Bit of advice needed

[sirhct]

Hi there,

bit of advice needed - I have recently moved from a city commute to a rural commute - I currently ride an old Claud Butler Black Diamond touring bike as my commuter, also have a Specialized racer and a cheap fixie.

However, on my commute I can save some distance and more importantly a bit of a busy winding road by taking a cycle route across a local country estate. This is almost entirely hard-surfaced except for half a mile which is track, and gets muddy and has a few tree roots etc.

I'd really like to use this route as it is so much better than the road, but it's too much for my bikes to handle.

So I'm basically after a cheap off-road solution. I don't have much of a budget at all at the moment and am not currently looking to start going on trails etc, just something that can manage a bit of muddy path.

Currently looking at these two options locally, for different reasons:


https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/...stemedm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=adreply

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172164065174?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Any advice gratefully received!

 

[Racing roadkill]

The Harry Hall is a bit more unusual, but will require a bit of work ( from what I can see ). The Carrera is a solid bike, easier to get bits for, but is a bit more of a common sight. I'd get them both, work on the Harry Hall, whilst riding the Carrera day to day.

 

[vickster]

Decathlon do inexpensive decent hard tails in their rock rider range

 

[Milkfloat]

Can you not just fit appropriate tyres on your current commuter?

 

[sirhct]

I was thinking about it, but the clearance is really tight, at best I could manage a narrow cyclo cross tyre.

 

[Milkfloat]

I was thinking about it, but the clearance is really tight, at best I could manage a narrow cyclo cross tyre.

That may be enough - it is surprising what a 'normal' road bike can achieve. Just how rough is this part of your route and what percentage of the total is it? You may find it faster on the rough stuff on an MTB, but if you have 10 miles of road then it will be trouble there.