From MTB to Road or Hybrid or Cyclo- Cross ?

[forfar71]

Having had a Mtb for the last 20 years have finally decided to take the plunge and buy one of the others...but which one ? I usually do between 50 and 60 miles on a bike run at the weekends but the roads around me are pretty bad this year, plenty of pot holes and mud, so bearing this in mind what do you think i should go for?? .....i may end up on ebay btw !! Many thanks

 

[CopperCyclist]

Pot holes and a thin layer of mud over Tarmac shouldn't be an issue for a Road Bike. (Regarding potholes, I'm not saying plough through them, but they can normally be driven round). Your high mileage suggests a road bike may be a purchase you don't regret!

 

[forfar71]

Thanks for that. the only thing putting me off the Road bikes are the tyres, have never had a puncture for over 10 years and 3 mtb's....have read some horror stories about punctures and because there isnt much smooth tarmac in my neck of the woods i am reluctant to say the least...or am i just being ridiculous?

 

[rawhite1969]

CX bike will give you the ability to run a wider and taller tire in most cases. Thus you could put a larger road tire on the CX bike and still maintain low rolling resistance while gaining some comfort and durability with the pot holes. You could also run a more traditional CX tire that it smooth in the middle with some extra treads on the side - nice if you are getting off-road onto simple trails at all.

 

[biggs682]

try to get road bike that will allow 28 section tyres or above , most built for touring should be able to take that width no problems

 

[cyberknight]

try to get road bike that will allow 28 section tyres or above , most built for touring should be able to take that width no problems

+1 on that , as for punctures it also depend son the tyres you use .Get something like marathon + and your not going to get flats easily.

Something like a specilaized tri cross might be ideal as you have the clearances for wider tyres and can then put slicks on for the summer.

 

[G-Zero]

Having had a Mtb for the last 20 years have finally decided to take the plunge and buy one of the others...but which one ? I usually do between 50 and 60 miles on a bike run at the weekends but the roads around me are pretty bad this year, plenty of pot holes and mud, so bearing this in mind what do you think i should go for?? .....i may end up on ebay btw !! Many thanks

I went through the same considerations recently and added a Cyclocross alongside the MTB, however my needs were slightly different in that I wanted the option of using local trails when the desire struck.

Personally, if I was putting your kind of road mileage in, the Road Bike option would win it for me, with the tyre advice already offered.

 

[forfar71]

Cheers guys for that...now the search begins..

 

[Hicky]

I've got a surly crosscheck....does everything, well impressed.....not cheap though.

 

[forfar71]

Going for a road bike...looking around £400...trek 1.1 or specialized allez...or giant defy....thoughts anyone??

 

[briantrumpet]

Going for a road bike...looking around £400...trek 1.1 or specialized allez...or giant defy....thoughts anyone??

I got a cheap Defy 4 for my commuting - not the lightest of bikes, but solidly built, and takes 28mm Marathon Plus tyres. Had my first (slow) puncture in Marathon+ tyre last winter in about 5 years.

 

[forfar71]

If you had to chose between a Btwin Tribal £299 or a Specialized Secteur triple gloss £399 what would you go for??

 

[HLaB]

The spesh, mainly because I've had one (a Sirrus) and know a lot of people who have them and I don't think I ever heard a bad word.