Mountain and street help

[BajasurfJohn]

How about a nice 29"? Get a decent set of road wheels with appropriate gearing, and you really could have most of the benefits of a road bike, with the true off road capabilities of a mountain bike.
I raced many years on the road, and honestly, if you're not looking to keep up on a fast group road ride or race, a 29" with road wheels will get you 90% of the way there.
1 bike, 2 wheelsets. That way, you can put your money into better quality equipment.

Just a different possibility.

Los

Thank you for the info, one bike two wheel sets sounds perfect.I have no intention of racing either off or on road so I don't need something that will keep up in those conditions. It would be very easy to carry two bikes and 4 extra wheels on a bike rack. Then we would have both street and off road where ever we go. I am going to investigate! :victory:

Keep the ideals flowing guys!!

 

[Corey]

I too just got back into mountain biking after taking more than a decade off.
I looked around and found that Specialized was a good brand to go with, and I got a real good deal on my 2009 Rockhopper Pro.
I have kind of a build thread here.
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33761
Many more pics though of my setup in a thread at mtbr.com
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=566725

Check out the Specialized line of bikes if you get the chance.
My next bike will be a Specialized too, but a 29er.
I will still have the Rockhopper though.

 

[Christophe Noel]

Thank you for the info, one bike two wheel sets sounds perfect.I have no intention of racing either off or on road so I don't need something that will keep up in those conditions. It would be very easy to carry two bikes and 4 extra wheels on a bike rack. Then we would have both street and off road where ever we go. I am going to investigate! :victory:

Keep the ideals flowing guys!!

Do keep in mind that the tweener bikes like a cyclocross rig and a mountain bike with slicks are not going to excel at any one discipline other than what they were designed for. That 29er rig will certainly be great offroad, but on the pavement, even with slicks, it really won't have the efficiency of a full blown roadie. That may or may not be a big deal to you. The cyclocross rig will be fantastic on fire roads and not too darn shabby on pavement, but singletrack will be tough. I suppose it all depends on how well you want a given bike to perform in certain settings.

 

[BajasurfJohn]

Do keep in mind that the tweener bikes like a cyclocross rig and a mountain bike with slicks are not going to excel at any one discipline other than what they were designed for. That 29er rig will certainly be great offroad, but on the pavement, even with slicks, it really won't have the efficiency of a full blown roadie. That may or may not be a big deal to you. The cyclocross rig will be fantastic on fire roads and not too darn shabby on pavement, but singletrack will be tough. I suppose it all depends on how well you want a given bike to perform in certain settings.

Well I will be on the street only to get cardio and maybe run to the store. My want of a quality road bike lies in having something that will not give me problems with cheep components. I have no plan to race on the street or participate in any group rides. Its strictly for exercise. Now on the dirt I plan to explore trails and maybe participate in some group rides. Again nothing hardcore just enjoying the ride type of a deal. I wont bee hitting any big air or kamikaze down hill stuff. For my skill level a wall mart special would probably suffice but I want a quality piece that wont be prone to failure. I know anything will fail if neglected but I just don't want something to wrench on all the time. I build Hot Rods and custom VW's so I get enough Time on the wrench. Does a 29er fit what I want ? Or should I just bite the bullet and buy a full on mtb and street bike ??

 

[BajasurfJohn]

I guess one other question should be, is the 29er going to be ergonomically correct for a long distance street ride? Like 20-30 miles? or are they going to be to inefficient for long street rides?

 

[Christophe Noel]

A 29er mountain bike is just that, a mountain bike. We could go on and on about the virtues of 29 inch wheels, but the fact is a 29" wheeled mountain bike is still a mountain bike. No, it will never equal the efficiency of a road bike. But, that may not matter for your needs. One thing to clear up - the vast majority of road riders never enter a race and never ride group rides. Most roadies just enjoy the ability to knock out dozens of miles in a fast, efficient manner. It's very Zen. You can certainly do it on a 29er mountain bike with slicks, but the positioning and gearing will never equal a true road bike.

I think you need to go ride some bikes. Take a road bike for a whirl. Rent a sweet mtb rig, take it to Bootleg Cayon and let'er rip! See what calls to you.

 

[BajasurfJohn]

A 29er mountain bike is just that, a mountain bike. We could go on and on about the virtues of 29 inch wheels, but the fact is a 29" wheeled mountain bike is still a mountain bike. No, it will never equal the efficiency of a road bike. But, that may not matter for your needs. One thing to clear up - the vast majority of road riders never enter a race and never ride group rides. Most roadies just enjoy the ability to knock out dozens of miles in a fast, efficient manner. It's very Zen. You can certainly do it on a 29er mountain bike with slicks, but the positioning and gearing will never equal a true road bike.

I think you need to go ride some bikes. Take a road bike for a whirl. Rent a sweet mtb rig, take it to Bootleg Cayon and let'er rip! See what calls to you.

I knew it was too good to be true. I plan to go ride some bikes this week. I was going to go this weekend but I had family in town. I think in the end I will end up with the two bikes just like I figured and I'll probably have way to much money in them. :bike_rider:
I am sure something will call my name as I start testing them out!

 

[Christophe Noel]

I would love for there to be one bike to do it all, but the reality is, that's a tall order. Not long ago I had a road bike, a mountain bike, a commuter, a time trial bike, a cyclocross bike, a townie cruiser, etc. That was a smaller stable than I've had in the past. The fact is, one type of bike may call to you and that might be your thing. For years I was a die hard roadie. I'd log 10,000 miles or more a year on my roadie. My mountain bike would gather dust. Now, I spend a dozen hours a week on my mountain bike. Go figure.

Figure out what type of riding you want to do now and buy the bike that fits that desire. If this bug really takes hold, you too will own a rack of purpose built rigs.

 

[BajasurfJohn]

I would love for there to be one bike to do it all, but the reality is, that's a tall order. Not long ago I had a road bike, a mountain bike, a commuter, a time trial bike, a cyclocross bike, a townie cruiser, etc. That was a smaller stable than I've had in the past. The fact is, one type of bike may call to you and that might be your thing. For years I was a die hard roadie. I'd log 10,000 miles or more a year on my roadie. My mountain bike would gather dust. Now, I spend a dozen hours a week on my mountain bike. Go figure.

Figure out what type of riding you want to do now and buy the bike that fits that desire. If this bug really takes hold, you too will own a rack of purpose built rigs.

The rack of bikes is what I fear! I tend to over do everything I get involved in, one of my character flaws I guess.

 

[1speedlos]

A 29er mountain bike is just that, a mountain bike. We could go on and on about the virtues of 29 inch wheels, but the fact is a 29" wheeled mountain bike is still a mountain bike. No, it will never equal the efficiency of a road bike. But, that may not matter for your needs. One thing to clear up - the vast majority of road riders never enter a race and never ride group rides. Most roadies just enjoy the ability to knock out dozens of miles in a fast, efficient manner. It's very Zen. You can certainly do it on a 29er mountain bike with slicks, but the positioning and gearing will never equal a true road bike.

I think you need to go ride some bikes. Take a road bike for a whirl. Rent a sweet mtb rig, take it to Bootleg Cayon and let'er rip! See what calls to you.

In my opinion, a mountain bike with a set of "road" wheels is a really great way for someone to get in some road miles. I'm talking about a different wheelset, 700cX25mm tires, 11-25 or -27 cassette. A trend I saw before leaving the bike industry was a lot of companies putting out some fairly high end flat bar road bikes. A properly set up 29" mountain bike can easily fill in for this. It's definitely not a substitute for a full-on road bike, but if space and money are limiting factors, I feel absolutely confident in recommending the 29" for double duty.
My wife has this type of set up instead of a road bike, and she's able to keep up on road rides without a problem.
If one is looking at getting nice equipment, the cost of 2 bikes gets out of hand rather quickly. And rack space on an expedition vehicle is better limited to 2 bikes rather than 4.
Flounder makes great points, but I really believe that this is a viable option.

Either way, welcome back to cycling!

Los

 

[FreeManDan]

I feel absolutely confident in recommending the 29" for double duty.

Yes! ......and the selection of 29er tires you could use on a double duty bike is not to shabby.

Small block 8, nano raptor, weirwolf, ect