What bike for off road commute

Aquila

I hate riding my bike on the road, i know hate is a pretty strong word but when it comes to peddling on the black stuff its a true story in my case. Just as well i'm blessed with a mostly off road commute to work, a distance of around 7 miles. I used to do this on my hard tail GT avalanche 0.0 with slick'ish tyres 26" wheels, then i upgraded to a hard tail MTB electric bike which apart from the commute to work the odd day i never really used at any other time, trail centres, ride outs with my mates even cycle trips to the Netherlands so i sold it and went back to the GT.

I'm now thinking of buying a new bike for the commute and ride outs with friends etc something a bit quicker, i know the engine is the main part of the bike for going a bit quicker but larger thinner wheels and gearing is going to help a little, isn't it? ......so I've been looking at different bikes for the job at hand. A cyclocross, a hybrid and a adventure bike (what ever those are? ) The route is 50/50 tarmac and rough bike trail with a bit of mud and and couple of kerbs to jump thrown in......thoughts, should i stick with the old faithful GT or move on to a newer model if so which would you choose?

Thanks'

andyh01

Budget?
What's "wrong" with GT i.e what if anything would you charge? Could you upgrade bits on the GT?
Adventure/gravel bikes can be more relaxed geometry bit like a hybrid but drop bar, can be either 700c (road wheels) with wider tires (28+) or the slightly smaller 650b but not far off the 700c once fat tires fitted. The bottom bracket won't be as high as cycle cross but may not be as low as a full on roadie. Also adventure bikes can mostly accommodate full mudguards and rack n maybe few more fitting frame bags so tour. Adventure bikes to me sit between an endurance/touring bike and a cycle cross, they're the best compromise for mix use on/off road; others will argue it's all marketing.
The Boardman's from halfords get good reviews but I think can only fit 28 tires and 1x IE no front derailleur which as you're on/off road may be a good idea.

arthur_scrimshaw

Aquila wrote:

I hate riding my bike on the road, i know hate is a pretty strong word but when it comes to peddling on the black stuff its a true story in my case. Just as well i'm blessed with a mostly off road commute to work, a distance of around 7 miles. I used to do this on my hard tail GT avalanche 0.0 with slick'ish tyres 26" wheels, then i upgraded to a hard tail MTB electric bike which apart from the commute to work the odd day i never really used at any other time, trail centres, ride outs with my mates even cycle trips to the Netherlands so i sold it and went back to the GT.

I'm now thinking of buying a new bike for the commute and ride outs with friends etc something a bit quicker, i know the engine is the main part of the bike for going a bit quicker but larger thinner wheels and gearing is going to help a little, isn't it? ......so I've been looking at different bikes for the job at hand. A cyclocross, a hybrid and a adventure bike (what ever those are? ) The route is 50/50 tarmac and rough bike trail with a bit of mud and and couple of kerbs to jump thrown in......thoughts, should i stick with the old faithful GT or move on to a newer model if so which would you choose?

Thanks'

This is a bit of a cliche but the Boardman CX team is the bike you’re describing. £900 at the moment but they may do something for Black Friday and discounts through BC and others available.

arthur_scrimshaw

AndyH01 wrote:

Budget?
What's "wrong" with GT i.e what if anything would you charge? Could you upgrade bits on the GT?
Adventure/gravel bikes can be more relaxed geometry bit like a hybrid but drop bar, can be either 700c (road wheels) with wider tires (28+) or the slightly smaller 650b but not far off the 700c once fat tires fitted. The bottom bracket won't be as high as cycle cross but may not be as low as a full on roadie. Also adventure bikes can mostly accommodate full mudguards and rack n maybe few more fitting frame bags so tour. Adventure bikes to me sit between an endurance/touring bike and a cycle cross, they're the best compromise for mix use on/off road; others will argue it's all marketing.
The Boardman's from halfords get good reviews but I think can only fit 28 tires and 1x IE no front derailleur which as you're on/off road may be a good idea.

The CX comes fitted with 35c tyres....

robertpb

I have 40c tyres on my Boardman CX Team with plenty of room.

Aquila

Thanks' for the input folks much appreciated, seems a pretty universal vote for a Boardman CX or something similar, I'm off to do some googling, as for the budget I'm not to sure how much i want to spend yet I'm just trying to tie down a design type then go from there how much i can afford new or maybe go used.

Cheers

andyh01

Just another thought , what tires do you currently have on the GT? Could they be changed to more slicker and maybe narrower road tires so smother and could be quicker/easier on road but may be not suitable if going though wet slimy mud when off road

The Rookie

Just to chuck another thought in, have a look at athe Planet-X London road, will take anything up to narrow 29er MTB tyres. It's basically a gravel/adventure bike geometry with capability for mudguards etc.

thegibdog

I have a 7 mile commute which is mostly off-road & use a Boardman CX with Schwalbe Landcruisers & full mudguards.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

New bikes are always nice, but it has to be worth experimenting with some alternative tyres on the GT.

Given the mud, you probably want a mixed terrain tyre with at least some knobbly tread on the outer edges, models like Land Cruisers or Smart Sams etc.

I've got an old pair of 26x1.9/2.0 Land Cruisers in the garage, that used to be on my old Saracen Pylon8, they were great for mixed terrain use.