Canal journeys mixed terrain MTB or hybrid?

[JustJane]

I am a novice cyclist, who does not 'do' roads. The canal is just out my back door and takes me right to work - about 4 miles. I have signed up to do a charity 60 mile ride along the canal.

I have been riding the decatholon btwin but I really dont like it. As i have no interest in roads or real off roading - what type of bike am i best off with to make my trek as easy as possible?

Our canal is really mixed terrain, some flat, some really rugged with stones, and some bits pure mud. My fitness level is poor and I struggle on slight inclines. I hate my gears - i have 21 speed but only use a couple settings. Some of yhisis due to my bikenot going in gear easily and clicking.

I only have a budget of around £400 - £500 st a push. I have been looking at a few models but until i put the MTb v hybrid question to bed its tricky.

Any advice most welcome

 

[Garry A]

Hybrid is ideal for canal tracks with varying terrain. A mountain bike would be overkill.
This is the women's specific version of what I have, mudguards can be fitted.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/rove.2/19224/77396/

My wife has one of these and they are well liked by people.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bik...ikes/carrera-subway-1-womens-hybrid-bike-2015

 

[Matt-g]

How about a specialised crosstrail....I bought one recently after having a road bike(for the same reasons as you)...it's great and there are sometimes deals to be done, e.g. using Tesco voucher redemptions with people like Evans Cycles. I knocked 250 quid off the price of mine with this...

 

[vickster]

How about a specialised crosstrail....I bought one recently after having a road bike(for the same reasons as you)...it's great and there are sometimes deals to be done, e.g. using Tesco voucher redemptions with people like Evans Cycles. I knocked 250 quid off the price of mine with this...

Or the WSD version, the Ariel
Lots of makes do a hybrid with front suspension - Giant, Trek, Whyte, Specialized, Marin to name 5, and women's versions thereof

What Decathlon Btwin do you have? That's a brand/range not a specific model

 

[snorri]

I hate my gears - i have 21 speed but only use a couple settings. Some of yhisis due to my bikenot going in gear easily and clicking.

This is so sad, I'm sure a similar problem caused my elderly neighbour to give up cycling the three flat miles into town due to an excess number of gears and an inability to deal with them.
Unfortunately the Sturmey Archer 3 speed didn't generate sufficient profits for the cycle trade and we have all been persuaded to upgrade, beyond the needs of many.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Sounds like the Rochdale canal heading into Manchester, a few cobbles too.

I often ride it on my hybrid, smooth tyres, high centre of gravity and am 90% totally happy, but my old, no suspension, bog standard cheap knobbly tyre mountain bike does inspire more confidence and feels better on wet cobbles and the loose gravel bits.

Would I ride 60 miles on the MTB? yes, as a one off & with a bit of practice at longer than 4 mile commutes.

The quite established mountain bike 'craze' now is the 29er, basically a crossover between the 2 styles that may fit your thinking too. Bigger wheels than a standard MTB but fatter tyres than a hybrid to aid grip.

Normally I'd suggest a cyclocross but from what you put in your OP maybe not now, if you get bitten by the cycling bug and want a leggy all rounder though I'd seriously look at that style.

Gears are dead easy to fix and make life sooooo much easier, even on flattish towpaths & their obstacles.
Either search on here for gear adjusting, google for derailleur gear adjustment or look on the tech section of Park Tools website or your local bike shop will set them up for very little money.

It might be worth going along and asking them for tips on getting comfy on the bike too, you could find with an experienced eye and a few adjustments that your current bike could be just the one you need.

 

[vickster]

+1 for getting the gears serviced before shelling out for a new bike

 

[JustJane]

Thanks for all the replies. You have all given me a lot to think about.

Yes a freind at work said to me today - why not get you gears fixed first, that might be the way to go but concerned the ride is only 3 weeks away....

Vickster its the Btwin original 500 hybrid I am riding and at 15k plus am thinking it might be a bit heavy?

I had seen the Ariel and was quite keen but then got really confused by it all.

Okay so if I do get a new bike stick to a hybrid with front suspension or consider the 29er

Garry thanks for those links I can get the first one at the local bycicle shop through BtW scheme. As can I get the Ariel. I was just going to go in and see but a friend went and ended up with a bike that was too big after poor advice.

Is it possible to get bikes with less gears? And is it advisable?

Thanks again for your replies

Lisa

 

[Garry A]

My local bike shop also tried to sell me a crosstrail that was too big, swines :-)

Maybe good to take a friend who is more bike smart shopping with you .

More gears give you more options especially when going up hills, when you get the new bike you will probably enjoy cycling more and venture away from the canal path and take on some more daring routes.

 

[vickster]

Thanks for all the replies. You have all given me a lot to think about.

Yes a freind at work said to me today - why not get you gears fixed first, that might be the way to go but concerned the ride is only 3 weeks away....

Vickster its the Btwin original 500 hybrid I am riding and at 15k plus am thinking it might be a bit heavy?

I had seen the Ariel and was quite keen but then got really confused by it all.

Okay so if I do get a new bike stick to a hybrid with front suspension or consider the 29er

Garry thanks for those links I can get the first one at the local bycicle shop through BtW scheme. As can I get the Ariel. I was just going to go in and see but a friend went and ended up with a bike that was too big after poor advice.

Is it possible to get bikes with less gears? And is it advisable?

Thanks again for your replies

Lisa

How tall are you? I'm a 5'10 woman and when I sat on the correct sized 29er for my height, I felt really stretched out - typical female, longer legs relative to arms. If you are under 5'9, I'd steer well clear of 29ers! So if you want suspension, I'd stick to a 'hybrid' type bike with 35-42mm wheels rather than fat knobbly mountain bike style tyres

I had a Crosstrail, it was ok for me at the time (I was regaining confidence after a bad fall and knee injury) but I found it too slow and heavy on roads, so sold it on rapidly. I found even the XL Ariel too small

I don't think any £500 hybrid with suspension will be much under 14kg, the suspension and chunky wheels add a chunk of weight

Boardman bikes are decent, this one will be not much more than £400 with discounts if you join British Cycling and use Quidco. 13.7kg

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bik...lassic-bikes/boardman-mx-sport-womens-fi-bike

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Is it possible to get bikes with less gears? And is it advisable?

Yes, and possibly. Apologies if this is pitched wrong.

You've got 21 gears because you've got 3 rings at the front and 7 cogs at the back. It might be easier to think of this as 3 lots of 7 gears, rather than 21 because basically you want to pick the front ring that is going to put you in the right range for what you are trying to do and then move between the 7 cogs at the back while you ride. Move in to another ring when the range of gears you want are either to pedal faster, or to climb steeper hills. For a canal path you may choose never to leave the big ring, or to sit in the middle ring. I'd be surprised if there was much, if anything, that required the smallest ring.

What you want to decide is if the middle ring on the smallest back cog allows you to go the speed you want to go, or if you are pedalling too fast to keep that speed up. If you're pedalling too fast for the speed you want to go, use the biggest ring, unless when you are on also on the biggest cog at the back (which can make some people tut) you can't get up the hills you need to. One of those two front rings will give you most of the gears you need for your whole ride along the canal side (I'd imagine) so I would concentrate on just going up and down the rear cogs, and forgetting about the front for most of it. It really sounds from your original post that sitting in the middle ring will work best for you.

It's quite common for a bike to have less rings at the front, although they are likely to have more cogs than 7 at the back. So if you have 2 at the front and 9 at the back it's 18 gears. The other thing is that it's quite common for the gear ratios to overlap. So in the middle ring at the front, some of the cogs at the back will be the same actual difficulty to push the pedals as the ones on the big ring, it's just the cog that makes that happen would be different.

I'd look to making sure you are getting the most out of the bike you have before moving on. It's surprising how having the bike 'fit' you can make a big difference. Knowing someone locally who knows a bit about it is always useful but a friend and the internet can give you almost everything you need. I'd make sure you're sat on the bike properly, the tyre pressures are good and get the gears working properly. Then see what a difference that makes. You can do all of that with a minimum amount of tools. Probably a small screwdriver and the right hex key at most.

 

[JustJane]

Hiya
Wow that's great advice guys. I am nearly 5foot 4 so yes a 29er must be out! And hybrid is the way to go, it's good to know that most of them are around this weight so I can stop letting this bother me

That's a great explanation re gears and slowly the penny is dropping
It's really interesting as I always was happy in gear 2 level 4 and generally never moved much from it but people were giving me a hard time about how I would never manage if I didn't use my gears. But on the canal that was pretty good. So I will just stick to level 2.

When I went out with my husband on a flat cycle path I got right up to level 3 7 but admit that it was slightly down hill on the way back I was in ring 1

My husband says my bike doesn't do level 6 , it doesn't go in so just move from 5 to 7

I think the upshot is I need to get my bike fixed, I will note what you say re getting a proper bike fit and see if I can find someone who can do this and fix it.

I have kept s note of the bikes that have been linked and will investigate these if the fit falls through!

You have no idea how much your post have helped. I sit next to a cycling guru and my husband likes to think he knows about bikes, but this has been much more helpful.

Thanks so much

Oh drats one last Q
My husband wants me to.train on the flat to get my fitness up for the ride big I think I'm better just using the canal as that's the conditions I will be using

 

[Colin_P]

I love my hybrid, a lowly Giant Roam, which I've had a bout five years now.

It goes anywhere and is really compfy to ride. My road bike is a bit faster but spine shattering, the hybrid for me is faster down hill as it soakes up rough road surfaces far better than the roady and gives me more confidence. My mountain bike is slower and the only advantage it has over the hybrid is when it is really muddy as it grips better and doesn't get a clogged with mud as easily. I also have an 80's 10 speed racer which is nice'ish to ride, rarely ridden these days.

Out of the four bikes I have a choice of riding, I do 90%+ on the hybrid. I'm neither a speed demon long distance'r nor an extreme off roader, just an average cycler and the hybrid does everything well. If any novice asked me what to get a hybrid would be my recommendation.

But I know nothing....

 

[ScotiaLass]

I have both a MTB and a hybrid.
I am finding I am using the hybrid more and more and leaving the MTB for dedicated rides to forests etc.

My hybrid has 21 gears and does me fine and I have some steep inclines where I live.
It copes with the terrain I ride on which includes canal towpaths, shared use paths and some roads.
I love the rack and panniers and now use it to pop to the shops instead of the car when I just need a few things.

This is my hybrid and I love her!

 

[JustJane]

Thanks guys you clearly love your hybrids ☺ and scotialass lovely pic next to the wheel.

Hybrid it is then (if i cant get my own bike tweeked)