Rob73

I was wondering if anyone could give me some bike advice.

I have a mountain bike - the montague paratrooper, but I am thinking of getting a road bike/hybrid, because the mountain bike probably isn't the most efficient bike for riding on roads.

It is mainly for journeys, on roads, ranging from 30 minutes to two hours, and usually with hills (sometimes quite steep). And also usually with a ruck sack.

I have a Marin hybrid bike from about 1996, which I think was a fairly good bike at the time, and was maybe about £500 at the time.

My bike:
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/...31_rb.jpg.html

details about the bike
https://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/B...e#.UVifEBycdtw

It needs new tyres, and probably needs a service, and maybe some other work.

Just wondering if you have any thoughts about how a 1996 bike would compare to a new one, and whether it is worth spending money on it, or whether I would be better off paying a bit more for a new bike.

Or to put it another way, how much would I have to spend on a new bike for the new bike to be better than this Marin (fully serviced).

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

(Also, although this is a different question, for the usage suggested, would a road bike be better than a hybrid)

xoxoxoxoLive

I have thought about your post, (went on a nice evening ride) & feel you should probably start with some new tires, and a good tune up. Ride the bike for a while, and see if it fits your riding style. If not, start making mental notes of what works, and does not. You either saved yourself some money, just (tires & tune), which you should do anyway. Or narrowed down your new bike's requirements, PLUS a nice Marin to ride as a back up.

percy kittens

I ride a Marin hybrid 2009 and average about 80 miles a week. I am permanently tethered to a rucksack, although I have a rear rack for heavier loads. I ride on roads (commuting) MUP's (paved and tree root bumps) and occasionally through fields or burning buildings when it looks more fun than the trail (read:impatient). I prefer the sturdier-ness of a hybrid to what I perceive as the delicateness of a road bike, much like mutts and alley cats beat purebreds any day for their chumminess and readiness to play and have fun.

Oh and I live in Seattle, land of a thousand hills. I go up hills I can barely walk, but my bike has 26 more speeds than my body does ;-)

I hope you can mine some usable data out of this.