Frame geometry & gearing questions.

[Dave7]

I am looking for a bike that will be reasonably quick on the road but able to cope with tow paths and even some gentle forrest trails. Something that will take 28/32mm semi slick tires.
I dont want a hard tail.
Could someone explain (in laymans terms ) what I should be looking for in.........
a) frame geometry &
b) gearing.

I understand the basic frame details e.g. road bike frames are longer (front to back) and higher/longer handlebar to wheel but when I look at bike descriptions it isn't clear to me.
For instance........is a CX frame simiar to road bike or hybrid/comuter etc.??
Similar problem trying to understand the gearing.
Thanks

 

[Kestevan]

Ok - I'll have a shot...

When you say you don't want a hard tail.... what do you mean? A hard tail is simply a bike with no rear suspension - although it generaly means a mountain bike with front but no rear suspension.....I'll assume you mean you don't want a mountain bike.
That pretty much puts you into hybrid or Cyclocross bike territory, as a road bike will be fine on tarmac but will struggle with anything more rugged than a smooth tow-path.

Hybrids can encompass pretty much anything, from a MTB style frame, usually with larger 700c wheels to a road bike with flat bars. Suspension may or may not be present.

A CX bike is basically a road bike with greater clearances for larger tyres. It will usually have different gearing range than a road bike, and drop bars. The geometry will often lean more to the long/low body position of a road bike, but this can vary with manufacturer/model.

The usual CX gearing tends to run a narrower gear range than a road bike (46/36 chain rings instead of 50/36 or 52/39) this gives less at each extreme (lower top grear/higher bottom gear) but a closer spread of gears in the middle range. Hybrid gearing will often be more MTB bike with a wider spread and a very low gear... although not always true - esp on the more road biased hybrids, these will tend more towards the road bike gearing.


I suspect that you're likely to want to look at either a full on CX bike (if you want drops), or a road biased hybrid (for flat bars). TBH there are shed loads around at lots of different price ranges. Best advice I can give is to find a good local bike shop and go sit on a few.

 

[Crankarm]

^^^^^ Wot he said. Go to a bike shop and ride some bikes.

 

[Dave7]

Ok - I'll have a shot...

When you say you don't want a hard tail.... what do you mean? A hard tail is simply a bike with no rear suspension - although it generaly means a mountain bike with front but no rear suspension.....I'll assume you mean you don't want a mountain bike.

The usual CX gearing tends to run a narrower gear range than a road bike (46/36 chain rings instead of 50/36 or 52/39) this gives less at each extreme (lower top grear/higher bottom gear) but a closer spread of gears in the middle range. Hybrid gearing will often be more MTB bike with a wider spread and a very low gear... although not always true - esp on the more road biased hybrids, these will tend more towards the road bike gearing.

. Best advice I can give is to find a good local bike shop and go sit on a few.

Thanks
To me a "hard tail" is a front suspension only.........which I don't think I really need as my off road will be tow paths with pot holes at worst........maybe some gentle forest trails
Re' the gearing.......as I'm now officially an 'old fart' of 67 most of my riding will be on the flat(ish) roads of Cheshire or some undulating welsh hills. On the roads I doubt I will be hitting speeds of more that 25 mph very often so want the gearing most suited to those criteria'.

I don't want drops and I don't want road bike geometry........I want something more relaxed.

Yes.......I certainly intend to try some bikes and this week will be trying the Merida 300 but I want to understand a little more before running around trying them.

 

[vickster]

Whyte R7 have borad gear ratios. My Cambridge is 50/34 on the front and 11-32 on the back, definitely worth a look. They have quite a short MTB geometry I'd say, rather than a more stretched out road one like say a Sirrus or Rapid (the Whyte site is quite informative)

I run M+ for puncture protection but on a less heavy, slicker tyre it moves well (10kg stock, mine is weighed down with rack, pannier bag, mudguards and me)

It is really quite comfortable on the utterly pitiful London road surfaces with a high quality alu frame and carbon fork

 

[MacB]

I'm currently waiting on a test ride of the green 2.0 version of the Flight:-

http://www.ridgeback.co.uk/series/flight

11-32 at the back and a 26/36/48 triple at the front, can take mudguards and rear rack, clearance for 700x35 tyres, alu frame and carbon forks. It's got roadish geometry but quite long chainstays so shouldn't feel too quick or underneath you, if you know what I mean.

There are a variety of similar hybrids across the board, I wanted one that was more road/speed orientated but still had decent tire clearances. Boardman, Whyte, Specialized, Giant, Trek, etc, etc all have similar models and also models that fall either side, ie more road or more trail.

The other option is to go for a fully rigid 29er/MTB and run it with big slick tires which will give plenty of comfort, can go fine on the roads and cope with almost anything you'd want to throw at it. Would be a slight weight penalty, the flight I'm looking at will be about 25lbs a 29er like this closer to 30lbs.

 

[Dave7]

I'm currently waiting on a test ride of the green 2.0 version of the Flight:-

http://www.ridgeback.co.uk/series/flight

11-32 at the back and a 26/36/48 triple at the front, can take mudguards and rear rack, clearance for 700x35 tyres, alu frame and carbon forks. It's got roadish geometry but quite long chainstays so shouldn't feel too quick or underneath you, if you know what I mean.
.

That looks a very tasty bike!!!