mtber's, help!
06-11-05, 05:20 PM
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mtber's, help!
Help!
I've been mountain biking for maybe 2 years now...finally getting serious. I was gonna race this summer but then decided to work for one more year and start racing next summer. Then, it happened. The Senior Olympics race course came right through the street I live on, so I spent the whole day watching and cheering people on, even riding climbs with them. This was my first real experience with road "racers", and now im afraid im hooked. Up until now I was saving for a Blur, but all of a sudden im having these scary thoughts about buying a road bike. To top it off, Pittsburgh doesn't have the best singletrack.
What can I do short of heading out to Moab to rekindle the mtbing flame? Can I really manage to road and mountain bike race efficiently?
HELP!
I've been mountain biking for maybe 2 years now...finally getting serious. I was gonna race this summer but then decided to work for one more year and start racing next summer. Then, it happened. The Senior Olympics race course came right through the street I live on, so I spent the whole day watching and cheering people on, even riding climbs with them. This was my first real experience with road "racers", and now im afraid im hooked. Up until now I was saving for a Blur, but all of a sudden im having these scary thoughts about buying a road bike. To top it off, Pittsburgh doesn't have the best singletrack.
What can I do short of heading out to Moab to rekindle the mtbing flame? Can I really manage to road and mountain bike race efficiently?
HELP!
06-11-05, 06:13 PM
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a lot of people road bike in the winter and mtb in the summer. Road biking is enticing but I just need to get off the road when I ride. I like the thrill of not knowing what is coming, as opposed to just pedalling until I die. A blur's a pretty nice bike, so what I'd recommend is stick with the blur and start resaving for a decent road bike. You can always do some "urban assault" too?
06-11-05, 06:53 PM
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[B]I purchased a road bike on May 6 2005, I sold it last Sunday on Ebay $1225(I paid $1500 cannondale) I didn't enjoy riding on the street, people where I live DO NOT respect people on 2 wheels(miami,fl),& it simply wasn't for me I felt it was taking away from my mtb'ing time, I still have my hardtail when I feel the urge to rome in civilazation......
that's just my 2 cents
that's just my 2 cents
06-11-05, 06:53 PM
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With road bikes you don't have the 'technology' dropoff quite as severely as you do with MTB.
What I mean by that is that with 600 bucks you can get a road bike that'll work just as well as a 2,000 dollar machine. So much depends upon the rider, and so little on the machine. The same however is NOT true in MTB, generally speaking if you're going to do serious riding you'll be using the bike hard, and extra dollars spent on a good frame, brakes, suspension and gearing will be VERY pronounced.
Take for example my bike buys as of late. I went from riding a 1997 GT Karakoram MTB to a 2005 Giant NRS. HUGE, HUGE, HUGE difference. I'm faster, more comfrotable, and better able to handle the trails. On the roadie side I went from riding a 1984 Raleigh SuperCourse to a 2005 Litespeed Vela, although it sure is nice, I'm not a whole helluva lot faster.
So, in short my advice is to buy a nice midrange MTB, and don't feel like you're riding a 'junker' road bike if you buy something like an Allez, OCR, Nevada City or R500.
What I mean by that is that with 600 bucks you can get a road bike that'll work just as well as a 2,000 dollar machine. So much depends upon the rider, and so little on the machine. The same however is NOT true in MTB, generally speaking if you're going to do serious riding you'll be using the bike hard, and extra dollars spent on a good frame, brakes, suspension and gearing will be VERY pronounced.
Take for example my bike buys as of late. I went from riding a 1997 GT Karakoram MTB to a 2005 Giant NRS. HUGE, HUGE, HUGE difference. I'm faster, more comfrotable, and better able to handle the trails. On the roadie side I went from riding a 1984 Raleigh SuperCourse to a 2005 Litespeed Vela, although it sure is nice, I'm not a whole helluva lot faster.
So, in short my advice is to buy a nice midrange MTB, and don't feel like you're riding a 'junker' road bike if you buy something like an Allez, OCR, Nevada City or R500.
