styling is super cool. Anyone else got some great suggestions in the $500 range? Must be able to load a child seat on the back and have disc brakes. Or if you know these two bikes I mention, what are your thoughts?

hokiefyd 

My daughter rides the base model of the Raleigh Alysa (the women's version of the Cadent). Hers is a 2016 model with rim brakes and a Tourney drivetrain, but it suits her well. We paid only $329 for it from a local bike shop, and I'm pleased with the value. My newest "new" bike is a Redline Zander MTB that I got for silly cheap money online and have since upgraded. The point is, both of these brands (Redline and Raleigh) are owned by Accell, and I've been 100% satisfied with the quality of construction, the fit and finish of the frames, and the overall value. Both bikes have very lustrous metallic paint, a great clearcoat finish (with graphics applied under the clearcoat), nice frame welds, and just an overall quality appearance. They're not high dollar carbon frames, but they seem to have a high quality "daily driver" type build quality and I'd buy or recommend a Raleigh, Diamondback, or Redline bike without hesitation. The benefit of Raleigh's corporate customer program, with deep discounts and bikes shipped straight to your door, is pretty appealing to the DIYer.