Hello, In the past 4 months or so I have been getting into cycling quite a bit. Right now I cycle a cheap mountain bike. http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/carrera-vulcan-mens-mountain-bike It was £400 when I got it this summer. I have been contemplating getting a road bike. I am starting to feel really held back by this mountain bike. Id i give it my all complete energy, I can only usually hit around 27km/h and my average pace is only about 23km/h. I am cycling to get in shape and I enjoy it way more compared to when I used to run. Should I get a road bike? or should I wait a few months maybe to see if I still want one? Thanks for any advice.
Only 23kmh, that's nothing to be ashamed of Put some slick tyres on it, if you don't go off road Save up and get fit over the winter and treat yourself to a roadbike in the spring if still keen
For fitness purposes a slightly 'hefty' bike is good, like @vickster says put some 'faster' tyres on (make sure they're pumped up to near their 'Max Rated Pressure' too) but at this time of year a MTB/Hybrid is probably better than a road bike with the weather.
use the mountain bike during winter. If you need to replace the tyres, fit Schwalbe Marathon Supreme .... this will increase your speed by approx 3-5km/hr save up in the meantime, and in spring buy a good used roadbike off ebay or gumtree
Right now I have an expensive MTB, cost 4 digits anyway. One of the best bikes I have ever ridden but on the road its very sluggish and not so nice to ride. Definitely get a road bike. Keep the MTB for canal tracks or proper MTBing as they will always be a bit crap on the road, no matter how good they are. Also a road bike will be particularly enjoyable if the only thing you ever ridden on the road was a MTB. When I first tried a road bike I was amazed by how much difference there was. Get one now, dont even shut your computer down. Order one online.
I do both and find the road bike very useful for long road rides where the mountain bike would be too slow. Have a think about what style of road bike you want, they vary from cx / gravel bikes which handle smoother off road trails fine to head down road bikes. I bought a diverge as i wanted decent disc brakes, the ability to go off road and a smoother ride.
I agree with @vickster's advice and that will also give you something to look forward to when spring arrives.!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As @vickster says get some slicks 1st , it will make a lot of difference and can you lock the front suspension ? I use schwable city jets .
I have a similar dilemma, about 2 years ago I resumed after 47 years cycling for fitness and further weight loss and purchased a second hand Raleigh SUB hybrid MTB. About 1 year later I changed the Raleigh for a Cube AMS 130 pro MTB, I fitted BOTH bikes with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres. Now after doing over 6,000 miles on the Cube I'm now thinking of changing to a carbon road bike and I particularly like the look of the 2017 Cube Agree C-62 SL Boy is this cycling lark addictive and expensive
I used to ride a mountain bike on the road, not fun Traded it in and bought a roadie in 2011 and love it. I also have a Pashley which I ride for pure fun Pashley is also good for training purposes, as I sometimes take it on a "roadie route" then when I switch to the roadie, zooooommm!!!
I have just booked to hire a carbon frame road bike for 3 days at a local dealer to check out what the difference is like?
I'd wait until after winter in case you loose the bug as the weather changes. Also I find my mtb much better for riding in winter anyway due to bad weather and the rain washes all the rubbish onto the road meaning more punctures.
I went the other way, used to use the road bike but stopped enjoying it, so got a Cube mountain bike & love seeing lots of places I never would, but I only use the road to get between tracks.
Bear in mind though a quality steel frame is probably out of his price range these days, Whereas a Carbon jobbie can be knocked up in the Far East by unskilled labour a lot cheaper.
