Discussion
Sure this has been covered many times but not sure what to search for!
I'm about to move about 5 miles from work so thinking of starting to cycle in. It'll be all tarmac and no hills to speak of.
I might however also want to do a bit of trail riding / "mountain" biking at weekends so would need to be able to cope with that too.
Budget is about £400 (or less!) so maybe something second hand? A mountain bike with road tyres? A "commuter"?
Confused.
I'm about to move about 5 miles from work so thinking of starting to cycle in. It'll be all tarmac and no hills to speak of.
I might however also want to do a bit of trail riding / "mountain" biking at weekends so would need to be able to cope with that too.
Budget is about £400 (or less!) so maybe something second hand? A mountain bike with road tyres? A "commuter"?
Confused.
I have used a mountain bike for commuting and it's perfect :
Disk brakes - good stopping power in the wet.
Lock-out front forks means my energy isn't being sapped by bobbing when on tarmac
Chunky tyres means potholes are less of an issue.
Comfortable riding position
I don't see the point in getting a Hybrid unless you can absolutely guarantee you won't get the bug and want to do a bit of MTB'ing at the weekend. Biggest issue is big knobbly MTB tyres really sap speed, however, I swap the tyres over for commuting and put these on it : http://www.decathlon.co.uk/26x15-randonneur-id_802... They are currently on offer at £15 for 2 tyres instore. So for £15 you can turn an MTB into an Hybrid, turning an Hybrid into and MTB would be much more problematic.
Disk brakes - good stopping power in the wet.
Lock-out front forks means my energy isn't being sapped by bobbing when on tarmac
Chunky tyres means potholes are less of an issue.
Comfortable riding position
I don't see the point in getting a Hybrid unless you can absolutely guarantee you won't get the bug and want to do a bit of MTB'ing at the weekend. Biggest issue is big knobbly MTB tyres really sap speed, however, I swap the tyres over for commuting and put these on it : http://www.decathlon.co.uk/26x15-randonneur-id_802... They are currently on offer at £15 for 2 tyres instore. So for £15 you can turn an MTB into an Hybrid, turning an Hybrid into and MTB would be much more problematic.
okgo said:
Single speed, something like a Langster, honestly its so easy and hassle free.
this! the distance and lack of hills mean gears are just something to go wrong and require maintenace. pretty sure Langsters have rack and guard mounts though here are plenty of s/s frames that do that are similar cost. Yeah, for 5 miles or less stick with a MTB. You wont be particularly quick vs a hybrid or a road bike, but at least you'd be able to take that badboy offroad at the weekends.
Much more than 5 miles and you'd really want something road-specific, and either write-off the idea of muddy shenanigans at the weekend, or eventually get a 2nd bike for that.
Much more than 5 miles and you'd really want something road-specific, and either write-off the idea of muddy shenanigans at the weekend, or eventually get a 2nd bike for that.
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