Discussion
I am hoping someone can offer me the benefit of their experience.
I recently started cycling again in a bid to lose some of the gut
I am doing between 7 and 12 miles 5 times a week, all on either a canal towpath or the middlewood way (a flat path which can be muddy)
I am enjoying it and thinking of getting a new bike, my question is whether to go for a "hard tail" mountain bike or a hybrid?
I am sure I will never hurtle down a mountain or do many miles on the road.
Any thoughts?
I recently started cycling again in a bid to lose some of the gut
I am doing between 7 and 12 miles 5 times a week, all on either a canal towpath or the middlewood way (a flat path which can be muddy)
I am enjoying it and thinking of getting a new bike, my question is whether to go for a "hard tail" mountain bike or a hybrid?
I am sure I will never hurtle down a mountain or do many miles on the road.
Any thoughts?
personally i would go for a rigid mountain bike. (dependant upon budget!)
on cheaper bikes suspension forks will be very basic coil spring affairs which lack any form of rebound or copression control. they will be heavy and detract from the ride. on a towpath you are rarely going to find any bump that can not be dealt with by adjusting your weight on the bike. likewise, try to find a bike without disc brakes, they will be using poor quality materials and heavy and you wont really need them for what you describe. v-brakes will be more than adequate.
you could do a lot worse than this: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/diamond-back/q...
on cheaper bikes suspension forks will be very basic coil spring affairs which lack any form of rebound or copression control. they will be heavy and detract from the ride. on a towpath you are rarely going to find any bump that can not be dealt with by adjusting your weight on the bike. likewise, try to find a bike without disc brakes, they will be using poor quality materials and heavy and you wont really need them for what you describe. v-brakes will be more than adequate.
you could do a lot worse than this: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/diamond-back/q...
Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 12th October 08:35
The Boardman bikes would be more than capable for what you intend to do. Great spec and sorted frames. Additionally, they would be more than capable of doing much more should you get more into riding.
Whilst in Halfords then also check out the Carrera Vulcan which would also be up to the job and a bit cheaper.
Whilst in Halfords then also check out the Carrera Vulcan which would also be up to the job and a bit cheaper.
with that sort of budget you can look for something which uses far better quality components than the original suggestion but you really dont need to spend anything like a £1k to get a really nice bike suitable for purpose, if you arent going off road, with knowledge of your budget, then i would change the original suggestion and go for a hybrid as the quality components make them far more suitable for purpose - by that i mean cheap hybrids are rather odd in that they are designed for fast flat commuting, yet are heavy and unwieldy... personally i would look for something like this: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Focus_Corrente_2...
or
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/GT_Tachyon_20_20...
or
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/GT_Tachyon_20_20...
I'd second either of Pablo's suggestions, a Specialized Sirrus or any of the Boardman hybrids but strongly recommend the following 34mm wide 'cyclocross' tyres for your riding:
http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=Y1239
Many hybrids come fitted with semi-slick road tyres, the cross tyres I suggest have much better grip on loose surfaces, higher air volume for greater comfort and still ride light and fast.
I use the 'summer/dry' XN version for 50/50 road/bridleway use and they are excellent.
http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=Y1239
Many hybrids come fitted with semi-slick road tyres, the cross tyres I suggest have much better grip on loose surfaces, higher air volume for greater comfort and still ride light and fast.
I use the 'summer/dry' XN version for 50/50 road/bridleway use and they are excellent.
My advice would be to get a hardtail MTB. IMHO hybrids are a false economy as they restrict you from getting a tad more adventurous should the need ever arise. A decent hardtail MTB will pretty much do everything you want, from gentle paths to muddy towpaths and beyond. A correctly sized, well set up MTB is a pleasure to ride, and if you really wanted to custiomise it for regualr easy riding then all you need to do is change the tyres.
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