Hybrid commuter/weekend trail bike

[Edge99]

I've been cycling to work for a couple of months now and think it's time to get a bike through the Cycle to Work scheme.

I'll mostly be doing a 3.5 mile road commute with some easy trails at the weekend (no higher than blue rated at the moment).

I'm looking at the Specialized Crosstrail Expert which seems to fit the bill - any opinions ?

[mk1fan]

For such a short commute why not get a proper mtb?

[shouldbworking]

Heh, I have this dilemma at the moment. Presently commuting the same distance on my couple of years old gt avalanche, in all its scratched up, off-road tyred glory.

I'd like to go faster for less effort on road but if I rode anything requiring less effort itd remove even the tiniest bit of health benefit.

When do you replace a bike anyway? I look after it and it doesnt see too much hard use, components are still good as new as far as I can see.

[Edge99]

Well I was hoping to get something reasonably light in case I start doing more road-riding but could also be used for some light weekend fun. I looked at a hybrid because my usage is more commute than off-road and the roads round here are crappy.

I've got a cheapo MTB at the moment which is heavy and the knobbly tyres make a racket

[anonymous-user]

hybrids are a poor name for something that is essentially, a road bike with straight bars. due to the desire for speed on the road, the components are usually not suited to trails, and anything bar canal towpaths will quickly damage components on a hybrid.

dont know what your budget is but this is a reasonable buy.
http://www.hargrovescycles.co.uk/products.asp?part...
3" travel at the front and lockable for road use. more than capable for the trails too...

[Edge99]

Thanks for the input, I'll look more seriously at a proper MTB if hybrids aren't so good for trail riding.

[angusc43]

shouldbworking said:

Heh, I have this dilemma at the moment. Presently commuting the same distance on my couple of years old gt avalanche, in all its scratched up, off-road tyred glory.

I'd like to go faster for less effort on road but if I rode anything requiring less effort itd remove even the tiniest bit of health benefit.

When do you replace a bike anyway? I look after it and it doesnt see too much hard use, components are still good as new as far as I can see.

I'm still riding a Diamond Back Ascent EX that I bought in 1994 (!). At the time it was a £500 bike so I guess maybe and £800 bike in today's money. It get used mainly for road use and not much at that (maybe 500 miles a year?) and has always been kept indoors or in a shed

At the time it was a lot for me but one of the rationales was to get a bike with high grade components that would last a good 5 years....brakes, gears, moving parts are all still fine.

The only reason I've been toying with changing it is that I'm about to start 15 mile round trip commute and will be able to get a tax-free bike. The Diamond Back has got a very short frame and a hybrid (eg Cannondale Bad Boy 700) would give me that much more room and would enable to get a bit more power down. Plus it's got street gearing not off road gearing. And it's got hydraulic disk brakes!! Totally unneccssary but cool.

I'd keep the Diamond Back and either stick knobblies back on and have it as an off roader or (more likely) use it if and when I didn't have somewhere safe to lock my bike up at the destination (the Cannondale would be safe in the office bike cage).

Angus