Marin DSX 2. You can play with tires to meet your needs but it has a whole lot of smart choices and it's super versatile and solid. Paint color is a point of contention for some.

The Posiedon Redwood I saw a few things on YouTube that I made me a little curious and then I met someone on a ride yesterday with one and the had nothing but great things to say about it.

I am in a very similar situation, I am leaning towards a gravel bike.

Have you considered them ?

For brakes the hierarchy is Hydraulic>Rim>>>Mechanical disc.

For crankset 2x>1x>3x but this won't matter to you unless you have or are training your legs and aerobic capacity.

The big thing is tyres. Select a frame that can take the widest tyres possible. I find the sweet spot for Indian roads is 45-50mm wide tyres.

And this is maybe personal preference but Im partial to chromoly-steel frames over 6061 aluminium. Negligible felt difference tho.

Check this: https://marlinbikes.com/product/bonzai-grs50/?srsltid=AfmBOoqyOguuGZqxNWg762qkfB974sEGnun64D6SwswW4lAbALfn3a0o

I think people new to cycling get caught up in looking at the brands, but its not the best approach. If you look closely, you'll notice that the brand only really makes the frame and maybe some of the other components like the seat post or handlebars. Other parts of the bike like the brakes, shifters, gear, cranks, etc will probably be either SRAM or Shimano (and a handful of other brands).

I would focus on features and not so much on brand. What features do you want? For a commuter, you probably want things like fender mounts, rack mounts, maybe a kickstand or even built in lighting. If you live in a area with lots of hills, maybe you'll want a wide gear range, but if you live somewhere flat, that might not be much of an issue. Focus on those things that will make a good commuter for your area/climate instead of bike brand and you'll be off to a good start.

There are many others. I like Kona. Have three of them.

Good competent bikes. Just pay attention to the specs so you are comparing bikes that are actually comparable.

I feel this is a really weird question. Hybrid commuter bicycle is almost a commodity product and there are dozens of brands making good ones in every market. Globally there easily is hundreds of different brands doing that. Besides the frame itself, 90% of them use components from like 10 OEMs anyway and functionally are just the same.

I wouldn't worry about the brand... I'd worry about the components and what you are getting for your money.

to buy a good bike for yourself, it is helpful to understand your requirements.
Hybrid & MTB both can handle Indian roads well, without any issue.

If you like cushy, comfortable ride, go with thick tires [& suspension in an MTB]
If you like speedy, lightweight bike, go with thin tires [hybrid].

Some other pointers

1. Cheap suspension makes bike heavy, costly, slow & dont add much to comfort. If you want a suspension, go for at least Suntour brand.
2. Go for good quality brakes. Safety >> Performance.
3. 3x geartrains [21, 24, 27] are not very good unless you are riding in steep slopes or hilly areas. 2x geartrains are best, 1x gears are also pretty good.

Somegood options can be

1. Riverside 500
2. OMO Ladakh Cues 2x9
3. OMO Ladakh Prime 8s

Here is a quick overview of the 3 models.

https://preview.redd.it/jmgj5odkefff1.png?width=605&format=png&auto=webp&s=0bbc9cf3eae21dcf3d7554b2c605ab8b57c85854

Disclosure - I work with OMO Bikes. My recommendations are meant to be helpful, but may carry little bias

Omo bikes are available in Delhi at supreme cycles Also we have cradiac gunner pro and gunner pro max available All under 20k

riverside 500
frame might be curved which some people (me included) might not find very appealing but specs make up for it. very well built cycle with decent suspension fork and suspension seat post. overall feels good.
make sure you get accessories from outside to avoid overpaying in decathlon as some of them are quite overpriced.

I know two people with Trek FXes, one is a cyclist the other is a commuter. Both are very happy with them.

The fx2 equipped looks a decent deal at that price.

If you're commuting and therefore have to ride even when the ground is wet then it's essential to have mudguards. It's a total gamechanger when you know you won't get splatter up your back.

Not having to worry about your lights being stolen is another pleasant thing. So I would also go for the Trek FX2 Disc Equipped.

Riverside 120

Riverside 120 can be option

RC 100 is a solid buy in my opinion..

Can you suggest the model

Riverside 500 by decathlon for 20k. Plus you will need to spend some on accessories. Costs 7k more than Riverside 120, but for that 7k you get front suspension, seat post suspension, aluminium frame and disc brakes. Also has microshift 1x9 drivetrain.

These are all totally fine bikes, and that's not a knock. They are all capable and use modern bike standards so should be easy to repair.

I'd be looking AMOK because I think the upgrade to disc brakes makes it worth it. The drivetrain (Acera) is nothing special, but it's built like a tank. I have a Trek commuter with prolly 10k miles on it and basically no original parts, but my 8-speed Acera rear derailleur is still truckin'.

Otherwise, check out other local shops (big fan of JRA) and see what's in stock. With the still shakey availability of bikes, it makes more sense to see what shops have than to be hunting for a particular model. Anything sold by a reputable bike shop is worth owning.

the one that gets you from point a to point b at the price you're willing to pay.

The bike shops around here aren't looking to snub you. Just listen to them.

The REI Co-op CTY 1.1 at $650 is a great buy in this price range, and you get the REI 1 year return policy and shop benefits (6 month adjustment period) for buying a bike there. Word is it might go on sale in a month during the anniversary sale.

Generally the benefit of buying a bike in a shop is you can test ride it before buying it

> relaxed riding position

You might not be looking for a hybrid bike. Hybrid bikes usually have a more forward position.

https://blog.freshairexp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/NRA3173_2.jpg

With a hybrid bike, the seat will be around the same height as the handlebars and you'll be in a forward position riding.

https://www.balfesbikes.co.uk/images/towniepathgo5iwomensgrey11.jpg

These bikes have a more upright position with the handlebars higher up than the seat and the handlebars sweep back a little so you don't have to reach forward.

Hybrid bikes aren't as aggressively forward as road bikes with the drop handlebars, but they still don't allow a relaxed riding position (in my opinion).

I have the latter style (more upright) bike and it's been a dream. It's so much more comfortable. You do catch a little bit more wind, but I'd never go back to reaching forward.

I'd also say that most entry-level bikes are pretty identical with a few part differences that are easy to spot. Disc brakes or not? Shimano Tourney (their cheapest) or Altus/Acera (their second-cheapest, but bike friends tell me an important step up)? Do the tires say some sort of puncture protection? Does it use a push-shifter or a twist-shifter (and which do you want)?

They all basically cost the same. Most are made in the same factories. There isn't really new tech if you're not buying an e-bike.

Given that, figure out what feels good and fits you. That means going to the store and standing over the bike with your butt in the seat and feeling the position. That means taking it for a test ride and feeling it out. Note: a lot of them are going to feel extremely similar because they are. They're mostly assembling things out of the same parts bin that hasn't really changed for a good while.

Personally, if it were me buying a bike, I'd go for something that is nice and relaxed and lets me sit more upright, maybe has a suspension to cushion some of the road bumps, and that felt right during a test-ride. Oh, I also like having a basic chain guard to keep my pants away from the chain. Even something that is very basic keeps my pants from getting messy. Fenders can be nice, but sometimes I think they're not doing anything (I have really cheap plastic fenders).

With cars, there's lots of differences between a Honda and a Chevy - different engine, transmission, electrical systems, etc. With bikes, they're generally buying the same Shimano transmission, same brakes, maybe choosing between Kenda or Schwalbe tires (but tires are usually reasonably comparably quality within a price range), maybe one has internally routed cables which some people like the aesthetic of, etc.

As /u/getjustin said, don't get hung up on brands. A bunch of brands end up in holding companies. Dorel owns Schwinn, Cannonade, GT, Mongoose, and others. Kinesis Industries manufactures the bikes for more than a dozen brands (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesis_Industry, 23 on the list there). Accell owns 17 different bicycle brands (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accell). When we're talking about $600 bikes, so much of it is just branding. Schwinn is used for cheap bikes that go to Walmart, Cannonade is used for bike-shop bikes, Motobecane is used for direct-to-consumer bikes, etc.

So I'd concentrate on finding a bike that feels good to you.

And to make a bike last, a little maintenance and protection goes a long way. Don't leave it out in the rain or get a cover for it (even if the cover isn't 100%, keeping 99% of the water off the bike is huge). Maybe learn a tiny bit about oiling the chain to keep it happy.

Hybrid bike ≠ Triathlon 🙁

You can do a tri on any bike as long as it's comfortable. I'm assuming that you want to do it for the experience rather than as a competition.

I live in a town that puts on a lot of triathlons and lots of people do it just for fun on whatever bike they own. Pick the bike you're happiest with, don't fall in to the I need x bike to do a tri because reddit said hybrids ≠ triathlons.

I can’t imagine riding a hybrid in a triathlon. At least get a used road bike.

You will be much happier with an aluminum endurance style road bike, or even a gravel bike with some 28-32mm tires swapped out

"Hi I'm looking to get into climbing Mount Everest. Can you guys recommend a good pair of flip-flops?"