Best Hybrid Bike For Beginners

Choosing a Bike

March 22, 2019

Hey guys. Dustin here, CEO of Sixthreezero. Wanted to talk to you today about what's the best hybrid bike for a beginner. Lots of bikes out there, lots of hybrid bikes out there, but really what's the best hybrid bike for a beginner? Let's jump into it.

Now, first let me explain a little bit about what a hybrid bike is. Unfortunately, defining the hybrid bike category is a little bit difficult because the hybrid category includes lots of different mish-mashes of bikes and that's why it's called hybrid bikes. You can have a hybrid bike that has super thin tires and a step-through frame or you can have a hybrid bike that's a little bit more aggressive of a riding position. Maybe thicker tires and is meant for off-road. It really kind of depends, I've seen the definition of hybrid bike used differently across different websites, different platforms things like that. Basically, any bike that doesn't fit more specifically into road or mountain or comfort or cruiser kind of get mish-mashed into the hybrid bike category.

With that said, there's one type of hybrid bike I'm thinking specifically that's great for beginners. This is going to be a step-through forward pedaling designed bike. There are lots of companies out there that carry this particular kind of bike. The Electra Townie would fall into this category. There's a company out there called Tuesday Bikes that have something similar. We at Sixthreezero have the Every Journey. It's basically a step-through frame with forward pedaling design. What I mean by this is typically on bikes you have what's called a down tube and the seat goes on top of the down tube and the down tube connects to what's called the bottom bracket or the crank casing or the crank, basically where the pedals are. In a typical bike that's essentially straight up and down, there might be a little bit of an angle.

On what I'm talking about on this hybrid bike is the pedals are actually shifted forward about three, four inches from the seat. The way companies do this, there's a variety of ways. Electra does it by essentially shifting the pedals forward. We do it by angling the down tube at a pretty steep angle. When the rider is sitting their hips are shifted forward and their feet are actually in front of them when pedaling. Now, the reason this is a great option for beginning riders is that it allows the seat to be very low, which allows the rider to get their feet flat on the ground when stopped. When they start moving, they can get proper leg extension because the pedals are moved forward. You're going to get the leg extension you need because of the forward pedals versus having to raise the seat.

What this does and why is it good for beginners, it's great for beginners because if your balance isn't great or you're just learning, you don't want to be super high on that seat. If you tip, you know you're trying to get your foot out and find your balance. If the seats low and you feel your balance going boom, you put your feet down and your feet can be flat on the ground and you can be safe and make sure you're stopped. If you're unsure of your balance or you're just beginning to ride that is a really, really great feature to have.

I would say in addition to that, it's a very simple bike to ride and very comfortable. If you're a beginner and you haven't done a lot of riding, there's a lot of muscles you're going to use, even in your wrists and your forearms and your shoulders and in your back and in your butt to be honest. You want a position and you want a seat also that's going to put as much or as little, sorry, as little tension or pressure on your joints, your back, your muscles because your body is just going to be getting used to working these certain muscles out. It'd be like if you're just getting into biking you don't need to go from zero to a thousand and get a road bike. You can step into it with this style of hybrid bike and it's going to allow your body to get acclimated and get used to the pain points.

Then you can start to decide from there how much more do you want to push your body. Are you comfortable with this riding position and you like more of a leisurely, relaxed ride? Or would you rather step into a more aggressive ride, something like a road bike or a mountain bike? Now, just know going from this beginner bike that I talked about to a road or mountain bike, it's going to even push your body further. Road bikes and mountain bikes are even more aggressive riding positions. They're going to put even more pressure on your body. They're going to work more muscles that you didn't even imagine would get worked while riding a bike and it's not just your legs.

Best hybrid bike for beginners, again I'll review. There's really no name for it, we call it a touring hybrid but it's the style of a step-through frame with a forward pedaling. Models like the Electra Townie, the Sixthreezero Every Journey, Tuesday Bikes has a model and there are other models like it out there. You can Google and search for more. You could search for forward pedaling design things of that nature.

Comment below if you have a hybrid bike like this, please comment below tell us what bike you have. Also, if you're a beginner and you've picked up a bike and started riding, comment below and tell us what bikes been good for you while you've been learning to ride. It'd be great to hear. If you want to reach out, connect with us directly, feel free. Shoot us an email theteam@sixthreezero.com. Or call us, 310-982-2877. Also, please, browse our bikes top navigation of our website, men's, women's and kid's options available. The special tool we have, enter your height and weight on our body fit calculator and it will tell you if the bike is a fit for you. It will give you a thumbs up, thumbs down. If you get a thumbs down, please contact us and we can find a way to customize a bike that will be right for you. Because at Sixthreezero our goal is to find the right bike that will fit your body.