 Poster: A snowHead
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclo-cross was popular before mountain biking. Bikes visually similar to road bikes were used off road. I believe that many riders would have one bike used for both road and cyclo-cross racing, just changing the tyres between events.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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if you are going to ride on the road, i would stick to a road bike. And use a proper MTB for mountain biking.
fortunatley i live in a small village in North Wales and have fab mountain biking and also fab road biking on my doorstep. So i have both 
I ride my MTB at least 3 times a week avg (45-50miles all off road a week), And yes we have world class single track here. Coed Y brennin, Llandegla, Marin, Penmachno, Snowdon etc just to name a few.
I love my MTB'ing, but i also enjoy a good blast out on the roads. This last week i have done about 110miles on the road and around 40 miles off road, anyone who says cycling does not keep you fit is talking dangly bits. Yes if you just pootle about here and there, then yes you aint going to see any improvment in fitness, but this applies to anything else also. But if you cycle properly and put the miles in i cant think of any better way to stay fit and trim. It's exciting, fun, fast, plenty of bling on bikes and kit available to spend your dosh on, and biking also allows you to tinker with maintaning it all (service MTB forks-shocks, brakes etc etc) whats not to like??
Yes i am fortunate that with in 5mins from my house i am in the welsh country side with fab scenery/views and plenty of hills and mountains to keep rides varied.
Take today for example did all my bits and bobs i needed to do round the house, i had been mtb'ing on sunday afterwork at Llandegla so took the roadie for a spin out in the sunshine. With a good 10miles of climbing, from my house i rode out upto Bwlchgwyn then onto Llandegla and then finaly upto the Horseshoe pass (started at 169m above sea level and ended at 417m) then 10 miles reverse back home. So a nice 20 mile blast out with a good deal of climbing to boot all done in 80mins, cycling gives you freedom to get outdoors and not be tied to excersing in one place like a gym etc. And still get home in decent time having done a good work out. Most folk drive to the gym, get changed, exercise a bit, get showerd and changed again to then drive home. So what takes 2hrs, they have probably only exercised for 40mins, if you go cycling for 2 hrs you are execersing for 2hrs
Like skiing in winter, biking allows me to get outdoors and into the mountains in summer be it on the road or off road. Its great fun and keeps you in shape. Be carefull though its addictive, and before you know it you will have £0000's in bikes in the garage 
Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Mon 2-05-11 21:52; edited 2 times in total
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Hi yoda my mountain bike is about 25lbs in weight and lighter than my road bike. . . My road bike certainly has higher gears but I enjoy the challenge of hills to build leg strength but for sure I can do off road up hill too. . just thought I would stress the lightness of m bike in case the weight issue was affecting your choice. . . . . . . deerman now u got your bike. .will you be entering the 81 mile closed road race in a few weeks. . The one that goes via kenmore  Im conveniently busy :roll
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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If I was getting a new bike that wasn't a mountainbike I would be quite tempted by a cross bike, someone at my old work used to commute with a Specialized one and it felt pretty light but looked a bit more rugged than a road bike. I have a rigid mountainbike with slicks on which suits me quite well for commuting, something like this http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f_ProductID=13203&f_SupersetQRY=C432&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct=c003155c018333c018336 is quite useful, you can swap out to slicks if you're doing a lot of on road miles but stick a pair of fatter tyres on if you fancy a bit of off road. It's also worth noting that fatter tyres are much more confidence inspiring if the roads are icy. I've given up with my slick tyres in the winter after falling off too much over the last few years, never fallen with the at tyres on.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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depthjunkie, My brother took his road bike out the other week and did the Horseshoe Pass 6 times He's a big guy but is in training for a big Alpe D'Huez event this summer.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Yoda, instead of an out and out road bike I got a specialized tricross "cyclo-cross" bike. I've put that in "" as although that's what the market it as and it's definitely strong enough it isn't really set up for CX racing. I got that as I wanted it for roadie use and touring so wanted something that could take a rack and panniers while also being fast in stripped down mode. Off the peg it will easily put up with tow paths and if ridden sensibly even easy mountain bike trails.
I've changed the tyres on mine as the originals were pretty sluggish on the road but you'd want to keep them for off road, planning on taking it to the Alps this summer too.
As to road bike V mountain bike, choose one and then few months later buy the other as well. Remember, like skis, the correct number of bikes to own is X +1 where X is the current number of bikes owned. This can also be expressed as Y - 1 where Y is the number that would lead to divorce.
I ride my road bike through the summer and mountain bike when it gets colder/wetter. You can get a pretty good workout on either just by pushing a bit more, on the road it can be worth looking for a local club they'll have rides for all abilities and probably run a chain gang one evening so you can be really masochistic.
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When I bought my first road bike, i also thought about a cross bike. The bloke who owned the shop, ex-pro, asked if I intended racing cross. As I didn't he said not to bother, all the disadvantages of a heavier set up with no real advantages.
Same if you're only going to ride on the road; just buy a road bike. That's what they do.
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Mosha Marc, I don't know about that, if I changed the wheelset on mine it would weigh* the same as my mates allez despite being a frame size larger, also weight isn't all its made out to be: http://www.smartcycles.com/bike_weight.htm
* a similar effect could be obtained with a large poo or more so if I ate a bit less.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Yoda, In your position I'd get a lightweight hardtail MTB and fit some XC race tyres. It will be okay on the road (not as fast as a road bike on super skinny tyres of course) but will be heaps better on the trails. I wouldn't bother with hybrids or cycle cross.
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I only ride only on the road. I have a Marin Mill Valley which I love a little more every day. I suppose it is a hybrid but I cannot imagine it being much use in an off road situation. Great bike.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Yoda, Take a look at the specialised Sirrus.
Its a Hybrid but more a flat bar road bike than MTB with slick tyres.
It has a tripple on the front crank so makes hills easy.
Throw on some cyclecross tyres and you have all you need for road and tow path.
Tux
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Thanks for all the replies, sorry I haven't responded before but am travelling. Some very helpful suggestions and the link from swirly provides lots of stuff that I hadn't realised or thought about before.
Will make a decision on return -
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| snow_promise wrote: |
The other indoor option is a set of rollers which are more compact to store and easier to set up than a turbo trainer as you dont need to attach the bike to the rollers you just need to balance the bike on the rollers. |
I remember spotting a friend once, he had two black eyes and a busted nose.
What happened? I asked
Bicycle accident, he replied.
Volvoed?
No I was in the garage on the roller when a fork fell off the wall and jammed the rollers, the bike leapt off and I hit the concrete wall in front of where I was training. Broke my forks and bent the frame too.
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You know it makes sense.
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In case anyone is interested I ended up getting a Boardman "Urban MTB" - MB style but with rigid front and rear, double c/wheel at front and 10 at the back. Nice and light and with what I gather is reasonable running gear for the price. Happy with it so far - I managed our local hill in my present state of flabbiness and only had to drop as far as 2nd
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Yoda, the Boardman bikes all have a good spec for the price. I recommend giving it a once over yourself to check everything is tight and aligned properly though.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Swirly wrote: |
| I recommend giving it a once over yourself to check everything is tight and aligned properly though. |
He's buying a bike not picking up women! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
In case anyone is interested I ended up getting a Boardman "Urban MTB"
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Good choice. I think it's only worth getting an out and out road bike if you are doing serious mileage and/or racing. You'll get a much better workout on an MTB based bike due to the extra weight and rolling resistance and you also have the choice of using it on dirt tracks which are much safer than mixing it with traffic. Now you just need a GPS unit, heartrate monitor, SPD shoes and pedals ...
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