Swiftbikes

For years I have ridden a Montague folding bike. It has served me well, but I rarely take it apart and fold it up. Once in a while I will take it into the woods as there is plenty of that here on Cape Cod. We also have a sandy soil and most dirt roads have a large sand component. That being said, here in Falmouth and the western end of the cape, one can find some rather knarly trails. I'm thinking about buying another bike, a mountain bike, that will be more durable than the Montague. However, my bike seems rather solid. What say ye?

crackerdog

Most bikes can handle most trails, it depends on how fast you want to go. I use my Xtracycle on the trails around here and it is fine for adventure cycling but if I start to go at some good speed, the bike doesn't like it.

Swiftbikes

Only I can make the decision. However, I am now faced with it. The rear tire went flat on me so I have to take it off and at least patch the tube. For some this would be a good excuse to purchase a new bike because it takes work to change a tire on a bicycle. I'm lucky it went flat in the garage, too, so I'll have to try and be extra careful this time around. When it comes to folding bikes, I would say that they aren't worth the extra cost in most cases. My parents bought a pair of Montagues when they moved here on Cape Cod. He had an airplane, had another model previous, and thought that they would take excursions together. Unfortunately, they had a hard time just siting in a plane together. Consequently I inherited the bikes which had never been used.

mulleady

Your Montague will eat trails. You just need to invest in quality tyres like Schwalbe Marathron Supremes which are highly puncture resistant.

I find folding bikes are well worth the extra cost. You can take them anywhere and I never lock mine. I fold and bring it inside buildings and therefore it's much harder to steal! They tend to pay back on their investment.

mulleady

They cost less than a new bike and the best all-round for road and normal trails whilst offering extreme puncture resistance:

https://www.bikeradar.com/gear/catego...supreme--31009

The alternative is to line your tyres something one of the experts on this forum swears by (Jur). However I have the above on one of my bikes and boy they deserve their 5 star rating! I use them on off-road and on-road and they came as stock tyres on my Dahon Jetstream EX which is designed for trails.

Swiftbikes

Thanks for the replies. I changed the tire and tube on the bike today. Both were too old. The replacement which is a road tire and good tube rides well. I have already purchased a back country, trail and sand tire, but did not mount it at this time. Riding in the woods these days with the heavy humidity isn't the most enjoyable way to see Cape Cod. Too many insects.

mulleady

Well done a much better choice than replacing what is a very good bike that you have!

GlowBoy

Montagues are plenty durable. I don't see much point in upgrading unless you get to be a serious mountain biker and want to upgrade to full suspension. I'm considering eventually getting a Montague myself for dirt touring and mountain biking.

BTW if you got a flat riding trails in MA, you probably didn't get a puncture. You more likely got a pinch flat riding over a root or rock with too little air in the tire and/or too much weight on the wheel. Puncture resistant offroad tires are pretty limited in selection anyway, and you'll better avoid pinch flats by maintaining proper tire pressure and "riding light" (lift your butt off the seat a little bit, using your legs as suspension) over bumps.