stick with MB or go drop down

[vimes]

hi all
new to the forum and sort of new to road bikeing
heres the thing due to cost of fuel ect i have been thinking of bikeing to work which is 15miles so 30 miles a day
i have an old lightweight schwin (excuse spelling) mountain bike which has serverd me well as i like to go into my local forest this bike has semislick tryes on
i have been useing it now to see if i can handle the 15 miles to work as i am not that fit and a bit porkey 16stone i can now do 15miles in about an hour and 10mins but there are times where its nice and straight with no wind and i can get a bit of speed up and it seems i could go faster but the bike wont let me if you know what i mean
so should i go for a road bike. The route i would take to work is on B roads so can be a bit rough and has a few inclines but nothing huge as i live in suffolk
one more thing yesterday i did try leaning forward to see if i could use drop downs but found my pod got in the way is this because the frame on a mountain bike is set up different from a road bike
sorry for all the questions
regards
lee

 

[HLaB]

I'd swap, you are doing a distance where you'll notice; at a guess just swapping to drops your time will come down to an hour for less effort. I wouldn't worry too much about the condition of the roads (assuming its all on road) a good bike will cope with that no problem; my bikes cope comfortably with B roads and unamed roads up here which will probably be in a worse state. Inclines won't be much of a problem either, although the road bike wont be as low geared as a mtb, its lighter and will roll up them faster and better. I'm not sure what you mean by the pod but I'm sure you'll be able to sort it out.

 

[Moodyman]

hi all
new to the forum and sort of new to road bikeing
heres the thing due to cost of fuel ect i have been thinking of bikeing to work which is 15miles so 30 miles a day
i have an old lightweight schwin (excuse spelling) mountain bike which has serverd me well as i like to go into my local forest this bike has semislick tryes on
i have been useing it now to see if i can handle the 15 miles to work as i am not that fit and a bit porkey 16stone i can now do 15miles in about an hour and 10mins but there are times where its nice and straight with no wind and i can get a bit of speed up and it seems i could go faster but the bike wont let me if you know what i mean
so should i go for a road bike. The route i would take to work is on B roads so can be a bit rough and has a few inclines but nothing huge as i live in suffolk
one more thing yesterday i did try leaning forward to see if i could use drop downs but found my pod got in the way is this because the frame on a mountain bike is set up different from a road bike
sorry for all the questions
regards
lee

Yes. Mountain bike geomtry is aimed at sit up riding. Road bike geometry allows you to lean forward which helps you get more power into the pedal and be more aerodynamic.

As HLab says, if you're mainly road riding, get yourself a road bike. Will feel funny at first when you're used to MTB, but you'll not go back.

 

[vimes]

thanks guys
pod = gut/belly ect lol
yes its all country roads with a little bit of town each end i am quite looking forward to bikeing to and from work the 15 miles home is the daunting bit after a full day at work (manual job) when i will be tired anyway
i have seen a muddy fox blade at tescos direct for half price would this be anygood
regards
lee

 

[cyberknight]

i have seen a muddy fox blade at tescos direct for half price would this be anygood

In a word .. no the components will be very poor standard and the bike will not last very long.

I ride bikes at the lower end of the spectrum and unless you go second hand you will not get a bike that will last for less than around £300 or so.

My main ride is a £100 ish 2nd hand Carrera TDF and it does me fine, 1st of all you need to work out what size you want, one of the best i have found is..

clicky

i would recommend...

http://www.edinburgh...=c003155c018341

http://www.halfords....tegoryId_165710

i also have the second bike , cracking for the price as it can take a rack and mudgaurds which are a "must " for commuting in comfort

Entry level bikes from name like trek and specialized etc will set you back around £500.

If you are really serious about going onto a raod bike then you need to decide what sort of riding you want to do? racing , commuting, canal paths etc etc? will alter what sort of bike you want.

If you want to carry loads and commute a bike that can take mudgaurds and racks is a bonus so maybe even a "touring" bike wouls suit you.
http://www.edinburgh...=c003155c018343

Before you spend any money i would advise going to your local bike shops and trying bikes for size and feel , make sure you can get ride on it even if it is just around the car park as a bargain bike maabe cheap but if it is ill fitting then it will be more trouble than its worth ( the voice of experience ).

And welcome to the forum !


EDIT !
and keep the mtb as a back up!

 

[vimes]

hi
thanks for that i will steer clear of the muddy fox
i like the look of the first one
i will still e keeping the mountain bike as i still go into the forest with my son and was thinking that maybe use it for work if the weather is not that good
regards
lee

 

[Kestevan]

I was in Decathlon on Saturday and they've just brought in this years new road bike.

The cheapest has what looks to be a decent alloy frame, carbon forks, Shimano 2200 8 spd gearing with a triple up-front (so nice beginner friendly gearing), and a cracking red paint scheme.

The wheels looked OK, the tyres were a bit cheap and nasty (common on Decathlon bikes), but for the 280 quid asking price it looked a steal, seriously considering buying one myself, for the eldest daughter.

 

[HLaB]

I'm glad you never went with the Tesco's bike, after a long hard day that's the last thing youd want. I did a quick google; I don't if there is some clever marketing there, they stress light weight, when you check the Assembled Weight 11.95kg it doesn't sound too bad (albeit not great) but down the bottom of the page they also quote a product weight of 14.5kg