New the bike scene need help

[Riding bob]

Hi all

Iam new to the bike scene and I have been riding a really old crap bike for about 3 months to and from work about 12km round trip and 20km on the weekend with a friend I have no idea where abouts to start there are so many types of bike my budget is $1000-$1300 I would like a mix between a road and mountain bike.

Any advise will be Mach appreciated

Cheers
Riding bob

[davesday]

Hey bob,

I just started riding too. It sounds like you should be looking at a hybrid here - MTB gearing, semi-slick tyres, at least 63mm front suspension travel kinda spec. Unfortunately they aren't really good on rough terrain. I know a guy on Youtube who took his Giant Roam 2 Disc on MTB trails and it seem to perform quite well. Maybe you want to check that out.

Otherwise you could always a MTB on the road, its just slower. Some riders hold a set of slick tyres they could swap for road riding and another set of MTB tyres for trail riding. That could work too.

[Riding bob]

Thanks dave I'll have a look cheers mate

Anyone else have any I should look at ?

[MattyK]

I have no idea where abouts to start. there are so many types of bike. my budget is $1000-$1300. I would like a mix between a road and mountain bike.

Start by looking around lots of bike shops and talking to people. No point rushing in to something you'll regret. Not that there are many bad bikes, but they suit different purposes.

Exactly what terrain do you ride on / want to ride on? Road bikes and MTB are massively different, and any compromise between them ends up being pretty poor at both.

My thoughts:
If you're riding on the road, but want a bit more comfort, then get a road style bike (drop or flat bar) with no suspension and relatively narrow slick tyres (28-32mm width). It won't go offroad, but it will handle gravel i

If you're riding on gravel or dirt or bumpy trails a lot (as in, a significant proportion of your commute/weekend ride) then get a MTB style bike with suspension and fatter knobby tyres. It will be slow on road though.

If you're just cruising, then get whatever comes in your favourite colour.

If you're doing both road and MTB as independent activities, then buy two bikes.

[zero]

Thanks dave I'll have a look cheers mate

Anyone else have any I should look at ?

Hybrid is the bad cheap end of halfway between cheap commuter and mountain bike, and usually have no performance advantages over a mountain bike onroad.

Cyclocross is halfway between mountain bike and roadbike, and pretty quick onroad - imo takes more effort/skill to ride than a hybrid or a mountain bike once the scenery is rough. A gravel road doesn't generally count as "rough". If your trails include single track and rock gardens, obstacles and drops, and you aren't talented at riding a bike, then you pretty much want a mountain bike and not a cyclocross bike.

[davesday]

Quite true. Hybrids are always the 'no-go' area.

Which is why the Giant Roam-series is quite tricky. Its no really a hybrid due to the geometry and the gearing is quite ok for road riding. The 63mm front travel isn't going to do amazing things on a MTB trail but would be great for normal bike paths and gravels (it has semi-slick tyres). I've ridden the Roam before on road (with and without suspension locked out). It rides good enough on road. I was testing that against the Talon 4 2015 which is slow as hell on road. For a commuter with a bit of MTB characteristics, I think the Roam is quite ok.

[Thoglette]

... to and from work about 12km round trip and 20km on the weekend with a friend ...I would like a mix between a road and mountain bike.

Read what I said elsewhere on this subject

Surly Long Haul Trucker is the default answer to your question, but not necessarily the best.

But if you start looking at bikes which are compared to it (eg. Trek 520) with relaxed geometries (long wheel base) and the ability to fit 32mm tyres you'll be laughing.

Your answer is somewhere between a urban/classic bike (complete with fenders and racks such as Trek Allant 7) and a CX (cyclocross - off road racing) bike.

[Duck!]

Cyclocross is halfway between mountain bike and roadbike, and pretty quick onroad - imo takes more effort/skill to ride than a hybrid or a mountain bike once the scenery is rough.

I wouldn't consider CX bikes as a halfway point; they're very much "roughed-up" roadies.