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[Odnetnin]

I went to a bicycle store today to have a look at a trail/road bike - I have no clue. What should I be looking for?

And which is better? Disc brake or V brakes?

 

[B'z-chan]

When it comes to Brakes get shimano brakes those things are great. What type of frame you getting? and how much you spending. My 16 speed got stolen back in december (cost 900 bucks) i miss it.

V brakes were the ones i had but i could be wrong.

 

[Jeffahn]

Disc brakes are much more reliable in overall and particulary in wet weather.

...

 

[Odnetnin]

hi, I'm getting a system with an aluminium frame - the budget is 1k+. Had a look today but I'm one of those shoppers who just go errrrr when confronted with choices. Guy had a sale on his hand but didn't know it. I've been meaning to get a bicycle for ages, might do it tomorrow.

Bob

 

[Jill Sandwich]

Are you going to do a lot of downhilling? If so, discs are your best bet, though they do need a lot of care and the pads need replacing often (depending how you ride.)
V's are perfectly fine for freeriding, cross country, and commuting and are cheaper and easier to maintain. I have a pair of Shimano Deore V's on mine, which aren't XTR, but do the job better than my old cantilevers
So it all depends what you're doing with your bike, but by saving money and not choosing discs, you can put some $ elsewhere.

 

[Odnetnin]

Are you going to do a lot of downhilling? If so, discs are your best bet, though they do need a lot of care and the pads need replacing often (depending how you ride.)
V's are perfectly fine for freeriding, cross country, and commuting and are cheaper and easier to maintain. I have a pair of Shimano Deore V's on mine, which aren't XTR, but do the job better than my old cantilevers
So it all depends what you're doing with your bike, but by saving money and not choosing discs, you can put some $ elsewhere.

Nah. Not doing a lot (see: any) of downhill. The guy in the shop wasn't trying to sell me on either discs or v brakes but he did say that if the bicycle tire rim got bent, that the v-brakes tend to catch while the tires spin.

Never thought about pad replacements. Jill Sandwich, do you cycle often? My bicycle will be for road/recreation (occassional trail).

 

[SteveMeister]

For that kind of riding I'd recommend a hybrid bicycle. These bikes are more rugged and comfortable than street bikes, but have larger diameter wheels and narrower tires than a mountain bike so you can cover distances better. They're excellent for long rides on good trails, and can handle dirt & gravel well. They also tend to have the best blend of street and mountain bike gearing, so you can ride up steep hills with ease but still cruise at higher speeds when the going's flatter. As for comfort, they often have seat and fork suspensions like a good mountain bike will, and a flat T-shaped handlebar. They also tend to have a much more upright (and more comfortable) riding position than a street bike.

I have a Trek 7200, which I'm going to ride this afternoon after I finish the laundry

 

[Jill Sandwich]

Aye, I ride almost every day of the week. I take off the slicks on the weekends and muck about in the woods. Sounds like V-brakes will do you just fine. The guy was right about the rim thing, the clearance between the rim and the pad is only 1mm on each side, so any serious buckle will cause pad rubbing. But will you be pushing yourself off 6 foot drop-offs or trying to get a lot of air off jumps? That stuffs no good for your wheels (or forks!) As long as you have a trail tool or the right allen key with you, don't worry about it.
My next bike will be a hybrid leaning towards the MTB side, I'm looking at an identiti Dr Jekyll frame and mostly Shimano LX components. I'm not keen on rear suspension. My brothers is a full sus Orange and you can't feel the terrain you're on, which is the point I suppose, but I like to feel the bumps!

 

[Malakhov]

Bought this this weekend:

Having a lot of fun with it so far.

 

[Malakhov]

Not a whole lot of mountain bikers on this board eh? :/

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

Nope.

I've had a nice GT mountain bike going on a decade now, and I'm looking to get back into a 10 speed or track bike for comfort and speed.

Not to mention I'm totally against all the pneumatics and shock absorbers they slap on bikes today. PANSIES!

I don't care if it's shit on my joints, FUKKIN' HARDCORE BABY!

 

[Mumbles]

I mostly stick to the roads, myself. I've been looking at road bikes, as opposed to the Gary Fisher hybrid I have now - but I don't have enough cash for a really nice one, and this isn't the best time of year to buy anyway.

 

[SteveMeister]

My previous bike was a mountain bike, but since I mostly found myself riding on paved or gravel trails as opposed to "off road", and I would sometimes ride with people who had bikes more suited to that type of cruising, I found that the gearing and smaller wheel diameter of the mountain bike just didn't give me the top end speed I needed, and so that's why I bought a hybrid instead of another mountain bike.

If when you ride you go 10-20 miles or more at a stretch, a mountain bike isn't your best choice.

 

[Zensetsu]

I used to ride my bike all the time.

Then I got my licence.

 

[Malakhov]

I don't see how getting your license can make you stop biking but oh well

 

[djtiesto]

I bought one of these last year with my first paycheck... Haha, "DS"... (Dual suspension in this case) =P I was recommended by a few people that this was a good bike, and it seems to work really nicely. We don't really have much in the way of hills out here, but we have a few decent trails that I'll go in. I'm not hardcore into downhill or anything like that, just like to ride since it (and swimming) are like the only exercise I seem to like doing

When I was younger, we used to go biking all the time around town, then when we all got our cars, we all stopped. Till I realized I was putting on the pounds So now I'm taking up biking again, unfortunately as soon as it started getting warmer out, the weather turned to crap

 

[The Take Out Bandit]

Yeah, it's a good idea and fun once you get used to it. It helps to live in the barren wastelands of Cleveland, so dealing with traffic is a rarity.

I dorked out and picked up my nerdy bike helmet today. The statistics for permanent injury, or death relating to not wearing a helmet are alarming. So if you're planning on using a bike as a means of transportation, it's better to be safe that sorry - EVEN IF THEY ALL POINT AND LAUGH.

 

[Silkworm]

For that kind of riding I'd recommend a hybrid bicycle. These bikes are more rugged and comfortable than street bikes, but have larger diameter wheels and narrower tires than a mountain bike so you can cover distances better. They're excellent for long rides on good trails, and can handle dirt & gravel well. They also tend to have the best blend of street and mountain bike gearing, so you can ride up steep hills with ease but still cruise at higher speeds when the going's flatter. As for comfort, they often have seat and fork suspensions like a good mountain bike will, and a flat T-shaped handlebar. They also tend to have a much more upright (and more comfortable) riding position than a street bike.

I have a Trek 7200, which I'm going to ride this afternoon after I finish the laundry

Hey I can identify with this post ;-) I'm a hybrid biker myself, for the same exact reasons you mentioned. I've got a old Specialized Crossroads which has severed me well. But I wouldn't mind upgrading someday. I've thought about Trek but I'm not sure what's best in the hybrid bicycle category. Oh well if I ever get serious about buying a new cycle I suppose I'll scour the internet for some suggestions/reviews

 

[Mumbles]

I don't see how getting your license can make you stop biking but oh well

Actually, I did *more* cycling after getting my license - The last place I want to be on a nice day is inside a small self-propelled box, and actually having to drive around during those nice days really irritated me to no end.

I dorked out and picked up my nerdy bike helmet today. The statistics for permanent injury, or death relating to not wearing a helmet are alarming. So if you're planning on using a bike as a means of transportation, it's better to be safe that sorry - EVEN IF THEY ALL POINT AND LAUGH.

This needs repeating. As I recall, cyclists without helmets are 17-18 times more likely to die in an accident than someone with a properly-fitting helmet. And that's not to mention the nasty brain/head injuries that you can survive through.