How do you decide between a road bike and a mountain bike?
Should a ‘beginner’ cyclist get a road bike? I’m not very good at cycling; mainly I’m afraid of sharing the road with cars and also tend to overreact to potholes and cracks in the ground. I’m also pretty weak on climbing. On the other hand, it’s my objective to overcome these obstacles and eventually be able to ride long city trails. Should I start with a mountain bike and build up my skills first, or should I just go ahead and get a road bike since that’s my end goal anyway?
emily
It is truly easy. You pick a bike based upon where you are going to ride. If you will not be riding heavy mountain trails, then a road bike is the choice. Road bikes are favorably geared for their terrain, and respond well to all the types of terrain that they are designed for. A hybrid being the all around road bike, good for street, paver, dirt, gravel, sand, path and even light trails!
The road bike will be lighter and faster on the road. Speed comes by conditioning, and learning how to pedal properly. Learn to ’spin’ the pedals. Your bike handling skills will also quickly improve making the majority of obstacles and pot holes a non issue!
So your choice seems to be which road bike to get. A hybrid or a traditional drop bar ‘racer’. IF you are going to ride on anything other than street, pavement, and VERY hard packed surface….. get the hybrid!
Soccerref
A mountain bike is more durable than a road bike, and will better put up with the uneven roads you’ll find in a city. Road bikes are designed to go very fast on open roads. You don’t really want to jump curbs on a road bike; you could bend your wheels.
The problem with mountain bikes is that they’re designed for extremely rough terrain. They have big, nobbly tires which grip trails but have a lot of friction on pavement. That makes them harder to ride if you’re going far. They also have more shock absorption, which is great if you do ride over a pothole, but it’s really designed for tree roots. And that shock absorption also absorbs some of your energy, slowing you down.
You can try a hybrid bike, which tries to combine the best features of both. In fact, they’re often more comfortable than either kind, since they’re designed with a shape designed to allow you to sit more upright. (Both mountain and road bikes encourage you to get low, out of the wind, which is fast but very uncomfortable for long rides.) This may be the perfect bike for you, even better than a road bike, no matter what your level of experience.
I highly recommend visiting your local bike shop rather than buying online. Getting a bike that fits is extremely important for comfort and even for health: an ill-fitting bike can put strain on your joints. A good bike shop can help you get the right size, and then adapt the bike to your particular style (different saddle or handlebars, smoother tires for pavement, the right kind of pedals, etc).
You can try to shoot straight for your final road bike, but there are so many variables that go into picking a bike that I’d figure you’re going to want something different from your first bike anyway. So get something good and not too expensive to learn what you like, and only later spend the real money to get a great bike.
The first thing to do is identify your goal. If you’re always going to ride on the road, I would usually suggest a road bike. But, you mention "long city trails". What type of trails? And what do you mean by long? Maybe a hybrid would be a better choice for you. A mountain bike could be a good choice. If you choose a MTB, and you’re going to ride mainly on roads, replacing the knobby tires with street tires would give you a better and more efficient ride.
buy both
if your going to ride any trails, dirt roads, or anything that’s not cement go with the mountain bike because of the profile of the road bike tires are going to make the handling a lot harder on those kind of things. it will climb hills ( on the road ) a lot easier because the weight of the bike is less on the road bike but with the mountain bike comes way more diversity of riding. As far as potholes and things go the mountain bike will be smoother because of the suspension but on good roads the road bike is smoother but if you want to be on a road bike in the end maybe you should get one but go to your local bike shop and ask if you can go for a test ride on a road bike if you dont like it go with a mountain bike
They make hybrid versions that can handle both the city streets and the offroad trails, check out some cycling magazine websites for buyers guides and road test reports. The editors will usually give you tons of advice and the best picks. Personally I went with a decent mountain bike (Gary Fisher) and purchased quality street tires to switch out when I want to tackle the urban jungle. Good Luck !!!
A hybrid without shocks will be fine on the road and will handle bike paths like rail trails. A mountain bike will only be good on trails and are terrible on the road unless you change the tires. Shocks on any bike will soak up energy when climbing. I have a Forge M Street that I ride everyplace and is geared lower then my mountain bike. It handles the potholes and cracks better then my road bike but isn’t quite as fast due to the riding position.
I would suggest that you get a good mountain bike, and put steet tires on it - sort of a "best of both worlds" approach.
if you get a mtb or hybrid do not get one with shocks
they just eat energy that you have to put in
in other words they are slower
wle
Hello. My advice would be to get a road bike.
A road or street bike is lighter and easier to peddle and move.
I have been riding all my life. I did have a mountain bike for several years and I found the problem for me was that it was too hard to ride. Too hard to peddle. The knobs on the tires were so big that it really made me work hard to ride my bike. Sometime I ride all the way to the woods and then I wouldn’t be able to go in becuase I was so tired just getting there. I then changed my tires to street tires which made all the different for me.
I LOVED my ten speed. Use to ride it everywhere. Then I bought the mountain bike and it was so hard I almost never rode it.
I now have a Diamondback street bike and I might buy a Schwinn Sierra GS. The Schwinn is $340 and is ideal for leisureely cycling on mostly flat rodes. Everything about this bike is nice.
Go to a dealer (bike shop) and try out both kinds of bikes. See which one you feel most comfortable on. They seats now are very comfortable and most parts can be interchanged. All that matters is that you feel comfortable on it and it’s easy to ride. Otherwise you’ll have a great bike in the garage that sits there.
Don’t forget you helmet. Ok I don’t wear one but I should.
Good Luck.
Get a bike that combines the best of both, a fitness bike. (http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/bikes/model/rapid.3/3875/36257/) You get more relaxed riding position and the lower gearing like a mountain bike but the efficiency and speed of a road bike.
Several manufactures offer these bikes so head to your local bike shop and check them out. Your local bike shop can also help you with other concerns as size and fit.