ginger green

I grew up in the shadows of the rocky mountains - so naturally I bought a mountain bike. Well with work and family I can never seem to find the time to actually go mountain biking. So I pulled off the nobby tires and put on slicks - this has been great - I can get in a great ride right out my front door in less than an hour. Most of the roads I ride are paved, some are gravel, some are just unpaved country roads. But I don't think I'll ever been mr mountain bike again.

What kind of bike do I need? Hybrid, cyclocross, road bike with nobby tires?

help?

johnny99

What sort of distances are you riding? If less than a couple of hours at a time, a mountain bike is fine. For longer rides, a cross bike might be more comfortable.

KevRC4130

Honestly, I do some pretty rugged off roading with my treadless Vittoria tires on my road bike. If you are comfortable with the ride and stability of a roadbike on dirt and gravel, and you have a good wheelset that you keep in true (though I don't even true my wheels), a road bike should be fine for you, especially if you get tires that are a little more treaded than average (though like I said, mine are totally slick and work fine).

If the rides you do are more off road than on, a road bike probably isn't your best choice. A road-oriented hybrid seems like a good choice. If you mostly do road and well packed dirt, then a full on road bike would work (assuming you are confident in riding a road bike in these conditions, some people want more stability).

FarHorizon

Consider the "Kona Dew" line. Their hybrid bikes work well all around.

simplyred

A cyclocross bike COULD do you well...
Seems that there's a bit of gravel in your ride, so yeah...
Just understand the geometry of a cyclocross is a bit different from general road bikes...

AnthonyG

I rode a mountain bike fitted with slicks for many years as a road bike and they do the job well. A little slow but comfortable.

So the real question is what do you want from a bike that your current bike doesn't satisfy?

Regards, AnthonyG

Hanzo

If your riding gravel and country roads you could probably just save your money and keep using what you have. One bike I have taken a liking to that would probably work well if you want a more road oriented bike is the Bianchi Volpe.

Peek the Geek

What kind of budget?

Cross bike might be good. Otherwise, you could consider a road bike with room for wider tires (depending on just how soft the unpaved roads are). For instance, my Gunnar Sport has a more stable geometry than most of the road bikes out there, has a steel frame that will absorb a lot of the rough stuff, and has clearance for 35mm tires.

jimx200

I'd go mt.bike as you get the stability, comfort, and with the slicks, decent speed. I much prefer my mtb if the roads a less than smooth. I still remember the pothole I hit with my old Yakota road bike (that had hell for stout Araya dbl. wall rims)...moving about 18mph, the pothole was a good 5-6" deep and it folded the rim in about a foot. I was lucky not to do the endover Evil Kanevil...
Another trick for speed is to find the highest pressure tire you can....80lbs in a 1.5 moves real well. Good luck, if you get a chance, try the cyclocross bikes and let us know what you think.

seely

Or just put a 12-28 cassette on your mountain bike and get 99% of the performance of a "hybrid" without the expense of an additional bike. You already got the slicks so you are halfway there.