What bike should I get??
 

Hello. Im 17 and I have a cheap cheap bike that i use to go to the store when im too lazy, but ive started to go out for longer trips with friends and this bike i have right now is just too ****ty and I get super tired cycling it for longer times because its too slow. So i have decided i wanna spend the 400 euro I have to buy a solid bike. I dont want one of those road bikes that have suuuper skinny tires, since i like to do wheelies and do jumps and all, but also dont want a mountain bike since most of the time im on the road and they are just too slow. So I think the right bike for me is the hybrid bike, but I have no idea which one. Ive looked around some sites and ive stopped myself on the "Giant Escape 3"

Since I know nothing about bikes, I would like to ask if that bike is right for me? (from what ive told u im looking for). Tell me what u think ^^

-Thank you! :smile:

The only one that say if this is the right bike for you is........well YOU. but what I can say is that the giant escape 3 is a solid entry level hybrid and a great bike for the price point. I ride a giant escape 2 and am extremely happy with it.

I always wondered who Hybrid bikes were for anyway, but I guess it would be perfect for you.

If you don't want a road bike, but don't want a mountain bike, I guess a Hybrid is the middle between that. Just make sure the tires aren't TOO wide, or it will feel more like a mountain bike to ride over long distances. 32mm would probably be good. The Giant Escape 3 seems like it has 32mm tires, so thats good. Seems like a good bike for you.

Another thing I would think of is a Cyclocross bike, which is basically a road bike with wider tires and Disc brakes, but you won't find that for 400 euros, unless it is second hand.

NO, IMHO, you definitely need a mountain bike. You'll want to buy a hard tail, possibly even a rigid fork, but you need an MTB for the strong frame and components. a 29er would give you the same wheel size as a road bike, but with a build more suited to the tricks you want to perform. Once you buy it, change out the tires to a more road oriented tire. Now do your thing. If you buy a hybrid, don't do wheelies or jumps, especially jumps. Personally, I like the old 26ers. A 26er wheel is too small for your applications. Another compromise might be to buy a 650b (27 1/2) tire sized MTB. The larger wheel will help with road applications. However, I repeat, you'll want a good mountain bike.

a mountain bike and put these on:


https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...r-26-inch-tire

a hard tail is good advice. and I would recommend you buy a USED bike that retailed for a lot more than 400 EU but used is 40 EU under INSTEAD of buying a new one that is 400 EU. You get a lot more bike for your money and it will be so vastly superior to the piece of poop you are riding now.

What types of bikes are your riding companions riding on?
Paved? Gravel? Dirt? Dirt Trails?

Nobody will be happy if they are on $1000+ road bikes, and you're trying to keep up on a $300 hybrid.

Ok I looked at this mountain bike...(Giant ATX 2). Tell me what you think? Will wheelies be easy to do on it?

What do u think of the Giant ATX 2? Would that be good? Also will wheelies be easy on it?

If you want to do to THIS stuff and ride long distances with little work they are two different bikes:




cool video....


The giant ATX 2 is a good entry bike.


But, I would go with smoother tires:


Michelin Wild Run'R Slick MTB Tyre | Chain Reaction Cycles


So for 40 bucks more you change out the tires that come with it and put on these and you can run with the other dogs on the roads and you will be much faster than the knobbies it comes with. Also, remember to keep your tire pressure UP. The harder the tire the faster they are as a general rule.


I am not sure what these are rated at but pump it up to the max rating.

The video... is that The Giant ATX 2 he is using?? o_O
Doesnt look like it...

actually for that bike with 27.5 tires you would get these---


Freedom ThickSlick 27.5" City Tire

Of course not. I am merely saying you CAN'T do the stuff he is doing AND have a bike you can ride long distances on the road with. You need TWO bikes for doing BOTH.

McCaskill is a PRO. His bike costs thousands of dollars.

Ah okay... makes sense. Hes rly good...^^

Dude this guy is sick... i watched some more videos of him. That guys skill is just... wow. Also his bikes are sick xD

On slow paved endurance rides, width has almost no performance effect; how the tire is constructed is what matters. Most ultra-wide road tires are pretty slow, but that's mostly because there aren't many high-performance options in those sizes. They do exist, though - the larger tires in Schwalbe's One series, or Compass tires, to name a few - and they roll great even in outlandish widths. It makes for a pretty versatile bike, since the wide tires excel on rough surfaces or loose rocky gravel as well.

Large wheels are nice for MTB because they have a better angle-of-attack for rolling over huge irregularities. Road irregularities are so tiny that it doesn't really matter.

The biggest caveats with small wheels in road riding are probably making sure the gearing is high enough to compensate for the low wheel diameter, and road tire options aren't as extensive in the small sizes.

I'm in around the same boat as you!

I thought you would enjoy the it and the other of McCaskills videos. I have watched Industrial Revolutions maybe a 100 times. The point is trick bikes are not road distance riding bikes. You need 2 bikes. But for riding around on the streets with your buds AND doing wheelies the advice of getting a mountain bike and put smooth tires on it so you can ride longer distances with less work is my recommendation. Plus I did it to my mountain bike and it looked as badass as it was functional in terms of making it a lot less work to ride!

About the ATX. A couple years ago I was asked to do a search of new MTBs for the best entry level value. Hands down it was the ATX. I haven't compared it to the 2017 models offered by TREK, Cannondale and Specialized so I don't know where it stacks up today. But the ATX was way ahead of the competition in it's price class back in 2015. Consider, 27.5 wheels vs 26, 100 mm fork vs 75 or 80mm, Disc brakes vs Vs on one of the competitors. IMHO, the ATX might be a good choice. However, it's going to be heavier than a road bike so you won't be able to keep up with a fast road bike group. You'll have to change out the knobbies to road tires to ride it on the road.
A previous post said to do it right, you have to have two bikes and that is correct. However, I'm guessing your funds are limited. That said, you can ride a MTB on the road, albeit somewhat slower, but you can't ride a road bike on a MTB single track doing jumps and wheelies. So I recommend you buy the MTB first, then look for a road bike.
Consider older road bikes are almost as fast as new bikes, especially when you're talking about entry level bikes. You're better off with a higher end used bike than a new entry level bike. MTB technology has advanced rapidly. A ten year old medium level bike is probably outdated. It's a tough choice but you've got to make a decision at some point and you're right about needing a good quality bike if you're going to do some serious MTB riding. Walmart bikes just don't make it in the real MTB world.