Thinking about Winter ... MTB or Road on the cheap ?

rickeverett
rickeverett Posts: 988
edited August 2013 in Road buying advice
Yes im thinking about that time of year already - mainly because I have no winter bike this year and want to see what the summer sales bring.

Because I have spent too much on my summer set of wheels and sold my winter set to fund it, I'm thinking of buying a very cheap Winter training bike this time that will put up with the rotten weather and abuse for as little ££ as possible.

Trouble is a friend has swayed me to MTB which has made the choice a bit harder. He said the MTB will give me more for the money and also put up with a lot more abuse. The roads are bad around here in summer never mind winter so he may have a point. But the MTB will be heavy and draggy.

Ideal Max budget for this is only £500-£550 and so far I have struggled with ...

Road:
Felt F95 £520 (swayed by this as it looks OK for the money)
Mekk Pinerolo AL1.0 £590 (over budget but gets excellent reviews, lighter than the Ribble and Felt)
Ribble Winter Trainer £579 (£599 with same wheels as the Mekk but again over budget with good reviews)

MTB:
CUBE Aim 29 Disk £530 (no idea but has good it for the £)
Specialized 29er £520 (no idea)


Having not ridden A mtb for years is it best to stay with what you know and fit a set of mudguards to a cheap roadie instead?

Comments

  • unixnerd
    unixnerd Posts: 2,864
    I ride my old tourer in the depths of winter. Any bike that will take proper full length mudguards will be fine, they'll keep some dirt off you and the bike. I have a mountain bike for off road stuff when it's really wet and windy. But for me the advantage of a road bike is being able to get down on the drops out of the wind a bit plus having the speed advantage and better handling over a mountain bike.

    Even on mtb's a lot of owners fit solid front forks to avoid looking after their good ones. Cheap (sub 250ish?) forks don't have such good seals as a rule, so you'll need to strip and clean them now and then. I don't believe in spending much on my mtb as it's there to get filthy! So I have a half decent set of forks I can strip, clean and oil in quarter of an hour once or twice a year.
    http://www.strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible Price.
    Specialized Roubaix SL3 Expert 2012, Cannondale CAAD5,
    Marin Mount Vision (1997), Edinburgh Country tourer, 3 cats!
  • poejollard
    poejollard Posts: 41
    I own a Spesh Hardrock Sport 2013 (29er) and it has been my first bike I have ever actually spent over £150 on haha and its quite sentimental for that reason. I love it and can't fault it. However I have just managed to get myself a Felt F85 for £499 as they messed up an order for a Z95 and upgraded me for free and I think it is going to replace the mountain bike. But I'm going to keep it for off road etc. I'm probably going to use both for Winter!
  • rickeverett
    rickeverett Posts: 988
    The felt looks more promising as I'm unsure about all that weight of a MTB. Its going to be a totally different experience in winter.. A cheap road bike with guards might be better but would it stand up to the crap thrown at it?

    Having been on a roadie for years I guess its too much of a shock to move to a MTB tank on the roads in winter.

    Next question is.. Is the Felt F95 a good enough bike!?

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