i'm new here, got mtb would road bike suit me?

steve77uk

Hello,

I have read back over about 26 pages of this forum but need need some personal advice here, maybe convincing, or advising.

I am not an expert here and know nothing about bikes. Late last year in October I bought a Giant Terrago Disc 08 for about £350 (got it reduced), I went for it because I have always had Giant Bikes and liked the idea of front suspension and the disc brakes.

I must admit it is a great bike, love it, however, I have put semi slicks on it with knobbles on the side, which find has less resistance, but wonder if I can do better.

I ride 5 miles to work each day and only just managing 3 days most weeks at the moment. I have to do it more because I won't have a car myself come May and want to get fit in preparation.

I am thinking about getting a road bike and wondering about a giant scr1, don't know too much about it, except for what I read on here with people saying it is faster and more comfortable.

For a person of my fitness (as in not much), 5,9 16 stone and only just started out for a month or so, will I find a difference? I sometimes struggle and find it is hard work and not going very fast even thou 'i put my foot down'! I have a good steep hill at the end of my commute and am very interested when people say a road bike will help beat the hill!

I suppose the question is this - will it be better for someone like me?

and

In general what is the difference? People go on about weight which I understand, thinner tyres? what else is there? I don't really understand about gears and difference brakes etc

Thanks, I am really interested in doing this more and want to get fitter and lose weight to 12.5 stone..

Oh and also, I am being very careful what I eat (helping my wife by following weight watchers) how long do you think if I keep it up I will notice some weight loss by just watching what I eat and also cycling to work (10 miles per day)?

I know a lot of questions, but really appreciate the advice!

Steve

Jakes Dad

Steve ... oddly enough i started reading this section for a similiar reason although i dont need to commute to work i am going to do alot more road work to get my fitness up and i also have a Giant Terrago (2005) and i have a set of slicks that i use at the moment for the road work but i had a test ride on a Sports Hybrid Bike which i believe is a sort of cross between a proper racing bike and a hybrid and the difference was Massive in terms of speed and alot less effort than the Terrago ... if i had to ride 10 miles a day i would definately get one

Simon

Flycatcher

First of all well done for doing this. There are plenty of people who will give advice on gearing as I don't really know that much, I think the gears are a closer ratio on a road bike but I stand to be corrected.

All I'd say is that a mountain bike is for off road and a road bike is just that. I was using a hybrid two years ago and as Simon said the difference between that and a mountain bike is huge. The same can be said for a hybrid and road. I've now got two road bikes, one for summer and one to commute on, a Trek 1000. Picked that as I can add guards. It's an entry level Trek but does a great job.

i would go for it. Good luck with the weight loss. Keep it up and you WILL lose it doing 10 miles a day and like me on the good days yoo'll look for longer rides home on a road bike. My 10 mile home ride became 15 tonight as it was nice weather and I felt like going on and on!

mazcp

Hi
You could either go for a road bike or a sporty hybrid like mine...i have a Specialized Sirrus which I can fully recommend. It's lightweight, responsive and v.easy to handle - more effieciency with lack of suspension also. The thinner tyres will help with efficiency and speed. If you have hills on your commute I would go for a bike with a triple chainring (i.e. it has 3 concentric cogs where the axle of the pedals is).

For a road bike i would go for a Specialized Allez which is a nice bike in my opinion. I dont know much about the Giant SCR1.

Test riding them is a must.

Jakes Dad

Will you be getting rid of the Terrago ? or will you become a 2 bike family

A mate of mine was'nt 100% sure whether to have a road bike as well as his mountain bike because of the expense, but he managed to pick up an old 10 speed racing bike from the local Free Ads Paper for £30.00 and all it needed was 2 new tyres and innertubes as the old one's had perished through lack of use ... so it might be worth keeping an eye open in your local Free Ads ?

Simon

steve77uk

hmmm... not really sure...

firstly I don't really have the room to have 2 bikes and secondly I could do with getting some funds back...

it all depends how much the bike costs, but am going to visit the bike shop on saturday to find out a bit more.

i have never really thought about looking in the paper - the problem is I don't really know what I am looking for and what bits I need to change - apart from old tyres!

BentMikey

You'd gain a little speed on a road bike, from the lighter weight, the thinner tyres, and the better aerodynamics. That might not help your weight loss goal though, as the road bike will simply reduce your workout.

If it were me only doing 5 miles each way, I'd stick to the MTB unless my route was really hilly. 10 or more miles each way, and I would probably want a road bike.

No matter, it's awesome that you're doing this, and well done!!! Have you got or read Cyclecraft by John Franklin yet? I'd really recommend reading it, even though I'm sure you're already a very experienced road user.

el_presidente

Personally I would say 5 miles is too short to worry. I commute 5 miles on a slicked-up MTB and I have a road bike that I could use.

I would say, put some good slicks on (SPecialized All Condition Pros ) and use the MTB. the time to get a road bike is when you feel compelled to take the long way home or find yourself getting up early on a Sunday to get a 30-mile loop in.

scalamanga007

I progressed from all 3. Started on a mountin bike(8.5 miles each way) then moved to a Kona Hybrid at the same distance and noticed an increase in my fitness as I found I wanted to push the hybrid and go faster!!
I have since moved onto a Giant SCR3 and I love it. My commute is now 14 miles each way and in the last 18 months have noticed a big increase in my fitness as I find I push the road bike even harder than the hybrid especially uphill.
I test rode the TCR and SCR and found the SCR to be alot more upright than the TCR which is a must for commuting in London.
When I started I was 13.5 stone and I have now dropped to 10.5 with no changes in diet.
GOOD LUCK!!

pw1brown

I'm a fan of Giant SCRs (I have an SCR2), but I'd say don't change your bike yet. 5 miles should be fine with a decent slick-tyred mtb. Just watch how your fitness will improve as you keep doing it.

And if you find yourself wanting to go further and faster, you could get a road bike later.

Underscore

Just a few observations:

Don't worry if you don't seem to be going very fast. It's surprising how little difference your top speed makes to your commute time. Keep at it and you will naturally get faster as you get fitter. Also, if you don't cane it quite so much, you may find that you are able to cycle 5 days/week instead of 3... I started cycling to work with a 5.5 mile country road commute each way on a slicked-up rigid MTB. Once I knew that I was going to keep doing it, I bought a hybrid (Spec Sirrus) not because I needed it but because it made my commute more enjoyable. Your Terrago with semi-slicks is probably fine but a hybrid or road bike may make your commute more enjoyable - so you are more likely to keep it up. Perhaps there is someone you know who could lend you a road bike or hybrid for a bit to try it? I now live 2.5 miles from work (by road - longer for my off-road commute) and I took a break from cycling to work for a long while, when I walked to work. When I got back to cycling. I found that the first couple of weeks I saw an increase in fitness, but after that I started to lose some weight. So, keep at it and the weight will start to come off before too long - though I don't know how long it will take to reach your target. Make sure that you are eating well enough to fuel your commute, however. And the great thing about cycling to work is that, once you've lost the weight, it's become a part of your lifestyle that will help keep the weight off.

HTH,

_

steve77uk

Thanks for the replies guys - it is really appreciated.

At the moment, the danger is I am trying to mentally prepare but not overly enjoying it as the hills kill me, I keep pushing myself because otherwise it is a very slow ride which I find harder (does this make sense?) so every little helps as far as I am concerned.

I have read some of the posts on here about new starters and think that I am going very well considering I have not done it for very long, but ultimately want to progress and enjoy it, at the moment I am mentally breaking down into sections, but think it is a bit boring in places and slow.

Another query I have is this, what are folk’s opinions on flat bars on a road bike or dropped bars? I find to make myself go faster in the wind, I crouch down which seems to help, however doing this all the way would drops make it easier?

I had a racer (Raleigh banana) which was fantastic, shame I still do not have it, there were brakes on the top as well as the drops, and the gears were on the frame.

redddraggon

steve77uk wrote:

Another query I have is this, what are folk’s opinions on flat bars on a road bike or dropped bars?

I personally don't see the point in road bikes wth flat bars - if you don't want to use the drops use the hoods. More hand positions with drop style handlebars.

Drops all the way.

steve77uk

Well I am off to the bike shop tomorrow to check one out - I am just suggesting Giant because that is what I have always had...

Is there anything I should look out for or ask?, however with the reviews given on here, or people's experiences (which is better) and will probably go for the SCR1 or SCR3, just don't want to spend all this money and get done!

Cheers
Steve

tardington

steve77uk wrote:

Thanks for the replies guys - it is really appreciated.
Another query I have is this, what are folk’s opinions on flat bars on a road bike or dropped bars? I find to make myself go faster in the wind, I crouch down which seems to help, however doing this all the way would drops make it easier?

...

I had a racer (Raleigh banana) which was fantastic, shame I still do not have it, there were brakes on the top as well as the drops, and the gears were on the frame.

My sister got a nice touring bike with the drop bars - she's done a fair amount of touring on an mtb (with flat bars), and she is swapping the drop bars for some 'butterfly' ones (like mtb bars, but with lots more positions for your hands) as she felt the drop bars were stretching her back. She also didn't like the narrowness of drop bars, and she really didn't like being 'on the drops'

I personally like drop bars, but you have to go with what you like!

Also, the Edinbugh Bikes basic tourer has the two sets of brake levers
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLq ... 912m005848
That one is in the sale 8)

magicroundabout

I'm with BentMikey - WELL DONE for even thinking about this.

I started commuting just 3 to 4 miles last year and I've really got the cycling bug. I love long (well, for me!) rides on the open road so I'm investing in a road bike because that's where I do the most cycling. Other people that commute to my workplace do LOTS of offroading at weekends and so have a nice MTB that they ride to work on.

There's plenty of varied advice here - mine would be to wait and see what sort of a rider you are before splashing out on a decent machine that you might not like.

A road bike will give you a better aerodynamics and riding position, lower rolling resistance, less weight, a variety of hand positions, higher gearing, and I'm sure other things.

I'd recommend going to a bike shop and asking about them. Bike shop people are pretty friendly and they'll let you try some out so you can feel the difference. You might not want to go for too much of a "racing" bike as these can be quite hard work to ride.

If you do go for a road bike you might also want to consider putting mud guards on - so make sure you've got eyelets for that. And consider if you need attachments for a pannier rack - depending on how you're planning carrying any luggage.

Other advice:

Do your work do a Cycle to Work scheme? If you can get them to do this then you can get the bike cheap and, effectively, with a 12 month interest-free loan. Worth asking! Some details at the CycleScheme site http://www.cyclescheme.co.uk (though CycleScheme are just one such provider).

Regarding getting fit for commuting 5 days a week - why not try putting some longer rides in to boost your endurance? If you're just doing your 5 miles a day then try pushing yourself beyond that to get the endurance up. You'll find the 5 miles gets a lot easier - and it'll help the weight loss!

Good luck with it!

MR

thamacdaddy

Almost the same as me matey. about 8 months ago I decided to dust off my kona mountain bike which had cost me 1500 back in the day and cycle commute. I was using public transport at the time costing me 70 quid a month and work was a 5 mile ride away (obviously giving me ten miles a day 5 days a week).

Not going to say what my weight was but it was bad. I had split with my gf and needed to save pennies for the mortgage payments on my own and wanted to do the gym but couldn't afford. Got myself home weights and went full on in 5 days a week.

I still do it on my old mountain bike as well as going out for 3 hour efforts at the weekend (mixed off and on road).

So far I have lost 5 stone, 6inchs off the waist size (touching 7 right now following the christmas workouts) and lost visually a massive amount of weight.

Cycling to work was the best thing I could have ever choosen to do and although its only five miles the ride home is a constant climb, some parts steeper than others but for the most part its hills all the way up out of manchester.

I stuck with my mountain bike exactly for the reasons someone mentioned, fitness. I know its harder work, and I can feel it takes more effort but thats been better for me. My diet has cleaned up but I don't have to be stupidly strict as the exercise is pretty extreme. I don't often get beat int he commuter race if I am honest and push every hill (you can rest when it levels out)/ .

Truth is don't worry about going slow compared to others simply work on your own personal best times or how much faster you can take the hill each week or the harder gears you can take it in.

I am considering a road bike now simply for the fact I want to do more road riding than off road and will have both bikes anyways but I wouldn't have thought about it before as I wanted the workout of having a mountain bike....I didn't even put slicks on for the same reason, although the bike is light.

xcracer

I currently ride 8.5 miles to work every day on slick-tyred MTB.

I'm going out this weekend to buy a second hand road bike for £150-200. Then I can see if I like riding road bikes (pretty sure I will!) without having spunked loads of cash on a carbon-forked flying machine. Then if I want to buy something better later on I can do and I will still have an MTB (that I don't have to keep changing the tyres on!), a decent road bike and a pub bike too.

Bassjunkieuk

If your considering a road bike because there are hills in your area I'd advise looking for one with a triple chainring as it will give you much more choice of gears, including the helpful lower low gear!
Bear in mind that the gearing on road bikes is generally a lot closer then that on a mountain or even a hybrid, you might typically only get 10 or 11 teeth difference between the highest and lowest sprocket on a 8, 9 or 10 gear set!
This means you get a "higher" low gear then you currently have on your MTB, i.e. it still might be difficult to pedal uphill but on the upside when you do come to a decent you'll probably find it a lot harder to spin out, and a heck of a lot more fun! To give an example I have a hill in my area that I struggle to get over about 35mph on with my MTB but can easily hit 40+ on my road bike :-)

I live near Crystal Palace so have some nice hills in my area and got a Giant SCR 3 over Xmas and whilst I haven't tried some of the steepest hills in the area I have done some hills that I did on my previous road bike, and they are much easier on the newer bike - the combination of being a good bit lighter and with better gearing makes it a lot easier work and dare I say it enjoyable!

Finally I'd like to wish you all the best, whilst you might not be able to make it 5 days at week at the moment, as your fitness improves - which undoubtedly it will with all the exercise your getting! - you'll be able to cycle in more often :-)

steve77uk

Well, I have been to the Bike Shop in Derby who are very helpful, I have bought most of my bikes from there in fact.

I was looking at either the FCR or the SCR and have decided to go for the FCR 1, did look at the difference between the 2 and the 1 in the FCR range and thought sod it, may as well spend just that little bit extra, got 75 quid knocked off too!

I picked up the FCR 2 with both hands and nearly knocked myself out, couldn't beleive how light it was, he did say the FCR 1 is just slightly lighter but not much difference - I was very impressed with the chap I was speaking to, I was with him for just over an hour but he was happy to help me which is always a bonus!

What do you think? He said the only difference between the FCR and the SCR is the drop handle bars mostly, but think I may stick with the flar bars.

The difference between the 2 and the 1 is the 2 has 3 cogs on the pedal bit and the 1 has only 2, however, hopefully the more I do it the less I will require the granny gears!

bigmug

Just a couple of things to add to the good advice given.

A full blown racer can be a big change, try one of the more sportive or Roubaix type models which give a more relaxed upright position - also good for heads up in traffic. At 16 stone it may feel flimsy, but you'll soon get used to it. Triple, well these days a compact double chainset - 34/48 etc with ten wide spaced cogs at the rear should be adequate for all but laden hilly touring. Your local bike shop can change new bike gears, position - stem angles etc to suit your style, and you can always go back for tweaks.

chronyx

Hi Steve,

I'm currently deliberating over what type of bike to get, it's not an easy choice I know!

Also I used to be a big boned fella like yourself :P and the cycling does help, in fact I hate the sluggish feeling I get if I don't cycle to work now.

As the others said, well done!

steve77uk

Thanks guys!

Well, I am going in the car to work tomorrow!

...wait for it....

because in my lunch time I am going to the LBS to pick up my shiny new FCR1..

Bit concerned it only has 3 gears at the front where as the FCR2 has 3 (you know the bit on the pedals!) buy hey, if it helps on the flats and makes life easier, I am sure I will get use to it...

It is weird with some of the lingo re bikes - am I correct in saying that a road bike it quite literally what I use to know as a racer???

TheFoolio888

I'd agree with some of the posts that on a 5 mile commute there might not be much point switching to a road bike.

I started of on a 15yo Claude Butler MTB before switching recently to a Saracen Pylon 1 hybrid. It suits me fine...the only problem I have is that the handle bars are a little wide which sometimes makes it tricky to fit between cars when filtering...oh and the font disc brake is the loudest thing in a 10mile radius when wet.

Personally though I wouldn't bother with suspension in any bike used on the road. It just adds extra weight.

el_presidente

TheFoolio888 wrote:

I'd agree with some of the posts that on a 5 mile commute there might not be much point switching to a road bike.

I started of on a 15yo Claude Butler MTB before switching recently to a Saracen Pylon 1 hybrid. It suits me fine...the only problem I have is that the handle bars are a little wide which sometimes makes it tricky to fit between cars when filtering...oh and the font disc brake is the loudest thing in a 10mile radius when wet.

Personally though I wouldn't bother with suspension in any bike used on the road. It just adds extra weight.

you can probably move your controls inboard slightly and cut down the ends of the bars if you think they are too wide.

steve77uk

Well, I have picked up my FCR1 this lunch time and it is currently in the back of the car...

Can't wait to get home this evening and give it a whirl!

Cannot believe how light it is!

BentMikey

Hehehehehe!!!! Nice one mate, nothing like having a new toy hey?