I was quoting YOUR original numbers
You really need to work on your reading comprehension. I never said that. What I said was:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raiyn

80% of the American women I know can.

I love these percentages you drag up like they mean something.
Why don't you tell me? So far you've decided to turn it into some sort of sexist Anti-American rant fest with ridiculous tangents about manually shifted cars.I hesitate to call owners of Wal-Mart specials dedicated commuters. If they had money they'd either buy a better bike or (more likely anywhere) buy a car.
No arguments there. My objection was your misguided touting of the superiority of coaster brakes.
I have no argument to these points. I still object to your sexist, asinine stereotyping of a populous you've never met, while you hide behind the anonymity of the internet.
I still demand an apology. Почему вы прячете? Мы пугаем вас?

If you are towing stuff with the vehicle, automatic is better. It's easier on the transmission.

OK. Please, summarize for me all advantages of mountain bikes over commuter bikes for commuting.

What I've read here:
* they are more light-weight and have lockable suspensions to ride in the streets
* they can't have chain guards, saving a lot of weight
(that full plastic chainguard from Hebie weighs 250 grams
https://www.hebie.de/html/en/detail_s...=0350_S_42_E_1
but the chain is always protected and clean)
* the tires are slow and noisy, but that's OK for short commutes
* the derailleur systems are much superior. All 27 gears can be used, no chain rubbing, no chain crossing, no chain falling.
* the hand brakes are so good that you can safely accelerate going downhill in the streets ignoring any traffic lights and intersections. You can stop in an eyewink.
* mountain bikes allow you to ride at the speed of traffic. It means when the traffic goes uphill, you can go at the speed of 45mph. Why do you need the granny and even the middle chainring?
* American streets are all unpaved and full of potholes. A mountain bike is a must.
* single speed chains and sprockets are more prone to wear than 8 and 9-speed ones
* single-speed chains break all the time making coaster brakes unreliable. Brake cables never break.
* All American women know and understand how to shift derailleur bikes.

No, for example, it's possible to learn how to shoot in 5 minutes.
It takes much more time learning how to actually hit an aim.

Let's count those who know how to use the double-clutch technique and can start uphill without rolling back. It all comes from practice.

The same is true for the derailleur shifting. You should ride a bike to develop the shifting technique.

Derailleur shifting takes a few seconds to learn. For gods sake it isn't rocket science.
Briefly let up on pedaling and shift. Try not to shift going up hills. Don't shift when about ready to stop.

Your counter argument for the clutch item is strange. If you know how to drive a clutch you know how to drive a clutch. The double clutch technique is unrelated to said argument.
Likewise if you know how to shoot a gun, you know how to shoot a gun. You may be a terrible shot but you still know how to pull the hammer, aim towards something, and pull the trigger.
At this point you are splitting hairs to make your argument stick.

My question was about Average Joe. Does he need a simple and low-maintenance bike, presumably automatic, or not? You say, not.

If you don't know how to drive a clutch effectively and intuitively, you'll curse it.
Do you say if I can pluck a guitar string, I can play the guitar?

You are comparing apples to oranges. Playing a guitar is much more complicated and takes years of instruction.

I commute about 25 miles a day on a mountain bike. Only because I'm saving up for a decent road bike . But, it's a tank, and I can take it anywhere, hop over curbs, ride up grassy hills, bomb down muddy shortcuts, etc. Stuff I wouldn't do on a road bike. My tyres have decent sized knobs.

I agree about the Kenda tires. I really like the Kenda Krisp AtB tire. Nashbar has them on sale now for $9.99 (plus shipping).

This has proven to be a great design for road and off-road. The middle is flat for low-resistance road riding, but the outside of the tire is knobbie for traction on soft off-road riding.

Here is a pic of the Kenda Krisp AtB tire:

Actually, most of this thread is BS . I commute 37 miles daily on a HT mtb & have ridden several 100+ mile ROAD rides on mtb's. I have also bombed down many a trails on road bikes before. Just because someone is on a road bike/commuter doesn't mean squat. I have known people riding flat pedals on older heavy a$$ mtb's that are damn fast. Point being:What one rides for commute/leisure makes no difference in anything. What makes ALL the difference in the world is the little engine that could....

True dat. Regarding the engine piece.

I've been dropped a few times by MTB riders while on my touring bike. Not yet on the CF roadie. I'm sure my day will come.
Some of those MTB riders have seriously powerful engines. Combined with the desire to drop a lycra clad weenie they can seriously haul. Heck I was going up a small hill with some dude passing me at about 30+ mph.

Personally, my back has a difficult time handling upright bikes for my 56 mile commute. A road bike makes the most sense for me. Plus, it is what I prefer to ride. Ride what you want to ride.

I have been noticing this "upright position" with the mtb here on the forums quite a bit.it doesn't neccessarily have to be that way, but then some people would harp on wrist pain
Myself, i have quite a low profile on the mtb.
Exactly, what ever floats your boat.

+1

My brain always gets sore reading these "that can't be done" comments on both MTBs and Road bikes, and all the inane references to suspension rusting and skinny tires being unable to function on unpaved surfaces.




And when riding with a cell phone in one hand and a beverage in the other, you can shift with the outside of the handle of the cup if you have dual-control levers.

I'm still a noob here (and effectively to cycling in general) but I'll throw in my $.02.

I was looking at MTB's (for mostly commuting). I went in looking at a Rockhopper, but it just felt wrong. Didn't like it at all. They put me on a Fisher 29er (Cobia), but it was out of my budget (though it felt much better). Went back home to research and half decided on a Hybrid, it seemed like I could get a lot more bike for the money (after realistically thinking of what I actually needed). With a ~$500 budget I wanted to try a Raleigh Passage 6.5, but no one had one in stock. Didn't like the models below it. I ended up with a Trek FX 7.3. It could use a more bike path friendly tire (35c instead of 32c slicks it came with), but it doesn't do too bad considering. The 7.2 was cheaper and had the bigger/treaded tire I want, but the 7.3 (just over $500 full price) seemed like money well spent otherwise.

https://www2.trekbikes.com/bikes/bike...d=1327010&f=26

I haven't been on any long rides yet, but it seems to be much more friendly for street use than any of the MTBs I rode (at shops and friend's). I decided to go more for my needs (commuting on road and bike paths) than my wants (potential off-roading).

My main advice? Go ride them! One bike might come highly recommended but just feel all wrong to you. Ride a mountain bike, ride a hybrid...see which feels better to you. It's difficult to get a great feel on a short test ride, but I bet you'll be surprised just how different they can be both between types as well as different brands of the same type.

I'm sure some may disagree w/ my choice, but it seems great so far. There are better bikes for my needs, I'm certain, but I didn't find them w/in my price range.

Maybe Specialized has something in their "body geometry" line up that might help?

What's to disagree with? If you are happy with it that is all that matters.Congratulations on your find & enjoy

Trekking bars are a great way to get multiple hand positions,plus the ability to 'get aero' without alot of time/money. Just throwing that out there for anyone concerned about the straight bars most MTB's come with.

Oh my.

Some are/do. BTW,I bought a scale and was weighing some of my bikes this weekend. Both my F600 and Crosstrails are lighter than my Milano. In fact,my all-steel,disc brake,7sp Nexus Surly is even lighter than my Milano.

Tires are a moot point. They can be changed easily and relatively cheaply.

BTW,here in DC it's hard to find a bike mechanic that will work on an internal gear hub. YMMV.

Proper hand brakes are safer than coaster brakes.



Heh. Ride downtown in DC.

Noone said any of that. And hand brakes give you 2 brakes in case one fails.

Your original post was insulting. Would it really be that big of a deal to admit you put your foot in your mouth?

The fact of the matter is this: Barabaika is a troll, nothing more.

Thanks for the idea ,dynaryder. I will keep them in mind. But for now, singletrack solutions ST lites bar ends offer/give me enough hand positions.

They are?! Quite expensive, i think.

A cheap mountain bike from any department store will do the job and do the job well.

Wrong

Ten blocks perhaps, I wouldn't ride one ten miles (including my very own Huffy beater) They're serviceable as bus stop hoppers, but any kind of distance on one of them sucks.

I don't want to threadjack but I'm in the market for a bicycle, and I ended up reading this thread while doing research.

My question is related to mountain bikes as all rounders, but specifically which one. I'm a newbie and I'm usually able to sort out what I want through research but getting a new bicycle after 20 years....well I could use some help. I didn't realize just how many freakin' options there were.

Anyways I'm looking to pull the kiddie trailer, run errands, etc. I won't be doing any dirt or unpaved riding with the exception of hard packed gravel on bike trails, and packed dirt 'shortcut' paths through wooded areas; those trails that seem to be the shortest route from A to B for people walking.

I'm looking at the following:
-Specialized CrossTrail (which one is best bang for buck)
-Trek Soho
-Trek SU 100/200 (which one is best bang for buck)
-Cannondale Bad Boy (which one is best bang for buck)

*Any cyclocross or road bikes? I'd consider something with a wide drop bar too.

I've ignored the tire width's as I don't know how much it will matter for what I want to do. I'm assuming wider would cover more bases but what's the diff with regard to rolling resistance?

Basically, I want the lightest and fastest bike that will let me do what I want, while not being hugely expensive. I'm good in the $1000 area. Actually, I'd appreciate any used references. I found some Bad Boy's on ebay at a good price.

I started out looking at touring type bikes (https://www.marinoni.qc.ca/EN/Bikes/Touring/Turismo.htm) as it has panniers but I don't think that they are quite right for pulling a trailer!

Anyways, I could use some help!

Thanks!

I'm not a big fan of the "one bike to rule them all" idea. There is no one bike that will do all things well. If you want to ride dirt trails, get a mountain bike. If you want to ride fast on the road, get a road bike. If you want to pack all your stuff up and go for a ride that lasts a week, get a touring bike. If you try to make a bike do something it's not designed for, you'll probably be unhappy with the result.

Let's start with the Soho. That's a lot of money to pay for a bike without a better drivetrain. Some people like simplicity but it should come at a reduced price not a premium. You may be getting a great frame but $1200 is a lot to pay for a 9 speed bike. Look elsewhere, you can do better.

The Trek SU's are kinda weird. I'm not sure who they are for or what they are for. Mountain bike - no. Road bike - no. Commuter - there's better. They are too much like a platypus for my taste.

Cutting to the chase, why not use the touring bike? I pulled a trailer for many, many miles with touring bikes and tandems. They do a great job. The bike is built to take a beating and it will carry just about any thing you care to put on it. I'm not sure how your trailer will fit with the discs (you'll want to check the fit before you buy) which is another strike against discs in my eyes. It will do the job very well and be fun to ride. I'd go for it over a cross bike or a hybrid.