What bike should I get?

Question

I live in a city. I was looking for something that I can just ride around from time to time, but could function as a mountain bike if I ever got around to doing that. I don't want one of those huge bikes that keeps you up high, with your back parallel to the road. What should I get, and how much are we talking?

Answer 1

You need to think about how much MTB'ing you're actually ever going to do and what you mean by mountain biking. If you mean real, off road, down muddy tracks through forests-type mountain biking then you'll need a real mountain bike costing real money (the suggestion to fit slicks for town use is great BTW).

However, if you're off road use is going to be restricted to cycle trails / canal paths / etc then a hybrid would suit you better. They're good around town - fit slicks for town use if you won't be taking it off road much.

A good hybrid will also be much cheaper than a *good* MTB and is less likely to get stolen.

Avoid cheap "gas-pipe" bike shaped objects of either type, whatever you do.

Answer 2

If you want to take the bike offroad at all, you are going to need a mountain bike...period. Hybrids and fitness bikes are nice for tooling around town, but they are not going to be good for any sort of riding once you take it on a trail. Hybrids are not really all around bikes as they are often advertises. rather they are compromises that don't really do any one thing well.

I would buy a mountain bike and put slick or smoother tires on it for riding in the city. You will find that the smaller wheel that a mountain bike has is also good for maneuvering in a city.

Answer 3

If you want it to function as a mountain bike you need a mountain bike. Good entry level models are about $500. If you're only going to ride a few times a year for rather short rides just get a low end bike from your favorite discount store.

Answer 4

If you go to any bike shop and say "i'm looking for a bike to ride arond town and i might get the tyres dirty one day" they will most likely show you a hybrid bike and say it is perfect for what you want....... rubbish. Hybrid bikes tend to be a little more expensive but with little to no big improvements. My suggestion is get you standard mountain bike or a free ride mountain bike (depending on your budget) and purchase a set of slicks, but cheap the original tyre for the day you want to get dirty.

Personal i have a single speed free ride mountain bike for around town, it is get given the are no hills for me to need gears, it is fast but i would be useless if i had to worry about hills.

For you go the mountain bike with slicks for around town.

Answer 5

If you want a bike thats for on road and a little off road get a specialized hardrock. If you want something really nice I would get a trek fuel , I have seen these bikes converted into road bikes by just adding smaller tires. Specialized hardrock $300-$400.Trek fuel $900-$2,000 it depends on what model you chose its really up to you.

Answer 6

Take a look at gary fisher wahoo or marlin and trek 4300 or 4500. You're probably looking at a price range of $350 - $600.

Answer 7

http://www.biria.com/bicycles/ez/eb_superlight_8.jsp

You should get an E-Z boarding Biria.

http://www.biria.com/bicycles/ez/eb_top_3.jsp

http://www.biria.com/bicycles/

Very easy to mount/dismount. You could even stand on the top tube and ride it like it's a scooter.

Answer 8

There are a lot of good suggestions here, but go with the yellow one.

Answer 9

A diamondback or haro.
Really nice.
Look them up.
Nice and dont brake unless u brake them.
Hopefully i helped you.