Lexi01

I think i should clarify what I meant by jumps as a few people have mentioned BMX riding...

The jumps I'm referring to are purpose built mounds of compacted dirt placed on pretty straight, fast sections of track that looks not unlike the pic above. They range from 1 to 3 feet and you can attack them and get sone air or you can roll over them.

That's what I mean when I say jumps...just imagine the pic above with some very tempting mounds in your way...

cranky velocist

I don't see the picture, but from what you describe you will have no problem. Especially with light shocks. Roll over them & take air incrementally. If you feel unstable, back off. A flat bar hybrid with shocks is functionally not very different than a mountain bike - your posture might or might not be more upright or aggressive depending on the style of bike, and your tires might be different, but the components are the same.

Always test what your personal limits are, on any sort of obstacle, before you test your bikes'.

Talldog

Functionality would depend on whether you are comparing the hybrid to just the run of the mill "mountain bike" .... or comparing it to a good mountain bike, LOL. Big difference. I would not consider any of my hybrids as "not very different" from my mountain bikes. For a casual cruise offroad the typical mid range hybrid, such as the OP's, would be OK, but it could never compare against real MTB's for functionality on anything more than that. Just my opinion based on a lot of years riding both.

Lexi01

Previous page in reply by qmsdc15.

cranky velocist

I see where you are coming from, but in the context of the question asked - yes a rugged hybrid is generally 'trail worthy'. I wouldn't call high-end mountain bikes a waste of money over more common models per se, but it doesn't make much sense to specialize without a base level of experience. I've taken even my mid-range mtb on terrain my hybrid would disintegrate on, but if I didn't know what I was doing I would have fallen, or broken something, even before that point.

Like most of cycling, it seems the buy-in is relatively low but the upper end can get intimidatingly pricey. It tends to discourage new riders just as much as it encourages upgrades in the first place. IMHO/end rant.

Lexi01

Hi Guys,

As luck has it someone has filmed the exact trail I'm referring to down here in Australia. Thought I'd attach a link in case anyone is interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8A-B1yp_YU

Check out the little jumps at 2:58, 3:12, 3:30, 3:40 and 3:50. These are the ones I'm attacking hoping I don't bust my beauiful hybrid!

Cheers.

AdelaaR

It all depends on the exact hybrid.
If your frame is solid and your wheels aren't too fragile you should be fine.
Add to that some nice tires with knobs like actual MTB tires or CX tires and you'll be fine
For actual jumps I would recommend front suspension and seatpost suspension is good for rocky tracks as well I found.

ColinL

That is a very cool trail!

The jumps you mention, starting at 2:58, should be fine assuming you don't weigh overly much, you have front suspension at least (FS would help a lot with rear wheel survivability) and proper tire inflation. You'll want to run more air for those jumps than you would otherwise need on singletrack.

You could even do the earlier the jumps starting around 2:00 - 2:15 if you use proper speed and technique. The person filming the video is going fairly fast and getting some air, but seems to be landing smoothly with both tires. If you went faster and landed heavily on one wheel, you could easily bend a rim there. BUT it can be ridden safely at moderate speed with small amounts of air.

Lexi01

...and only 15mins from home!

I hope overly much is a relative term...I'm 102kg...but 6ft 5...so I'm not overweight but I'm bloody heavy!

ColinL

I would just hit those jumps at enough pace to easily go over the top and down the other side, then SLOWLY add some pace.

You don't want to hit one of those at high speed and be airborne for 2-3 seconds. That would probably be a bit much for your bike. (Fine for a downhill bike, though.)

cranky velocist

That looks like a really sweet trail to have in striking distance of your house!

Roll over the jumps, catch a little air, the speeds the video-grapher seemed to be taking through at least minute 4 should be fine. If you do catch air, land both tires at once.

Honestly, I'd be more concerned that your tires were wide enough for the sand/gravel than the jumps. But if they are, you should go for it.

MileHighMark

She ain't no MTB, but she does just fine off-road:



My commute includes 5-6 miles of dirt trails that are frequented by MTB'ers. I get some pretty weird looks riding my pannier-equipped road bike on said trails. People forget how versatile bicycles can be.

Lexi01

I'm tending to agree with you.

Though I did have a pretty embarrassing stack on my road bike the other day when I pulled over to the side of the road to answer a phone call...the ground was a little loose with a pretty deep patch of gravel. My 23mm tire got jammed in a rut and over I toppled.

Don't think anyone saw me though...so it didn't really happen right!

ColinL

Tipovers with no spectators definitely never happen. At all.

seat_boy

I wouldn't worry about your frame or fork off road. For a typical hybrid (or cross bike) the wheels will probably act like a kind of "fuse" in that they'll start to fail before the frame does.

Go slow and you'll be fine.

And I've run a 29 x 2.1tire on a Mavic Open Pro rim, which is something like 16mm wide. It worked OK (you just can't run super low pressure, as you need the air pressure to make up for the support the narrow rim doesn't provide)

Lexi01

My Wiggle order arrived a few days ago and I put the 2" 29er Conti Race Kings on my 17mm wheels and its fine.

So just to confirm - that's 2 posters now who have actually put "29er" tyres on a 700c wheel. They're the same size - different name.

votoms888

I haven't yet and I am pretty sure I wouldn't last too long. The hubs are 20h in the front and 24h in the back with 25c. With such a low spoke count I am sure I wouldn't make it to far.