Lower mid-range hybrids with rugged wheels

[DynV]

My 1st criteria for a bike is long distance rides ; I'm not an athlete so for me long distances are ~120 Km (74.6 mi) and I'm hoping to achieve 150 Km (93.2 mi) this year.

I'm fed-up of having bikes rear-wheel messing up on me. Right now I have a pretty used low-range hybrid which I had its rear-wheel fix its broken spokes then aligned. Some spokes broke afterward and I tried fixing them ; it didn't last long and an acquaintance was better at it than me so did his best but it didn't last. My previous very used bike biggest problem by far was its rear wheel. I know if I get a new bike, it won't get to this point for a while but I'd like to avoid that if I can.

Today an a couple days before I went to bikes stores letting them know I wanted a bike for long rides, which also handled trails and had the most rugged wheels, mentioning the rear one has been problematic. I started with a budget of 400 CAD (currently 390.73 USD) without taxes and went up to 500 CAD (488.45 USD). The 5 stores recommended different models which are listed below with the specifications I could find on them.

List ordered by the time of their recommendation (1st not hybrid) :

• Giant Revel 4
  380 CAD
  http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/revel.4/11523/55894/#specifications
  Frame
  ALUXX-Grade Aluminum
  Fork
  SR Suntour M2025, 100mm Travel
  Rims
  Giant Alloy
  Hubs
  Alloy, 32h
  Spokes
  Stainless Steel, 14g
  Tires
  Kenda K892, 26x2.1
  Front Derailleur
  Shimano Tourney
  Rear Derailleur
  Shimano Tourney
  Cassette
  Shimano TZ21 14x28, 7-Speed
  Chain
  KMC Z51
  Crankset
  SR Suntour NEX w/Chainguard, 28/38/48
  Bottom Bracket
  Suntour, Sealed Cartridge
• Trek 7.1 FX
  460 CAD
  http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/town/fitness/fx/7_1_fx/#/us/en/model/details?url=us/en/bikes/town/fitness/fx/7_1_fx
  Frame
  FX Alpha Silver Aluminum
  Fork
  High-tensile steel w/lowrider mounts, CLIX dropouts
  Wheels
  Formula alloy hubs w/Bontrager AT-750 32-hole rims
  Tires
  Bontrager H2, 700x35c
  Front derailleur
  Shimano Tourney
  Rear derailleur
  Shimano Acera
  Crank
  Suntour XCC, 48/38/28 w/chainguard
  Cassette
  Shimano TZ31 14-34, 7 speed
• Norco Malahat
  465 CAD
  http://www.norco.com/bikes/urban/hybrid/malahat/
  Frame
  7005 alloy w/comfort stays & internal cables
  Fork
  SR Suntour M-3010 suspension fork
  Wheels
  Rims
  Double wall alloy w/CNC side wall 32h - Black
  Tires
  Comfort 700 x 35c
  Tubes
  CST A/V tube
  Front Hub
  Formula Alloy hub 32h - Black
  Rear Hub
  Formula Alloy hub w/Cassette 32h - Black
  Spokes/Nipples
  Stainless spokes - 15 gauge
  Front Derailleur
  Shimano Tourney FD-TX51
  Rear Derailleur
  Shimano Tourney RD-TX55
  Cassette
  Shimano Altus CS-HG20 12-32T 7 speed
  Crankset
  Shimano Altus FC-M131C 48/38/28T
  Bottom Bracket
  Cartridge BB
• Rocky Mountain Whistler 30
  500 CAD, 5 years of adjustments
  http://www.bikes.com/main+en+01_102+WHISTLER_30.html?BIKE=1035&CATID=3&SCATID=28&Y=2012
  Frame
  RMB 6061 Series Custom Hydroformed Alloy. Internal Cable Routing. ZeroStack 1-1/8
  Fork
  Suntour NVX LO
  Spokes
  Stainless
  Rims
  Alex DA16 700c
  Tires (RR/FR)
  Kenda Kross Plus 700x40c
  Gearing (FR)
  Shimano Acera 31.8mm 9spd
  Gearing (RR)
  Shimano Alivio 9spd
  Cranks & Chainrings
  Suntour XCT V1 48/38/28T
  Bottom Bracket
  Suntour Sealed Cartridge
• Minelli Filepe
  460 CAD
  http://www.minelli-bikes.com/B_Felipe_Eng.html
  frame
  "Alloy 6061 Performance
  Hybrid Diamond w/ integrated headset
  removeable drop-out"
  fork
  Cromoly
  hubs
  Alloy w/ Q/R
  spokes
  32 Stainless
  rims
  Alex Rims G-6000 Alloy Double Wall
  tires
  Kenda 700 x 28C
  front derailleur
  Shimano C-50
  rear derailleur
  Shimano Altus
  freewheel
  Shimano HG-50 12-25T
  chain
  KMC Z-72
  crankset
  Prowheel Alloy 48-38-28
  bottom bracket
  Shimano Cartridge BB-UN26

Please help me make a decision keeping in mind the price, my desire to make long distance rides and the wheels rugedness.

Thank you kindly for your help

 

[alfeng]

Why not just have a better rear wheel laced up?

• either a wheel with a 36h hub ...
• or even a 40h hub which is usually used for tandems ... a wheel builder can respace the 140mm tandem hub down to 135mm without too much effort on his/her part

 

[vspa]

120 to 150 kilometers is a long distance for anyone, cyclist or not, all wrong choices for what you want to achieve, you need a road bike (if you plan to do that on asphalt of course) or, as suggested, a new pair of sturdy good wheels for your present bike,

 

[DynV]

Originally Posted by vspa .

[,,,]
all wrong choices for what you want to achieve, you need a road bike (if you plan to do that on asphalt of course)
or, as suggested, a new pair of sturdy good wheels for your present bike,

I'm doing trail on it

Originally Posted by DynV .

[,,,] I wanted a bike for long rides, which also handled trails and had the most rugged wheels, mentioning the rear one has been problematic. [,,,]

not most of the time although neither a negligible portion. Alfeng got me thinking earlier

Originally Posted by alfeng .

Why not just have a better rear wheel laced up?

• either a wheel with a 36h hub ...
• or even a 40h hub which is usually used for tandems ... a wheel builder can respace the 140mm tandem hub down to 135mm without too much effort on his/her part

but I wanted someone to look at the choices before getting to his post. After my 1st notice, I reviewed my list and saw after there's a 28 mm wheel in the list which is now hanging by a thread (not to be dropped), albeit I may be hasty and perhaps a 32 mm could simply be put on the rim. Now that you know I do trail, are the 5 listed still bad choices?

After Alfeng suggestion, I wondered if I'd need to change both wheels or just 1? The bike is old, the men I got it from told me he got it from a garage sale and likely the previous-previous owner slapped 1 of the 2 wheels on it before getting rid of it. If I'm right, it must not be bad riding on 2 different wheels as it's been handling adequately. I like the bike, it's not so good but I think it does the job and beside the read wheel, I can't complain about it ...

Oh! the stem is crooked. This is secondary, far less of an issue than the rear wheel. The crookedness isn't bad as I did many kilometers like that but I still tried to fix it, I unscrewed the large bolt-like thing on the frame where the stem comes out and unscrewed the long bolt on top of it (stem) then tried aligning the fork & stem but couldn't manage it although I didn't go so far as to use a bar on the fork, preferring experienced advice beforehand in case it would break or bend something.

So maybe I should shell out 100$ or more, but hopefully not more than 200$ (although if it must I will), to get a pretty sturdy rear wheel and hopefully if I decide to change bike, likely also low-range, it could be swapped with the new wheel (of the new bike).