FarHorizon

I bought a Specialized Hardrock mountain bike on Friday (new at the LBS for $350. Of course, I then went to a garage sale on Saturday & saw an almost identical model from Schwinn for $100...). I've never ridden a mountain bike before. I LIKE IT!

With road bikes, I've always had to be on the lookout for pavement cracks, mud on the bike path, leaves, gratings, etc. With this MTB and its wide, knobbed tires, I just RUN OVER those obstacles! This is fun!

On the negative side, the bike is heavier, I don't like the stock seat (surprise!), and I don't care for the stock pedals. I'll visit the shop on Monday and get all these items except the weight taken care of. The additional weight may actually be a virtue since I'm riding primarily for exercise right now.

In any case, I wanted to ask how many others of youse gals & guys ride both MTB and road bikes? What kinds of stuff can I do on my new MTB that I never even thought of on my roadie? If I'd known what fun these were, I'd sure have tried one before now! The MTB is obviously more suitable for my daily riding environment than my roadie is, and consequentlly, I'm wiling & able to ride it not only longer but also significantly harder. My 25 miler this morning was more vigorous and fun than any I've ridden in a long time!

The thread title sums it up: WHEEEEEEEEEEE!

DnvrFox

I started on a Spec Hardrock, and still have it 8+ years and about 13,000 miles later.

I rode it today as, with recovering from my strained back, it provides more of an upright position.

I have a rack and two panniers and use it for shopping, etc. Tomorrow, my wife and I are going on a dirt-type road following the Platte River up into the mountains. We will both be riding Spec HR's.

Did you get slicks? If not, you might want to consider. I have 36 spoke wheels, and they have lasted well, with one spoke replacement a couple of years ago.

Have fun.

WWWWwwwwHHHHhhhhEEEEeeee!

Skullo 

The thread title sums it up: WHEEEEEEEEEEE!

I am on my second year on a custom built (by me) Mountain bike.My road bike dealt out too much pain. Probably because of a couple herneated discs and nerve damage down my left arm. I had surgery on it over twenty years ago. I found a new Marin hardtail frame and built it up with a suntour front suspension and a xt 9 speed group.Shimano trekking crank with 48 tooth big ring. 1.3 inch slicks.sram road cassette in the back. Brooks b17. I now ride almost pain free.It is heavy but I can still do twenty + on the flats with no wind.I will put my fitness level above guys my age riding sub twenty pound road bikes. Did a solo century on it last year. Still get that pain in the rear after 70 miles but don't think that will get better. I have the parts together to build a touring bike with that same group on a early 90's Daimond Back Sorrento steel frame. I have never had a modern updated road bike, maybe there is one for me out there, but dont want to spend that kind of money on something that I cant ride. I have test ridden them but can't get a real feel on a test ride.

nedgoudy

Congratulations on the new Mtn. Bike.
If I were you, I'd try a recumbent. You
would probably be so happy as to pee
your pants or think you were having a
stroke. Really... Bents are that good!

roccobike

Congratulations on the Specialized Hardrock MTB! I know I'm biased (see my signature) but I think Specialized makes the best hardtail and entry level dual suspension mountain bikes so I think you're going to be real happy with that particular bike.
What can you do with it? Well, if your Hard Rock is like my Rockhopper, it will be happiest on a mountain trail. I mean, the darn things come alive, especially with the current (higher) quality of shocks that are on the Hardrock and Rockhopper. I also like to take my bike on gravel MUPs for a change of pace. I don't take my MTBs on the road, but that's just me.
Try a few mountain trails. I think all MTBs like Hardrock's should come with a warning stick. "Warning, riding this bike on a mountain trail is addictive." I just returned from a 1 hour 45 minute workout on an advanced trail. I'm totally beat and I love it.
Keep us posted with your next rides. And don't forget PICTURES! We crave PICTURES.
Best of luck with the new bike FarHorizon.

BluesDawg

Forget the slicks. You have a road bike. Ride that sucker off-road where it was made to be ridden. Singletrack is so much fun! I am primarily a road rider, but I love playing in the dirt about once a week.

NembaBruce

I am new to road biking, but have been mountainbiking for 6 years. I love my new road bike and enjoy the pure bicycling pleasure of cruising along a 20 mph, but there is nothing more fun than good off road single track. Find a mountain bike organization in your area and inquire about local trails maintained by mountain bikers. You will have a blast. You will probably be upgrading to a better and full suspension XC bike next year.

Enjoy.....

stapfam

Now what can you do with a mountain bike> To start off you can go and get it muddy. You have found out about the stock pedals and seat, but fairly shortly you will be wanting a better mud plugging tyre. Panaracer Fire XC,s and if you can afford them get the Kevlar beaded form. Then you can really hit the hills, and the trees, and the Bushes and the odd cow that suddenly stands up from the long grass in front of you. Yes I've done that too. These things are strong so no worries about that little 6" kerb to jump off. Going up them is different as you have to learn to bunny hop, but when you get accomplished at this skill, you can jump into the middle of that muddy puddle and spray every one for 20ft around with gunge. Then there are the hills. Forget about your long steep road hills. These things , with their low gears and grippy tyres will climb the side of a mountain if you want to. It will also help on raising your heart rate. Besides the effort involved on getting them to climb mountains- The thrill of going down the other side at 50 mph because you forgot to connect the brakes back up from when you repaired the 3rd puncture of the morning, will definitely get the HR up.- and yes I've done that aswell. Then there are the "Expeditions" to do. Get the wife to drop you off about 100 miles away at 6 am in the morning and ride back offroad home. Easyily manageable in a day, but try and do it on the longest day of the year- or carry lights with you. Oh thats the other thing- Get out Night riding. That is fantastic. Especially when you find out that the $150 lights you bought have the Power of *fork andles*and you can't see the state of the track in front of you. Don't know if that shadow is a hole, deep mud, dead fox, Or even worse a live one sleeping that does not take kindly to being woken up, so another Heart rate rise in the offing. What got me about those lights was that they worked completetly adequately on the road, but for offroading you do need good lights. Preferably two of them with the power of a searchlight.

What can you do with a mountain Bike- Anything you want except go fast on tarmac.

*Fork andles* Find out about the Infamous 2 Ronnies Sketch. Explanation will come later if the British sense of humour is not the same as yours.

FarHorizon

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. My reply on recumbents is "yes and no." My first 'bent was a Bacchetta Corsa. I liked the position, but profoundly DIDN'T like the twitchy steering. My second 'bent was a Catrike Speed. Yes, I loved that one, but my wife forbid me to ride it on the street because it was so low. That one got resold too. My final 'bent experiment will be a long-wheelbase, low-front-crank model that is not too reclined. I don't know what the make or model will be, but I'll sure keep y'all posted.

FarHorizon

That is the reason I bought it, and it is working! I find I ride harder on the MTB because I'm less concerned about breaking the bike. That alone is worth having. I don't think I'll be selling this bike anytime soon.

stapfam

You work harder- or The Mountain bike makes you work harder.

I have just got a Road bike and I find that It is harder to get the HR up on the Road bike. I just look at the Bianchi and my heart rate starts rising with the thought of that first hill.

Digital Gee

Far, what kind of mountains do you have in Baton Rouge??? I don't remember much of my geography class, and I SURE don't remember a moutain range down there...

BluesDawg

You're just not trying hard enough

leob1

You can ride in the snow, it is fun, right up to the part where your heart explodes.
You can also fall and get hurt in a thousand way you never thought possible.
You can ride through hubs high weeds then realise half of it is poison ivy.
You can roll over rotten sticks, have a piece jump into your RD and thoroughly trash it and bend the hanger in seven directions.
You can use your helmet to knock low hanging branches out of the way.
You can ride on a trail lined with wild roses, which will grab you and filet your arms.
You can have your wife or SO pick the ticks off of you after a ride.
You can get a mouth full of the mud that comes off your front wheel.
You can go into work on monday, find another MTB'er and laugh at the stupid things you did, and your latest injuries.
I could go on and on, but most of all you will have fun riding your new bike.

FarHorizon

They just CALL them "Mountain" bikes - actually, they're "FUN" bikes! Yes, we have FUN in Louisiana!

roccobike

Details, Details, Why be concerned about details.

Monoborracho

In my experience, you can do an "endo"...as in end over end, join the "OTH" Club...........over the handlebars club, or some other fun stff. But what do I know?, I'm predjudice since I am typing with my left hand for the next few weeks.

Did you lower you med ins deduct? Just a thought.

REALLY, just go enjoy the difference. I love both my old Schwinn Mesa GSX's, one w/knobs & one with 1.5 road tires

centexwoody 

just have fun on it: I like my steel frame MTB cuz it's like a tank & with Armadillo tires, it feels like a rolling urban assault vehicle in town & a range rover out in the woods/fields/country roads

the weight will always be with you: mine weighs 35 lbs but at 220 lbs myself, I never worry about whether it's going to hold up or crack or something weird

yup WHEEEEEE! is the key: enjoy

stapfam

Do get the HR up, mainly on the hills, but On the flat, I reckon that 20 mph is quite fast enough, and at that speed- HR is well down from the MTB. I ride on my own so no inclination to go faster, or beat the time down to Breakfast, or get tangled up with the traffic.

MTB's are harder to propell, even with slicks so can't wait till October when there are a couple of road centuries coming up. Then I will see if I can break my 4 hrs 10mins for the metric.

BluesDawg

Well, yeah, if you coast on the flats you won't get the heart pounding very much.

no motor?

I bought a Specialized Hardrock last Thanksgiving, and haven't found much I couldn't do with it except ride too fast, and I can do that on my motorcycle. I pedaled it through the cold and snow in the winter and in the rain during the spring and summer when the only other bicycles I saw were being pedaled by people going to/from work who looked like they didn't own a car; pedaled on the road, on trails and paths, and ran errands with it. I've pedaled it to my girlfriends house and then gone pedaling with her (when the slower speeds matched her cadence better than a faster road bike would have). Unlike my friends with fancier road bikes, I haven't had to do much maintenance to it and have been able to spend more time exercising and less time wrenching.

FarHorizon

Sounds like what I expect from mine, no motor! I'm hoping to get my wife involved with biking and if I get her a "faster" bike, we can go together - me on the MTB and her on her "racer." We'll see.

no motor?

I was thinking earlier today about what I would change on it or what other kind of bicycle I'd want if I couldn't ride this one and couldn't come up with anything. I'd like to add a rack and bag, but that's all and I'd want to do that with whatever else I was pedaling.
We're taking off for another overnight trip this weekend with some friends and we're all bringing bicycles. I expect to be needing the extra effort to go faster to even out the pace with the rest of the group. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine.

FarHorizon

I got some fenders for it, and ordered a two-bolt seat post (the stock post had one bolt & not fine-enough seat-tilt-adjustment.