Roadie In Unknown Territory

Devon Lad

Hello everyone, this is my first visit to the non-road section of the forum :oops: and was just hoping for some general tips and advice on an area of cycling in which I am completely lost! I have just come to the sudden realisation that it would be useful to have a bike that isn't completely useless off the tarmac.

My main questions are:
Are the decent manufacturers for road bikes generally also good MTB manufacturers?
What size would I be? My roadie is a 58cm
On my road bike I ride clipless pedals, is this the done thing on MTBs? Or is it more dangerous?
A very general overview of the hierarchy of components e.g shimano and SRAM, from what i've gathered tiagra, dura ace Etc do not exist in the MTB world.

Sorry for my ignorance, and I know it's alot of questions, but any help at all would be greatly appreaciated!

Thanks in advance
Will

diy

My main questions are:
Are the decent manufacturers for road bikes generally also good MTB manufacturers?

Sortof, though there are decent makes of MTB that make crap road bikes and vice a versa.

What size would I be? My roadie is a 58cm

probably large, but there is no unified standard across makes, so you need to look at each bike type/brand individually.

On my road bike I ride clipless pedals, is this the done thing on MTBs? Or is it more dangerous?

Many people ride clipless many don't - its a religious debate.

A very general overview of the hierarchy of components e.g shimano and SRAM, from what i've gathered tiagra, dura ace Etc do not exist in the MTB world.

XTR is the top spec Shimano, followed by XT, SLX, LX deore.
SRAM is high numbers to low numbers

Most bikes have a mix, because SRAM are better at some stuff and Shimano better at others.

Also there is no such thing as a standard MTB, there are many different types to suit different riding from AC, trail, AM DH etc. Hard tail Full sus etc., so it would help to understand what you think you might like using it for.

Devon Lad

Wow, thanks alot for all that! It's cleared alot of stuff up. The riding i'll be doing to begin with will just be light trail riding, and as I have the road bike, it's tarmac use will be very limited. I wouldn't mind something that could perhaps cope with something a bit rougher. Is there a certain sort of bike which could fit this niche?
Also is it wise to trawl sites like ebay for a second hand bike? As i'm not really fussed too much about condition and this bike would probably simply be a leg up into the world of mountaion biking
Thanks
Will

supersonic

Ebay comes with its problems: no way of trying it out usually, could be damaged and need parts replacing, and no warranty.

Sounds like you need an XC bike. What is your budget?

diy

If you know about bikes then definitely worth searching ebay, though prices border on the silly this time of year.

What you describe is an XC to XC-trail bike. Depending on your budget (lets say 400-600 quid used), you should get:

A decent coil or air fork in a 100ml or 120ml setup (e.g. a rockshock Tora or recon)
hydraulic brakes (typically Avid Jucy or similar)
9 x 3 speed with Deore to SLX spec.

have a look at bikes like the specialized rockhopper or halfords own brand the boardman pro, as they are very popular so have a larger used market.

An XC bike is light and aimed at cross country racing a trail bike is better sprung and a bit tougher.

obviously knowing the budget will help.

Devon Lad

Was hoping to be able to keep the cost under £400-500, then again i have no idea how far that money goes with MTBs, although i am very much aware of the vast black hole for money that is cycling. Might also go have a look through some of the second hand bikes at my LBS.

diy

4-500 will get you a good mid-range hard tail under 3 years old from a good brand. Unfortunately £4-500 doesn't get a great bike any more as a new bike. Its starting to be very much the entry level of the decent brand bikes.

supersonic

It will get the Decathlon Rockrider 8.1 and Carrera Fury though. Hard to beat them. Both feature very good forks, 27 speed gearing, hydraulic brakes, decent wheels and butted frames.

unixnerd

On my road bike I ride clipless pedals, is this the done thing on MTBs? Or is it more dangerous?

Start with flat pedals for a few months. Once your comfortable on the bike go for Shimano M520 SPD pedals.

Personally even for XC I prefer a full suspension bike just for comfort. My advice would be to find a good used bike from a big brand like Marin, Specialized, Cannondale, etc. I'd worry more about it's condition than age. I run a '97 Marin that was a top of the line bike in it's day and it suits me just fine. It's Shimano XT and all all the bits work just as well now as they did when it was new. It's also lighter than the current model, as a roadie you'll be amazed how heavy some mtbs are.

cooldad

unixnerd wrote:

as a roadie you'll be amazed how puny you are.

That's quite rude.

mac_man

I've bought a number of 2nd hard hardtails off the forums here and all have been excellent buys. If you're in anyway mechanically minded with your road bike then the basics of an MTB would not be much different (at a guess). Check that the frame is straight, wheels true, bearings free running, no play in any of the drivetrain components etc.

TBH there's always plenty of lightly used bikes that people have bought and left in a shed.

I bought an 08 Specialized Rockhopper, which retailed originally for £700 for £350. Mint condition and not a mark on it. It had been bought by a roadie who just didn't get to use it enough to justify it in his garage.

As mentioned £300 - £400 should get you a very decent 12-18 month old bike in near mint condition, from one of the major brands. Weightwise it could be anywhere between 26 - 32lbs depending on the type of riding the bike is designed around.

supersonic

It is a double edged sword. It's just that I find a lot of people (especially roadies!) are put off by buying the wrong type and size of bike, or give up on a bike when it arrives with half the bits not working.

It is an area to tread carefully, but my thoughts are to go to a bike shop and take advantage of the service.

diy

... and then buy off ebay

I think there is a valid point of getting one that fits, since roadies are in to mm accuracy for fitting, personally I find it hard to feel the difference between a medium and a large just different, not one better than the other.

mac_man

I should add that I viewed all the bikes in the flesh before parting with any cash. Don't think I'd be happy buying something unseen unless the bike was described as 'mint' condition. But you then have the hassle of dealing with Paypal if there's a dispute over condition. As with anything 2nd hand 'caveat emptor'.

But these are the sort of thing I'd be looking at

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12782080

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12780895

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12781148

unixnerd

One thing it's worth being aware of as a roadie is the big weight differences in mtb tyres. I was running 2.25 width Schwalbe Mountaineers at one point, nice tyre but I found out they weighed almost 1kg each! I changed them for 1.95 Maxxis Ignitors at about half the weight and it made a big difference to the bike - almost 1 kilo of rotating mass removed!

1.95 width tyres are more than enough for xc riding.

supersonic

You can get light wider tyres of course, some 2.3s are well under 600g if you want the extra vlume.

As for those bikes in the links, you can still buy better new bikes than some of them:

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... Suspension

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... Suspension

Though you will still not really be able to try from there unless you live close!

bartimaeus

Also, if you are a roadie, the riding position on an MTB will feel very odd. They are shorter, more upright and with much wider bars... you may keep looking down to see if you've a shopping basket attached.

unixnerd

you may keep looking down to see if you've a shopping basket attached.

:-)

Funny you should say that, I converted an old back pack into a bar bag. Works really well but doesn't look very cool (I'd never do a thing like that to my road bike).

gregwari

Hi

Are the decent manufacturers for road bikes generally also good MTB manufacturers?
GENERALLY YES - NOT SURE WHAT YOU RIDE AT THE MOMENT BUT YOU WON'T GO FAR WRONG WITH THE BIG NAMES LIKE TREK, GIANT, LAPIERRE, SPECIALIZED

What size would I be? My roadie is a 58cm
MORE TO DO WITH HEIGHT / REACH / INSIDE LEG MEASUREMENT. I'M GUESSING YOU'RE PROBABLY JUST OVER 6' TALL??? GENERAL RULE OF THUMB, KNOCK ABOUT 13" OFF YOUR INSIDE LEG MEASUREMENT FOR BIKE SIZE ... BEST OF ALL THOUGH, TRY A BIKE ON DEMO FROM YOUR LOCAL BIKE SHOP.

On my road bike I ride clipless pedals, is this the done thing on MTBs? Or is it more dangerous?
PERSONAL PREFERENCE. I RIDE CLIPLESS NOW AND WOULDN'T GO BACK, BUT IT'S A SOURCE OF DEBATE. IF YOU'D RATHER NOT GO CLIPLESS, LOOK AT 5.10 SHOES WITH PROPER FLAT PEDALS.

A very general overview of the hierarchy of components e.g shimano and SRAM, from what i've gathered tiagra, dura ace Etc do not exist in the MTB world.
SHIMANO - XTR, XT, SLX, DEORE, AVIOLO.... DON'T TEND TO USE SRAM BUT I BELIEVE THE XX OR XO ARE THE TOP OF THE RANGE, WITH X9 AND X7 BELOW THAT. OF THE ABOVE, DEPENDING ON BUDGET OF COURSE (THE PRICE RANGE IS EYE WATERING), SHIMANO SLX IS A GREAT MID RANGE GROUPSET.

Hope that helps...

gregwari

Hi

Are the decent manufacturers for road bikes generally also good MTB manufacturers?
GENERALLY YES - NOT SURE WHAT YOU RIDE AT THE MOMENT BUT YOU WON'T GO FAR WRONG WITH THE BIG NAMES LIKE TREK, GIANT, LAPIERRE, SPECIALIZED

What size would I be? My roadie is a 58cm
MORE TO DO WITH HEIGHT / REACH / INSIDE LEG MEASUREMENT. I'M GUESSING YOU'RE PROBABLY JUST OVER 6' TALL??? GENERAL RULE OF THUMB, KNOCK ABOUT 13" OFF YOUR INSIDE LEG MEASUREMENT FOR BIKE SIZE ... BEST OF ALL THOUGH, TRY A BIKE ON DEMO FROM YOUR LOCAL BIKE SHOP.

On my road bike I ride clipless pedals, is this the done thing on MTBs? Or is it more dangerous?
PERSONAL PREFERENCE. I RIDE CLIPLESS NOW AND WOULDN'T GO BACK, BUT IT'S A SOURCE OF DEBATE. IF YOU'D RATHER NOT GO CLIPLESS, LOOK AT 5.10 SHOES WITH PROPER FLAT PEDALS.

A very general overview of the hierarchy of components e.g shimano and SRAM, from what i've gathered tiagra, dura ace Etc do not exist in the MTB world.
SHIMANO - XTR, XT, SLX, DEORE, AVIOLO.... DON'T TEND TO USE SRAM BUT I BELIEVE THE XX OR XO ARE THE TOP OF THE RANGE, WITH X9 AND X7 BELOW THAT. OF THE ABOVE, DEPENDING ON BUDGET OF COURSE (THE PRICE RANGE IS EYE WATERING), SHIMANO SLX IS A GREAT MID RANGE GROUPSET.

Hope that helps...