What’s the Best Hybrid Bike for Women – Our Buying Guide

Are you looking for the best hybrid bike for women? With so many options on the market, it’s hard to decide. We give you all the information you need to know to choose the perfect bike for you. From the nitty-gritty on component levels and specs to the features you’re looking for, to what’s important about a Women’s Specific Design, we have you covered.

Keep reading to buy your next women’s hybrid bike with confidence with a few easy steps.

What’s Important About A Women’s Specific Design

I am a female cyclist and spin instructor. Before I started any class, I made sure everybody adjusted their bike to fit their body. Why should it be any different when riding on the road? Women are not built like short men, so they shouldn’t ride a small man’s bicycle.

I have been riding a women’s specific design bike for over ten years, and I am not going back. It all starts with the touchpoints: your saddle and handlebars. I need my handlebars narrower than a man’s with a seat designed for my girl parts. I also want a frame built for my geometry and brake handles that match my grip. A women’s specific design gives me all that and helps me feel better after a day of riding. I’ve been on bike tours where the guides made adjustments to stems and headsets that came close after a lot of work, but still didn’t feel as good as my WSD bike did right out of the box.

Step 1 – Why Choose a Hybrid Bike?

Back in the good (or bad) old days, you had two choices for bikes: cruisers or 10-speeds. Over time, these basic bikes evolved into too many options to keep track of, but in general, you have mountain bikes and road bikes. Mountain bikes are rugged with features designed to handle the toughest terrain while road bikes are light and fast to give competitive riders every last bit of speed. The beauty and simplicity of the classic bikes were lost somewhere along this evolutionary path. If you’re not a specialized rider, do you really want a specialized bike?

I chose a hybrid bike for me because it lets me ride comfortably but still has a sporty performance. I am not a super athlete by any means, but I can cruise for 4-5 hours with a range of about 60 miles on my hybrid. My rocket scientist husband geeks out over aerodynamic drag at speeds over 18 MPH, but since I don’t ride that fast anyway, I go for comfort first, then efficiency.

Step 2 – Choosing the Right Hybrid Bike

You’ll see reading this that I’m a Trek girl. They sold me on their WSD geometry, and I have been brand loyal ever since. We’ll make brand comparisons next, but for now, I’ll focus on the Trek hybrid bikes, which pretty much cover the market regardless of the manufacturer. Trek has four hybrid product lines: FX, Duel Sport, Verve, and Allant+.

• FX: Build for a quick, light ride on the road with features like a rigid fork and skinnier tires. Fast and fun enough that you will not outgrow them as your skills advance and easy to accessorize with urban features like a rack and fenders.
• Dual Sport: A light suspension and knobby tires give them a little off-road capability without the weight and price point of a full mountain bike. This bike would be an excellent choice for regions where there extensive networks of dirt roads. It doesn’t have quite the performance to grow with you as a road rider like the FX does nor the capability to tackle gnarly trails.
• Verve: Think of the Verve as a high-performance cruiser. It has wider tires and upright geometry, but also gears and hand-brakes. This bike would be perfect for cruising the boardwalk in San Diego, where you have to climb a hill or two and brake for tourists. As a fitness coach, I don’t like the ergonomics of the upright design for any extended time in the saddle. I have a saying, pad your butt, not the seat. You will also not be able to generate full power with your hip flexors which will significantly limit your ability to grow as a rider with the bike.
• Allant +: Trek bills this bike as a replacement for your car. I can whole heartily endorse that. However, as a fitness rider, electric hybrids give me a visceral reaction in the pit of my stomach. I believe in fully earning my milage.

You can probably guess that I ride a Trek FX and I love it. It has all the performance I need as a fitness rider to enjoy many full days of cycling on the pavement.

STEP 3: CHOOSE YOUR BRAND OF BIKE

I’m a Trek gal and have been for years. I love that they are made in the USA with free professional assembly and terrific delivery options for online shopping. I also love their 30-day satisfaction guarantee with online purchases. Mostly, I just love the product. It fits my body and just plain works.

I purchased my first Trek FX and fell in love. After it was stolen, I bought another without a second thought. Now that they come with Bluetooth connectivity (beginning with the FX3 model) and disc brakes standard, I am even more impressed.

However, there are other options for women’s specific hybrid bikes. People often compare the Trek FX with the Fuji Absolute and the Cannondale Quick. This link gives a detailed component breakdown for the gear junkies. It shows that Trek FX 2 has the best price for the features that you’ll find.

The estimated spec level chart shows the Trek FX 2 as the lowest price bike you can get with quality components. It rates higher on specs than the Lapierre SENSIUM at half the cost. I feel good that the specs support my purchase.

Step 4: Choose Your Size

I keep coming back to women’s specific design, but none of that matters if you don’t have the right size bike or don’t have it adjusted for you. Nothing bugs me more than watching people cycle on misadjusted bikes. It’s bad for your back, knees, and performance. Free the knees folks.

You should start with this online sizing guide to get the correct frame size. All you’ll need to know is what type of bike you want (presumably a hybrid), your height, and your inseam. Then, have the bike shipped to your neighborhood Trek store for professional assembly.

Step 5: Purchase Your Bike With Confidence

When you purchase from Trek, you can buy with confidence knowing that you have a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. You’re also helping local businesses because they make sure a portion of online sales goes to support the local brick and mortar stores. If you purchase with our affiliate link, it helps supports our bike content as well. It’s a win-win-win situation. Another bonus of buying online is you get precisely the size, color, and style you want, without worrying about inventory on hand. You can get free delivery to your local Trek store or, for a limited time, your house during these trying times.

The next step is to check out the Trek FX product line and see which FX suits you best.

• FX1: Doesn’t come in women’s specific design or have disc brakes (I would go up from this one)
• FX2: Great value with disc brakes and women’s specific design
• FX3: First price-point with carbon fiber forks for a softer ride with a small price jump. This is the first of the series with Bluetooth capability built-in.
• FX4: Upgraded components with a moderate price jump
• FX5: Full carbon fiber frame and with a price jump to match
• FX6: Top of the product line but does not come in women’s specific design

Step 6: Accessorize Your Bike

The Trek FX comes ready to ride, but high-end bikes (like the FX 6) don’t come with peddles because you can’t make gear snobs happy. Even though you’re ready to ride, there are some basic bike accessories you should consider:

• Helmet 
• Gloves 
• Bike Shorts 
• Bontrager DuoTrap S (a sensor for speedometer)
• Pedal Cages/clipless pedals (you will also need to purchase shoes/cleats if you go clipless)
• Light Kit 
• Bottle Holder 
• Tool Kit 
• Spare Tube 
• Inflator 
• Lock 
• Lube 
• Chamois Cream 

Since I primarily road ride with my husband, Ed, I wanted a little more efficiency along with the comfort of my hybrid. For this reason, I switched out the stock tires for road tires, which were able to boost my riding speed 1-2 mph more.

You can order anything you need with your bike and pick it up at the store to make shopping a breeze and guarantee everything is in stock.

Wrapping Up the Best Hybrid Bike for Women

I believe there’s a happy medium for bike purchases. You pay significantly more for the high-end components that weigh just a little bit less, but you still need to shop for quality. That’s why I trust a brand like Trek to deliver. You also need to pick the right bike for you. Do you want a hybrid bike over a road bike or mountain bike? If you go hybrid, what’s the right style for you. I am extremely happy with my Trek FX and think that’s a superb choice for fitness riders that want to get their miles in, while valuing comfort over top-end speed.

You can check out some of our biking articles for Key West, Phoenix, Jekyll Island, Durango, San Diego, or ten training tips to see how I ride and to understand my perspective on cycling. These articles are the type of bike content purchasing through our affiliate links will help support. Above all else, thanks for spending a little digital time with me today. I hope that I’ve helped you find the best women’s hybrid bike for you or that special person in your life.

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