Mountain Bike like a Road Bike

Go for a cyclecross bike. They are inexpensive and a lot of fun. Cannondale makes a nice one as well as Kona. Don't bother with disks breaks if you are simply using it for cross training.

Nice thing is that when you are on the roads you can still keep a decent pace.

Cyclecross bikes look just like a road bike with drop bars but they have all- terrain tires and sit off the ground a couple centimeters higher than a road bike.

You will need a smaller size Cross bike than your road bike.

For an all around workout mountain biking is better.

However, for a more running related workout road biking is better.

I for one enjoy mountain biking way better than road biking. There is not much of a challenge with road biking, however, with mountain biking there is way more challenge even on easy dirt roads.

If you have world class mountain biking near your home then a mountain bike is the way to go.

Get a mountain bike, not a hybrid. With the hybrid, you will soon get bored chugging up and down fire trails and then will start looking for more challenges. You may be shy about the singletrack now, but you won't be after you get out there a few times. Riding a hybrid around a "world class mountain bike area" will put you in the company of grannies, birdwatchers, family guys, and the like.

One thing you might do is to get a mountain bike and then outfit it with tires with a fairly smooth tread pattern for conditioning rides on the fire trails. But by all means get the mountain bike so you can have some fun on the singletrack.

Swofford11 wrote:

However, for a more running related workout road biking is better.

Why is that? This is something I have been trying to get info on.

Agreed, think about getting two sets of wheels, one for off-road (Knobby & heavy duty) and another for road (smooth tread and thinner). It is easy to swap and over time you will probably find out which you will use it more on roads or off track. I would not compromise with frame (hybrids ...)

Have fun

bump bump

I second the cyclocross bike recommendation. I bought one for a cycling trip in spain last year. A lot on roads, a lot on trails. Not really technical trails like some mountain bikers go on but trails all the same. It was really tough. I had it loaded with two full panniers and a handlebar bag and it took all that punishment of the trails with no problems.

The one I bought was a Specialized TriCross. Great bike. Almost bought a Lemond Poprad but it didn't have all the mounting bolts for the rack I wanted.

I just bought the one set of tires though. They're relatively smooth on the part that contacts the road by rough on the edges for cornering. If I had been spending more time off road I might have considered something with a rougher tread all around. But the smoothness made the road riding much nicer.

Best of all they have regular road bike handlebars with two sets of brakes. That's great on a long cycling trip because you really want the option of moving your arms around.

These days I use it as a commuting to work bike and I love it even more. Best bike I've ever owned.

I will need a smaller frame for the cyclocross? How much? I saw the .667 rule for the raod and 10-12 cm smaller for a mountain bike. Cyclocross same as the mountain bike?

I don't think you will need a smaller frame. Possibly one size down. My road bike is a 58. My cyclocross is.. Well I can't remember off hand but it's either a 58 or a 56. I think it's a 58 though.

Think of a cyclocross bike as just a rugged-ized road bike. There's a bit more to it than that but that's a good approximation.

Anyway you'll know as soon as you get on it how the fit is.

Halp wrote:

I want a road bike, but I hate riding (or running) on the roads (cars). I have world class mountain biking near my house with fire roads and access roads and the like, so it would be nice to go to these places.

The purpose is to crosstrain. Is the positioning on a raod bike better than an mountain bike in terms of running benefits? Hybrid? I am not going to go on crazy single track trails, just places where there are no cars and packed dirt.

Definately get a decent mountain bike. It's so much more fun than the other options. If you really have good trails nearby, you'll soon learn to love it. Get some friends to go with you.

I'd like to get a decent/good road bike to ride occasionally with my wife and other friends, but I don't need to buy a new bike. Other than ebay, what other online options are there for buying a used bike online?

And how could I determine the frame size without trying out different models? I'm 6'1/2" and I wear 32" inseam pants if that helps.

Halp wrote:

I want a road bike, but I hate riding (or running) on the roads (cars). I have world class mountain biking near my house with fire roads and access roads and the like, so it would be nice to go to these places.

The purpose is to crosstrain. Is the positioning on a raod bike better than an mountain bike in terms of running benefits? Hybrid? I am not going to go on crazy single track trails, just places where there are no cars and packed dirt.

For a well-trained person, I am not sure there is a lot of benefit to "crosstraining" to improve one's primary sport.

Get some Answers here:

http://forums.mtbr.com/

fwiw consider a 29er

Xtrng:

Pedal out of the saddle when you ride as much as possbile it is alot closer biomechanically to running.Also do lots of uphill riding.For recovery spin ez gears ez intensity 60 to 80 minutes.

Wheels and Tires:

The ride is very tunable with wheels and tires.My stumpjumper hardtail mtn bike is pretty fast rolling big apple road tires.The same bike rails on the trails with a quick switch to knobbies.

A few limitations of cyclocross bikes as mtn bikes

-limited rear tire width

-high top tube can really hurt your privates

-overall geometry and gearing is more road oriented

-frame is not setup for a front suspension fork.The squishy really helps when descending steep rutted rooty rocky stuff

The 29er uses a cyclocross / road size tire with mtn bike type geometry and gearing.The best of both worlds.

Finding the right bike(s) requires first hand experience.

Bikes lose value quickly a high quality used bike can be a great way to go as well as end of year closeouts.

good luck and enjoy the ride