[Silent One]

 

 On the new carbon!

 

[PleasantNoise]

An odd place to ask but hey, here goes.

I used to love riding my bike (rode to school everyday for about 4 years back in primary school) but stopped when I go to high school because my dad worried about crap drivers hitting me on busier roads.
But anyway, I decided about a week ago to get the bike out and ride, as it was a nice day, and I needed an excuse to get out the house.
I went out, remembered why I loved cycling so much, and have been out everyday since for the past 2 weeks.
Been riding on the road, doing 25-35km rides, but my bike is a rusty relic from when I was 10, far too small, and made of rubbish.
easy to justify a new bike, hard to decide what to get.

Being a reckless teenager, would I cope with a road bike, and be satisfied with just riding roads,
Or to go for a hardtail MTB and that would spend most of the time on the road anyway?

I will not ride hybrids, they annoy me, I have a very poor one now, does everything badly.
 

 

[bravo4588]

Quote:

An odd place to ask but hey, here goes.

I used to love riding my bike (rode to school everyday for about 4 years back in primary school) but stopped when I go to high school because my dad worried about crap drivers hitting me on busier roads.
But anyway, I decided about a week ago to get the bike out and ride, as it was a nice day, and I needed an excuse to get out the house.
I went out, remembered why I loved cycling so much, and have been out everyday since for the past 2 weeks.
Been riding on the road, doing 25-35km rides, but my bike is a rusty relic from when I was 10, far too small, and made of rubbish.
easy to justify a new bike, hard to decide what to get.

Being a reckless teenager, would I cope with a road bike, and be satisfied with just riding roads,
Or to go for a hardtail MTB and that would spend most of the time on the road anyway?

I will not ride hybrids, they annoy me, I have a very poor one now, does everything badly.
 

If you have any decent trails nearby you should definitely try MTB. Borrow a bike from a friend & hit the trails. 
If you decide on MTB try this site for advice & reviews on various bikes and gears:
www.mtbr.com
 
Have fun riding!

 

[shamrock134]

I wouldn't bother with a MTB on the road, even with slick tyres and a locked out front fork. Why do hybrids annoy you? It's basically just a MTB with skinny road tyres and a rigid front fork.

 

[bravo4588]

Quote:

I wouldn't bother with a MTB on the road, even with slick tyres and a locked out front fork. Why do hybrids annoy you? It's basically just a MTB with skinny road tyres and a rigid front fork.

Full suspension MTBs maybe harder to ride on tarmac but hardtails are great on them! 
They are slower than dedicated road bikes and might require a bit more effort so what? They are fun!!

 

[KimLaroux]

Quote:

An odd place to ask but hey, here goes.

I used to love riding my bike (rode to school everyday for about 4 years back in primary school) but stopped when I go to high school because my dad worried about crap drivers hitting me on busier roads.
But anyway, I decided about a week ago to get the bike out and ride, as it was a nice day, and I needed an excuse to get out the house.
I went out, remembered why I loved cycling so much, and have been out everyday since for the past 2 weeks.
Been riding on the road, doing 25-35km rides, but my bike is a rusty relic from when I was 10, far too small, and made of rubbish.
easy to justify a new bike, hard to decide what to get.

Being a reckless teenager, would I cope with a road bike, and be satisfied with just riding roads,
Or to go for a hardtail MTB and that would spend most of the time on the road anyway?

I will not ride hybrids, they annoy me, I have a very poor one now, does everything badly.
 

 
I've been commuting for a few years to College using an hard tail MTB. I have a short commute, so it's not worth bothering with drop bars. A MTB is also better suited for biking in the snow. I mostly ride on pavement, but I jump (literally) on every opportunity to go off road. You can't do that with a road bike, unless you have a cyclocross.
 

 
We can't tell you what you'll enjoy better between a road bike and a MTB. You really have to try both of them and see for yourself. Borrow one of each from friends and try them out.
 
As for hybrids, have you check at Sports Hybrids? These are serious stuff, and I would buy one if my student income would allow.
 
Giant Roam
Specialized CrossTrail
Trek Dual Sport
 
Just to list the big names... you get the idea.

 

[bravo4588]

Quote:

 
I've been commuting for a few years to College using an hard tail MTB. I have a short commute, so it's not worth bothering with drop bars. A MTB is also better suited for biking in the snow. I mostly ride on pavement, but I jump (literally) on every opportunity to go off road. You can't do that with a road bike, unless you have a cyclocross.
 

 
We can't tell you what you'll enjoy better between a road bike and a MTB. You really have to try both of them and see for yourself. Borrow one of each from friends and try them out.
 
 

+1

 

[shamrock134]

Quote:

Full suspension MTBs maybe harder to ride on tarmac but hardtails are great on them! 
They are slower than dedicated road bikes and might require a bit more effort so what? They are fun!!

 
I guess it depends on your definition of fun. Fun for me is going fast and overtaking the sloooow MTBs.

 

[sluker]

Try a cyclocross bike. You can take on or off-road as the mood strikes you, but with road tires you won't be giving anything up on the road unless you are up against bikes $5k+

 

[bravo4588]

Quote:

 
I guess it depends on your definition of fun. Fun for me is going fast and overtaking the sloooow MTBs.

 
Yeah just like music genre fun varies person to person. You like speed, I like singletracks.
But the thing is PleasantNoise is not sure about which kind of bike to get. And he didn't said that he is going to compete in races either.
That is why I suggested a hardtail MTB because being an all terrain bike he could try various kind of riding with it rather than just sitting on the saddle all day. 
A cyclocross bike is a very good alternative too!
 

 

[PleasantNoise]

Quote:

 
Yeah just like music genre fun varies person to person. You like speed, I like singletracks.
But the thing is PleasantNoise is not sure about which kind of bike to get. And he didn't said that he is going to compete in races either.
That is why I suggested a hardtail MTB because being an all terrain bike he could try various kind of riding with it rather than just sitting on the saddle all day. 
A cyclocross bike is a very good alternative too!
 

Thanks for understanding that I'm not sure what I like, I've ridden a few trails, and I enjoy trails, and just riding miles on roads,
I wouldn't be racing at all, I play Badminton competitively, I don't have time to train seriously for races or the time to compete in them.

I guess I'll just have to go ride some bikes.

I really don't want to ride cyclecross/hybrids, it's just off to me, I just don't like the whole 'little bit of everything' approach to things, it just doesn't work for me.

 

[bravo4588]

Quote:

Thanks for understanding that I'm not sure what I like, I've ridden a few trails, and I enjoy trails, and just riding miles on roads,
I wouldn't be racing at all, I play Badminton competitively, I don't have time to train seriously for races or the time to compete in them.

I guess I'll just have to go ride some bikes.

I really don't want to ride cyclecross/hybrids, it's just off to me, I just don't like the whole 'little bit of everything' approach to things, it just doesn't work for me.

No worries buddy! Happy to help!
I'd recommend buying a 2nd hand bike if you are still not sure.
That way if you don't like the bike you can sell it immediately and won't lose a lot of money. 
Shop around on your local bike shops and try the bikes you like. Proper size & fit is very important. Do some research.
Get a bike made by a renowned company like Cannondale, Trek, Giant, Specialized, GT, etc.
Don't buy department store bikes!! They maybe cheap but worthless in the long run.
 
The members of these sites are very helpful & you can find many reviews & suggestions.
www.roadbikereview.com
www.mtbr.com
www.bikerumor.com
 
Happy riding!!

 

[Icenine2]

I am getting into these comments late but here's my view on MTB vs road.  I am a road rider and love it but that being said I live in an area where it is dead flat(outside Chicago)  If I lived anywhere where I didn't have to drive a car to go trail riding I'd have a bike like that for sure.  Having to load up and drive somewhere just to go daily riding is a drag for sure!

 

[ricksome]

I never understood:
why someone would  put a bike on a car to go bike riding ...you would not put a car on a bike to go car riding
why health clubs don't have bike racks outside but have parking lots for cars
 

 

[Icenine2]

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