Starting out on MTB trail

LowOdour

I have a seldom used 2 year old Carrera Hybrid bike, which i want to start getting some use out of. The Derroura Mountain Bike Trail in Oughterard Galway is quite close to me so thinking about bring bike up for a spin to start getting back in shape. Is the bike trail tough going for a beginner? Would a hybrid be ok to start out with there?

kenmc

you need a mountain bike for mountainbiking.

shaka

If its a mountain bike trail you will need a mountain bike , hybrid wont do unless you want to buckle yourself

shigllgetcha

Carrera hybirds are usually just the mountain bikes with rigid forks and slick tyres.

Is that true of yours?

You could stick mtb tyres on it and see how you get on. I dont know how rough that tail is though, maybe its way too rough with a rigid fork

LowOdour

shigllgetcha wrote: »

Carrera hybirds are usually just the mountain bikes with rigid forks and slick tyres.

Is that true of yours?

You could stick mtb tyres on it and see how you get on. I dont know how rough that tail is though, maybe its way too rough with a rigid fork

i will need to check about the bike, not too clued up on it. as for the trail, om going for a look up there on friday to see what its like

shigllgetcha

Whats the name of the bike?

LowOdour

shigllgetcha wrote: »

Whats the name of the bike?

its a carrera subway. just read up on it there, it is suitable for light trails so probably wont do for the derroura trail

shigllgetcha

Yeh I think the subway is the same frame as the vulcan which is a good MTB frame. The components mightnt be up to much abuse though on the subway

Id be tempted to throw some mtb tyres on it, try it out on some forestry roads. But good mtb tyres arent all that cheap, it mightnt be worth it

mf1000

Derroura has quite a climb and can be a bit rough in places. It also demands a fair bit of bike skills in some sections - especially the boardwalks.

If you have not done much off-road cycling before then I would suggest that you go as far as Clonbur/Cong woods first. There are a lot of nice tracks there that are perfect for a hybrid. There are no big hills but there are a number of interesting sights along the way - Caves, Guinness Tower, Cong Abbey, Ashford Castle, the Corrib & Mask as well as some interesting limestone areas. I sound a bit like a tour guide here :-)

Most of the tracks are now on openstreetmap. Also coillteoutdoors.ie have 2 or 3 maps that cover the whole area between them. You could print them off and bring them with you.

Martin

650Ginge

mf1000 wrote: »

Derroura has quite a climb and can be a bit rough in places. It also demands a fair bit of bike skills in some sections - especially the boardwalks.

If you have not done much off-road cycling before then I would suggest that you go as far as Clonbur/Cong woods first. There are a lot of nice tracks there that are perfect for a hybrid. There are no big hills but there are a number of interesting sights along the way - Caves, Guinness Tower, Cong Abbey, Ashford Castle, the Corrib & Mask as well as some interesting limestone areas. I sound a bit like a tour guide here :-)

Most of the tracks are now on openstreetmap. Also coillteoutdoors.ie have 2 or 3 maps that cover the whole area between them. You could print them off and bring them with you.

Martin

Mountain bike properly on a carrera. Do you have a death wish? They even have a sticker on the mtbs saying ' not for off road use, no jumps etc' asking my 8 st wife what happened when the rear triangle broke and the bike wheel came off.

Family trails might be ok but keep the wheels on the ground.

shigllgetcha

I think you were unlucky carrera frames are built well, certainly the more modern ones.

The OPs subway is the same frame as the vulcan and fury, both well rated entry level MTBs

studiorat

650Ginge wrote: »

Mountain bike properly on a carrera. Do you have a death wish? They even have a sticker on the mtbs saying ' not for off road use, no jumps etc' asking my 8 st wife what happened when the rear triangle broke and the bike wheel came off.

Family trails might be ok but keep the wheels on the ground.

They don't actually.

at1withmyself

There is also places around the city like Barna Woods and not sure of spelling but Renville woods out by Oranmore.

The first section of Derroura would not be suitable on the Hybrid but do-able, problem is you won't enjoy (I've done it!) it and may put you off. You could however cut through on the centre main path to the back of the trial and do the last 1/3 of the track is pretty smooth and fast flowing.

mf1000 wrote: »

Derroura has quite a climb and can be a bit rough in places. It also demands a fair bit of bike skills in some sections - especially the boardwalks.

If you have not done much off-road cycling before then I would suggest that you go as far as Clonbur/Cong woods first. There are a lot of nice tracks there that are perfect for a hybrid. There are no big hills but there are a number of interesting sights along the way - Caves, Guinness Tower, Cong Abbey, Ashford Castle, the Corrib & Mask as well as some interesting limestone areas. I sound a bit like a tour guide here :-)

Most of the tracks are now on openstreetmap. Also coillteoutdoors.ie have 2 or 3 maps that cover the whole area between them. You could print them off and bring them with you.

Martin

Icyseanfitz

id just buy a nice second hand hardtail if i where you, mtbing is hard on the bikes so the parts on that hybrid wont be up for it (frame probably would), you dont want to turn yourself off mtbing because of a bad experience on the wrong bike

LowOdour

at1withmyself wrote: »

There is also places around the city like Barna Woods and not sure of spelling but Renville woods out by Oranmore.

can you cycle in Barna Woods? that would suit me prefect for saturday mid morning. I thought it was just a walking trail

im not looking to go mounting biking, just somewhere i can use my bike besides the road

CardinalJ

If you took it out on a trail you'd have to take it really REALLY easy, which might ruin the whole experience for you.

650Ginge

shigllgetcha wrote: »

I think you were unlucky carrera frames are built well, certainly the more modern ones.

The OPs subway is the same frame as the vulcan and fury, both well rated entry level MTBs

It was a fury, it wasn't well built and they are clearly marked by the manufacturer not the be used off road.

I have never seen a serious mtb'er ride a carrera on any trail, I have ridden. I have mtb'd in 12 countries.

All I am saying is take it easy on it.

Icyseanfitz

theres a guy in my dh group who was doing dh on a carrera fury for 5 months, the components fell to **** but the frame never failed, which is saying something as this lad is bonkers, he took it off 10 foot drops to flat, big gap jumps etc. i wouldnt have used it but tbf it never failed

FirstinLastout

I spotted one outside the Medical Devices company where I work in Galway just the other day and thought it decent enough looking.
It caught my eye as I thought it was a Carrera fitted with a Kona P2 rigid fork.

I'd consider if it were fitted with a suitable pair of MTB tires (See my ad ;-) ) it would be more than fine for light trails/fireroads but I'd keep off the singletrack unless it is smooth, flowing & rock & root free.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/review-carrera-subway-1-8831

As well as the above suggestions out in Clarinbridge there are small selections of trails some of which are gentle enough.
I wouldn’t be so worried about the components, proper maintenance will help there, but I'd be more concerned about your wheelset if you did try the rough stuff.

Just get out there and enjoy your bike!