BIKE TYPE ADVICE NEEDED! (Buying new bike)

mikelo303

Hi,

I am planning to buy bike after almost 10 years. I was crazy biker years ago and then college, jobs, and generally life happened. Now I have finally some time and money to return to my passion/hobby.

I am not crazy mountain biker, but I expect from my bike to perform (I broke two SIS equipped bikes already in few weeks). I narrowed down my choice to two bikes.

Problem is I am not sure which type to choose. MTB or Cross country? My bike craziness would be on Medium. ( I'am not pro but I'm not rookie either).

MTB: http://www.cube.eu/en/hardtail/pro-series/reaction-race/

Cross/Tour: http://www.cube.eu/en/tour/country-lite-series/tonopah/

I am planning to bike as follows:

usage estimation:
50% tarmac - (city and trials in Wicklow mountains)
30% off road (any tracks with gravel I can find)
20% grass and other stuff

Mostly I am planning just to take it with me on my car and cycle wherever I can around 1h from Dublin.

I am not crazy off roader but I want my bike to be versatile in this matter if possible. My friend tells me that you can use MTB on termac but you will have problems with cross/tour bike on heavier off roads.

Simply, I have no clue what tracks are around Dublin. I've never seen one. Best picture I have so far is Phoenix park where you can go on tarmac and between heights using trials. I know Wicklow mountains by car only. That is all.

That is why I could be wrong with my usage estimation. If there are good off roads around (but not crazy like downhill or for pro bikers) I will go with MTB. Still I like to use it from Fairview to Howth (nice tarmac road).

Any Ideas what trials I can expect around Dublin?

What are the pros and cons for each type?

Is it better to have cross bike and use it off roads or to have MTB and use it on tarmac?

I know this questions might be unanswerable clearly but your opinions are valid for me anyway.

Thanks!

mikelo303

Maybe just get MTB and change tyres for more road friendly?

One thing is I am sure once I change tyre I won't do it again. Too lazy.

doozerie

I haven't done any off-road riding for many years now, since the early 90's in fact, so my knowledge of trails around Dublin is very old and of limited relevance but of the trails that I used to ride an MTB was the best choice for them. Things may have changed a lot since then though, and I haven't ridden a cyclo-cross bike at all so I may also be under-estimating the kind of terrain that cyclo-cross bikes can handle.

You say that most of your riding will be on tarmac or grass, so I think that would make a cyclo-cross bike the better choice. But, if you plan to go for very technical off-road trails, even if that is a small proportion of your overall riding, then perhaps an MTB would be the only choice. It really depends on the kind of off-road riding that you plan to do - if it's just gravel tracks then I expect a cyclo-cross bike would handle it well, but if its rocky routes then an MTB would be my choice.

Incidentally, when I think of a cyclo-cross bike I picture something more aggressive than the Cube Cross/Tour that you link to above. That Cross/Tour is a hybrid, and as such it would not appeal to me for use off-road. That's a very personal preference though as I tend to take a very simple view of bike categories. So, of those two bikes above I would choose the MTB but again that choice is biased by what I picture when I think of off-road riding.

When using an MTB on the road there are a number of things you can do to make it more suitable. Changing to narrower tyres is one adjustment, and probably the single most useful one, but also: disable the suspension (if the forks will let you do that); fit a cassette with a narrower range i.e. smaller jumps between the gears (only takes a few minutes). Another option, which involves more expense is to fit 29" wheels when using the MTB on the road (assuming it can take such wheels). The bike fit plays a part here too though - if your preferred position on the bike is an upright one, then while that may be fine off-road it'll be less suited to on-road riding, though bar ends on the handlebars can help get a better position while on the road.

I'm not sure if that helps, but good luck with your choice. Hopefully someone with recent experience of Dublin off-road trails will be able to offer a more informed view of whether the second bike above could be used on them.

Lumen

It is just not possible for a bike to be nice on road and capable off-road. It's like wanting an amphibious car.

You need two bikes for this. Just decide which sort of riding is more important to start first, and buy that one.

mikelo303

Thanks guys!

I really appreciate your input. I think I'll go for MTB in this case. I have old city bike, something like cross type I pasted above (I got it as a present, used but it was free). It's piece of crap compared to current bikes, but it works without any disadvantages (except that some as***le stole my seat last week) so I might use it for going around on tarmac and MTB for off road escapes.

Too many people advice me MTB and few cross bike (hybrid). It's still one month before I get all the money so I have some time to think.

Once again, thank you for your comments and advice! :cool: