Which style of bike will suit me and where I live?
mike4.3
Posts: 37
Apologies for this post, I know it's frustrating to hear "tell me which bike to buy" epsecially as it's been asked a 1000 times, there's a sticky on the forum and ample FAQs all over the web.
But hear me out.
I'm a mountain biker and I'm looking to get something a little more effecient on road.
I'm not particularly asking for any specific bikes, more advice as to whether a tourer, road, cyclocross or single-speed will suit me best.
Here's my "wants" list...
Good at climbing hills as I live in a very hilly and rural area.
Would cope well with mud on the roads etc (farming communities = tractors,mud etc)
Even better if it could cope with mild off road... i.e. grass/mud tracks/gravel.
Might use it for short camping trips so maybe possibility of adding a small amount of luggage
Something I can use to go to town and chain up without worrying too much (i.e. I'm probably thinking £500 sort of price bracket)... note that's a hilly rural ride to a small town and back, we're not talking city commutiing here.
Here's my "not fussed" list...
Speed doesn't really bother me... espeically downhill. Stability is more important... which is why I'm leaning away from a traditional road bike.
Looks... if it does the job, looks come second.
My initial thoughts are...
Cyclocross - Could be just the job but too much of a jack of all trades compromise?
Road - Don't need the downhill speed and would probably get pretty chunky tyres anyway so may as well get Cyclocross?
Tourer - solid but heavy for my hilly location?
Single-Speed - Keep the cost down and they sure look fun... but would suffer on the hills? And still have to then choose between road and cyclocross of course.
I'm hoping riders out there with far more experience of different styles of bikes will read that lot and think "well you obviously need a xxxx mate" and job done.
And again, I'm sorry for the " what bike do I want post" but my mind is going batty which so much variation.
Cheers, MIke.
But hear me out.
I'm a mountain biker and I'm looking to get something a little more effecient on road.
I'm not particularly asking for any specific bikes, more advice as to whether a tourer, road, cyclocross or single-speed will suit me best.
Here's my "wants" list...
Good at climbing hills as I live in a very hilly and rural area.
Would cope well with mud on the roads etc (farming communities = tractors,mud etc)
Even better if it could cope with mild off road... i.e. grass/mud tracks/gravel.
Might use it for short camping trips so maybe possibility of adding a small amount of luggage
Something I can use to go to town and chain up without worrying too much (i.e. I'm probably thinking £500 sort of price bracket)... note that's a hilly rural ride to a small town and back, we're not talking city commutiing here.
Here's my "not fussed" list...
Speed doesn't really bother me... espeically downhill. Stability is more important... which is why I'm leaning away from a traditional road bike.
Looks... if it does the job, looks come second.
My initial thoughts are...
Cyclocross - Could be just the job but too much of a jack of all trades compromise?
Road - Don't need the downhill speed and would probably get pretty chunky tyres anyway so may as well get Cyclocross?
Tourer - solid but heavy for my hilly location?
Single-Speed - Keep the cost down and they sure look fun... but would suffer on the hills? And still have to then choose between road and cyclocross of course.
I'm hoping riders out there with far more experience of different styles of bikes will read that lot and think "well you obviously need a xxxx mate" and job done.
And again, I'm sorry for the " what bike do I want post" but my mind is going batty which so much variation.
Cheers, MIke.
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Comments
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A cyclocross is the nearest to 'tick all the boxes' on your list - either that or a cheap rigid MTB with skinny-ish tyres. (Poss a 2nd hand P7 or similar?)Cycling weakly0
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I'd say look for a tourer. Cyclocross would work but your budget is a consideration - £500 secondhand gets you a very solid tourer and tourists tend to maintain their bikes well, cyclocrossers tend to abuse them! I'd say the weight is pretty much a non issue - they'll come with a triple, and the marginal extra frame weight will only slow you down a micro amount, it won't make the difference between getting up hill vs not. You'll then get the benefits of a really practical bike for everything you want to do: chunky tyres (make sure you get a frame with enough clearance - e.g. one with cantis); loaded shopping/camping trips; stability, particularly when loaded, going downhill.
The CTC forum is a good place to look for secondhand tourers...0 -
That's what I thought but having never ridden a cyclocross I did wonder if hill climbing suffers too much? Same goes with a single-speedcyclo-cross... a good or bad idea bearing in mind those darn hills home?
I do feel like a numpty with these questions... sounds like I'm after some amazing superbike... I know something will be a compromise.0 -
Maybe it's worth thinking in terms of requirements rather than "types", because the differences between a cyclocross and a tourer are slim - what you want is a bike that does what you want it to do.
All you really need are:
1. Clearances for fat tyres, and this means canti brakes
2. Possibly mudguards?
3. Possibly rack fittings?
4. Likely a triple chainset
5. A stiff enough frame
You'll find both tourers and crossers that fit the bill. In reality there won't be much in it. Also, check out both the Salsa Casseroll and Surly CrossCheck - these both blur the boundary between light tourers and cyclocross bikes, and look superbly practical machines.0 -
Thank you for the feedback... some solid advice there... I shall be Googling all afternoon
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I'd reckon that your defining bit is going to be price. Either a cyclo-cross or a tourer could be made to fit the bill, see what's available second hand and factor in for a couple of sets of tyres.Music, beer, sport, repeat...0
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mike4.3 wrote:
What bit?
The widest tyres I've ever used in North Wales are 25mms, including a bit of light touring.
Probably recommend you get a "winter/training road bike" with a triple chainset, that has the braze ons for a rear rack and guards, and that'll take 28mm tyres under the guards.
A cross bike with the necessary braze ons would probably be a good start, but not all do.0 -
I mainly ride around the Clywds.redddraggon wrote:What bit?0 -
That's where I am too. Never needed anything more than a road bike. Done OK with 23mm tyres + 'guards + rack. Done quite a bit of rough tracks on that setup.
23mm tyres aren't ideal, but I couldn't fit anything bigger. 25 or 28mm would be ideal I reckon.
You don't mention a budget?0 -
I'm not on a rigid budget, to be honest I don't want to spend TOO much mainly so I can leave the bike in town etc without constantly worrying about it... I want to use it as "transport" as much as I do as a taking it out for the a day of lucious escapism.
Maybe £500 mark but I would go up for the right bike. As others have suggested, I may go second hand too.0 -
redddraggon wrote:mike4.3 wrote:
What bit?
The widest tyres I've ever used in North Wales are 25mms, including a bit of light touring.
Probably recommend you get a "winter/training road bike" with a triple chainset, that has the braze ons for a rear rack and guards, and that'll take 28mm tyres under the guards.
A cross bike with the necessary braze ons would probably be a good start, but not all do.
Yeah, but 25mm for:mike4.3 wrote:Even better if it could cope with mild off road... i.e. grass/mud tracks/gravel.
won't cut it. This would likely need 28-32mm tyres at a minimum.0 -
huuregeil wrote:Yeah, but 25mm for:mike4.3 wrote:Even better if it could cope with mild off road... i.e. grass/mud tracks/gravel.
won't cut it. This would likely need 28-32mm tyres at a minimum.
My 25mms have always been fine actually, but then I'm probably a better bike handler than you. And if you read what I said I recommended 28mm. I'll also likely be doing some grass/mud tracks/gravel this weekend on 23mm tyres just like I've done many times in North Wales, I guess if I listened to you I should be walking those sections then?
I wish people would learn to read before jumping in.0 -
No, just different opinions, that's all. Fine if you hit tracks on 23mm, that's not what I do!Limiting your tyres to 28mm, if you want to deal with a range of conditions, is not ideal IMO. I'd view 28mm as the starting point for that kind of usage, thus getting a frame that gives you the flexibility to go higher gives you more options for not much downside.0
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I found that once i bought a tourer, I pretty quickly changed what I liked and then wanted a full on road bike. When I had that then I found I needed a winter / audax bike for the bad weather. So I ended up with three.
The best bet for me would have been to start with an audax: good enough for long distances, (I've done the Etape du Dales in appalling conditions on it), club riding, commuting, I've also popped a rack on and used it to go and visit friends for the weekend.
Just think forwards: once you have the shiny new bike your tastes (against your better judgement) may well shift and you need to spec in that flexibility.
The tourer is now used only in conjunction with a child seat....0 -
Well FWIW, itried riding in a wet field with my road bike and it was impossible but it was quite boggy.
Of course we can't all have RD's superhuman bike handling skills so i reckon you'd be best with a cyclocroser as well.winter beast: http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr34 ... uff016.jpg
Summer beast; http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr34 ... uff015.jpg0 -
skyd0g wrote:A cyclocross is the nearest to 'tick all the boxes' on your list - either that or a cheap rigid MTB with skinny-ish tyres. (Poss a 2nd hand P7 or similar?)
Surely not?
If ever I have seen a tick list purpose written for a touring bike this has got to be it.0 -
Don't know what sort of mountain bike you've got, but if it's a hardtail you could perhaps do worse than stick some semi-slicks on it and look at getting a rack! You'd have a lot of change from £500 doing that.
I have a CX which I use for commuting and a hardtail. While I can take the CX offroad, it has to be said that it's a bit of a boneshaker. So when it's time to take a few days off for some mixed road/offroad touring, I put semi-slicks on the MTB. I can't go quite as fast as I can on the CX, but there's not much in it and it's a lot more comfortable on the rougher bits. So if you're going to be doing a substantial amount of mild off-road and aren't too worried about covering lots of distance quickly, I reckon a suitably tyred MTB could be for you.0 -
Well thanks for all that feedback... I'm overwhelmed.
I'll take your opinions on board and get out and try a few bikes I guess and take it from there.
I'm thinking a cyclocrosser/tourer that's on the boundary of being classed as the other might suit me best... but I'll certainly keep my options open.
Cheers.
Mike.0 -
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I've not thought that far ahead. My mate swears by Royales in Cheshire for roadies, I've often used Merlin for MTB stuff (not much for roadies though) so any Welsh tips apprecaited.
Mike,0 -
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rhext wrote:Don't know what sort of mountain bike you've got, but if it's a hardtail you could perhaps do worse than stick some semi-slicks on it and look at getting a rack! You'd have a lot of change from £500 doing that.
I've got a full susser but it's pretty light and agile... 100mm travel, a marathon jobbie... Commencal Meta 4. Funnily enough I sold my hardtail last year... some Ebayer guy got a bargain, and in hindsight I wish I'd kept it as a something to hack on into town etc. I've had a rack on that before and been camping. But I didn't have the room to house it at the time so hey ho.
So my MTB isn't TOO bad so I might get some slick tyres in the short term... perhaps see how I get on and where it takes me which may help me get a clearer idea of the terrain I'm most likely to ride a new roadie bike on.
Again, cheers for everyone's help
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