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Please help me figure out the type of bike to buy

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 3:44 pm
by Nullsec
Hi everybody. Could you please help me figure out the type of bike that would suit my needs?

70% road/path riding. I want to go as fast as possible with the least effort when doing these types of rides. May commute with it, but also want to be able to go for say a 50km weekend ride on roads and paths.
30% mountain biking. I want the bike to at least handle going down some basic difficulty tracks (downhill), not too fussed about needing to do jumps. Will not be doing this regularly, it would be more of a planned outing.

I realise one style of bike may not suit, people have discussed buying 2 sets of tyres for a mountain bike. That depends on cost, I have no idea what a good second set of tyres even costs. I would prefer a hybrid style if possible but am not sure it would handle tracks very well, also is a hybrid frame going to give me much real world extra speed on road/paths ?

Budget 800-1300, factoring in a second set of tyres if necessary.

Re: Please help me figure out the type of bike to buy

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 8:52 pm
by Nobody
There is no ideal one bike for the very different things you will attempt to do with it. The advice you have got so far is good. I'd go with that.

Re: Please help me figure out the type of bike to buy

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 11:01 pm
by mitzikatzi
Hybrid bike Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

A 29er Hard tail with some 'hybrid" tyres for road riding ie 29 (700c) x 32 or 38mm wide road type tyres.
I happily ride 29 x 2.35 Big Apples on the road I often ride 50+ km on them.
I also like Continental Sport Contact Road Tyre

Re: Please help me figure out the type of bike to buy

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 11:06 pm
by Nobody
mitzikatzi wrote:I happily ride 29 x 2.35 Big Apples on the road I often ride 50+ km on them.
Just be careful in the wet. I've got a long term shoulder injury from losing the front suddenly in the wet with Big Apples and I lent the bike to a friend who also crashed it in the wet a similar way. For me they are dry weather only now. I find Marathons better in the wet so far.

Re: Please help me figure out the type of bike to buy

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2013 11:22 pm
by jacks1071
Propper mountain bike either 26" or 29" - maybe get some all-terrain tyres so you don't have to swap them.

Re: Please help me figure out the type of bike to buy

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:47 am
by bychosis
Hardtail MTB + look for lockout suspension, but it will not do road 'as fast as possible' only as fast as an MTB. Hybrid will not cope with proper MTB riding, only with firetrail cruising. Cyclocross might fit the bill better for both but be rough to ride off the beaten track (not that I have ridden one).

Re: Please help me figure out the type of bike to buy

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:32 am
by Dan
CX with extra wheelset. One for off road, with suitable gearing and tyres, and one for the road.

Re: Please help me figure out the type of bike to buy

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:46 am
by Bentnose
Looking at bicycle exchange there are a lot of CX bikes in your range. I bought a CX bike (as my third bike) because riding an MTB on the road is a drag, literally. A CX bike can't go as fast off road as a MTB but its a good compromise if the majority of a ride is road.

Re: Please help me figure out the type of bike to buy

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 9:35 am
by Paddles
I reckon a hard tail 29er with a closed pattern tyre (dirt jump or hard pack style) if you only want one set of tyres, or alternatively if you are happy to change tyres when you want to go off road use a commuter tyre for everyday use and whatever is your favourite off road tyre for offroad (let's face it, changing tyres is a pretty quick and painless process). Maybe have a bit of an experiment with some drop bars considering your 80% pathway/road usage rather than buy a CX bike. CX seems like an ideal solution, but I'd just be concerned that it's a bit of a niche market and it may be easier to sell a 29er than a CX bike when the time comes to upgrade because the market for mountain bikes is so much larger, and this large mountain bike market might help you get better bang for your buck when buying too.

Re: Please help me figure out the type of bike to buy

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 1:23 pm
by macski
I'm another vote for a hard tail 29er. My partner recently bought a Trek Mamba that he is very happy with - likes the handling and has taken it on a commute as well as down the flow trail at Thredbo and on numerous challenging trails at Stromlo (dedicated mountain bike facility in the ACT). It would be in your price range with an additional set of tyres for road conditions easily.

(He has another mountain bike that is a dualie with 26 inch wheels but still has fun on the Mamba).