Ridgeback's Metro range is the brand's offering of light, low maintenance town bikes with hub gears, comfortable riding position, chain guard and kick stand. They demonstrate Ridgeback's acknowledgement of the importance of the town bike sector of the UK cycling market. Hub gearing gives the opportunity to fit a 3/4 length chain guard (we'd have preferred a full chain case, but hey!), and your best bell bottoms are reasonably safe from the mucky bits. It also means there's no oily, vulnerable derailleur mechanism, which has to be a maintenance gain.
Women's models feature a user-friendly, ultra-low step-through frame and a handlebar mounted quick-release basket. 2010 sees the introduction of a fourth bike to the stable, sneaking in at below £300.
We like the low weight, the low maintenance and the swept comfy handlebar. We also like the purposeful steps taken towards the holy grail of fully-equipped city bike specifications.
Ridgeback Avenida 7 Men's
£499.99
The Ridgeback Avenida 7 is a useable and versatile town bike for under £500. The evergreen Nexus Inter 7 gear hub replaces 2009's Inter 8. This replacement allowed Ridgeback to maintain the sub-£500 price point for 2010. Used on many Dutch and German city bikes, the 7 speed hub offers a broad spread of gears, which, although a reduction from the range offered by the 8 speed, is still a great spread.
We think you'll like this bike for the useability of the 7 speed spread and the massive convenience of being able to change down from top gear to first gear while you are sitting at the traffic lights (you do stop at red lights don't you...??)
We think this bike is good for short to medium commutes and day to day utility rides. We like being able to offer a multi-speed hub geared bike for under £500.
Frame type: Semi compact diamond
Sizes available:
Colour/s:
See full specifications on the manufacturer's website
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