What made you change the type of bike you ride?

[Cheule]

I was just on a misty-eyed trek back over my bikes that I've owned since the 80's, and came to realise that since 1991 when I got my Raleigh Amazon that I've exclusively been riding MTB's. Mostly where there aren't mountains

It was then that I thought about why that came to be...looks, price, easier to ride? The last does ring true to me, as back in '89 I had a Target Flyte racer (does anyone call them racers any more?) and I approached a rather sharp bend at about 25mph and expected the wheels to just take it. Sadly they didn't and the back wheel folded in half, sending me wellying across the road and up to the doorstep of a crowd of bemused bus-stop dwellers.

It was then, probably borne out of sheer embarrassment of having worn my jeans down to my bare bum in the slide, that I decided to try something else next time!



Did you change your preference, and why? Or are you one of those who has something for every occasion?

 

[MacB]

Interesting thought, there are justifications for multiple different bikes if you genuinely ride in multiple disciplines but a lot is just a waste. Prior to getting back into cycling as an adult I was convinced that MTB, knobbly tyres and full sus would be the most versatile bike. I reckon that was just down to my lack of knowledge, riding and falling for marketing hype. Actually that would now be the sort of bike I'd be least likely to buy as I don't do any sort of riding that needs full sus and big knobblies.

What made me change was getting my bike stolen and then reading up on types of bikes and asking many annoying newbie questions on forums. Now I'm attracted to cross type bikes with as few gears as possible, disc brakes and the ability to take guards and a rack. The only indulgence I'd consider would be a nice lightweight racer for the weekends but I'd still want decent tyre clearances and disc brakes.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

i have just 2. my beloved scott genius ltd for fun. my brompton folder for road rides and commuting a lot of miles (folding for security reasons). at heart i'm a mtb bike lover, if my scott could be guaranteed not to be stolen i'd ride her exclusively (knobbies for fun, slicks for commute).

 

[Norm]

Nothing has made me change the type of bike, and I still have all the bikes I've bought since I was about 16, which was 30 years ago.

The types that I have are all pretty different, though the oldest and newest are probably the most similar. From the 30 year old "racer", through the 20 year old rigid MTB which now has road tyres, rack and mudguards and is the bestest town bike ever. The main three are a hard tail when I want to ride off road, a road bike when I want to ride on the road, and a cyclo-cross when I can't decide where I'll be riding until I get there.

I've just done a couple of hours on the hard tail, now I'm home for dinner with Mumsy then I'll head off on the road bike for an hour or so around dusk.

So, I haven't changed the type of bike, but I do have the privilege of choosing which type before each ride.

 

[palinurus]

I commuted on adapted MTBs for a long time. I was attracted to MTBs because I saw a Muddy Fox Courier in the window of Bob Addy's and it looked shoot hot.

I then bought a Brompton, this eventually led to an Airnimal folder, which was quick. Because I was quicker I entered a time trial. This led me to buy a road bike and join a club. Then I got a TT bike. Then a 'cross bike. Maybe I wouldn't have taken up Cyclocross if I hadn't bought that Brompton? who knows.

 

[Muddyfox]

I started out on an MTB but was'nt really doing much offroading so i put some slicks on it and a rack and pottered around the lanes which i loved, then i thought i should buy something lighter and more road orientated so i gave the MTB to my son and bought a flat bar Cannondale Synapse which was much quicker and about 2 thirds the weight but every time i rode it i felt i should be riding as fast as i could ? and i seemed to stop enjoying riding as much, so then i bought a Ridgeback Panorama which is a great bike to ride and i really enjoy it but its to big for me really (so maybe another change on the way there) but i think i've found the style of bike that i enjoy rding the most (a tourer), i did miss the MTB for just pottering around locally so i bought another one Cannondale F5 and sold the Synapse

I have been looking at Audax bikes recently but i dont think funds will allow me to purchase one but i would like to get a tourer that fits me well although Chuffy's Kona Dewdrop looked like a nice bike and could cover a multitude of sins

Simon

 

[fossyant]

Always been a Roadie, but in the early 90's we thought in the club.....these mtbs might be fun...... so we all bought one....before suspension. ..... awesome. ....still have mine.

 

[Cyclist33]

Good thread!

Like many, I got a mtb for my return to cycling as I liked the look of it and wanted to go out riding with my mates, who liked singletrack and hardtails. After 4 years I realised that I rode on the road 97.6% of the time, so I bought a road bike and it has been utterly fantastic.

I have bought a couple of mtbs in the interim period so I could get back into trails, but one got stolen so I went back to roads. There is something tremendous about the speed and pace, and eating up the miles. Great for commuting, too.

I've recently sold up my two existing bikes and invested in a new mtb as I found the road bike very skittish with my child on the back, also I don't think the crankset was holding up very well. Reasoned that if I can have one bike and one bike only, it needs to be able to go most anywhere, hence hardtail. I do like it a lot.

Stu

 

[Benthedoon]

I've been on and off bikes for years, my first 'racer' at about 9 it was a Peugeot something I loved it. From my early teens it was BMXs shortly followed by MTBs, a marin rigid straight bar then moving on to hardtail dual slalom bikes along side full sus downhill bikes and then back on to BMXs.
That was it for a couple of years then I bought myself a carerra banshee in 2008 for little rides with the kids but after a little while commuting on it enough was enough and I had to get a road specific machine, my Orbea T23 is awesome and I now have a mild addiction to bikes I'm in the process of sorting out a fixed wheel hybrid for the winter and I'd like to upgrade my Orbea before next summer.
So I suppose necessity was the key to the change but the love has always been there for bikes.

 

[HJ]

For years I was riding an old racing road bike, but when that died I changed to a hybrid trekking bike as I wanted a something more upright for urban commuting, thinking it would be better in traffic. Recently I was given the frame off a Genesis Croix de Fer, so I decided that I would have a drop barred bike to give me the choice, according to the intended ride and the conditions.

 

[Alan Whicker]

My adult cycling period started off with a BSO. Actually, it was a bit better than a BSO - in a much as I did hundreds of miles round London on it when we lived in Zone 1. Flogged that when the cranks bent. Had two more MTBs, one of which, a Spesh Hardrock, I've still got. Found them perfect for London but when I returned to daily cycling I wanted a ferociously sensible and more upright bike like the AluSport AluRad I rode when I lived in Germany. Ended up with a Trek 7.3FX, which has a good balance of practicality and speed. And my beer gut was getting in the way on the Hardrock. But don't tell anyone that.

 

[Peter10]

I'll read everyone else's reasons later (time for bed) but for me it was easy. I have always ridden mountain bikes since I was 5 years old. I used them day in day out between the age of 12-16 and then when I turned 19 my job involved a lot of cycling... on mountain bikes. They are slow and cumbersome on roads (for me anyway) and just not practical for road use and commuting. On a mountain bike it took me about 35 minutes to cycle to work, on my road bike it takes far less. Much better acceleration, speed and breaking. When it came to deciding what bike to get to ride to work every day, there could only be one choice.

I think road bikes look a lot nicer too. To me, mountain bikes look heavy whereas road bikes look sleek and stylish.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Interesting thought, there are justifications for multiple different bikes if you genuinely ride in multiple disciplines but a lot is just a waste. Prior to getting back into cycling as an adult I was convinced that MTB, knobbly tyres and full sus would be the most versatile bike. I reckon that was just down to my lack of knowledge, riding and falling for marketing hype. Actually that would now be the sort of bike I'd be least likely to buy as I don't do any sort of riding that needs full sus and big knobblies.

Haven't changed (except from straight bar Raleigh to dropped bars at around 12 or 13, around 50 years ago). No need, as most of my riding is on road, and a road bike copes happily with most towpaths and cycle tracks. I reckon 95% of those buying 'MTBs' are buying on hype, and never use those knobbly tyres offroad. Why are knobblies the default tyres. Imagine if all new cars on sale were styled like Land Rovers and fitted with tractor tyres, which then have to be changed before using the car on the road..... and as for full suspension on a MTB BSO ..........

 

[nosherduke996]

I changed for mountain to road cycling because we often went out mountainbiking with roadies and i realised how much fitter they were. Even the older guys in there late 50s. I havn,t felt so good in a long while and currently do 100 miles a week.

 

[rb58]

I started cycling 'properly' about 6 or 7 years ago. I simply blew the dust of an old Raleigh Activator MTB that had been gathering dust in the garage for many years (bought to take kids down the park with when they were little). I tried it for a few weeks before deciding road cycling and commuting was what I'd be doing. A hybrid followed (Spesh Sirrus) for the commute, soon after a road bike was added (Orbea Asphalt) and last year a Thorn Audax joined them. As my rides were getting longer and longer I found the aggressive geometry of the Orbea was fine for shorter fast rides with my mates or sportives, but not the more leisurely all day affairs. The odd thing is, although I'm always looking at new bikes, I find more and more I only ride the Thorn and so another bike would possibly be a waste. I'm even thinking of using it on the commute.

So, to answer the OP's question, I think what has made me change has been the search for the best compromise between comfort and speed. Although I hear you can get a good deal on a Van Nicholas these days........