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Which kind of bicycle should I choose? I am going to need a bike to ride the 2 mile or so distance from my Dad’s house to uni and back. The journey is quite hilly and all on the road so I am torn between the lightness and speed of a road bike and the versatility of a mountain bike.
I don’t want a heavy Apollo chunk of steel that takes major effort getting up a hill but I don’t want to look like a muppet as I will be wearing normal clothes not lycra if you see what I mean.
What do you think?
You can get a bike called a hybrid. The street version is like a road bike with an upright riding position (700c tires) or a comfort/path kind that has the tire thread that is good on the street but has the gearing of a mountain bike and uses 26 inch wheels. Both styles have bosses to attach racks and fenders. References :
You should get a road bike there lighter very fast makes going up hills very easy and its a smooth ride. Check out the trek 1.2 it’s perfect smooth about 20 pounds. It can cost you from $650 to $850 depending on were you get it from. Or if that’s a little to much then just get a ordinary road bike. References :
Road bikes are best for hills. I got murdered on some of the hills in my area. You ride on flats for a while and think you can hang with Lance Armstrong because you can sprint faster than some cars going 25mph and then you go on these hills and they slowly just MURDER you!! Those hills and the wind combined, I just got beat to a pulp.
Anyways, 2 mile ride isnt long. Most roadies go on rides atleast 20 miles or longer. Most of my rides are over 30 miles. But if you get a heavy mountain bike that weighs about 35lbs then you will definitely sweat going over those hills even if you are riding only 2 miles.
I recommend a road bike. For your short commute, which you could possibly walk at a leisurely pace and it would only take 45 minutes. Just so you know, most road bikes are expensive. The cheap ones you might get will likely be a waste of money.
P.S. I can run 2 miles around 13 minutes. I could jog that same 2 miles in 15 minutes. So if you think about it, you dont really need a bike. If you are worried about sweating, YOU WILL SWEAT IF YOU GO OVER HILLS EVEN IF ITS ONLY 2 MILES. Buying a road bike will be expensive. Even a decent mountain bike will cost you money. And considering the distance I think you are wasting your money if you get a bike.
And you dont need to put on a bike jersey and bike shorts just because you are riding a road bike. You might still want to consider clipless bike pedals and spending some decent money on good stiff cycling shoes. They will help you pedal more efficiently and make it easier for you to climb those hills. Sidi makes good cycling shoes that cost between $150 to $300. You can get the Shimano Ultegra Pedals for $130. Spend atleast $1,500 on your road bike if you plan on getting a bike. Get a bicycle with 105 components atleast. I think anything below a 105 series would be a waste of money in the long run because you will want those better shifters eventually. If you ride to school with those cycling shoes and clipless pedals you will need to have an extra pair of normal shoes in your back pack. Those cycling shoes will clack everytime you step on hard surface and they are also not very comfortable to walk in. You might want to get two bike locks. You will ALWAYS unlock your front wheel and tie it with your rear wheel with one lock and then lock the frame up against a post with the second lock. Someone MIGHT steal just your front wheel if you have expensive wheels. But if you spend around $1,500 most likely you will get wheels that are not even worth stealing. Still someone might take your front wheel because its that easy and they might need some training wheels or something. References :
buy cheap, anything second hand will do, its probably going to be stolen if its any good, avoid any bike with rear suspension, its a waste of effort. References :
April 11th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Which kind of bicycle should I choose?
I am going to need a bike to ride the 2 mile or so distance from my Dad’s house to uni and back. The journey is quite hilly and all on the road so I am torn between the lightness and speed of a road bike and the versatility of a mountain bike.
I don’t want a heavy Apollo chunk of steel that takes major effort getting up a hill but I don’t want to look like a muppet as I will be wearing normal clothes not lycra if you see what I mean.
What do you think?
April 11th, 2009 at 9:24 am
If the road is paved, I would get the road bike. If you plan on doing a lot of dirt riding, get the mountain bike.
References :
April 11th, 2009 at 9:26 am
You can get a bike called a hybrid. The street version is like a road bike with an upright riding position (700c tires) or a comfort/path kind that has the tire thread that is good on the street but has the gearing of a mountain bike and uses 26 inch wheels. Both styles have bosses to attach racks and fenders.
References :
April 11th, 2009 at 9:28 am
You should get a road bike there lighter very fast makes going up hills very easy and its a smooth ride. Check out the trek 1.2 it’s perfect smooth about 20 pounds. It can cost you from $650 to $850 depending on were you get it from. Or if that’s a little to much then just get a ordinary road bike.
References :
April 11th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Road bikes are best for hills. I got murdered on some of the hills in my area. You ride on flats for a while and think you can hang with Lance Armstrong because you can sprint faster than some cars going 25mph and then you go on these hills and they slowly just MURDER you!! Those hills and the wind combined, I just got beat to a pulp.
Anyways, 2 mile ride isnt long. Most roadies go on rides atleast 20 miles or longer. Most of my rides are over 30 miles. But if you get a heavy mountain bike that weighs about 35lbs then you will definitely sweat going over those hills even if you are riding only 2 miles.
I recommend a road bike. For your short commute, which you could possibly walk at a leisurely pace and it would only take 45 minutes. Just so you know, most road bikes are expensive. The cheap ones you might get will likely be a waste of money.
P.S. I can run 2 miles around 13 minutes. I could jog that same 2 miles in 15 minutes. So if you think about it, you dont really need a bike. If you are worried about sweating, YOU WILL SWEAT IF YOU GO OVER HILLS EVEN IF ITS ONLY 2 MILES. Buying a road bike will be expensive. Even a decent mountain bike will cost you money. And considering the distance I think you are wasting your money if you get a bike.
And you dont need to put on a bike jersey and bike shorts just because you are riding a road bike. You might still want to consider clipless bike pedals and spending some decent money on good stiff cycling shoes. They will help you pedal more efficiently and make it easier for you to climb those hills. Sidi makes good cycling shoes that cost between $150 to $300. You can get the Shimano Ultegra Pedals for $130. Spend atleast $1,500 on your road bike if you plan on getting a bike. Get a bicycle with 105 components atleast. I think anything below a 105 series would be a waste of money in the long run because you will want those better shifters eventually. If you ride to school with those cycling shoes and clipless pedals you will need to have an extra pair of normal shoes in your back pack. Those cycling shoes will clack everytime you step on hard surface and they are also not very comfortable to walk in. You might want to get two bike locks. You will ALWAYS unlock your front wheel and tie it with your rear wheel with one lock and then lock the frame up against a post with the second lock. Someone MIGHT steal just your front wheel if you have expensive wheels. But if you spend around $1,500 most likely you will get wheels that are not even worth stealing. Still someone might take your front wheel because its that easy and they might need some training wheels or something.
References :
April 11th, 2009 at 9:32 am
buy cheap, anything second hand will do, its probably going to be stolen if its any good, avoid any bike with rear suspension, its a waste of effort.
References :
April 11th, 2009 at 9:34 am
consider this
http://www.konaworld.com/09_dew_en.cfm
References :