mynameistickle

A bunch of my friends around here ride road bikes, and I think its tight and all, but I want to be able to use my bike in as many locations as possible, and have a versitile bike. Now grantite, mountain bikes can go on the road, but the tourque you get isnt as great as that with a road bike. I've heard of such things as locking front suspension. So im thinking, if I can find a hardtail bike with not too much travel, maybe about 3" and then with locking front suspension, allowing me to put more force on the stem with a greater tourque outcome. Also, so that I can change the tires maybe to a tire better suited for road, and have a smoother ride. Now, obviously it wont ride like a road bike, because you cant put as much force on the stem as a stiff frame, and the frame will be heavier and less areodynamic, but will it still work for riding around the city? I guess my question is, do you think this is a good idea, or should I just buy either a mountain or road bike. Also, do you know of any manufactures of locking front suspensions. And finally, do you know of anyone whos done this, or possibly have a bike which you do the same to?

Im just looking for feedback here on this idea, and possible bikes to look at. Im new to this forum and also biking in general, im really instrested in it and im trying to take it up as a hobbie. Thank you for any help.

D Tick

pinkrobe

Best solution - get a mountain bike and a road bike.
Next best solution - if you're going off road, but it's not very rough terrain, get a cyclocross bike and throw on some slicks when you're heading out with your roadie buddies
Third best solution - if you will be spending some quality time going off road on more challenging trails, get a hardtail with a fork you can lock out. Fox, Manitou, Marzocchi and Rock Shox all make forks with a lockout. Also get some slick tires. You won't be able to keep up with the roadies very well, but at least you'll be outside getting some exercise.
Fourth [but maybe third] best solution - Go fully rigid on the MTB.

TwinCam

It's not the gearing, its the rolling resitance and riding position. It's pretty damn hard to keep up with a competant road biker on a mountain bike. Unless your roads are strewn with logs and gravel.

jo5iah

i'm all for the 'fully rigid' solution. i ride my [surly karate] monkey all the time, on and off road. i have 4 sets of tires [narrow/wide][slick/knobby] and tend to use the wide slicks the most. i commute daily, but like to jump onto trails when i can. or go down or up stairs etc. when i want to tool around offroad for a while, i put the knobbies on (fat or narrow depending on conditions). if you're just looking to get into this, then getting an all around bike is not a bad first start. you can see what sort of riding you like most and get a more specialized bike for that thing.

USAZorro

+1

Depending on what kind of MTB riding you want to do, a hybrid, or a sturdy touring bike might work (if you're not going to pound over curbs, rocks, roots, etc.). These might not be quite as good of choices as a cyclocross, but they might be less expensive.

Joe1946

I have a road and a off-road setup for my Surley Pugsley. For the road I have 44mm wide SnoCat rims with 29er 2.35 Big Apples and for off-road I have 65mm wide Surley Large Marge rims with 26x4.0's.

leadbutt

A 29'er isn't a bad idea...

If you could figure out a setup so you easily swap bars/shifters/levers, you'd pretty much be set once you purchased a couple of wheelsets and a few tires. A quick release seatpost would allow you to change position on the fly. A lockout fork would be nice, but not necessary. Around this area where flat roads don't exist, we use 11-34 cassettes so gearing isn't a big issue. You may want a mtb crankset, but that depends on which you want to do more.

Man, this makes me want to build up a new ride...I gotta go before this costs me more money...

Killer B

I bypassed all the prevoius posts ( mainly because I could care less what other people have to say) but anyway, here's my reply:

I have 7 bikes at present. 1 is a Mtn.bike that has a aero wheelset, with City Slicker tires. It's converted into a road bike from a Mtn.bike. The tires are inflated to 100 psi, and have very little rolling resistance.... The frame weighs 4.6 lbs. and is aluminum. The bike weighs in @ 24 lbs. total.

I've hit a top speed of 46 mph on the Blue Ridge Parkway (speed limit for auto's is 45) and love every bit of this bike. It is NOT a road bike by design, but serves me just fine....

I hope this helps you in your dilemma....