Jumping ship from road bike to Mtb

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johnnyb47

Guru
Location
Wales
Hi again.
This year I've managed to get plenty of miles in on my road bike and have travelled far and wide , but I'm feeling I'm starting to lose the love, with it. The state of roads are appalling where I live. The pot holes are horrendous and the general road surface is enough to rattle your fillings out. The roads that are decent ,are usually the busy main roads and that means heavy traffic.I don't mind cycling in traffic, but it does get a little tedious sometimes constantly riding on the defensive side and having all your thoughts drowned out by the noise of cars and trucks whizzing by just a few feet from your head..The old Peugeot road bike has done a sterling job taking up the bad roads, but I do think it's only a matter of time before I end up coming a cropper on its skinny 700x23c wheels, twitchy frame and myself missing some great cavernous hole in the road.
I do though have a rather nice Boardman mtb bike which tends to be used as my winter bike.The idea of getting away from the busy roads and embracing the rougher roads and tracks, were there's virtually no traffic and no worry about damaging my bike is very tempting at moment :-). It will obviously be somewhat slower ,but I do feel it will open up my options up as where I would want to ride in our green and pleasant land .
All the very best,
Johnny.
 

MikeG

Guru
Location
Suffolk
Traitor! Flogging is too good for the likes of you........

:smile:
Just kidding. Matching the bike to the circumstance is the important point, and if you live in off-roading territory, then buy an off road bike........so long as you keep cycling.
 
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D

Deleted member 26715

Guest
I did this a couple of years ago, I cycle (what little I do) for pleasure, cycling only on the road stopped being a pleasure, so now ride mainly off road only using the roads to link the tracks together, it's much nicer I feel, seems slower, you get to say hello to people out walking, unfortunately you still come across d**kh**ds who think it's acceptable to hammer down a canal towpath at 20+ mph expecting everyone to get out of their way.
 

Accy cyclist

Legendary Member
Flat handlebars,perish the thought!!:ohmy: Someone asked me the other day if i had a bike they could buy of me. I said yes,it's a kind of all rounder type of bike. When i showed it to him he stared at the drop bars and said he'd have the bike if it didn't have drops on it. :rolleyes:
 
I've been on a mountain bike for 18 years now. I ride roads only when required to get to trails. It's a different challenge and psychology but for me just as much fun. Funnily enough I've been wanting to do more road as soon as I get the Carlton re-geared, but am very conscious that the peanuts in tin boxes seem to be getting worse. I go out all year round and I know I'm seeing places and things that the majority of people will never see: wildlife, scenery, being totally alone in a snowscape etc.

If you've already got the bike just go for it.
 

StuAff

Silencing his legs regularly
Location
Portsmouth
Gravel bike.....
 

Bianchi boy

Über Member
Location
North wales
Just a thought on the condition of the road surfaces, I thought N, Wales roads were bad, Where i live, then i recently had the opportunity of cycling around, Lytham, Blackpool, st Annes etc, and believe me the road surfaces are horrendous there, i dont know how some of you cyclists can tolerate cycling/commuting on those roads :wacko::wacko:
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
Get a gravel bike, it will be fast enough on tarmac and will cope better with the rough surfaces you will encounter on city roads where traffic is heavy and there are multiple bad repairs, plus it will enable you to go off the tarmac when you fancy it.
 
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Heltor Chasca

Out-riding the Black Dog
Tourer with inappropriate 26x2.1s. Plenty of bounce in my flounce.

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