Beginners mountain bike

ncmc

Hello all, I’m looking to buy my husband a bike for his birthday, he would be a novice (make that very novice) cyclist. I think he would mainly use the bike on country roads and a forest trail near where we live which us a fairly smooth terrain. I’ve been asking a few friends who cycle and the recommendation I got was a mountain bike with front suspension, would you agree with that recommendation? I don’t want to spend a huge amount of money until I can be sure he’s going to stick at this hobby. I was thinking €500-600, is it possible to get a half decent bike for this price? If I could get a couple of suggestions or any advice, I’d really appreciate it.

macnab

Mountain bikes are designed for rough off road riding, not for pottering around on green lanes.
Because of this they have strong frames, strong wheels and at the price you are talking about that means heavy. The tyres will be big chunky things that are great for descending mountains but will sap every ounce of energy out of your legs for no positive reason when used on the road.
Front suspension is designed to absorb impacts with rocks, tree stumps and rutts while descending mountains at 20+ Kmh. On the road, suspension will soak up energy that should be going into the pedals.
Mountain bikes are uncomfortable for road use as too much of your weight is concentrated on the riders posterior. Where as with a road bike, or a hybrid to a lesser extent, some of the riders body weight is supported on the arms. Road bike handlebars have more options for hand positions which allows for more comfort.
It is a very common mistake to think that mountain bikes are comfortable, they are built for a purpose and its not cycling on a road.
A cheap mountain bike will weigh about 15kg, a cheap hybrid will weigh about 13kg, a cheap road bike will weigh about 11kg. It doesn't sound like much difference but when you add in fat tyres and a less than comfortable seating position, and then throw in a few hills you will wish you were on a bicycle designed for road use.

CatFromHue

If the roads he'll be using it on are tarmacadamed then you could get a hybrid or racer.

If you think he'll go off the tarmacadamed roads then a mountain bike would be more suitable.

At that price range you should be able to get a good bike all right.

at1withmyself

I would agree with the above to some degree as a cheap mountain bike can be very heavy. Also a lot of people get confused and assume they are stronger then road or hybrid bikes which again is not always the case. There are plenty of well build / spec'd road and hybrid bikes on the market today.

For the type of riding your describing I'm recommend the following:

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=67881

Giant bikes represent good value for money and can be bought in almost any reasonable bike shop and it comes within your budget. This type of bike is a 'Hybrid' which is basically a mix between a Mountain Bike and Racer (or road bike for the more commonly known name). This type of bike is excellent on the road and more then capable of forest trials but not really suitable for serious rocky down hill sections!

ncmc

Thanks so much for all the replies, the trail I think he would use much is rough, say, loose gravel type surface, fallen branches, potholes, some larger stones. It wouldn't be as rough as tree roots or the likes, but definitely too rough for a road bike. He definitely won't be careening down mountain tracks (LOL, I won't let him!) I will show him the hybrid and see what he thinks in comparison to a mountain bike. The friend I spoke to wasn't a fan of hybrids as he felt they did neither job particularly well, thoughts? My friend recommended something like this as having quite a lot of bang for your buck.

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=15551&storeId=11101&productId=1001853&langId=-1

What do you think?

.ak

I ended up purchasing this, which honestly I'll be using more for commuting but I used to do a bit of off-road/trail biking before so I wanted to get something I could use for that as well. It's probably out of your price range but I have to say I love it. It's a bit heavy, but that's mostly because it's a large bike with 29" wheels. There's lots of MTB reasons for going with 29" but the main reason I went with it is it's easier for commuting - large the wheels the bigger the turn over, the more ground you cover. I would also consider myself a novice.

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=68147

There is also some cheaper, smaller versions, slightly less well spec'd but if he's only using it now and again it probably wouldn't matter.

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=68159

at1withmyself

If its a mountain bike he's got his heart set on then I'd go for this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/vitus-bikes-nucleus-290-hardtail-bike-2014/rp-prod107044

rab!dmonkey

.ak wrote: »

large the wheels the bigger the turn over, the more ground you cover.

Try fitting a smaller front wheel too, for a constant downwards slope.