advice needed.

[jon3619]

hey

im looking at buying a mountain bike mostly for road use and abit of off road. i have a budget of upto about 250 pounds. i know its not a huge budget but its just a bike to get from a to b, mostly to work and back. i am 6"2 in height and have no idea what frame size to get and also dont know where to get the bike from. i was looking at halfords but people say they aint very good from there. so i was looking in a shop called cycle king. i found one called "ammaco countach" from cycle king for 259, anyone heard anything about it?

[Mark1978]

Ask yourself why you want a mountain bike specifically. If it's for road use then you'll be putting in a lot more effort than necessary.

If its just roads and off road cycle paths a hybrid is what you want.

As for retailers then google Evans Cycles. Otherwise try your local bike shop.

You should be able to get a basic hybrid or tourer for your budget.

Don't worry about the frame size any decent retailer will tell you what you need just by looking at you.

[jon3619]

reason i want a mountain bike is because its what i have always used. i like the durability of them and also you can turn sharper (like they are more stable) i also dont like the look of hybrid bikes. i hybrid really much better on roads?

[al_yrpal]

Look at the forum at http://www.bikeradar.com . Its where all the mountain bikers are. Supersonic is the guru and you will note he strongly recommends bikes from Halfords and Decathlon. There is a lot of ignorant snobbery about these shops, but their offerings are better value and good quality. This forum is heavily populated by old guys, some of whom tour, not knowledgeable mountain bikers.

Al

[rapidfire72]

Try the MTBE forum, http://www.mtbe.co.uk/ 100% mountain bikers, will give good advice.

[Si]

. i like the durability of them and also you can turn sharper (like they are more stable)

That's a bit contradictory - the faster you can turn the less stable the steering. However, at your price point the handling of the bike is a bit of a lottery, especially if you want a real MTB rather than a look-a-like...all sorts of compromises need to be made to get it that cheap. A road race bike, BMX, jump bike, etc will all turn a lot 'sharper' than a trad XC bike. A road tourer or a hybrid may be more stable.

i also dont like the look of hybrid bikes.

TBH, the term 'hybrid' covers a multitude of bike types - anything from an old school MTB to a fast road race bike with flat bars. If you are using an XC MTB on the road, and make some adjustments to it such that is is better suited for that purpose (e.g. slick tyres, bar ends, guard, etc) then you are basically going to have something that falls under the broad church of what is commonly termed 'hybrid' anyway - but you will have paid more because you will have had to get the extras.

i hybrid really much better on roads?

As already hinted at - it's not so much whether it's a hybrid or an MTB, but whether it has been set up for road use and how much it has cost you to get there. Your standard mtb today will come with knobbly tyres (really slow you down on the road - better to put slicks on), front suspension (adds weight and more maintenance, not to mention the 'bob' you get going up hills, plus at this price point they don't work that well anyway - better to have a rigid fork for road work as it will make riding easier and faster), perhaps rear suspension (see previous comments and multiply by 10), and in many cases no mounts for a rack or mud guards (which you may not think that you want until you start riding in the bad weather or need to lug loads around). We also have the issue of disc brakes - good disc brakes are great but at this price point you can't guarantee that you'll get good ones. Bad disc brakes can be much worse than the equivalently priced V brakes.

One option would be to buy second hand as it will allow you to get a lot more bike for your money, but given that many MTBs have hard lives with lots of crashes, i would not recommend this unless you have someone with some experience in this sort of thing to have a look at bikes for you.

So bottom line - an Mtb can be perfectly adequate for road riding with a few changes, but thse changes will cost you more money. It may be that you can get a bike that has a tough MTB type frame but that comes ready fitted with these changes (and that bike will normally be sold as a 'hybrid' ). I guess you have to ask yourself -exactly how much off road will you be doing, and at what level, and does this justify starting from an MTB?

[Mark1978]

reason i want a mountain bike is because its what i have always used. i like the durability of them and also you can turn sharper (like they are more stable) i also dont like the look of hybrid bikes. i hybrid really much better on roads?

It's like using a Landrover on the roads, it'll work but that's not what it's designed for and you'll pay a heavy penalty in fuel - or in this case the effort you have to put in.

But if you want a MTB then go ahead, but next time you are struggling along a road remember us fondly

[al_yrpal]

reason i want a mountain bike is because its what i have always used. i like the durability of them and also you can turn sharper (like they are more stable) i also dont like the look of hybrid bikes. i hybrid really much better on roads?

It's like using a Landrover on the roads, it'll work but that's not what it's designed for and you'll pay a heavy penalty in fuel - or in this case the effort you have to put in.

But if you want a MTB then go ahead, but next time you are struggling along a road remember us fondly

That depends. I would agree with that statement if you ride a MTB on the road with its original tyres. If you fit something like these http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/active-line/land-cruiser/ you have practically the same rolling resistance on the road as with any other smooth tyre AND lots of grip off road. Modern Mountain Bikes are often as light and sometimes lighter than conventional tourers. Their geometry gives them better stability. They usually have heavily sloped top tubes for easy dismounting. The only thing you must do is lock the forks out while going uphill because bobbing absorbs a bit of energy. I have toured long distances on MTBs and I didnt feel any to disadvantage doing so. Thats why my tourer is a Halfords Subway, it has a great spread of gears, its more stable loaded than many touring bikes, it has discs for superior braking and its very comfortable. If I only had one bike, for versatility, I would choose a MTB.

Al