Another 'What Bike?' thread

Just come back from a week at Center Parcs where we hired bikes, and it's given me an incentive to get my sizeable bottom off the sofa and get out riding. Smudger junior loved being on the back with me so I'm looking for something mainly for going out with the boy but that can also be used for a 5-mile commute to the station on part road/part gravel track. I've got a budget of £500, and was looking at a hybrid. I've looked at Carrera, various Treks, a few Specialized bikes but I'm really a bit lost. It's been a while (20 years plus) since I knew what's a good derailleur, and there were certainly no suspension sets in my price range in those days, so anyone got any suggestions? I've got an Evans near where I work, but nowhere near home, and there's a few independent bike shops nearby, but they seem to deal with the upper end of the price range, plus the ubiquitous Halfords..

So, I went and got one of these:

http://d2k6j1fqfkfmqi.cloudfront.net...ant_Roam_0.jpg

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/...0/19223/77323/

It was between the Roam 2 and the Trek 8.3, but I went to Giant's store in Radlett, and they had last year's (2015?) model for £580, so I got that. Shimano Deore gearset, Shimano Hydraulic disk brakes, etc. Been out of a quick spin on it, feels pretty good, and the low gear feels like you could ride up Everest, it's very low...

Looks good. Hope you and the family enjoy it.

I certainly do! The great shame is, the down tube is too big for the kiddie seat to fit, so my wife has to take the boy!

It really upsets me...