What bike to buy

[jallanr]

Can anyone help. I am looking for a new bike, mainly so I can cycle about town and get fit on road, but I may also want to do some off road. Is there such a thing as a good MTB that is fully adaptable to road cycling or is my best option to get two bikes? Thanks.

[bikerdave]

There's no reason why a lightweight hardtail mtb, maybe something like an Orange P7, can't do both. It won't be as quick on the road as a good road bike but with slick tyres and maybe a fork lockout it will be fun and safe. Off road hardtails lose out on more technical trails to full suspension but as a compromise it's a lot cheaper than two bikes. I managed like this for quite a while until i my firm moved further away and a fast audax/light tourer made sense. I got a Bob Jackson audax spec for the road and a Santa Cruz superlight MTB and whilst they're better at their specific jobs it's a lot of money compared to one P7!
dave

[bikerdave]

If you like the above idea February's MBR has a test of 5 hardtails some of which might be ideal.