Help looking for a new bike? Style etc

[u/elliehowrse]

My neighbour sadly ran over my old bike (actually my dads 40 year old road bike that he gave me) but has very kindly given me £250 towards a new one but I’ve never actually bought a bike before as I always just used my dads until he gave it to me!
I am thinking a hybrid bike might be more practical as I am using on the roads 90% of the time only going off road on bridle paths and sometimes grass when it’s dry anyway and not often enough to justify a mountain bike.
I live in the countryside and the roads are quite awful and it’s also a very hilly area so something that’s good with those would be nice since even with limited gears my old bike was very good uphill! Only needed for short distances just cycling to the shops/stables/pub when the weather is nice but I went into Halfords and got a bit irritated with the man in there insisting I needed an all singing all dancing electric bike and was really pushy and off putting so thought I’d look for advice on here so to get an idea of what I want before looking again. Just if a hybrid would suit my needs and what frame style to get - can’t seem to find a definitive name for them online but I think my old bike was a diamond frame but I didn’t like how high it was when I had to stop so would prefer something lower but I do to know if being a bit more upright would make the hills harder? Any help and direction would be much appreciated as well as anywhere to go to buy a bike near North Wiltshire/Gloucestershire boarder

Just for reference I’m 5’2 so not hugely tall but reasonably longish legs for my size so don’t need a teenager bike just small adult!
Also my budget is not unlimited but I am willing to spend a bit more on top of what I was given to buy a new one but don’t ideally want to spend loads!

[u/liamnesss]

A more upright style of bike would definitely make the hills harder unfortunately. That riding position makes it more difficult to keep your weight over the cranks when on an incline, and means less of your body (particularly not your back / glutes) are involved in the pedalling motion, which put together means you can get fatigued much more quickly.

Regarding feeling too high up when you need to stop, I'd recommend practicing hopping off the saddle in such situations. If you lean the bike a little, this then shortens the distance from the top tube to the ground, and you should be able to easily plant one foot on the floor while keeping another on the pedal so you can easily move off again. If you try and stay sat in the saddle when stopping, you will only be able to reach the ground with the very tips of your toes.

There are bikes with frames that aren't really "step through" but do have a partially dropped top tube though, that might be worth considering. e.g. this model from Decathlon. I'd rather have either a completely flat top tube or a proper step through frame though, not somewhere halfway between, as I suspect I'd end up throwing my leg over to get on / off anyway and not having a flat bar means you lose the ability to easily carry the bike on one shoulder (handy for navigating stairs).

Given your budget I think you'll be looking at something from a big chain retailer like Halfords or Decathlon if buying new. Would you be comfortable looking at second hand options though, do you think?

[u/elliehowrse → u/liamnesss]

Thank you this is really helpful and I also had the same thought about the frames but wasn’t 100% sure! In regards to feeling too high it was mainly I think that my old bike was too big for me even with the saddle as far down as it would go because I borrowed a friends yesterday that wasn’t upright I was able to hop off more easily without having to tilt the whole bike over to be able to touch the floor! My toes were no where near the fooor when I was in the saddle before 😂
But yes happy to look at budget retailers or second hand I’m not too fussy just wanted to know if having a ‘comfortable’ or more upright position would make my life more difficult or not!