Hardtail or Road Bike

mutantllama
mutantllama Posts: 50
edited April 2010 in MTB general
Currently, I have a Giant Rincon which I use to get to work (11 miles each way), which can either be via the canals or road/pavement.

I plan to buy a road bike, for about £600 (Giant Defy 3) as I plan to do the London 2 Paris ride (for British Heart Foundation) next year, Lands End to John O'Groats in 2012 and a tour of Iceland in 2013.

When looking at Road Bikes, the assistant advised that they should not be used for anything other than roads, and not pavement or canal (I can understand the canal). This is a little awkward, as the regular journey to work requires some road and some pavement, where the roads become a little too dangerous (haven't ridden for a while, was hit by a car....)

Is this correct? If a road bike really should not be used on pavement, then I may be better off investing the money in a better hard tail, but I prefer the idea of a road bike for speed and for the longer (90+ miles) journeys.

Also, any thoughts on the Giant Defy 3?

Comments

  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    Either buy a cx bike and fit slicks for the long rides.


    Or the assistant was talking balls, you can cycle most places fine on a road bike just look at pics of the paris-roubaix
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    A road bike would be fine on the pavement, if it were legal to ride on the pavement. Fine on canal paths too, with reasonable care. I often do a ride which includes 2 miles of stony track on my Planet-X road bike. The shop want to sell you an mtb or hybrid for some reason.
  • mutantllama
    mutantllama Posts: 50
    Thanks, didn't want to blow £600 on a bike that I then wouldn't use....
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    Look for one that takes a rack and mudguards given the rides you are planning. I don't know if the Giant does, the Trek 1.2 does and its a good versatile bike, it is fast enough unladen, but also makes a good tourer (my g/f has one and we have done loaded camping tours, it works really well).
  • toasty
    toasty Posts: 2,598
    I had the same dilema and bought a Specialized Tricross CX bike, as someone suggested above. More than capable on rough bridleways (and I'm about 15 stone), but still has fairly slick, fast tyres at 60psi (although a bit wider than the likes of the Defy). It's also got a full assortment of rack mounts on front and rear for touring/exploring which was the other appeal.

    The bottom end Tricross is £699, it sacrifices a bit in component quality but you get a solid frame/forks. Image search for "Tricross touring" or similar in google to get a few shots of people with theirs loaded up :)
    Stumpy FSR 29er
  • mutantllama
    mutantllama Posts: 50
    Thanks for the replies, but just to clarify (I have not got the money to get this wrong, a bike of this price is a large luxury for me!)

    A CX will have speed improvements over a hard tail, but is robust enough to tolerate canal paths (especially that crappy bumpy paving stuff) and road/path routes also?

    If that is the case, I would consider selling my hard tail and putting the money towards a better CX, maybe the Specialized Tricross Sport 2010?

    Thanks for the advice so far!

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