My 6ft mate rides lots of lanes around devon (dartmoor) so tarmac, potholes gravel n poo, also loads of cycle trails and light off road. He rides for pleasure and to get from a-b. So I thought of maybe a hybrid or perhaps a cx bike with disc brakes, he is a skinflint..
The best disc equipped cx bike I found is the halfords boardman at 899, anything cheaper?
The revolution cx bikes are great but they don't have disc lugs on the frames...
Why does he feel he needs discs? If he is such a skinflint that Revolution Cross has to be worth considering.
He doesn't need disk brakes for any of that stuff, if you've made them a "must have" in the spec you're limiting the choices needlessly.
If he can do without drops my mate does a 35 mile on/off road commute on one of these
http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cannondale-Bad-Boy-Fatty-Rigid-6-2012-Hybrid-Sports-Bike_48824.htm
Aye, hybrids with discs are cheaper.