A hybrid that’s designed for everyday transport and leisure riding might be the only bike you need. Here are 10 are of the best all-rounders!
A trekking bike is the European equivalent of the British touring bike, with a flat handlebar instead of a drop bar. It’s designed less for mile-eating adventures and more for weekday commuting and weekend leisure riding.
As such, a trekking bike comes with practical accessories like a pannier rack, mudguards and sometimes lights. Gears have a usefully wide range and brakes are good – usually hydraulic or mechanical disc brakes, sometimes V-brakes. Some models have a short-travel suspension fork, which you don’t really need.
European brands tend to refer to trekking bikes as exactly that. Elsewhere you’ll find them listed as city hybrids, equipped hybrids or flat-bar tourers. Their scope is similar whatever the name. They’ll take you and your luggage along city streets, country lanes, cycle tracks and unsurfaced roads. They’re rarely lightweight or sporty. They’re useful all-rounders that sit bang in the middle of the overlapping Venn diagram of different bike types.
Here are 10 good trekking bikes for commuters. The prices are from July 2024 so may change. Don’t forget to factor in your Cyclescheme savings.
Elops Long-Distance Step-Over City Bike 500 £499.99
Decathlon’s bikes are always good value and this hybrid is no exception. It’s well equipped for a budget bike, with mudguards, a rear rack, a kickstand and dynamo-powered lighting. Yet no corners have been cut elsewhere. The 1x9 Microshift drivetrain has a reasonable range, thanks to a 36-tooth chainring and an 11-36 cassette, and the V-brakes are effective stoppers. The wheels are bolt-on ones so are harder to steal if you leave the bike in town, and the 38mm tyres are fine on towpaths and tracks as well as tarmac. There’s also a version with a step-through frame.
Another bike whose ‘city’ designation doesn’t do it justice, Giant’s Escape City Disc 2 is practical hybrid that’s equally suitable for recreational rides. Its 2x8 Shimano Altus drivetrain provides a wider range of gears than the Elops, with a 30/34 bottom ratio that will help with hills and loads. Entry-level hydraulic disc brakes from Tektro give powerful, weatherproof braking that doesn’t depend on grip strength. The Giant’s 38mm tyres are capable on a range of surfaces, not just pristine tarmac. It comes with a rear rack, mudguards and kickstand. A women’s version with a step-over frame is sold under Giant’s Liv brand.
Cube Travel £999
The aptly-named Travel is a go-almost-anywhere trekking bike designed in Germany. Its 55mm tyres will cope with any track short of a dedicated mountain bike trail – not to mention potholed roads – and its 3x9 drivetrain (bottom gear 26/34) will haul you and your bulging panniers up pretty much any hill. The rear rack, mudguards, kickstand and dynamo lighting the Travel comes with are as useful for commuting as touring. You can also fit a front rack if two bags on the rear isn’t enough capacity. Brakes are hydraulic discs. There’s a variant version whose aluminium frame has a top tube.
Trek Dual Sport 3 Equipped Gen 5 £1,100
Trek’s Dual Sport 3 Equipped is similar in scope to the Cube Travel. It’s a town-and-trail hybrid with big tyres (27.5x2in) and the same equipment: rear rack, mudguards, kickstand and dynamo lighting. The gearing is 1x10 Shimano CUES, which has bigger steps between gears than a triple setup but is almost as hill friendly thanks to a huge 11-48 cassette. Hydraulic disc brakes – also Shimano – handle stopping. It’s relatively light for a fully-equipped hybrid as its aluminium frame is fitted with a carbon fibre fork, which has mounts for a front rack if you need one. The ‘stagger’ frame version is pictured; there’s also a version with a top tube.
Cannondale Treadwell EQ DLX Remixte £1,100
With its high-rise handlebar and wide (47mm) tyres, Cannondale’s Treadwell looks as much like a beach cruiser as a trekking bike. It does have more relaxed geometry than most hybrids, with a shallower seat angle that’s good for laid-back riding and for getting a foot down at the lights. Yet it still ticks all the commuting and leisure boxes, being equipped with dynamo lighting, mudguards, kickstand and not one but two racks; the front one is handy for tossing a shoulder bag into. The drivetrain is 1x9 Microshift Advent, whose large (11-42) cassette gives a range that’s wide enough for rolling hills. Brakes are Tektro hydraulic discs. There’s an alternative version with a top tube.
Gazelle Chamonix T20 £1,199
The Chamonix T20 is a Dutch trekking bike. It has a more upright riding position, thanks to a tall head tube and an adjustable-angle stem, and it’s equipped with everything. As well as a rear rack, mudguards, kickstand and dynamo lights it has a frame-mounted wheel lock. It’s a heavy bike as a result but the 2x10 drivetrain has a 30/39 bottom gear that will winch you up most hills. The Shimano hydraulic disc brakes have even more stopping power than usual due to the use of a larger front rotor. The tyres are fairly wide (42mm) but are better suited to cruising over cobbles or rough roads than tracks. The bike is also available as a ‘high-step’ model with a top tube.
Sonder Santiago Apex 1 Flat Bar £1,249
Sonder’s Santiago is a full-on touring bike that’s also available, as shown, with a flat handlebar. Its resilient Reynolds 631 steel frame and chrome-moly fork have fittings for everything you need for commuting or touring. By default this model comes unequipped but you can add mudguards and a rear rack at point of purchase for less than £100. Unlike most touring bikes the Santiago Apex 1 has a 1x drivetrain. The 12-speed gear range is decent nevertheless as the cassette’s largest sprocket is a 42. Budget priced but effective hydraulic disc brakes will stop you however heavily you load the bike. It’s sold with 700C wheels and 35mm tyres but you could subsequently fit smaller 650B wheels and wider (47mm) tyres if you preferred.
Genesis Tour de Fer 10 Flat Bar £1,299.99
Like the Sonder, this is a touring bike whose flat handlebar nudges it into trekking bike territory. Its steel frame and fork are tough enough to take some hard knocks and have all the fittings you’d expect. It’s sold equipped with a rear rack, mudguards and kickstand, so lacks only lights for commuting. The drivetrain is 3x9 Shimano Alivio, giving a good spread of gears and small steps in between them. If there’s a cost saving on the bike it’s the brakes – Promax mechanical discs that work well enough but are a step down from hydraulics. The Genesis’s Schwalbe Marathon touring tyres roll well on both tarmac and smoother tracks, and the wheels are more strongly built than most.
Specialized Sirrus 3.0 EQ £1,300
The Sirrus 3.0 EQ is at the sportier end of the trekking bike spectrum. Its aluminium frame and fork are relatively lightweight, and it’s equipped with a road bike groupset – 2x10 Shimao Tiagra, which suits brisk speeds better than dawdling despite a 32/34 bottom gear. It’s well equipped for the daily commute, with dynamo lighting, a rear rack and super-long mudguards that will, unlike most, actually keep your feet dry. The 38mm Specialized Nimbus tyres are wide and tough enough for badly maintained roads, too. Brakes are the hydraulic discs (Tektro, again) that you’d expect at this price.
Ribble Hybrid AL – Fully Loaded Edition £1,399
Ribble’s Hybrid AL is another sporty trekking bike. Like the Trek it has a carbon fibre fork, which is lighter than aluminium or steel, and the bike is weighed down with less equipment; mudguards and a rear rack are your lot. The lack of heft will make longer or off-road rides more rewarding but you’ll need lights at least for the daily commute. You might also want different tyres: 40mm Schwalbe G-One Allround tyres roll pretty well on road for gravel tyres but slick tyres will be more efficient if you’re planning on sticking to tarmac. The 1x11 SRAM NX drivetrain is lighter than double or triple setups and intuitive to use, although bottom gear isn’t quite as low.
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