Get me a yellow jersey (Lombardo Ortler 100 Treking Hybrid Bike)

Member Name: freediveheaven

Product:	Lombardo Ortler 100 Treking Hybrid Bike
Date:	08/08/08 (344 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Solid comfortable ride

Disadvantages: Tyre valve is not the type I prefer

My Dooyoo vouchers had built up nicely just recently and with neither of the sprogs birthday on the horizon and Christmas a long way off I decided to have a little me treat and get myself something that I could enjoy. I was disappointed to find out that Amazon do not have an eighteen year old Swedish masseuse available on their most excellent website so I thought I would opt or a different kind of relaxation and get myself a bike that I could use during my nice long summer holidays (eight weeks but I hate to gloat).

As I intended to ride pretty exclusively on the roads I certainly did not want a mountain bike as it can be like riding in treacle at times with all that grip and wide tyres plus as Northampton authorities spend less per head than most third world countries on road maintenance a racing bike was not good for my back so I opted for a hybrid bike which in laymen terms provides the solid frame of a mountain bike with a slimmer tyre that has more grip than a racing bike but is not as wide as a mountain bike. In the end I opted for the Lombardo Ortler 100 which on Amazon was half price at £99.99.

The bike pretty much arrived ready assembled, the only items that needed attaching were the seat, handle bars and pedals and a couple of accessories like reflector and bell. The sellers recommendation is that before using the bike it should be properly serviced by a bike specialist, this I assume is in part to cover them in case the brakes fail you however it also seems a sensible precaution if you have little bike maintenance knowledge. The actual assembly is very easy to carry out although a second pair of hands comes in useful at times.

I was pleased to see that the bike appeared to be well made; it has a solid black and grey frame with white decal along the frame with the makers name and model prominent. It has six shimano gears which compared with some bikes is not many but to be honest for my level of use that is more than enough. I have found it copes well in the lower gears with the rises around Northampton even if it might struggle with Alp D'Huez, only the other day I powered past a rider many years younger than me on one small hill which was no mean feat and I can tell you they are only days away from having those stabilisers removed. The gears actually were a bit of a novelty for me as they are operated from a twist mechanism on the right hand grip which works very smoothly (the last bike I owned had two levers on the frame which shows my age).

What I do like about the bike is that it gives a comfortable ride even over the many uneven surfaces around town and in the country, the longest ride I have been on clocked up only about eight miles in total and there was absolutely no saddle soreness at all. The Rio saddle is very comfortable and not one of those narrow bum torture devices you sometimes see on bikes. I find the main body of the bike does a good job of absorbing any shocks from the road and the bike is certainly fast enough in a high gear for my needs. The tyres themselves would certainly handle gravel paths and some lightly mudded forest paths with no problem in my opinion, the one time I rode the bike through woods the ground was very hard and dry. The brakes work well as you would expect from new ones and they are of the "V" type design.

I would say that this bike is suitable for commuters as well; there are long mud flaps on both front and rear tyres to prevent splashes and also a rack on the back to secure bike bags from. There is also a kick stand on the bike as well.

The only issue that I have had with the bike is that I'm not a fan of the Presta road type valves on the tyres, I know these reduce the diameter of the aperture on the wheel which makes it stronger but I find them fiddly to inflate the tyres and initially had an issue with an under inflating tyre. It is not difficult to switch to a Shcraeder but is an extra cost I do not see the need to incur and was not an option when I bought the bike.

Overall I'm quite pleased with my purchase, £100 seems to be a fair price for what you get, the bike is easy to maintain and clean and copes with the road surfaces around town and in the country well. There were a range of frame sizes to suit all heights and some colour options as well. All you really need to get extra is a helmet and you are away.

Thanks for reading and rating my review.

Summary: Good town and country road bike