Do i need another bike for the road other than my hardtail?

porkloins

hiho knowledgable people

I'm in a bit of a pickle and can't decide what to do. i bought a rockhopper last year and i love it, there are some rough trails near where i live and i'm only 30 mins away from dalby forest...so for this my bike is fine.

the problem i have is that i also enjoy riding on the back lanes nearby to keep my fitness levels up, anywhere between 10-30 mile rides on quite hilly lanes (i live on top of the yorkshire wolds). i've been using my rockhopper so far, but it's hard work and most likely going to destroy my tyres i would imagine?

so what would be the best soloution? I don't want a racing bike, mainly because the prices seem rather high. i thought about getting a spare set of wheels with some road tyres on, but by the time i've bought them i might be as well considering another bike....a hybrid prehaps?

i was toying with the scott sportster P6 or something along those lines.

i don't really want to spend more than £200-£250, so what would anyone suggest is the best option?

thanks in advance

Mog Uk

Why not get a road bike.. ! Plenty of good 'budget' bike available for under £250... Decathlon for starters...

Best of both worlds then, MTB for offroad, Road bike for the road.....

supersonic

How a bout a Giant FCR?

https://sslrelay.com/s96379727.oneandon ... r.3%252F07

Not a full bore road bike, but a sporty hybrid. Look at the weight for sub 300 quid bike ;-)

jdp

I've also got a Rockhopper that I use for commuting 10 miles each way to work and XC when i'm not at work.

I bought a set of Specialized Nimbus road tyres and just change them when I need to. It takes a bit longer but at about £40 for the two you can use the spare cash for other things...

porkloins

Mog Uk wrote:

Why not get a road bike.. ! Plenty of good 'budget' bike available for under £250... Decathlon for starters...

Best of both worlds then, MTB for offroad, Road bike for the road.....

tbh i would prefer to have flat bars due to suffering from back problems in the past, i'd also like the option to go on light trials, tow paths and what-not....this is why i was leaning more towards the hybrid option.

supersonic, the Giant FCR looks nice m8y, forgive my ignorance but are the tyres going to be full on road ones or something that will do for a bit of light trail work too? are there others i should consider in this price range?

jdp, you probably have the most sensible solution, but i really don't think i could be bothered swapping the tyres over each time i decided to go on/off road, that's why i was looking at spare wheels with tyres...until i realised how expensive wheels are to buy! the only other gripe i have with using my rockhopper on the road is the gearing, fine for uphill, but coming down is a different matter

thanks for the replies so far

jdp

I must admit it does drive me up the wall but I just can't afford new wheels at he moment!

dunker

ride my ht alot on the roads, don't think i'd trust delicate roadie wheels on some of the lanes around here. you could try a better tyre that suits the majority of your riding, if you're riding roads and dry hardpack you don't really need anything too knobbley, maybe something like schwalbe marathon or specialized crossroads tyres? mainly just so you don't wear out knobbley tyres at an alarming rate. then have a spare set of proper mtb tyres for muddy weekends?

supersonic

The FCR will come with a slick - but can be easily be changed for something more knobbly. A slick is the best way to go on tarmac for speed and efficiency (and grip!).

floosy

Or why not do what I did....

a second set of wheels....with road tyres...

(saves the phaf of changing tyres then..)

Gambatte

Hi SS, long time since we've been on the same thread!

JDP - check out the B'Twin website as opposed to decathlons. B'Twin is the decathlon brand, but its not well represented on the decathlon website.

You'll find a much greater range and I'm sure they'll have a flat bar version in there somewhere. I've been using their cheapest ally framed roady with STi for a 28 mile round commute. Done around 1300miles so far with only minor cable adjustment.

With a 5 year frame warranty, they're great value for money bikes.

dav1

I bought a second hand carerra vortuoso as my get to work bike.

Was using my MTB but the amount of extra wear is expencive and now means i need a new BB chain and block a lot sooner then I would have otherwise. It also wears down tures quite quickly.

porkloins

i went ot my local bike shop today and they suggested a Trek 7.0 FX

it doesn't look a bad bike for £230, has anyone had any experience with this model or can suggest something better for the same sort of money?

supersonic

I would avoid the Trek - nasty threaded headset with very heavy stem and bars that will be jarring - and bottom rung parts elsewhere. That Giant I listed is 10x as good.

supersonic

Hi Gambatte, long time no see!

porkloins

will 35c tyres fit on bike that has 28c tyres or are the rim sizes and v brakes different?

supersonic

For tyre clearance, will need to contact the dealer, only way to tell for sure.

BTW, that Scott is very good,

porkloins

supersonic wrote:

BTW, that Scott is very good,

yeah i still really like the look of the scott sportster, how does it compare to others in it's class tho? ...is there anywhere i can read some unbiased reviews on it?