Three alternative commuter bikes for those bored of hybrids

Belt drive, single speed or gravel bike? We try out three very different bikes from BMC, On One and Genesis

Ask someone in, say, Utrecht about the idea of a "commuter bike" and they'll give you a puzzled look. In such more civilised cycling cultures, a bike is a bike, and is generally weighty, upright, bomb-proof and festooned with dynamo lights, baskets and child seats.

In the UK it can be a different matter. Here, with cyclists usually obliged to share the road with motor traffic, many prefer a more nippy machine for going to and from the office, often the ubiquitous hybrid, sometimes even a road bike.