Thinking of a new bike - suggestions?

[Gareth1974]

I'm under orders from my therapist to do some cycling to aid my recovery from knee surgery. An exercise bike would be fine, but I'd prefer the real thing.

I dug out my old (but in good condition) mountain bike (a 1998 Orange O2) a couple of days ago, and went for an hour and a half ride, which I felt went quite well, and got me quite enthused about going cycling regularly.

I'm toying with the idea of getting a new bike, as it has been quite a while since I bought one, but I'm struggling to know which type to get. I don't intend to go 'proper' mountain biking like I used too, but my village is on the canal network. and the ride I did on Monday was 60% muddy rutted tow path and 40% road.

My village is well used by cyclists as there are miles of quiet country roads in the area, so I wonder if I should keep my mountain bike for mixed surface rides, and get a road bike for some road riding? Or get a new mountain bike, given things have moved on in the 20 years since I bought mine? A third option might be a gravel bike - something I'm unfamiliar with, but might be adequate on the tow path but better on the road than a mountain bike? - or is this a worst of both world's scenario?

I like the look of some bikes by Planet X which seem good value:

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXFMAPEX1/planet-x...

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBFBPXLDNAPEXMECH/pl...

Or I can use Cycle2work for my options (Planet X don't use this scheme though).

Thoughts welcomed!

[campionissimo]

I'd recommend a gravel/adventure bike. I've just got a Specialized Diverge, but the Planet X seems good too. It's ideal for gravel paths, disused railway lines, forest tracks etc, but also at home on the road.

[Slushbox]

Too many options these days. You could stick a set of 'hybrid' tyres on the MTB and use that on the tow-paths and roads. Even 28mm Schwalbe Marathons would be fine, assuming they fit the rims.

Or get a folding bike, chuck it in the car boot and drive to the coast, other places, country bike tracks (now paved in many places.)

Broadens up the cycling horizons, so to speak. :-)

Edited by Slushbox on Wednesday 10th October 14:00

Edited by Slushbox on Wednesday 10th October 14:01

[Croutons]

I would find out who your C2W provider is and what range they have access to (most are a shedload of makes). You save so much, esp if you're a higher rate tax payer, you'd be mad not to use it if you can.

[bigdom]

I'll be boring and say keep with what you've got for the moment, it should give a clearer idea over the next few months of what you need/want.

I'd have thought an adventure bike would cover most bases. Essentially endurance road bike geometry, with the ability to run either 700c or 650b wheels, or both in the same frame.

You could run one set of wheels with either 25/28c if you want to go and play on the road, and a larger set if you want to go play on the trails. I use a Croix de Fer with 35c, works well on the road, and more than laps up trails, canal paths etc.

If you have a knee issue, I'd also recommend having a bike fit to find what bike/make would work best for you. Since you've bought your last one, compact geometry has become the norm on frames, so it's a little bit different, but easier to tailor to most people.

[Gareth1974]

Thanks for the advice so far. I can access a cycle to work scheme, the cut-off for this is 27th November, so I’ve got a bit of time to think about it.
I’m sure I could make do with my existing bike, but I’m quite tempted to try something different - a new bike every 20 years doesn’t feel that extravagant!

I’ll be keeping the Orange regardless.

[louiebaby]

Someone from here has a Planet X Disc Titanium frame, and has two sets of wheels built on the same type of hubs.

One set of 700c's for the road, and one set of 650b's for gravel and such like.

Sounds like an excellent solution to me...

[Gareth1974]

Just to close this off, I ended up buying a gravel bike, a Scott Speedster Gravel. Used a cycle to work scheme, and managed to get a useful discount up front too.

Really enjoying it so far, I’ve only had it for about a month, but I’m finding that I’m making quick progress with improving my fitness, and have found some nice routes to ride on too.

[louiebaby]

Looks alright that!