The Ribble Hybrid AL Trail offers an off-road option to those who don't want to go full mountain bike
Pros
+
Smooth ride
+
Very comfortable on gravel
+
Effortless 1x11 SRAM gearing
+
Comfortable position
+
Decent weight for a bike with a suspension fork
Cons
-
Lacks pace
-
No lock-out lever on suspension
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Hybrid bikes can often get pigeonholed as an alternative to a road bike – an option for those with an aversion to drop bars, a comfy commuter or a fancy town bike. But, arguably, a niche that hybrids could do a better job of filling is as an alternative to a mountain bike.
A hardtail mountain bike is often the ride of choice for those who wish to explore off the beaten track. But, for most, this won't involve driving to a singletrack course and taking on epic descents through the trees. Most won't ever get to the point where they are pushing their mountain bike to its limits off the road, and are very likely having to spend a lot of time on the road navigating their way to their chosen off-road routes on a totally unsuitable ride.
Hybrids with 700c wheels, light frames, easy-going road geometries and suspension forks offer a different option, and it's for this reason - and more - that we included the Ribble Hybrid AL Trail in our guide to the best budget hybrid bikes.
Combine an aluminium frame with a suspension fork, big tyres and mountain bike gearing and throw in a pannier rack – all for £799/$704.98 – then you suddenly have a very different proposition. Yes, it may be a hybrid, but you certainly couldn't accuse it of being a flat-bar road bike.
Ribble does have some showrooms but it is generally an online specialist based in the UK. Its bikes range from high-end aero and triathlon machines to mountain bikes, with most things in between. It has smart a single-speed steel frame option called the Urban but the main hybrid offering is Hybrid AL range, which comes with either rigid or suspension forks (the Trail), both of which are available as e-bikes. In the same price range, Trek's Dual Sport 3 and Cannondale's Quick CX 3 are similar offerings, with comparable suspension forks but different drivetrains.
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The SRAM NX 11-speed drivetrain is from a mountain bike groupset and as such the Hybrid AL Trail did not run out of gears on climbs(Image credit: Benjamin Page)
The Suntour Nex E25 suspension fork gives the ability to explore off the beaten track (Image credit: Benjamin Page)
The Ribble Hybrid AL Trail is fitted with what are now pretty standard Tekro M275 hydraulic disc brakes(Image credit: Benjamin Page)
The use of thru-axles on front and rear is, however, less common and gives a more secure fixing for the wheels(Image credit: Benjamin Page)
Design and specifications
Ribble has built the Hybrid Trail AL around a 1680g 6061-T6 aluminium frame. The model we tested had a Suntour NEX E25 coil fork, which adds a fair bit of heft and is certainly an area that would be worth considering for an upgrade if weight is a priority. Our build was just under 13kg with pedals and mudguards, which is still pretty decent for a hybrid in this price range.
More impressive, however, is the drivetrain. Ribble has used SRAM's NX 1x11 mountain bike groupset, a clear indication that the focus is on ensuring this bike is comfortable off-road. It pairs a tiny 32-tooth single chainring with a huge 11-sprocket cassette that runs from 11-42 teeth.
As is now becoming the norm across all disciplines, the Hybrid AL Trail comes with hydraulic disc brakes, this model is fitted with fairly basic Tektro M275, but it does also use thru-axles front and back rather than quick-release skewers, which is not so universal yet for hybrid bikes at this price point.
The geometry of the frame is a little more relaxed than the average hybrid bike but not excessively so, with stack height comparable to the fixed-frame Specialized Sirrus, for example, and it is nowhere near the mountain bike look of, say, the Trek Dual Sport range. It is a gorgeous-looking frame, with seamless welds at each end of the top tube. It comes in an understated but attractive silvery grey that contrasts nicely with the brown seat and grips, making the bike look as if it has just stepped out of a sepia-tinged photograph.
The Level ergonomic grips are also excellent on a practical level, with a huge area to rest the palm that significantly contributes to comfort on long rides. The bars themselves rise up significantly to contribute to the relaxed, upright riding position.
Our bike was fitted with 40mm Schwalbe G-One Speed tyres on 700c wheels and the clearance on the frame allows up to 45mm.
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This is an alloy bike, and the seamless welds between the top tube, head tube and down tube are impressive(Image credit: Benjamin Page)
The same attention to detail has been paid to where the top tube meets the down tube(Image credit: Benjamin Page)
More typical signs of welding can be seen where the tubes and chainstays meet the bottom bracket shell(Image credit: Benjamin Page)
Performance
There's nothing wrong with the way this bike rides over tarmac. It has a comfortable, upright-ish geometry but it by no means has the sluggish feel of a mountain bike on the road, with easy-rolling 700c wheels and road-first tyres. But I quickly realised it wasn't going to get me anywhere fast. That geometry combined with tiny chainring meant I couldn't generate much speed quickly on flats and even when I did, I felt it getting a little zapped away by movement in the suspension fork. This was particularly the case when climbing. I like to get out of the saddle and grind up hills, but this just puts my weight further over the fork and it was quite demoralising seeing it soak up all my efforts.
There's no lock-out for the fork. You can adjust the coil spring preload of each side but it's a little fiddly and is something you'd want to set up to suit your weight and stick with rather than constantly mess about with to suit terrain.
The gearing setup is great for the climbs and that 32-tooth chainring is useful for getting away from the traffic lights (no more feeling like Sir Chris Hoy coming out of the blocks on a velodrome start). The big tyres and suspension are also great for uneven road surfaces, potholes, drains and manhole covers, which I could largely be blissfully ignorant of. In fact, there was never any danger of discomfort, with the ergonomic handlebar grips playing their part to keep me feeling fresh, even on a three-hour ride.
There's a route I ride quite often from the town where I live, which is basically in a small valley, up to the villages to the south. There's a point just before the gradient starts ramping up where the road forks: left carries on as road, albeit a very typical country lane; right becomes a rutted track that gets very muddy in the winter. The latter, I would only ever attempt on my mountain bike – it would be ruinous on my road bike and it's just a little too risqué for my usual fixed-frame hybrid, even fitted with cyclocross tyres.
But when I got to this point with the Hybrid Trail AL, I had little hesitation taking the right turn – and I was not disappointed. As the surface got bumpier, the fork did its job to cushion me, and the small chainring meant I could easily spin out of trouble when I needed to. When the going got steep, I felt more likely to run out of grip before I ran out of gears, so I did find myself craving some of the best gravel tyres but had no problem getting to the top. Standing up in the saddle was a completely different experience off-road, with the travel in the forks very much appreciated, helping me conquer the uneven surface rather than battling against me.
Any measure of the performance of a hybrid bike should also include its practicality, and the Hybrid AL Trail ticked a lot of boxes in this regard, the simplicity of the 1x gearing something I particularly enjoyed. I did find I needed to fiddle with the mudguards more than I would have liked to. I knocked the rear one out of its fixings a couple of times when parking the bike in the shed then had to readjust to stop wheel rub, and again when it was giving me a lot of rattle on one off-road ride. That wasn't something I had to do when I reviewed the Trek FX 2 Disc Equipped, for example, but I may have just been unlucky. It is also worth noting that there is only one fixing at the base of the seatstays – where the mudguards were secured – so it may prove difficult to fit a rack and mudguards together.
Overall, however, the Hybrid AL Trail was probably the best set-up of all the rides I had delivered to me when reviewing the best budget hybrid bikes and was pretty much ready to go straight out of the box – perhaps a reflection of Ribble's status as a mail-order specialist.
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The Level ergonomic grips have a large section to rest palms, which adds enormously to comfort on long rides(Image credit: Benjamin Page)
The 32-tooth single chainring as part of a SRAM NX set-up means the Hybrid AL Trail is well-equipped to take on the hills(Image credit: Benjamin Page)
There is only a single fixing point at the base of the seat stays so it might be difficult to fit a pannier rack and mudguards together(Image credit: Benjamin Page)
Verdict
I can understand why Ribble opted to kit this bike out with Schwalbe G-One Speed tyres – a road tyre that can handle a bit of gravel – as a way to swing the balance back to the tarmac and tread the line of versatility. But, for me, this is a bike that doesn't play that jack-of-all-trade cards so well and I'd like to see it nailing its muddy colours to the mast a little more with some added grip from some of the best gravel tyres, such as the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M.
Another, more significant, area I'd look to upgrade is the fork. Suntour says its NEX forks are for casual off-road use and if you were to treat this bike as a serious off-road machine, it might be better to look into the option of swapping the fork for one designed specifically for cross-country and trail use. Having a simple lockout switch to remove the travel in the fork while using it on the road would also be a big benefit. It's perhaps notable that although I was impressed with the way the bike took on – and conquered – that off-road climb up to the villages, I didn't quite have the confidence in the forks to take it back down that climb at any great speed.
The rest of the bike had very little to quibble about, though, and when you consider the price, it is a fantastic overall package. It's a great base to build from with a fantastic frame and that SRAM 1x11 gearing. Added touches such as the thru-axles to give more security to the wheels, lovely ergo grips, and the general comfort and smoothness of the ride certainly place this among the best budget hybrid bikes in my book.
It would serve as a great commuter if your journey to work takes you on mixed surfaces but, personally, I see it as something a little less functional and a little more fun. This is the kind of hybrid bike that when you come to that junction in the road and you think, 'should I go down there?', you can answer 'yes' more often than 'no'.
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Testing scorecard and notes
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Design and aesthetics
Smart looks helped by the single chainring and internal cable routing. Brown saddle and grips with grey frame give it retro feel, while seamless welds at each end of the top tube are gorgeous
9/10
Components
SRAM NX 1x11-speed is a good use of mountain bike gearing system but does leave rider wanting on flats. The Tektro HD-275 hydraulic disc brakes with 160mm rotas are very effective
8/10
Performance, handling and geometry
Comfortable on all surfaces and pushes the boundaries of a traditional hybrid
8/10
Weight
Decent for a bike with suspension fork, although upgrading in that department could make a big difference
7/10
Value for money
1x11 NX series drivetrain alone elevates bike above similarly-priced rivals
Ben has been a sports journalist for 16 years, covering everything from park football to the Olympic Games. As well as cycling, his passions include podcasts, tennis and speaking enough Italian to get by on his snowboarding trips to the Dolomites. A DIY rider who is almost as happy in the toolbox as he is in the saddle, he is still trying to emulate the feelings he experienced as a nine-year-old on his first Peugeot racer – he couldn’t fathom the down-tube friction shifters then and he’s still wrestling with groupsets now. When he isn’t making a beeline for the nearest Chiltern hill, he is probably tinkering or teaching his kids how to clean a bike properly. He rides a heavily modified 1980 Peugeot PVN10 Super Competition (steel is real) when the road is smooth and dry, and a BMC Alpenchallenge when it’s not.
