Why must everyone have a Mountain Bike??

[jethro10]

I think the point was just that they're the primary bike of choice when there is never any intention of taking it off road.

Well that would be marketing and the Macho appeal? like kids wanting go faster stripes and Carlos Fandango wheels on their car.

Or possibly, are even casual people led by the probability of versatility? it's a distinct possibility.........

Perhaps we need to re-name MTB's as "all round bikes".


Jeff

 

[Alan Whicker]

Mountain bikes make excellent all-rounders if they're set up properly to do the intended job. I've got two MTBs. An alu Spesh Hardrock and a steel Ridgeback 640. Both are rigid, have slick tyres and riser bars. Perfect for knocking around at a decent speed, comfy and tough as teak. The Ridgeback is actually a homebrew singlespeed pub/tube beater but it's a hoot to ride.

 

[uphillstruggler]

just to add my two penny's worth.

i have both types, a very old Ridgeback 604lt that is pretty bombproof for knocking around on with the kids, around the red cycle paths etc, its also unlikely to get knicked (now i have said it) it is a do all bike, considering you can put slicks on it and do reasonably long rides if necessary, all of the above is not really true of the Giant Rapid i have.

if it is just for generally getting fit as was said in the OP, then the mountain bike is surely more adaptable as time goes on.

he will want a road bike soon enough anyway!

get him to buy a decent one and buy it off him in 6 months - thats what friends are for.

 

[Mad at urage]

Mountain bikes make excellent all-rounders if they're set up properly to do the intended job. I've got two MTBs. An alu Spesh Hardrock and a steel Ridgeback 640. Both are rigid, have slick tyres and riser bars. Perfect for knocking around at a decent speed, comfy and tough as teak. The Ridgeback is actually a homebrew singlespeed pub/tube beater but it's a hoot to ride.

This. Mine are a Specialised Hardrock Comp (steel) and a Dawes Disco 301 (hybrid). Dawes is for bimbling with family.

Favourite is definitely the hardrock (with Schwalb slicks, matt black paint, mudguards, rear carrier and 7-speed hub). Versatile, comfy, can go 'aero' on the bar ends when I want - What need of skinny tyres or drop bars? This thing goes along muddy or stoney trails and tarmac; it has been hit by cars and jumped off kerbs (when cycle lanes end) with 16 stone of me on it. Once it was a "Mountain Bike", now it is a versatile all-rounder.

 

[Browser]

Perhaps we need to re-name MTB's as "all round bikes".
Jeff

They already exist, they're called cyclocross bikes..........

 

[blubb]

Well if your roads in the city are bad, especially after this strong winter a mountain bike makes sense. However i prefer to use a normal city bike and just use the mountain bike for the woods.

 

[Fnaar]

Quite an emotive dislike of MTB's

However I have one, my only bike, a hardtail. It's comfortable - simple.

I can do everything there is on an MTB, from cycling with friends on country lanes, to red routes at 7staines.
I can't do many of those things on a road bike.

so I'm slower on a road, so what. At least I'm looking over a hedge at the scenery rather than at the tarmac getting a sore back.

I can't see that anything other than an MTB can be that versatile and comfortable really.

It's like hatchback cars, invented what, in the 70's now everyone has one. Maybe not the best cars in the world, but truly versatile, like a (proper) MTB.

Jeff

Yes I have one too, and do all that stuff on it, leaving my roadie for the road... I wouldn't be without the (old) hardtail MTB to be honest, I use the two bikes for totally different things. I think the point being made is that it's what people automatically assume 'buying a bike' means, when there might be more appropriate choices (or it might just be the right choice for many... it's just that there a lot of poor quality bikes sold to Joe Public)

 

[NorrisCole]

I appreciate that if your looking for one bike only, or can hypothetically only ever own one bike then a MTB is a good choice.
Thing is, like the OP points out, I would guess that thousands of bikes a year are sold and then only ever used on tarmac/very light off-road (which a cyclo-x could handle).
I'm not sure why this is really, people just don't get that if your looking to go anywhere on tarmac quickly then road bike is the way to go.
I think that the big problem is that people only really have experience of a MTB BSO. Which is slow and crap. But the big point is that they only spent say £100 on it. To those people spending over £400 on an entry level road bike is crazy as they can't appreciate the massive increase in speed, durability and comfort they will get because they have only ever known rubbish bikes, which have all been fairly evenly rubbish.
So you might say the solution is to roll out cheapo road bikes for £100, but then these would be pretty crap and probably do road bikes a disservice and put people off. So people wouldn't get a fair impression of a good road bike.
They just don't get that if you want to go fast, road bike is answer.

 

[Hydra]

I must admit, when I decided to start cycling 18 months ago (mainly to save bus fare so I could spend it on fags and weed) I opted for a mountain bike, even though I had no intention of going off-road. This turned out to be absolutely crap. In fact, the first day I rode it the handlebars and stem came loose as I was going downhill. Though this was entirely Hellfrauds fault...

As time's gone on I have become (I suppose) a proper cyclist (and btw there's no more ciggies or weed) and I've migrated to the 'road bike' side of things.

I can understand people defaulting on mountain bikes. I did, after all, but I didn't have the sterling information that this forum provides. And I didn't really expect to become immersed and obsessed with cycling. MTBs are the simple choice.

 

[Mad at urage]

I appreciate that if your looking for one bike only, or can hypothetically only ever own one bike then a MTB is a good choice.
Thing is, like the OP points out, I would guess that thousands of bikes a year are sold and then only ever used on tarmac/very light off-road (which a cyclo-x could handle).
I'm not sure why this is really, people just don't get that if your looking to go anywhere on tarmac quickly then road bike is the way to go.
I think that the big problem is that people only really have experience of a MTB BSO. Which is slow and crap. But the big point is that they only spent say £100 on it. To those people spending over £400 on an entry level road bike is crazy as they can't appreciate the massive increase in speed, durability and comfort they will get because they have only ever known rubbish bikes, which have all been fairly evenly rubbish.
So you might say the solution is to roll out cheapo road bikes for £100, but then these would be pretty crap and probably do road bikes a disservice and put people off. So people wouldn't get a fair impression of a good road bike.
They just don't get that if you want to go fast, road bike is answer.

Agree with much of the above, but I think the bolded bit is a (possibly invalid) assumption.

If most people are looking to go anywhere on tarmac quickly, a (sports) car or (if through traffic) motorbike is the way to go. I think that people have other considerations when buying a bike.

Of course there's going somewhere without buying petrol, but there's also the idea (often sold, how often realised) of riding along (clean) dirt tracks past leafy trees under a blue sky. This doesn't sit well with the pragmatic decision about a road bike.

In fact pragmatically (since most people won't cycle more than a few miles and most will want to carry more than the average lycra-clad cyclist), a SUAB complete with baskets both ends and a three-speed SA gear is the practical answer.

 

[Norm]

They already exist, they're called cyclocross bikes..........

 

[the_mikey]

I don't mind mtb's but BSO's are heartbreakingly bad, I'm surprised how people persevere with them.

 

[Rob3rt]

If the objective is for your friend to get fit through cycling, then a heavy mtb with chunky tyres will do him far better than a light weight roadie frame with slicks.

If I had to choose one bike to keep, it would be a mountain bike.

Thats if the terrible ride doesnt put him off cycling for good!

 

[som3blok3]

I can relate to the OP. The sister-in-law bought herself a bike for Christmas with her bonus and wanted me to go along to help out. This involved a trip to Halfrauds to look at MTBs, because MTBs are all she's ever owned. After a few qualifying questions from me (well, the sales lad wasn't going to ask them) it turns out shes going to spend 80% of her time on road with the other 20% on towpaths up and down the Thames.

She left the shop £300 lighter (bike was in the sale), having bought a Hybrid with 1.6 tyres, a happy medium and a happy sister-in-law

 

[Chris S]

Like I've said before - I ride a MTB because of the poor quality of urban roads. You can bounce over pot holes instead of wrecking your wheels and coming off on them.