Best Hybrid Cycles in India

Updated on 2024-05-03

India’s best hybrid cycles to buy

These are very good hybrid cycles, and are consistent best sellers. They are also at the best price points. You can choose from this list of Top 10 or even check out the Daily Updated Top 10 bestsellers by clicking on the button.

There is yet another list of choices by our in-house expert on cycles, which you will find further below.

Have fun making a choice.

What is a Hybrid cycle or Hybrid bike?

When you go looking for a cycle, you will find two main kinds of cycles – the road bike and the mountain bike. The road bike is also akin to a racer, and the mountain bike is an off-road-terrain cycle.
The hybrid cycle is a mix of these two types of bikes – the road bike and the mountain bike. What it does is take the best of both types and create a hybrid that can be used as well on smooth flat roads as on off-road trails.
You can say the hybrid bike is an all-terrain bicycle, which takes the gears and speed of the racer and the tough rugged build of the mountain bike and bring you a well balanced hybrid experience. The hybrid cycle will not fail you when you are moving from a smooth city street to a rough gravel trail or a slightly hilly path; and nor will it fail you when you are on a nature trail and then get on to flat smooth streets and have to keep up with your friends who are on racers. Isn’t that an ideal situation? And you get just that with the hybrid cycle.
Actually the hybrid cycle is a great one for those who are staring out too, as they don’t know which way they would like to go, the racer way or the mountain bike way. Those who are in the city and want to do daily commutes on their bicycle will also find the hybrid bike to be a great choice.
The tyres of the hybrid bike are also truly hybrid. Their center is narrow and suited for city riding with thin grooves, while the edges have rugged treads that help get a grip in off-road trails and gravel etc. In most cities and towns in India, you have the opportunity to cycle on roads as well as do recreational cycling in rough terrain and hilly roads, so the hybrid is an overall great choice.

Advantages of a hybrid cycle

There are many advantages of a hybrid bike. To begin with the hybrid bike is a mix of the best features of a road cycle and a mountain cycle. Taking the speed to the road bike and the ruggedness of the mountain bike and making the hybrid an all-terrain bike. Whether you are a city bike rider who occasionally goes for recreation riding into nature trails and parks etc. or like to go to the countryside on your bike, it will work beautifully at all times.

A typical racer or street bike comes with many gears and thin tyres that make it very difficult to ride in off-road trails. A typical mountain bike has a very heavy frame and thick flat tyres that make it very cumbersome to ride in the flat city road. The typical hybrid will have the basic gears of a racer, and in a mountain or off-road trail it you will be able to leverage the rough tread of the outer edge of the tyres to ride along smoothly, while someone on a street racer will be in a lot of difficulty.
Another important advantage of a hybrid cycle is that the handle is designed for your comfort. You do not need to hunch over the handle, and can ride in an upright position. This is because most hybrid cycles have a straight handle, although they have the body of a road bike.

While a racer will get you go really fast on straight flat roads, the hybrid will let you go fast without needing to hunch over. You will be able to cycle for longer without feeling tired or strained.
Hybrid bikes are lighter than mountain bikes so though you get the advantage of riding a mountain bike, and can easily go on rough terrain, you will not have to contend with the heavy weight of a mountain bike. If you need to you will be able to lift your hybrid bike easily, unlike the heavy mountain bikes.
If you plan to go to school or maybe office on your cycle, then the hybrid bike is a great choice. You can easily ride it over considerable distances without needing to hunch over, the tyres and straight handle will let you go pretty fast. And when in the weekend you want to do some riding in a park or on a gravel trail you will be equally comfortable there.

How to choose a hybrid cycle or hybrid bike

To choose the right hybrid bike for yourself, you need to ask yourself first exactly what you want. Are you planning to ride it every day? Are you going to commute to school, college or work on it, or will you be riding around the colony with your friends. Are you going to take it on gravel trails every once in a while or on slightly hilly paths? These decisions matter because that is how you will be able to decide on what kind of a hybrid bike you need.
Suppose you want to use it more for city roads riding and only occasionally for riding on gravel paths or parks, then go for a hybrid that leans towards the road bike. If you want it more for riding on off-road kind of trails and will use it less for city roads riding, then take a hybrid that leans towards mountain bikes. If you want to do a lot of cross city riding along country roads and some rough terrain take a balanced hybrid that will let you ride at a decent speed on smooth roads and also let you tackle off-road terrain easily.
After you have made your choice, then it is a matter of looking for specific features that will make your bike lean towards the road bike side or the mountain bike side.

Hybrid bikes – the important characteristic to look out for – how to choose a hybrid bike part by part

The hybrid bike according to the way it leans, towards road bikes or mountain bikes, has a few variations. We will look at them and help you to pick the one that is best for you.
When it comes to main characteristic of hybrid bikes that you need to check out and keep in mind, they are – the speed that the bike can move in comfortably, the gears it has, the comfort factor of the overall bike, the kind of handlebar it has, how versatility it is in terms of different terrains and roads etc. and finally what kind of wheels it has.
As we have already discussed you find that the hybrid bikes usually have straight handle bars. The straight handle bars are characteristic of mountain bikes. Also the hybrid bikes are designed in such a way that they deliver more comfort to the rider. The frames of the hybrid bike will also be designed for comfort more than anything else. When you are riding a hybrid bike, you do not need to hunch over and can sit upright and comfortable so that you can ride for longer durations without any discomfort.
Another thing that you can consider is the material of the bike frame. In most hybrid bikes the frame is made of aluminium, but some are made of stainless steel and the high end ones are also made of carbon fibre.
We have discussed about the handle bar being straight, but there are some hybrid bikes that have the racer handle bars too. So you actually have quite a wide range of options to choose from.
Picking out the right options for your ideal hybrid bike
When you know what you want to use your hybrid bike for – whether daily commuting and occasional off-road cycling or mostly rough terrain but also some city streets, then you can start looking at the main components of the hybrid bike and picking the ideal choice. We will have a look at different variants of hybrid cycles so that you can choose what is best for your needs.
The wheels are very important
One of the advantages of hybrid bikes is the wheel. The wheels are of a kind that allow for easy riding on city roads and good traction on gravel trails or hilly tracks. How this happens is by means of the way the tyres are treaded. In the middle the treads are narrow and that allows you to cycle effortlessly on roads. In the sides the treading is rough and heavily grooved so that you get good traction in loose gravel and nature trails. That truly makes your hybrid an all-terrain bike.
Usually hybrid bikes have tyres that are around 700 mm in diameter. The width of the tyres is usually around 32 mm. This is an intermediate width. And that is why you get the advantage of cycling easily on roads because of the narrowness and also traction on off-road path because of the intermediate width. In essence the narrower the wheels are the faster you can ride, and the wider the wheels are the better traction you get on rough trails.
So with the hybrid cycles you get wheels that are in the middle of road bikes and mountain bikes – and they are always good for flat roads. You can take a specific type of narrower or wider tyre if you have something very specific in mind, though.
Hybrid bikes have several kinds of gears and speed options
In most hybrid bikes the gears facilitate city riding and also climbing inclines in hilly terrain. The wide range of hybrid bikes also offer a wide range of gear and speed options. If you so desire you will find hybrid bikes that have gears in the lower ranges too, which are suited for riding on mountain or hilly roads.
Here’s a quick look at some common varieties of hybrid bikes
Urban Hybrid Bike
Intended for urban use as a daily means of commuting and transportation.
They aim to give a comfortable ride to the cyclist and be efficient and energy saving on city roads.
These urban hybrid bikes usually have a solid frame but they also come variable height adjustments.
The wheels are in the usual 700 mm range with the wheel treading more suited for flat city roads.
Since they are going to be used for daily commutes, the usually come with carriers.
Comfort Hybrid Bikes
The main goal of these bikes is to give the rider maximum comfort.
Since the comfort factor is maximized they work best when you take relaxed short trips on them.
They use straight handlebars and enable the rider to sit upright and stay comfortable.
Since comfort is uppermost there is suspension in the front wheel and in the seat itself.
The comfort hybrid bikes have variable gears and wheels that are more suited for city roads.
Long Trip Hybrid Bikes
These bikes are ideal when you want to do long trips on roads.
They are designed to be fast and comfortable on flat city roads over long distances.
Their overall design and frame leans heavily towards the racers which are ideal for city roads.
The handlebars are straight for more comfort and the wheels are slim and suited for fast city riding.
All-terrain hybrid bikes
These are the hybrids that lean towards mountain bikes.
They can go no almost any surface and have the lower range mountain bike gears.
Their tyres are wider than the other hybrid bikes with rugged treading.
The wide tyres and rough treading make them difficult to ride on normal city roads.
They are very strong and little heavier than the other variations.
Since they are for incline riding the brakes are better, mostly disc brakes.
Pros of Hybrid Bikes
They get the best of road bikes and mountain bikes
They are well suited as a means of transportation in cities
They are designed to give more comfort to the rider.
They are very versatile and can be ridden on almost any kind of surface.
Cons of Hybrid Cycles
They are not as fast as the city racer bikes
They are also not as sturdy and rugged as mountain bikes

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