Advice on a Hybrid Dirt Road and Off Road Bike

[JustLooking]

I live on a big property with a couple roads and several dirt trails.
And I also want to ride on the mostly gravel/dirt roads in my area.
I don't want a mountain bike, but maybe a little seat suspension?
What hybrid bikes (flat bar) with wider tires would you suggest?
Something along these lines:

Best electric hybrid bikes in 2023: ebikes for commuting, shopping and riding around town

Our pick of the best electric hybrid bikes for 2023, as reviewed by the BikeRadar test team

www.bikeradar.com

Budget could be up to $8000 CAD max.
My longest rides are usually 1.5hr max - and I might hit the local roads like 20 times max over Summer/Autumn.
Could be a used or new bike.
And hoping to find one soon - easier said than done : )

Thanks in advance

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I live on a big property with a couple roads and several dirt trails.
And I also want to ride on the mostly gravel/dirt roads in my area.
I don't want a mountain bike, but maybe a little seat suspension?
What hybrid bikes with wider tires would you suggest?
My longest rides are usually 1.5hr max - and I might hit the local roads like 20 times max over Summer/Autumn.
Could be a used or new bike.
And hoping to find one soon - easier said than done : )

Thanks in advance

What is your budget? If money were no object and I wanted the maximally coolest and most fun bike in this category I'd probably recommend the Specialized S-Works Turbo Creo SL Evo. But that is a lot of money for an e-bike and I'd understand if you have sticker shock.

Are you shopping online or through a bike shop? If you are going through a decent bike shop, I'd recommend going to them with your requirements and at least listening to what they have to say -- they might give you a good steer but they might also be a bit overenthusiastic about selling you what they happen to have in stock.

Having said that, a couple of things I'd look for:

• You can always buy a suspension seat post and retrofit it to your bike, so I wouldn't exclude any bike that didn't have one.
• Look for at least a 50mm (2 inch) tire size. You wouldn't need a fat tire bike for those conditions.
• A good mid-drive with a pretty wide gear range (e.g. 1x11).
• Either a suspension front fork or a springy steel front fork would be best -- although that exotic carbon fork on the S-Works looks mighty cool.

 

[JustLooking]

What is your budget? If money were no object and I wanted the maximally coolest and most fun bike in this category I'd probably recommend the Specialized S-Works Turbo Creo SL Evo. But that is a lot of money for an e-bike and I'd understand if you have sticker shock.

Are you shopping online or through a bike shop? If you are going through a decent bike shop, I'd recommend going to them with your requirements and at least listening to what they have to say -- they might give you a good steer but they might also be a bit overenthusiastic about selling you what they happen to have in stock.

Having said that, a couple of things I'd look for:

• You can always buy a suspension seat post and retrofit it to your bike, so I wouldn't exclude any bike that didn't have one.
• Look for at least a 50mm (2 inch) tire size. You wouldn't need a fat tire bike for those conditions.
• A good mid-drive with a pretty wide gear range (e.g. 1x11).
• Either a suspension front fork or a springy steel front fork would be best -- although that exotic carbon fork on the S-Works looks mighty cool.

To clarify, not looking for a road bike. Got my eyes on the hybrid flat bar bikes like these:

Best electric hybrid bikes in 2023: ebikes for commuting, shopping and riding around town

Our pick of the best electric hybrid bikes for 2023, as reviewed by the BikeRadar test team

www.bikeradar.com