MTB or Road Bike

[gareth001]

[FONT=&quot]Hi all,

I've been trying not to hit my head against the wall over this, but I'm at a loss to what to choose. Here is my situation:

I used to ride loads until the age of 17 (yep I learnt to drive then) - did about 20+ miles each weekend. At this point I purchased a Saracen MTB with front shocks and 21 gears for about £300, which was 11 years ago. Since then I hardly used the Saracen and don't won't to get rid of it as it's still a good bike and I've not made full use of it.

This year I've started riding again and aiming to do my weekly 20+ mile rides again - currently into mid teens each week. One of the main reasons besides getting back into the saddle, is I'm doing the London to Brighton this June.

So this is my problem: The Company I work for offer the Cycle to work scheme so I'm not worried about spending up to £1000 for a new bike. But as I see it I have three options:[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]Keep my current bike and use this for London to Brighton, although this bike does not have that great a range of high gears. So not good at long distance on road.[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Purchase a new MTB for between £700 and £1000 which would be lighter, stronger and hopefully have a wider/higher gear ratio[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Purchase a road bike for again between £700 and £1000[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]So if I purchase a new MTB I will have two MTB's - but will paying £700+ give me something that is so much better than what I currently have I will never use my old bike again? I was thinking of keeping my old bike for going down muddy paths and general fun off road. Then the new bike would be more for on road and fitness with some off road use.

Of course a road bike is made for doing long fast road journeys but I'm worried that it's not for me - at least not yet. Reason I say this is my current fitness level dictates that I can hold a steady 13-15mph on the flat on my MTB. But then when it comes to hills I don't know what road bikes are like now days, are they any good?. I last rode a road bike when I was mid teens and it was a cheap one at best.

So really my main question is will I cope with a road bike?

Second to that, what bike to go for if I get a road bike, I've been looking on the web at these:[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]GT Series 3[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]GT Series 2[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Cube Aerial 2009[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Trek 1.5[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Trek 1.7[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]But some of these come with the option of three front sprockets, what is the benefit/difference between riding the two beside more weight with three?

Thanks for any help; I know there are a lot of questions here. Pointers on any of the above questions will be much appreciated - but views on either MTB or Road Bike for me will be most helpful.

Gareth[/FONT]

 

[tyred]

I can't advise on what individual bikes to pick as mine are all "classic" models but as you already have an MTB and intend to use your new bike on the road, I would definitely say road bike. Much nicer to ride on tarmac than an MTB - lighter, faster and much less tiring.

 

[gareth001]

I can't advise on what individual bikes to pick as mine are all "classic" models but as you already have an MTB and intend to use your new bike on the road, I would definitely say road bike. Much nicer to ride on tarmac than an MTB - lighter, faster and much less tiring.

Makes sense, what about hills then? How are they compared to using an MTB?

 

[Cubist]

Unless you are going to do any serious Mountain Biking, get a roadie. MTBs at the sort of budget you are talking are fine for the occasional commute, but if you are going to spend any time on the road a road specific bike (or tourer, or commuter) will be far better.

Your "old bike" as you call it will do all you want it to on muddy paths and easy trails.

 

[Cubist]

Makes sense, what about hills then? How are they compared to using an MTB?

If you live in a hilly area, consider a roadbike with nice wide gearing. You may want to look for a triple (three chainrings at the front) or specifiy with the supplier that you want a wide ratio rear cassette. MTBs can climb very steep slopes, but due to their weight behave very differently on road.

 

[RedBike]

If you can hold a steady 13-15mph on a MTB there there's little wrong with your fitness. I'd love to be able to hold that sort of speed on a MTB without the aid of slick tyres/hills etc.

A lighter modern MTB wont be that much quicker. Fitting slick tyres will have far more impact than a loosing a few lb off the bike.

Buying a road bike just for the L2B seems a bit extreme to me. I've only done this event once but there was all sorts of bikes been ridden (and pushed!). Saying that I HATE riding a MTB on the road. It just seems like such hard slow work compared to a road bike.

 

[Wigsie]

+1 for the road bike, the cube and the Treks are both good bikes, I looked at both when buying mine. In the end I went for a Specialized Allez Elite. There are plenty of people on here with Allez's and they all seem happy.

The Allez Sport Triple is around the £700 mark which will give you some extra money from the £1000 C2W voucher to get some decent shoes, pedals, spares etc

To be honest I searched ALOT and dont regret my decision, IMO most road bikes from the big names (in this price bracket) are very similar in terms of spec/performance etc, it just comes down to what feels best for you. For me, the Allez was a clear winner after I test rode it over the Trek, Scott and Cannondale that I looked at (and rode). IMHO the Golden rule for your first road bike is NEVER buy from a shop that wont let you take one for a test ride and make sure they spend at least 30mins to an hour getting the bike set up for your dimensions.

 

[gareth001]

I've got it!

Sorry for my late reply, but I went for the Trek 1.5 in the end, felt nice to ride and the pain job is nice

I've done about 200 miles on it currently, including the London to Brighton last weekend. So far really liking the bike and will be hard to adjust to my mountain bike when I next use it...

Thank you all for your help on here.

 

[Randochap]

You made the right decision. Did you get the triple?

 

[Wigsie]

Nice one, well done....

 

[gareth001]

Double all the way!

No I went for the double, I test road the triple and didn't use the third cog at all.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

youbetcha, you'll probably think the frame has broken...

 

[Randochap]

No I went for the double, I test road the triple and didn't use the third cog at all.

I asked because you originally questioned whether road bikes have sufficiently low gearing.

You are saying you test rode the bicycle over long distance with plenty of hills?

 

[Sittingduck]

Well done gareth
Hope you have great fun with your nice new bike!

SD

 

[gareth001]

I asked because you originally questioned whether road bikes have sufficiently low gearing.

You are saying you test rode the bicycle over long distance with plenty of hills?

To be fair I only test rode the triple on a small hill, nothing major. But when I got to the beacon on the london to brighton the triple would have been a better bet.

But it's an incentive for next year to get fitter and be able to ride up the beacon as I had to walk half of it