Urban Bikes

6 Best Urban Bikes Under £700 for 2016

Looking for a bike for getting around town? Here are some of the best...

Urban bikes – those for getting around town quickly, without hassle – are a varied bunch. Your choice will be influenced by your luggage carrying needs, the terrain in your area, and your personal taste. Whatever you’re after, you can rest assured that there is something that will tick your boxes, and it doesn’t need to cost the earth.

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Key styles include Dutch ‘Sit Up and Beg’ bikes that often come with baskets and plenty of carrying capacity; hybrids that combine the lightweight speed of a road bike with off-road ready resilience; and singlespeeds that are great for weaving through traffic and require very low maintenance.

Here’s a look at six of the best…

Pendleton Somerby Hybrid Bike – £306.67

Victoria Pendleton’s bikes, available via Halfords, have always impressed us – and now you can buy the Somerby with practical matching accessories for just over £300.

The Dutch style classic has seven Shimano gears, so you’ll be able to negotiate the hills in your area, and an aluminum frame with a step-through design for easy mounts and dismounts. The brakes are v-brakes – so not as quick to react as the disc option on the Plume below, but effective enough.

You also get a padded leather-style saddle with springs for comfort, and a rear luggage rack and matching rack bag, plus a light set.

See it here.

FOFFA Plume – £359.99

TWC’s contributor Lorna North had a great time riding the Foffa Plume recently – and we have to admit we were a tad jealous!

The Plume is all about combining practicality with style – it’s classic but upright, and offers easy boarding (even if you’re wearing a skirt) with the step-through alloy frame.

Dutch bikes can be quite heavy, but the Plume weighs just 10.9kg, which is light for this style – and it comes with 8 Shimano gears so you shouldn’t have too much trouble if there are uphill drags on your route. The wheels come fitted with 28c tyres, which will be resilient and can handle rougher roads, whilst pre-fitted mudguards will keep your rear end clear from mud on wet days.

See it here.

Tern Link D8 2015 Folding Bike – £400

Looking to combine your ride with a train journey? Then you’ll probably need a folding bike if you’re travelling at peak times.

Admittedly, the market leader in folding bikes has got to be Brompton. However, with the name and the custom colours also comes a higher price tag, and Tern are able to offer you this easy fold/unfold design for an RRP of £500, currently down to £400.

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This model uses the ‘N-Fold’ design which is neater and more compact, and this model comes with 8 SRAM gears, plus resilient Schwalbe Kojak tyres.

See it here.

Pinnacle Cobalt 3 Women’s 2016 Hybrid Bike – £550

If you want a bike that’s light and efficient on the road, but can handle some light off-road use – this could be the one. The Cobalt 3 comes with wide 40c tyres, and a 63mm travel fork that can be locked out when on the road. This means you can ride towpaths, in the woods and in the park with ease, but won’t be losing too much when you hit the tarmac.

Eyelets for mudguards and a pannier rack make this an option if you want to commute or try some touring, and at this price point you even get Shimano hydraulic brakes and 9-speed Shimano shifting. The women’s model comes with a female specific saddle, narrower handlebars, smaller grips and shorter cranks to ensure a good fit from the get-go.

See it here.

Specialized Langster Singlespeed bike – £600

Confession – the writer has always fancied one of these. A singlespeed is great if you live somewhere fairly flat, or want to work really hard on your cadence. You have only one gear, though you can buy parts to make the gear bigger or smaller depending on terrain and leg strength. The gear supplied is fairly light – a 48T chainring and 17T cassette, so you should be ok riding it out the box unless you’ll be tackling some bigger hills.

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The Langster comes with a brake fitted, which you need to ride it legally on UK roads. It’s got skinny 23c tyres, so you won’t want to be taking it off road. This is the only bike on the list that isn’t female specific – so you may want to change the handlebars for a narrower version and swap on a women’s saddle.

See it here.

Liv Thrive 1 2016 – £699

A sporty hybrid, the Thrive could be your companion on longer road rides, but 28c tyres mean it’ll also cope with rougher surfaces such as towpaths, as well as being a fantastic commuting buddy. The flat bar provides an upright position, but the road-style frame is light and agile.

A D-Fuse seatpost reduces vibrations from our Great British roads, and disc brakes will provide you with quick braking, even in the wet, whilst eyelets for mudguards and panniers mean you’ll be set up for touring or commuting duties.

See it here.

We hope there’s something in this list for you! If you’re a new commuter, check out these 7 Things You Need to Know to Commute Safely and our Guide to Sticking to Commuter Resolutions.