Vittorious

I am 22 and a male. I am into weight lifting and I will be attending college. What I am getting at is I woul like a bike(s) to meet my goals: a) commuting to and from class while at school. b) for cardio and fitness purposes C) For off road adventures on the weekends with friends. I am wondering what bike would be best for these purposes. I would be willing to buy a seperate bike for mountain biking if I have to unless you guys suggest a hybrid that would do the job. My budget is $1000 and under. I really appreciate the help.

Abneycat

Either a cross bike, fully rigid mountain bike, or hardtail mountain bike would do fairly well both in the city and on the trail, its mostly a decision of how intense your off road riding might be that would determine the best of those.

Sixty Fiver

For off roading a decent mtb is the way to go and for $1000.00 you could get yourself on to a decent hardtail... 1 K won't get you a decent (new) full suspension bike.

If you have a good secondary market then you might find a decent fs in the $1000.00 range but then one should also possess some decent mechanical skills.

Also factor in how far your commute is and that you will need to have proper gear such as lights, helmet, rain gear.

If you got a good deal on a HT you might even have enough coin left to pick up a decent used road bike for road / urban riding.

There was a time I had one bike (hard to believe); a Trek 6700 HT that served as both my commuter and destroyer of off road trails... I ran two wheel sets so that I had some higher pressure semi slicks for the road and knobbies for the trail and singletrack.

MY HT is now back to being a trail and singletrack bike as I have other bikes that are far better suited for the commute in that they are a little faster and more efficient.

late

Check out cyclocross bikes, here's what they look like..

https://www.surlybikes.com/crosscheck_comp.html

markhr

try and find any of these on sale some of them have RRP higher than $1k while some are lower than $1k RRP

700c, drop bar, disc brake bikes

trek portland - https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...land/portland/

cannondale cross xr7 - https://www.cannondale.com/bikes/08/c...del-8XR7C.html

Brodie Ronin '08 - https://www.brodiebikes.com/2008/2008_bikes/ronin.php
Brodie romax '07 - https://www.brodiebikes.com/2007/2007_bikes/romax.php
brodie ronin '07 - https://www.brodiebikes.com/2007/2007_bikes/ronin.php

lemond poprad disc - https://www.lemondbikes.com/bikes/cross/poprad_disc.php

rocky mountain sherpa - https://www.bikes.com/bikes/2007/TOURING/sherpa-10.aspx

kona sutra - https://www.konaworld.com/08_sutra_w.htm

orbea diem drop disc - https://www.orbea.com/ingles/interior...ilia=6&gama=13

focus cross disc - https://www.focusbikesuk.com/focuscyc...cross_disc.php

devinci caribou2 - https://www.devinci.com/10479_an.html

raleighusa sojourn - https://www.raleighusa.com/items.asp?deptid=5&itemid=427

rei novara element - https://www.rei.com/product/744808

co-motion mazama - https://www.co-motion.com/mazama.html

rocky mountain Solo CXD - https://bikes.com/2008_preview/2008_preview.html

rotwild rs1cx - https://www.rotwild.de/en/ (street bikes section)

fixie inc. pureblood - https://www.cycles-for-heroes.com/200...pureblood.html

maxx roadmaxx custom (you choose the color and parts at the LBS and the factory puts it together, i.e., not a custom frame) - https://www.maxx.de/frmain_bikes.htm (road - roadmaxx custom)

Salsa la Cruz - https://www.salsacycles.com/laCruzComp08.html

Retro Grouch 

You might want to consider two different bikes. A mountain bike for the weekends and a POS of negligible value for a commute-to-class bike. That way when your commuter bike gets stolen you won't feel so bad.

Vittorious

Thank you for all of the responses I am looking into all of the advice and thanks for the links. I am leaning more towards buying a seperate mountain bike and commuter bike.

PapaLegba

a cyclocross bike would be a good idea.

or a singlespeed mountain bike.

Vittorious

Any thoughts on a 2008 specialized sirrus for my commuter bike

PapaLegba

those are the flatbar road hybrids, right?

very nice, i like.

i use a singlecross as my commuter.

Vittorious

yea it is here's the link https://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=32215

cyccommute 

If your budget is $1K or less for bicycles, I'd suggest getting as much mountain bike as you can. A Rockhopper Comp Disc, for example, is right at your budget. You can ride it to and from school (get a good lock) with the shock locked out and it will perform well out in the woods. Concentrate on off-road performance rather than on road performance if you want to do off-road riding. Cyclocross bikes, single speeds, hybrids, etc. will work off-road but you quickly reach the limits of their abilities...usually as you watch your buddies butts go over the top of the ridge

For commuting and riding around town, I'd stick with the knobbies on the mountain bike. Yes, the bike is slower and harder to ride but you stated that you want to use it for fitness and cardio work. What better way to get the proper workout then to have to work harder?

If you are worried about theft...and you should be a little concerned...for the commuter bike, take a trip to the local thrift stores and buy a POS that you really won't care about. But don't pay more then about $50 for it. Keep the mountain bike for those weekend adventures.

Garfield Cat

Campus bikes get stolen. Larger Universities will have their own bike shops on campus. Try the school newspaper and find a used bike. Even then, get a good lock. It will still upset you if the beater bike gets stolen and you have to be inconvenienced by walking to class from the apt or dorms.