Best bike for my needs

[F1fan]

Hi

Could anyone give me some advice. At the moment i have a Hardtrail mountain bike (Barracuda Sawtooth) with slick tyres. I use my bike to commute roughly 5 miles each way on road/cycle paths/pavement. I average around 10-11 mph and reach up to 20mph (25 downhill). I ride roughly once a week but if the weather turns better maybe more. I also would like to go out for a ride at the weekends maybe over more rougher terrain eg. gravel or something a bit muddier –common type terrain.

I would like to maybe get a new bike in the next few months but i have seen various bikes online which people give conflicting views for. Could you tell me from what i have said would a Hybrid or a cyclocross be better (or any other you think).

I have never ridden a drop handlebar bike before but would it be more comfortable or not. I want to be able to go faster than my current setup but be able to go off road.

I have asked 2 bike shops and they give conflicting views. I was leaning towards a hybrid possible a Scott Sportster X20 or a Specialized 2013 Crosstrail Comp Disc. Which one would be best. I see less review about Scott bike but have been told their the best?

Any help.

Thanks
Carl

 

[Cycleops]

Both bikes look good and would offer a similar ride. The Scott weighs a bit less and has narrower tyres so will be a bit faster on the tarmac. If you can live without the suspension forks try finding a bike without them, this will save weight as IMO you are better off without. I imagine any of the bikes you are looking atikwould a revelation compared to your current wheels. Make sure you get the correct size though. Good luck.

 

[Shortmember]

If I had £849 to spend on a bike I think the Scott would be the one for me, as long as it was the red and black coloured version, which I think looks really good. Riding a drop handlebar seems to be an acquired taste, and when i've tried it I always end up with an aching neck after a few miles, so now I stick with a more upright bar setup, which for me is much more comfortable.

 

[F1fan]

Ok thanks for your help. The terrain I go over on the weekend is a mixture of small lose gravel sometimes bigger gravel, hard compact soil it can be quite rutted ground where it looks like horse have been and tree routs regularly stick up. So that's the reason I went for front suspension because I thought a rigid bike would be lighter but maybe the ride would be a bone shaker. Do rigid forks soak up the bumps well.

Also I do ,do a bit of kerb jumping(naughty I know) so I thought a front suspension would be a safer option don't want to damage anything.

Is this good reason for a front suspension or can a rigid bike handle the terrain , I know it would be better on road.

 

[Shortmember]

In the 70's the original bikes used for tearing down mountain trails at speed were all equipped with rigid forks because they were just single speed road bikes with fat tyres.Then someone decided it would be a less stressful experience on the wrists and arms if front suspension was fitted.So I would say that if you are intending to travel at speed on the rough,and do a bit of kerb jumping on the road, then front suspension is what you need.

 

[F1fan]

Ok so in the end i went for the Specialized 2013 Crosstrail Comp Disc. I am very happy with it. Great on and off road. Very quick acceleration all though that also depends on the legs of the person riding it.

Thanks for you help