Upgrading from MTB wondering what type of road bike to get.

Trojan Hussar
Trojan Hussar Posts: 9
edited April 2014 in Road buying advice
I returned to cycling big time about 18 months ago and have been nursing a bargain basement Halfords Trax TR1 around the lanes of Worcestershire/Gloucestershire/Warwickshire for the past 2,000 miles. I've changed over to Schwalbe City Jet semi-slicks to get a bit more efficiency on the road and now I'm looking to get a better bike.

I had originally considered getting a road bike, but the road surfaces in some of the areas I cycle in are borderline unpaved and I suspect I may end up doing either myself or the bike (or both) some damage. I'm looking to increase my speed/range as on the current bike it's just too slow to warrant going further afield. I have a 25 mile regular route which takes me up onto the Cotswolds and back down and if I push it, I get an average speed of 16.6mph at a leisurely pace this drops to 12mph. I'd love to be going further afield and increasing my range but I think I've reached my limit on the current bike.

I'm keeping the Trax as a workhorse as it has the brackets for the kids seat, trail-gator and I was considering putting a small trailer on it too. The new bike is purely for me to spend my evenings in the rural lanes at my leisure. I'd also like the opportunity to do some longer excursions, Oxford is only 45 miles from where I live and I'd love to cycle there and back for a day trip.

Am I looking for a sturdy road bike, a hybrid or tourer? Anyone care to point out the relative merits of each?

Many Thanks,
Jason.

Comments

  • g00se
    g00se Posts: 2,221
    Cyclocross sounds ideal for this.
  • ElliottDavo
    ElliottDavo Posts: 151
    City style Cyclocross to narrow it down. What budget you working with?
  • Trojan Hussar
    Trojan Hussar Posts: 9
    Having just typed 'Cyclocross' into Google it appears I'm going the 2nd hand route! I'm looking at the very serious budget end of the market, around £300 otherwise my wife will kill me. I'm 177cm and prefer a larger frame so 54/56cm would be ideal.

    I've just been browsing the site for a local bike store and they have pairs of wheels that cost more than my car.

    I just need something sturdy and dependable,

    Regards,
    Jason.
  • hypster
    hypster Posts: 1,229
    I think you might be pushed to get one of the recent crop of cyclocross-type bikes for that sort of money even second-hand. I had a friend that I got in to cycling and he bought one of these and rode it for two years quite happily.

    http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165710

    He's now got two Trek Madones, an aluminium Winter trainer, two mountain bikes and a single speeder!

    You could always put sturdier tyres on the above bike like Schwalbe Marathon Plus which can take quite a bit of punishment as well.
  • Moonbiker
    Moonbiker Posts: 1,706
    I really like my old classic touring bike on rough roads its got 1-1/4" tyres so floats over rough road surfaces & I can cycle on gravel fire tracks etc no problem.

    Its abit like havinga very old skool cx bike that weights 16kg.

    Not to keen on any of the the modern touring bikes but I do like the look of cx bikes. Theres a massive thread in the commuter chat section of the forum about the Boardman cx bikes.

    The Planet X cx bike seems good value, Rose and Canyon do nice cx bikes also.
  • Trojan Hussar
    Trojan Hussar Posts: 9
    Even on 26" x 1.95" fat tyres some of the roads around here are enough to loosen your fillings. Having seen how insubstantial some road bike tyres are these days I wondered if they'd stand up to the punishment of a descent of the Cotswold escarpment down Buckle Street. I suspect someone would come a cropper!

    Regards,
    Jason.
  • hypster
    hypster Posts: 1,229
    Is that Buckle Street at Honeybourne? If so I just looked at it on Google streetview and it looks a piece of wee wee. :mrgreen:
  • Trojan Hussar
    Trojan Hussar Posts: 9
    hypster wrote:
    Is that Buckle Street at Honeybourne? If so I just looked at it on Google streetview and it looks a piece of wee wee. :mrgreen:

    Buckle Street when it gets to Honeybourne is spinning territory the only hill is where the road goes over the railway bridge. It drops 620ft in 1.6 miles into Saintbury village coming off of the Cotswold edge, not super steep (19% average incline) but the road surface is atrocious in places.

    J.
  • kingofthetailwind
    kingofthetailwind Posts: 575
    Could you stretch the budget to £425?

    http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/product ... ross-bikes
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    I would say that for £300 you're better off getting a hybrid than a cyclocross bike, as at that price point they will be more robust.
  • Trojan Hussar
    Trojan Hussar Posts: 9
    My key bugbear with my existing bike is speed (or lack thereof), how do the cranksets and gear ratios compare between Road bikes and Hybrids? I have an 18 speed MTB and only generally drop below the top six gears for steep ascents, so I'd rather have fewer more useful gears. Hybrids have always struck me as MTB-lite bikes, I guess in a similar way that XC are rugged versions of road bikes.

    I think bearing in mind my limited budget I may be looking at a sturdy road bike fitted with tyres suitable for the less than forgiving roads around here.

    Regards,
    Jason.
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    You'd be about right there. Hybrids are roadified versions of mountain bikes. Whereas CX bikes are rugged versions of road bikes. The components generally bear that out, MTB groupsets on hybrids and road on CX. (As with everything there are exceptions).

    Road bikes will tend to have higher gearing than mountain bikes, not surprising as travelling along a road at 30mph is common on a road bike, unusual on a MTB.

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