Mountain Bike Confusion

[Row1x]

Hi All, I am looking for a bike that will ride dirt and gravel trails, also paved roads ( charity rides ) for distances in the 40 - 60 mile range. I need Help! There are so many bikes out there its overwhelming. Hardtail or soft tail, what components to look for etc. Price range is pretty wide..I don't mind paying more if it really makes a difference...but not out for show. I am not interested in Aerials or any jumping...50 years old, want a smoooooth ride! Any Help would be great!

 

[kdelong]

Hi All, I am looking for a bike that will ride dirt and gravel trails, also paved roads ( charity rides ) for distances in the 40 - 60 mile range. I need Help! There are so many bikes out there its overwhelming. Hardtail or soft tail, what components to look for etc. Price range is pretty wide..I don't mind paying more if it really makes a difference...but not out for show. I am not interested in Aerials or any jumping...50 years old, want a smoooooth ride! Any Help would be great!

Since you are looking for the best of both worlds, you might want to consider a hybrid. If you want to go with a MTB that is good for longer road rides, you should probably stick with a hardtail that has decent components like Shimano Deore. You will probably also want to get a suspension fork and/or seatpost. IMO, a softail is too heavy to take on fairly long road ride.

One big suggestion is to have two sets of tires, one set for the road and a second set for the trails. If you don't want to change your tires all of the time, you might try hybrid tires. They'll take you down the road and most trails.

Try going to your LBS, let them know what you want to do, and see what they suggest. There are a lot of people out there who want to do the same type of riding that you do, so your LBS probably already knows what you need. Happy riding!