Bikes - Urban/Hybrid

Kona’s Dr Fine is one of the new breed of disc brake equipped, flat bar urban bikes. Kona say the twist here is that the Dr Fine offers the rare combination of internal hub gearing and powerful hydraulic braking. So how fine is this Kona?

In setting out to build a bike capable of taking the rigours of fixed freestyle riding with their new Persona, Identiti have also produced a bike that's a great, rugged round town urban machine.

Fixed gear freestyle is definitely gaining popularity, it has progressed somewhat from the circus balancing acts better suited to performers in leotards to something a little more burly although those skinny jeans could be mistaken for denim leggins or jeggins *shudder*.

We've tested the Ignacio frameset before in its other guise as the Marin Dominican – but the Ignacio brings something new to the party. Well, new in the sense of 45 years old. But different. You know what I mean. The something in question is Sturmey Archer's S2 Kickshift hub, first released in 1966 but lately resurrected as another gearing option for the style-conscious fixed crowd.

The Kona Electric Ute is a fun companion, and it's given me a glimpse of true, sweat-free utility cycling even in the hilliest bits of hilly Bath. It’ll carry huge loads and the power assistance means that shifting them is a doddle. It doesn't feel like the finished article though; it needs better electrics to fully justify that £1,800 price tag.

Whyte are new to the urban bikes game so you might expect them to be doing a bit of learning in the first model year of their C7 (multi terrain) and R7 (road) ranges. There's no feeling that the £1,099 Coniston is half cooked though, it's a versatile all-rounder that's fun to ride and up for the dirt as much as the tarmac. The price might put some people off – specifically the hordes of bike-to-work buyers – and it has to be said that for the kind of riding that you'll be doing on a bike like this, the cheaper Caledonian makes more sense in many ways.

Aimed squarely at the commuting market, the GT Traffic 2.0 is a good looking urban bike with some neat features for coping with the urban jungle. It's easy to ride and a good low-maintenance option for daily duties.

We’ve been patiently (OK not so patiently) waiting for a women’s specific bike to come out of the successful Boardman stable for quite some time, and here it is. So, was it worth the wait? Well, in a nutshell, yes.

Marin’s San Anselmo Alfine city bike is a strong, well equipped, versatile piece of commuter fun. The high quality Shimano components, reassuring tyres and plush seatpost come together with a quality frame and fork package to provide a great pick me up on those morning rides to work.

The Bionicon Urban is a fun, agile, energetic city bike that is also super-versatile. The rugged look, set off perfectly by a matt green paintjob and understated graphics will certainly draw a crowd.

We first saw the Urban Cargo at Eurobike 2008 and we've wanted to try one out ever since. Now we have and it turns out to be a very comfortable and capable town machine with some nice touches. It's not all good news though: the expensive spec didn't really enthrall us and the cargo system needs a bit of work. As such it's hard to recommend the bike as tested here, the derailleur option looks a much better bet.