Begginer!! Road or Mountain Bike???

[GrasscutterADZ1987]

Hi everyone,

Im in the middle of switching Hobbies, i Race Karts at the minute but fancy a change if i can find the right hobby to keep me busy, Ive always wanted to get a decent Mountain Bike or a Fast road bike but my hobby never allowed me to spend big.

Im pondering over

a.) Should i go for a mountain bike for ultimate adrenaline or Road bike because i want to and enjoy going Fast!

b.) Either Way i havent got a Clue which bike to go for, new/ 2nd hand, i probs wouldnt want to spend more than £1k on a decent bike

If you guys could give me some ideas and point me in the right direction i would appreciate it

Thanks In Advance

ADZ

 

[JNR]

Road bike - easy to learn, routes start from right outside your house, £1000 will get a good one (I think good 'downhill' bikes are more than that), you'll get really fit if you ride it far and long enough and once you are ready can join a club and that's where the hobby really kicks in

As far as bikes go, I don't know what to recommend if I'm honest - I think you get great deals at Ribble's website but as a first time buyer you will want to get fitted to the right sized bike - I suggest shopping around the local bike shops and when you think you know what you want drive a hard bargain. Lots of bike shops are prepared to knock money off the purchase to secure it and plenty others who won't move on price will throw in extra bits of kit.

 

[biggs682]

£1k for first bike , and then a couple of months later you go back to karting , thats an expensive bit of kit to have sitting around .

try one a bit cheaper till you know for sure

 

[JNR]

£1k for first bike , and then a couple of months later you go back to karting , thats an expensive bit of kit to have sitting around .

try one a bit cheaper till you know for sure

I can appreciate the wisdom in this but I spent more than £1000 on my first bike and thousands of miles later I haven't looked back. I bought the bike I wanted, I knew I would ride it, it has changed my lifestyle, fitness and physique and I haven't had pangs of regret that I didn't get the bike I wanted in the first place.

For me, a carbon frame bike was the right choice.

 

[aberal]

£1K is a good sum to aim for. If it turns out it's not for you then you can sell it a year down the line for a decent sum. You will get a high level of comfort, components and performance at that level that cheaper bikes can't equal. You will get a slightly better quality road bike than mountain bike for that price, because a large chunk of the price of the mountain bike goes into the suspension and frame to accomodate the suspension. As to which type to go for - it does depend where you live. If you have access to some serious countryside, then by all means consider an MTB. If not, then you might find your bike ending up unused in the garage. Speaking as an ex-mountain biker - I loved it at the time, but switched to the road around 15 years ago and have never looked back. The appeal of the mountain bike is all about those downhill rushes - fabulous! But to get up here it's an big grind to get up the hill - mountain biking is about peaks and troughs. I don't just mean the terrain, the downhill adrenalin rush gets balanced out by the god-awful grind through mud, streams and boulders (some people love that in its own right). Road biking isn't about those kind of extremes, but it is about speed, big long distances, the open road, roads less travelled, the wind in your hair. All that stuff.

But if you're not sure which is for you - my recommendation for a first bike around £1k would be a cyclo-cross bike. It's effectively designed as an off road bike, but with the shape and light weight of a road bike. And would take you touring - the occasional night away if you wanted to. This is a suggestion, but there are loads out there around this price -Genesis Croix de Fer. With road tyres you'd be hard pressed to distinguish it from a road bike on the road and if you tired of the traffic and fancied heading across country....

 

[Evil Rabbit]

Only you know where you want to spend your time - on the road or in the wild ?

Personally, I think off-road is the easiest way to get immediate thrills; but a lot depends where you live and the ease of access to off-road riding?

Solo riding on the road, is rarely about speed, more about achievement. You will need to get into competitive road racing to possible get the thrills you are used to and that takes time to get competitive; plus a darn good bike.

Off-road can be straight out there and whoosh adrenalin hit, solo or competitive.

So I would start with a S/H (there are lots out there) hardtail mountain bike (front suspension only) and see if that hits the spot. Second-hand makes for great value and you will not loose much, if anything, if you don't get into it.

In the end, we all end up with more than one bike; so just choose which you want to do first....

 

[JNR]

Solo riding on the road, is rarely about speed, more about achievement. You will need to get into competitive road racing to possible get the thrills you are used to and that takes time to get competitive; plus a darn good bike.

I agree with that but I have to say descending roads after you conquered the hill(s) is exhilerating. Desceding roads you conquered whilst in the middle of a ferocious Sunday A ride club run is terrifying the first time when you realise no-one budges a centimetre at speeds of 30-40+ mph!

 

[WILLIS47]

There a loads of good second hand road bikes on Ebay for half that amount.

 

[6speed]

Yes ive had a couple a bikes off ebay now, all turned out well. Still use them years on.

 

[david k]

or a hybrid like i did?

 

[lukesdad]

Where do you live ?

 

[david k]

mighty st helens,oh not me?

 

[ColinJ]

Where do you live ?

Damn - you just beat me to it!

There is not much point in buying a mountain bike if the bridleways in your area are crap and the roads are great! And vice versa for a road bike.

If you have a choice of great roads and bridleways, then that is a harder choice!

If you go for the £1k mountain bike, I'd suggest going for a hardtail.

There are some pretty nice road bikes at the £1k price point.

 

[biggs682]

there is now way i could spend £1 k just to give a hobby a try , but hey i geuss i am just atight olde git

what ever you do , just enjoy it

 

[abo]

Have you got a van or other transport for karting? If yes (or not selling it) then a mountain bike is an easy way for quick fun as you already have the means to get out to the trails etc.

And if you decide it isn't for you and go back to karting, or do some other motor racing then you've got a pretty nice bike to get you around the paddock