Hi I'm new

[phil mullinex]

Hi I have bought a cheap mountain bike to get back in to cycling after not cycling for 7yrs. I go on short bike rides about 10miles 2-3 times a week. This bike is very heavy. I only cycle on the roads but I was wondering wheat her to get a carrera subway 2 or will I be better with a racer bike?

 

[simon the viking]

Dangerous question that on here... Hybrid or Road (racer) bike! In my opinion any bike you enjoy riding is the right bike... but that Carrera still looks heavy with 26 inch knoblies on it if you are going to ride mainly on the road I would go for a bike with 700c wheels with 25c tyres and it would still cope with the odd canal tow path etc but before everyone joins in and tells me I'm wrong its only my view

 

[Deleted member 23692]

Welcome

Another option would be to stick some slicks on your MTB. I use Schwalbe Big Apples on mine. They roll really well, and soak up uneven surfaces too

 

[numbnuts]

Hi &

 

[cyberknight]

Welcome

Another option would be to stick some slicks on your MTB. I use Schwalbe Big Apples on mime. They roll really well, and soak up uneven surfaces too

+1
Try the above first as you can get a set of slick ( not knobbly ) tyres for under £30 a pair, i used to use schwable city jets which were a great budget tyre.
For 10 miles 2-3 times a week i think to start with your best just to enjoy it and not worry to much about speed yet .
My commute is 10 miles each way as it happens and the difference between a slicked MTB and my roadie is about 5 mins i reckon , the roadie is just a bit easier.
As it happens a i had a subway and for the price the subway 1 is a cracking bike , £199 atm i believe , the subway 2 has discs i believe which are nice but a well set up rim brake can be very effective and enough for most.

 

[eric1962]

I have just put Continental Grand Prix tyres, 26x1.1/8 on my mountain bike and they have made a huge differance to the ride, it is a lot easier

 

[Ladytrucker]

Welcome, Welcome

I second that, I put continentals from halfords on my MTB much, much easier to ride. Then I upgraded to a hybrid bike. I'm on country roads and tow paths which the Hybrid is ideal for.

 

[ste.pearson]

hi and i have a subway2 and also a road bike depends on what you want to use it for i use my subway more beacause i dont just stick to roads,but if road cycling is what you want it for then defo go for a road bike

 

[paul04]

Welcome to the website.
like the others have said, swapping the tyres over will make a difference

 

[Pat "5mph"]

as others said, try swapping tyres before buying a new bike.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Hi Phil and .

What is the bike you have already? If your existing bike is a reasonable one, changing tyres would make a big difference. If it's a full suspension supermarket-special then it may be better to consider changing bike.

I know that the Carrera Subway has a number of fans on here as it's a decent basic bike (provided you get it at the discounted price not the alleged "full" price) even if it isn't a lightweight.

If you want a racer, the Triban range from Decathlon are very well regarded. If you can still get hold of one, last years red Triban 3 was considered one of the best value bikes on the market. Unfortunately, this years white version misses out on some of the features that made it so appealing.

 

[stevey]

Hi phil and welcome, i too have a heavy MTB and have replaced the stock stock tyres with continental tour ride tyres vast improvement basically do the same 8-10 miles per week 3-4 times just to get my fitness up a little but when funds allow will be getting a road bike as well

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Perhaps I should add this to my comments above:

My knockabout bike: a £100 rigid frame mountain bike fitted with Conti TourRide tyres plus a few other modifications fitted as bits broke or wore out.

With the new tyres and higher gearing than it had originally, I can reliably average between 11 and 13mph and I've used it on rides of up to 50 miles. No idea of the weight, but suspect it's rather heavier than the Carrera.

A cheap bike can be made into a reasonable bike but you have to consider whether it is worth doing so. I only did it because I like modifying.