Mountain Bike for road use?

[V8KSN]

Hi everyone

I am new to the pedal powered section so I apologise for any questions which might have been answered already.

OK, I am looking for a full suspension mountain bike that I can use on the trails at Swinley Forest and also for 40 odd mile road runs.

My question is does such a beast exist?

I am currently drawn towards the Whyte T-129S as it has recieved rave reviews but I also love the look of the Cube Stereo Super (though I have not ridden one yet)

I want a full suspension......basically because I like the look and feel of them (smoothing out the trail/road)

Thanks in advance for your replies

[MysteryLemon]

I would avoid full suspension if you intend to use it on the road.

[anonymous-user]

Honestly full suspension will be a bit of a waste, go for a 29" bike and the bigger tyres on an mtb alone will smooth out all the road buzz and you can ride a hardtail at any trail centre in the UK almost as quickly as a full sus. If it were me I'd be looking for a nice fast hardtail which will ride well on the roads and be just as much fun on singletrack. Then feel smug as you pass all the guys on full sus skills compensators...

How about a Scott Scale 740 or a Trek Superfly. I like this BMC too, £1500 and Fox 32 CTD forks...

[Disco You]

You'd be better off, by far, with two bikes.

[V8KSN]

Thanks for your replies.

Seems like a hardtail would be best for my intended use then.....which is a shame as I love the look of the full suspension bikes

As a side note, would 'locking out' the rear shock make the bike a 'hardtail' or are the physics more complicated than that?

[jshell]

Disco You said:

You'd be better off, by far, with two bikes.

Absolutely. I started doing my 30km round commute on a full susser, then bought a Whyte 901 as the full bouncer was killing me. Now I'm in the middle of ripping the SRAM turbo-shyte groupset off the 901 and replacing it!

[daddy cool]

Another vote for two bikes. I have a Boardman Team FS for Swinley (i live right next to the lookout) and a Boardman Pro Carbon SLR for the road.
I dread to think what 40 miles on road on a MTB with knobblies would be like (im guessing: not much fun)

My buddy has just got the Cube Stereo carbon full sus (£3,100, oof!). Its rather lovely.

[shouldbworking]

FS is overkill for swinley (well, unless you're doing the downhilling bits) and just unnecessary weight on road. Get a hardtail, buy some slicks for it for when you intend to use it on road. Then accept you need two bikes after all.

[RizzoTheRat]

If you're going to go with one bike then either get 2 sets of wheels or fit dual purpose tyres, mine have a ridge round the centre to give a lower rolling resistance on the road and knobbly edges for grip. Not as good as the right tyre for either job but way better on road than a knobbly and offroad than a slick

[Freakuk]

All the FS bikes I've ridden which have lock out don't offer full lock out, there's always some bounce. Forks seem to lockout much better though.

The gearing on an MTB on the road won't help either.

[MiseryStreak]

V8KSN said:

Thanks for your replies.

Seems like a hardtail would be best for my intended use then.....which is a shame as I love the look of the full suspension bikes

As a side note, would 'locking out' the rear shock make the bike a 'hardtail' or are the physics more complicated than that?

Yes, it would just be a slightly heavier hardtail. I commuted on a full suspension bike with a lockout for over a year, it was great, like riding a sofa to work (compared with a road bike).

But, I think you should get two bikes and budget accordingly as you want a full suspension and there are thrills to be had on both MTBs and road bikes and trying to do it all with one bike is always going to be a compromise.

I've got nothing against hardtails, my KTM hardtail is being delivered in 10 minutes in fact, but if you want a full susser you should get one, as they are great.

Actually, you need three bikes. Sorry.

[Rob_T]

my two pennies:

1) You need 2 bikes. One will not do for your requirements
2) Do not get a hard tail if you like the look of a full sus. As you get more into it (which you will) you will find that a hard tail is no good. Even my most die hard, stubborn-as-a-mule hard tail friends have reluctantly moved over to full sus. The full sus also is a better looking bike full stop. And it is all about the bling, do not kid yourself.
3) Get a 29er. As someone who was equally stubborn about 26ers being perfectly good, the day i tried a 29er i never looked back. they are the way forward, only a luddite would say otherwise.

If you want a cheap but perfectly good road bike, I'm selling mine - a Genesis Vapour. Perfectly good for long road rides, comfortable and as fast as your legs can take you… PM me if interested. £300.

nice car on your profile too...

[V8KSN]

Cheers all, I am more confused now

I have just asked four guys in the office which bike to get and they all said to buy the same one as they currently have (which consist of two hardtails, full suspension AM and a full suspension DH bike) LOL!

[budgie smuggler]

Two bikes is best, or at a push hardtail with locking forks with Smart Sam tyres or similar. They have a central band of knobblies which rolls very smoothly on the road compared to a normal MTB tyre, but they still work pretty well off road.



In any case it's horrid riding a mountain bike on the road for any distance, let alone 40 miles. The riding position is all wrong, the gearing is too low, road salt corrodes suspension components & bearings, and it's knackering!

I commuted 17 miles each way for a while on my Giant Trance X and I would not recommend it. The only good thing was being able to continue at full pelt on potholed roads.

[MiseryStreak]

V8KSN said:

Cheers all, I am more confused now

I have just asked four guys in the office which bike to get and they all said to buy the same one as they currently have (which consist of two hardtails, full suspension AM and a full suspension DH bike) LOL!

This is the trouble, once people have committed to a purchase they have to then spend eternity convincing others that is the ultimate. The only solution is to get down to a bike shop, preferably a big one with lots of decent bikes, and try a few out. Bikes always look so much better in the shop than in pictures too.

Try and find a shop with the Whyte in stock in your size, you like the look of it and it will be a fantastic bike, and like a GT3 it will probably outperform you.

[TwistingMyMelon]

OP: lets get back to basics:

How much do you want to spend?

How often do you want to ride off road

How much do you Realistically want to ride on road?

[V8KSN]

TwistingMyMelon said:

OP: lets get back to basics:

How much do you want to spend?

How often do you want to ride off road

How much do you Realistically want to ride on road?

Spend up to £2500 (MAX)

Off Road once a week (MINIMUM) I live about 20 mins away from Swinley

On road riding will/is around 10 miles every other day but I intend to ramp that up to around 20-30 miles 2 or three times a week (purely for fun and excersise)

[richardxjr]

Do some reading up & get to some bike shops. £2500 is plenty for two decent bikes.

[RizzoTheRat]

Are your employers on the cycle to work scheme? If so you can get a decent discount as the first grand or so is effectively tax free but I believe it limits you as to where you can buy from.

[Mr Will]

V8KSN said:

TwistingMyMelon said:

OP: lets get back to basics:

How much do you want to spend?

How often do you want to ride off road

How much do you Realistically want to ride on road?

Spend up to £2500 (MAX)

Off Road once a week (MINIMUM) I live about 20 mins away from Swinley

On road riding will/is around 10 miles every other day but I intend to ramp that up to around 20-30 miles 2 or three times a week (purely for fun and excersise)

I'd divert ~£500 of that in to a decent entry level road-bike and then spend what's left on a mountain bike without compromises. As long as you've got the storage space it's got to be the way to go.