Road / Mountain / Hybrid?

[CrazeUK]

Hi Guys.

I am totally new to cycling. Well when i say totally i have had bikes before but never taken it up seriously.

Now i have a planned few weeks off from next week (using up annual leave before end of march) so i was hoping to purchase a bike and take a trip on the roads.

My problem is i cannot decide between a road bike, a hybrid bike or a mountain bike.

The problem is that i live inner city manchester, so i cant really get off road that often excpet on weekends. Also i want to do Manchester to Bradford return in one day in the coming months.

The other issue is i also like Mountain (rough terrain) biking.

A friend has suggested i buy a new Road bike, and then once i get into it to go and purchase a good off road bike. But to be honest bikes are expensive and i dont have the space to store them.

What are peoples opinions? what are my options?

 

[just4fun]

welcome to the forums. This is the eternal question so many of us find ourselves asking.
i myself use a hard-tail mountain bike. the front suspension can be locked out so im not wasting loads of energy and i have put slick tyres on for my daily commute. the problem is my mtb is heavier than either a hybrid or road bike and there is the small hassle changing the tyres back to knobblies for off road. bah if only i could afford a 2nd bike.

good luck and im sure that there will be lots of good info comming your way soon.

there are lots of 2nd hand mtbs for little money on ebay and gumtree (just check the stolen section on here before buying something) that could free up your cash to by a cheap road bike like this (requires some self assembly)
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25456

also check out
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/bikes-3962299/

edit:
this thread might also help
http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=14846

 

[tyred]

Hello and welcome.

Unless you actually want to go offroad, I see no point in getting an MTB. For normal road/laneway use, it would be better with slicks and mudguards rather than knobblies so you basically convert it into a basic hybrid anyway.

 

[Panter]

Hi Craze, welcome to Cyclechat (Corsetts from UR )

I'm very much a newbie to cycling so can't offer too much help. I think most people would recommend a Hybrid, although IMO they won't be any use for full-on mountain biking.

Of course, no bike will excel at everything so you may have to look at buying two and getting round the storeage problems or accepting a compromise.

Just to add to the mix though, I have a high-end hardtail (front suspension mountain bike) and it really shifts on the road as it is so light and is more race orientated in the geometry. In fact, I'v even used it on my 34 mile round trip commute before and it wasn't massively slower than the road bike, although my legs ached for a few days afterwards
It also copes with riding the trail centres in Wales although to be fair it is a bit harsh.

Good luck with your search

 

[MTB - Muzzy]

I am new but also your useage is similar to mine.

In the end I ended up buying a GT Avalanche 1.0 Disc 08 from Pauls Cycles for £410 delivered (Cheapest dealer and reputable)

I plan on buying some Slick tyres for when I want to do tarmac work and just use the MTB tyres for the offroad.

Alas without a car it means that I need to go from house to road to dirt all on the mountain bike tyre but I would rather be doing MTB work with MTB tyres than slicks!!!!

I looked into hybrids and they seemed fine but they were a sacrifice for the mountain bike work. The narrowness of the tyres I saw on the Boardman Hybrid in Halfords rang alarn bells.

They were less than an inch wide - wouldnt have lasted long without falling off my bike

So I think you should look into a Mountain Bike but buy some "commuter" tyres.

Continental Travel tyres get good reports for this use.

Murray

 

[Ivan Ardon]

Depending on how extreme your mountain biking is, a tourer would seem to fit the bill. Unfashionable (as if that matters), but the right tool for most jobs.

 

[punkypossum]

Cyclocross bike?

 

[rich p]

Depending on how extreme your mountain biking is, a tourer would seem to fit the bill. Unfashionable (as if that matters), but the right tool for most jobs.

I certainly wouldn't want to bounce down a rocky slope on my Galaxy!

I'd go for a road bike and save up for a second hand MTB. There are always a lot of decent ones for sale in our local paper.

 

[Panter]

What sort of off-roading are you hoping to do? is it more fireroad, gravelled tracks etc or are you thinking more along the lines of rocks/roots/drop-off's etc?

 

[Angelfishsolo]

+1

welcome to the forums. This is the eternal question so many of us find ourselves asking.
i myself use a hard-tail mountain bike. the front suspension can be locked out so im not wasting loads of energy and i have put slick tyres on for my daily commute. the problem is my mtb is heavier than either a hybrid or road bike and there is the small hassle changing the tyres back to knobblies for off road. bah if only i could afford a 2nd bike.

good luck and im sure that there will be lots of good info comming your way soon.

there are lots of 2nd hand mtbs for little money on ebay and gumtree (just check the stolen section on here before buying something) that could free up your cash to by a cheap road bike like this (requires some self assembly)
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25456

also check out
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/bikes-3962299/

edit:
this thread might also help
http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=14846

 

[Randochap]

A road bike or "hybrid" would be appropriate for, well, riding on the road.

A MTB is only good for riding ... offroad.

A hybrid would to a certain extent work for non-technical offroad, e.g. bridlepaths, your canal paths.

A good compromise is a wide tyre bike like my Bleriot as you can see here. Hopefully this type of bike will become more and more popular as people discover their considerable merits -- fast, stable and comfortable

Again, MTBs are only useful on very technical trails.

 

[MadoneRider1991]

you should be looking for a hybrid or a cyclo cross bike