retro mtb compared to modern mtb

mikeouk

:?: my original post vanished, im guessing cos the subject line was in caps?

anyway,

id like to know if spending £500 on either a voodoo hoodoo or a b'twin rockrider going to be much of an improvement over my early 90's gt timberline?
dont want to spend more than that because ive just put out £1000 on a road bike. Its just so i can go out with my mates who tend to road one weekend and MTB the next.

so,,have bikes moved on that much that a modern entry level mtb would be noticeably better than my old bike?

Chunkers1980

That it did and was for that reason.

Same reply.

Should have spent the road money on an MTB, silly mistake to make.

£500 will get you a very good bike against your 90's PoS.

cooldad

You are, however, still allowed to use caps in suitable places.

I think you should stick with the GT, get some retro lycra, and show them how it should be done.

The yoof of today - discs, suspension. Bloody pansies, bring back national service I say.

cooldad

Although Chunkers reply is more sensible.

.blitz

mikeouk wrote:

id like to know if spending £500 on either a voodoo hoodoo or a b'twin rockrider going to be much of an improvement over my early 90's gt timberline?

Tentatively, yes. If you are still riding early 90s terrain then your early 90s GT will be OK providing it all works. My mid-90s Proflex is fine on mellow trails/doubletrack/fireroads etc but show it a mild drop, a wooden obstacle or a few rocks and it has a heart attack.

Of course if your early 90s GT is in need of some tlc then a new bike is the way forward.

supersonic

Possibly - though the timberline frames were heavy. Spending £500 on it though may yield a better bike...

YeehaaMcgee

.blitz wrote:

My mid-90s Proflex is fine on mellow trails/doubletrack/fireroads etc

No, it's not. You're lying. They were terrible back then, and the world is a much nastier place today.

supersonic

He did say mellow lol.

YeehaaMcgee

I don't care, they're just terrible. Uneqvuivocally terrible.

supersonic

Nothing wrong with having more lateral than vertical travel! Tuned flex innit.

YeehaaMcgee

I hope you're joking

mikeouk

Chunkers1980 wrote:

Should have spent the road money on an MTB, silly mistake to make.

nope,,im in it for endurance, IMHO road biking gets you fitter, quicker , mountain biking is fun, so ill just mix them up

Chunkers1980

MTBs can do both though, road bikes can't. Just saying. This is MTB after all.

diy

mikeouk wrote:

Chunkers1980 wrote:

Should have spent the road money on an MTB, silly mistake to make.

nope,,im in it for endurance, IMHO road biking gets you fitter, quicker , mountain biking is fun, so ill just mix them up

I think it depends on where and how you ride. I can sprint on both bikes, but generally its easier to get a good workout on the road bike. If your mtb riding is faster enduro marathon riding rather than trail playtime, then you can get just as good a work out on the mtb. Personally I think the bigger bucks needs to be spent on the mtb as there are more bits that need budget.

cooldad

Want to get fit quicker, run. Want to have fun, ride a mountain bike.

dhobiwallah

Bearing in mind this is an MTB forum you are bound to get flamed

But more seriously, are there many roads you can't tackle because a cheaper road bike isn't up to it - 'cause there will be trails a cheaper MTB will shy away from. If you simply want to get fit a cheaper road bike will presumably be heavier and get you fitter...

Now if you just want to admit that you like lycra and shaving your legs but want to see what the cool kids do we can move on

mikeouk

dhobiwallah wrote:

Now if you just want to admit that you like lycra and shaving your legs but want to see what the cool kids do we can move on

lol,,i wont be shaving my legs.

i started with a road bike years ago, so i guess thats where my heart has always been. It always amuses me though when theres rivalry between two slants on the same sport, its the same with skiers and boarders, but its the same for me on that score aswell. Some of my friends board and some ski ,and we go away together and no one bothers, but theres some people who hate the ones from "the other side". All the guys I cycle with all have road bikes and mtb's and are equally into both. I just want a better mtb so im not struggling where they arnt.

YeehaaMcgee

I don't buy the whole road bike making you fitter argument anyway. If you ride an MTB on the road, you have increased weight, increased rolling resistance, increased wind resistance, all making you work harder. So, surely if you ride 50 miles on the road on a road bike, or a mountain bike, you'll get far more of a workout on the MTB.
It's also fairly comon, it seems, for roadies to concentrate on spinning and cadence, whereas MTBers will tend to use more torque, and upper body strength to muscle the bike along trails - so the two sports, even though essentially "cycling", aren;t really comparable workouts.
But, as CD says, if you want to get fit, run.

mikeouk

But why would you want to ride 50 miles on the road on a bike not designed for the road? That's like saying running in steel toe cap boots will make you fitter because they will make you work harder.
I didn't want to run to get fit because I don't like running.

YeehaaMcgee

mikeouk wrote:

But why would you want to ride 50 miles on the road on a bike not designed for the road?

Because a mountain bike will do everything for you. Riding on the road isn't exactly like running in workboots, is it? It's like running on tarmac in cross-training shoes. Not perfect for the job, but not bad either.

cooldad

mikeouk wrote:

But why would you want to ride 50 miles on the road.

Precisely.

mikeouk

Because a mountain bike will do everything for you. Riding on the road isn't exactly like running in workboots, is it? It's like running on tarmac in cross-training shoes. Not perfect for the job, but not bad either

my mate has a £2500 mtb and it doesnt do everything for him, he has a wife who does all the other stuff.

the work boots comment was just an analogy, not literal .

A road bike is a far better experience on a road and a mtb is far better off road, to argue that a person shouldnt use both types of bike is kind of dumb. As for the fitness issue, both types of bike will develop different types of endurance and muscle groups, so surely mixing both makes for a overall fitter outcome?

mikeouk

cooldad wrote:

You are allowed to use lycra, and show The yoof of today disc pansies I say.

are you a red top tabloid journalist?

supersonic

An MTB is far better on road than a road bike is off road. In fact I'd argue a high end MTB would be faster on road (and lighter) than a budget to mid range road bike.

MTBs are the true do it all machines. Even a mid range bike will cover most bases. Want to do trials or dirt jumping? Lower the forks and saddle, up the damping and away you go. XC? Whack the saddle up. Cross boulder fields and a bit of DHing? Wind out the forks and but some big tyres on. Road? Easy - lock the forks, put some slicks and bar ends on and go surprise some roadies.

Road bikes are pretty one dimensional in what they can do.

steelie600

supersonic wrote:

An MTB is far better on road than a road bike is off road. In fact I'd argue a high end MTB would be faster on road (and lighter) than a budget to mid range road bike.

IF fitted with slicks!

supersonic

Lol, I just added that ;-)

IT66T

I use to think that road bikes were the best thing since sliced bread when i first left school and then within 3 years of riding on roads i found my self looking for nobly tyres and some cow horn handle bars so i could venture off road due to road riding being boring and eventually i discovered mtbeing which was more challenging and exciting and i could still travel distances with out worrying about if some idiot was going to pull out infront of me from a side street in a car or van but i also new that when i had to use roads then i could do so and travel just as quickly as i could on a road bike .

cooldad

mikeouk wrote:

cooldad wrote:

You are allowed to use lycra, and show The yoof of today disc pansies I say.

are you a red top tabloid journalist?

Why do you hate gingers? Racist.

mikeouk

cooldad wrote:

Why do you hate gingers? Racist.

theyre ok but not at a swingers party

mikeouk

anyway, this went right off topic, so Ive bought a MTB, pick it up saturday, it will live with my road bike and both will get attention in equal measure. ill have my lycra in one drawer, mtb gear in another, ill wave at roadies when im on my mtb and wave at mtb'ers when im on my road bike. im a bicycsual and proud of it and anyone has a problem with that, then ill open a can of wup ass on them in the playground. amen.

Woody80

What did you buy in the end?
I used to have a mid 90s Timberline, my first proper mountain bike. Fond memories of my first race on it where I got pitched over a barbed wire fence into a ditch, still have the scar.... My fault not the bikes though!