Am I making the right decision?

jjl5590

I can either get the:

Cube Analog for £450

http://www.cube.eu/uk/bikes/mtb-hardtai ... reen-2015/

Or

Voodoo Bizango for £600

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... in-bike-18

I like the Bizango better, and it has better spec, but is it worth the extra £150?

rockmonkeysc

Riding off road Yes
Riding on road No

jjl5590

I'm going to be putting on semi-slicks and using it for my commute for the next 5 months, replacing my Saracen x27

rockmonkeysc

I would go for the cube, or even better, a road bike.
Mountain bikes suck on road. The riding position is wrong, gear ratios are wrong, geometry is wrong and they have more drag.

jjl5590

Fair enough, but i'm only interested in a mountain bike. Any particular reason why the Cube?

rockmonkeysc

On road you wont really see any benefit for your extra £150 if you get the voodoo. Off road the better suspension will really make a difference but you wont notice on road.

paul.skibum

I agree with the above but if £150 isn't a bank breaker get the Voodoo and you will always have a bike capable of going off road when you see the light rather than having a bike not capable of it and having to find out the hard way.

The Rookie

Or I get an MTB style Hybrid like the Voodoo Marasa and save a lot of money and it will be just as good on road anyway.

Maybe have a look at the Planet-X London road falt bar bike, excellent on road flat barred bike.
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNRDT ... t-bar-bike

Giraffoto

No you're not. Both look like good off-roaders, but you're making the wrong decision if you're getting either purely for an on-road commute. Look for a fully rigid hybrid instead.

hanhamreds

I use to commute on a mtb, back when I just wanted a mtb and frankly didn't know better. But I quickly realised that I was making life very difficult for myself. I removed my off road tyres and fitted slicks, this made things a lot better but my bike choice was a mistake.

I rode 10,000 miles on my GT Avalanche 2.0 and I use to think 15mph was bombing along, the same roads on my road bikes, 20-25mph easily.


As a roadie I'm pleading with you not to buy a mtd for work commuting, buy a road bike, CX bike or hybrid fella.

jjl5590

Well I went for the Bizango, put some Big Bens on it and average around 15-20mph, going to 30mph downhill

The Rookie

As long as you don't think that's fast.......

rockmonkeysc

On my mountain bike I can average 14mph on my hilly commute. On my road bike I average just over 20mph and have topped out at 53mph down hill. My mountain bike is out of gears at just over 40mph.
I hate road cycling but road bikes are a lot better than mountain bikes when I do have to commute on the road.

kajjal

RockmonkeySC wrote:

On my mountain bike I can average 14mph on my hilly commute. On my road bike I average just over 20mph and have topped out at 53mph down hill. My mountain bike is out of gears at just over 40mph.
I hate road cycling but road bikes are a lot better than mountain bikes when I do have to commute on the road.

Found similar when I tried maintaining my road bike speed on road riding my XC mountain bike. After about 7 miles I dropped off the road shattered. If you are not going off road and want an efficient mile muncher mountain bikes are noticeably slower.

hanhamreds

really don't see the point in publishing speeds, whilst riding a mtb on the road - just shows you've made the wrong bike purchasing decision.

Still we all have to start somewhere, I've done the same and so have friends of mine.

The Rookie

When I'm overseas I usually hire an MTB for our social road rides as the roads are dreadful, when I was planning a longer and faster ride I hired a Hybrid (still with suspension - a Giant Roam as it was the fastest bike the hire shop had) and got a PR on all the strava segments I rode without even trying....much faster.