In article <[email hidden]>,
frank-in-toronto said:I'm just beginning to research what bike to pick up for summer use.
I want to road ride a lot, some dirt trails, maybe jump a branch
or two, but nothing extreme. I favour a mountain bike but would
like some pointers on which ones to look at first.
i hope to go for all day rides so I'd like fenders and some
way to attach bags (panniers?) Lights will be necessary
in case i get stuck out too long and have to come back
in the dusk or later (shouldn't happen often but i'd
like to be prepared).
price point is around 1000 canadian dollars.
thanks for any suggestions...thehick.
As others have pointed out, a lot of bikes will do what you want. The
cheapest option would be a 20-year-old road bike, many of which will
accomodate fenders and moderately fat tires. They also usually have
eyelets for bags and fenders. I have happily ridden my road bikes (even
the race bike) on dirt roads, gravel roads, and other odd surfaces with
ease, so don't fret too much about the dirtability.
Next up, and a credible choice, would be an old rigid mountain bike.
Cheap, amazingly sturdy, almost always eyeletted for fenders and racks,
and lots of clearance for fenders and fat tires. The smaller 26" MTB
wheels will also be rather tougher than road-sized 700c wheels, should
you go in for abusive off-roading.
If I was in your position, I would incline to a high-quality one of
these, and add slick (road) tires. On a dry dirt trail, such a bike
would be as fast or faster than any other mountain bike. A new rigid
mountain bike would be fine, too, but is relatively rare, at least for
good-quality ones. For a couple hundred dollars, you could get the
nicest, most pristine steel-framed mountain bike ever. I bet a dollar
you could find a virtually unridden example within a week of looking. It
would be fun to ride, durable, and you'd have a ton of room left in your
budget for good accessories (just wait until you price panniers).
After that, you could get a new touring bike (C$1000 should get you into
a Sora-equipped road bike, probably of touristy type). Such a machine
would be the fastest type of bike that would meet all your requirements.
Yes, you can ride them over branches. I recommend looking for something
with reasonable fat-tire capabilities, but warn you that such a bike, as
a new purchase, will probably break your budget.
You could also go for a new mountain bike. Hardtail MTBs (the ones with
front suspension only) are nice, can be light, are perfectly dirt-worthy
(you can now buy "hucking" hardtails that are designed to be
indestructible by 20-somethings with a penchant for epic crashes;
overkill for your needs, but that's the range of toughness available),
and again, probably have all the eyelets and fender clearance you need.
This would be a plush ride, but I have a hardtail MTB, and while I love
riding it up and down serious trails (I live in Vancouver; we know from
serious), it's pretty dreary on the road. If you go this route, I
recommend slick tires again, since it sounds like you're a 90% road kind
of guy.
the upright-versus-drop bar debate is a messy one for many, but I think
it is simple: flat bars cost you a couple of km/h at the top end, but
are probably more pleasant to ride for light to moderate distances. I
happen to know a couple of regular commuters old enough to value the
merits of an unbent back, and both favour a flat bar on their commuting
bicycles. I might do the same, but my commute serves as training for my
road racing. If you really care about speed, you can add a set of aero
bars to a set of flat bars, which gives you a very nice extra hand
position (beware the inability to brake; use with discretion) that
happens to be very fast. Ride a slick-tired flat-bar mountain bike with
clip-on aero bars, and you would be nearly as fast as on a road bike.
I think my recommendation is obvious, but let me be explicit: if I was
you, I'd buy a used, rigid (no suspension) mountain bike. I'd buy a
really clean one, and pay well for it. But I'm cheap. And I don't think
you're out for top speed.
Among new bikes, here's a nice choice:
http://marinbikes.com/bicycles_2005/html/bikes/bike_specs/specs_novato.ht
ml
Marin Novato. It's a rigid bike (I said they were rare; they're not
nonexistent) for US$620 MSRP. Dealer will probably sell for less.
Here's another:
http://norco.com/05/2005bikes/bikes/det_crd3.htm
Norco CRD-3. It's a road bike, but a touring-y one, with some reasonably
serious rims: double-walled, 32 spokes apiece, and overly skinny (for
your use) 23 mm tires. I'd jump a branch with it, but it's definitely a
_road_ bike.
Here's a very cheap and cheerful option:
http://norco.com/05/2005bikes/bikes/det_plateau.htm
C$405 MSRP for a capable but unexciting "comfort" bike: flat bars,
road-ish tires (seem to be a 'hybrid' tread, which usually means
inverted knobbies. A reasonable on/off-road compromise, but I prefer
more road-oriented, slicker tires), and a fairly crude 50mm suspension
fork. Even has a suspension seatpost for a nice squishy ride. It would
be heavy (especially compared to that Marin) but it's an everybike: it
will go anywhere, do anything, and all modestly well.
Regarding your lighting request: if you expect to only ride in the dark
rarely, you could probably get away with a reasonable white LED light up
front, and a reasonable red LED light at the back (or two, for
redundancy and visibility). Good front lights cost $15-30+; good rear
lights cost $5-15+. I would avoid lights that don't take AA or AAA
batteries; the N-cell powered lights are tiny and bright, but N-cells
are more expensive and unavailable as rechargeables. These are all what
are referred to as "be seen" lights, as opposed to "seeing" lights. The
difference is that in truly dark conditions, you can't safely ride
solely by the light of a small LED front light, but they suffice to make
you visible to cars. Most urban and suburban areas are well-lit enough
that that's all you need; I happily commute using only LEDs quite often.
Lights good enough to ride by in true darkness start around $100.
--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.
