Road Biking vs. Mountain Biking

[Will]

I'm got into my cycling recently. I bought myself a hybrid bike, which is good for traffic while I'm going too and from work. I've decided to get myself either a road bike or a mountain bike, as money means I can't afford both straight away.

I know a few of you cycle, so if you wouldn't mind throwing the pros and cons of each at me, help me make a more informed choice, that'd be great.

 

[Deadmanwalking]

Well what can you see yourself doing more?

Town/City or actual Mountain Biking.

Saying that i would always go for a mountain bike, as a road bike is as good as useless offroad while a mountain bike can do both.
And it wont snap into a few hundred pieces if you hit anything

 

[Will]

Well, my hybrid bike already does my in-traffic commuting needs. Its basically a mountain bike with only the rear gear cog, and thin slick tyres, good for weaving in and out of traffic.

I'm not really sure which I'd prefer. Ideally I'd like to do both, but my budget means I buy one bike first, then wait six months while I save cash for the other.

I have friends who go mountain biking, so I would have people to do that with. But I do enjoy the whole cycling long distances on road for the sake of it too. I've not really got an option on try before you buy, not for long enough to make this sort of choice, so I just wanted to know which ones people prefered and why.

 

[Testin da Cable]

get a mountain bike. as already pointed out, you can kit an mtb out for road and it will perform nicely, but there's no way a road bike will survive the knocks and harshness of terrain riding.

 

[Will]

Hmnnn, I'm not really after a dual-purpose bike. I'll buy both eventually. Maybe I should rephrase the question.

Why did you choose the type of cycling you chose?

 

[Testin da Cable]

I chose an mbt because road racing biking struck me as terminally dull.

 

[Jupitus]

Will!! Yer simply NOT getting ya point across, man!!!

 

[Tom]

What kind of area do you live in Will? That should determine where you can ride, and thus what bike you get.

 

[Jupitus]

Originally posted by Will
Hmnnn, I'm not really after a dual-purpose bike. I'll buy both eventually. Maybe I should rephrase the question.

Why did you choose the type of cycling you chose?

Please all read and inwardly digest, before poor old Will blows a gasket

Edit: It's craply phrased though, Will

 

[Will]

Originally posted by Tom
What kind of area do you live in Will? That should determine where you can ride, and thus what bike you get.

I like in Edinburgh. So I have easy access to Mtb territory, as well as lots of roads.

 

[Jupitus]

Are the weather conditions a factor for you, Will? If you get out there and decide 'ooo this is too fecking cold' on roads you might be able to get a bus home, but mountains you're stuck with riding back.

Trying to be a bit more helpful than my last post here

 

[Will]

Weather isn't a problem...I live in Scotland. I cycle no matter what the weather. Though if I see snow, I'll probably get the bus home.

 

[Tom]

Originally posted by Will
I like in Edinburgh. So I have easy access to Mtb territory, as well as lots of roads.

Well there are plenty of good roads over the Kinkardine bridge way, so I'd buy the road bike. I have both, and the MB is fun, but if you have the roads to do it, disappearing for 2 hours out on the roads is exhilerating, and you don't have to dismount to get through those daft stiles.

 

[Gumbo]

Get a unicycle!!!!1!!!

That, or at the least a fixed wheel bike. You can build a nice one for a couple of hundred squids

Why is it that only strange cycling interests me now?

 

[Tom]

recumbants rock!

 

[Gumbo]

They do a bit, but their low profile scares me a bit for riding in traffic.

I used to do a 10 mile commute on a mtb with slicks fitted, and muddies and panniers, 'the works'. Then I built myself a fixed wheel with nothing but a front brake around a late '70's Pinarello racing frame, that weighed about, er, nothing. Cycling in a really, really pure sense. If you like cycling, have a rip on a fixed gear bike, you know you want to.

 

[CptDoom]

I just got one of these for £450... Tears streets up pretty damn nice too, good quality decent gearset and decent front forks. There is no point in going full suspension unless you are spending at least £1000+. Mines pretty damn light too and it tears thru mud like nobodys business. Also the front and back disc brakes are stupidly good at stopping you in all weather, almost been over the handlebars a few times.

I actually enjoy getting muddy on the way home from work now because to get muddy i have to terrorize all the scenery and its easy with this...

GT Avalanche 1.0 (mines in blue/grey tho)

Shop around, you can get it for less if you get say an '02 model

 

[Will]

Thanks for the replies...I think I'll hire a road bike from my local bike shop when purchasing time comes round...if I don't enjoy it, I'll get a mtb.

And Gumbo, I almost did get a single-speed...its not quite a fixed wheel, but its close. The problem is that I live at the top of a very steep hill.

 

[Testin da Cable]

Originally posted by Will
The problem is that I live at the top of a very steep hill.

wuss

 

[Will]

Originally posted by Testin da Cable
wuss

Says the man who lives in a very flat country.

 

[Testin da Cable]

we have hills here too, we're just not allowed to show them to tourists

 

[doh_boy]

Originally posted by Testin da Cable
we have hills here too, we're just not allowed to show them to tourists

Hill != Genitalia tdc

 

[Testin da Cable]

on a clear day you can see my......*not make oblique reference*


I'm only kidding though: steepness without gears = teh shite :/

 

[Tom]

Will, on a serious note, do you plan to buy any clothing for cycling? I really really would recommend you buy some good cycling shorts, if you don't mind Lycra (it only takes a day or so to overcome the stigma), get a pair with as many panels as you can. Also, the ones that don't stop at your waist, but instead continue up your back, over your shoulders, and down your torso like a pair of braces, are very very comfortable, and much better for winter.

If you're not into Lycra, get some MTB shorts, just make sure they're big enough, when you sit in the saddle and bend forward there needs to be enough slack so they don't show the crack of your arse!

PS Panels are the individual vertical pieces of Lycra sown together that make up the shorts. Take a look at some, you'll see what I mean.

 

[Will]

Way ahead of you Tom. I already have a nice windproof jacket from Endura, and a sexy thermal top. I've been doing my city biking in a pair of combats, but I was getting some cycle shorts and/or a pair of 3/4 length longs tomorrow. I've developed a very sexy looking redness on my inner thighs, so I need something to either stop my combats rubbing, or to replace them.

 

[Gumbo]

Originally posted by Testin da Cable



I'm only kidding though: steepness without gears = teh shite :/

Bah, bah, and thrice bah.

I found that with my fixed, when not given the option of sitting down and slowly clicking my way down through the cogs, losing an mph at a time too btw, the hills suddenly seemed much shorter than before.

Strange I know, but when you have no choice when reaching a hill, but to stand up and stomp through your beutifully direct and effecient drivetrain, you crest the summit much sooner than you thought you would. At first it's a bizarre experience, but you soon get to just love it, I did anyway.

Long downhills on the otherhand do become a bit of a chore, as your legs are either spinning like mental, or using completely different muscles to keep the speed down to a manageable level.

I really must dust my fixed off and give it a run when it's a nice day.

And you don't know inner thigh chafeage until you have spent a day learning to freemount your uni. I even bled a little, and that's not easy to explain

 

[Embattle]

Get a mountain bike Will, I've had em for years and they are dam good fun but you can use them in a more serious manner where as road bikes don't really have a fun aspect. I've thought about adding a road bike to my collection but the road humps would destroy it let alone the 1 foot pot holes

 

[Tom]

ahem, sorry