24
votes
Accepted
Is it worth buying a lighter bike? If so what kind?
IMHO, it's not the weight that is hurting you the most. While weight makes a difference and a lighter bike would be much better, it's too common in cycling world for people to use weight as a proxy ...
- 52.3k
23
votes
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Mountain Biking And Clipless Pedals
For context, I ride in the North Shore of Vancouver, BC, Canada, which is an area famous for its steep and technically challenging trails. I'm comfortable riding black diamond-rated trails. Here's an ...
- 16.9k
20
votes
Accepted
Can I ride on the beach with 32c tires?
While my initial attempt with lightly deflated tires was not a success (I could only bike 100 m before being exhausted) my second attempt went much better.
Based on your helpful answers, comments and ...
- 2,321
12
votes
Is it worth buying a lighter bike? If so what kind?
I would recommend you wait for one reason Covid. In most parts of the world bikes are in limited supply. Prices even on used bikes are 50% to 75% higher than comparable bikes a year ago. I think you ...
- 18.8k
9
votes
Accepted
Which type of bike is the right for these conditions?
It sounds like what you want is a gravel or adventure bike.
There is not a distinct category, and different manufacturers use different names, but the basic attributes you are looking for are:
Road ...
- 75.9k
9
votes
Accepted
Are carbon wheels suited to gravel riding?
Carbon wheels are strong enough for gravel and mountain bike riding now, after advances in construction techniques and materials. It’s true that carbon wheels used to be regarded as too delicate. For ...
- 35.2k
9
votes
How can I alleviate sore hands when riding a rigid mountain bike?
You may be putting too much of your weight on the handlebars. I currently have a rigid MTB (with rigid fork) for commuting and short errands, with 700x42 tires at about 60 psi and I can ride it for ...
- 12.8k
9
votes
Accepted
How does the frame geometry of a cyclocross bike affect its performance in off-road conditions?
I usually don't like to generalise about categories, but in the case of cyclocross, there's a good reason to do it: it's an UCI race discipline, and so there are strict rules about how the bikes ...
- 22.7k
9
votes
Technique for Riding a Hybrid Bike on Trails and Switching to Knobbed Tires?
Using offroad tires will greatly improve the grip in dirt. Even with just 35mm clearance there is a great selection of appropriate tires in the gravel and cyclocross segment of the big tire ...
- 2,683
8
votes
How do carbon fibre road bikes handle rough conditions?
Carbon fiber road bikes are generally perfectly capable of being ridden on less than perfect surfaces without sustaining damage.
Obviously you want to avoid large obstacles such as potholes, rocks, ...
- 75.9k
8
votes
Accepted
Would a Linus Roadster work on an off-road country environment?
The Linus Roadster is not the bike I'd choose for rural poor quality tarmac, gravel roads or packed dirt trails.
The stock 32mm tires do give a bit more volume than standard road size tires to soak up ...
- 75.9k
8
votes
Can I ride on the beach with 32c tires?
Yes on hard sand it should be fine. The problem is what if it is not hard or there are patches of dust. At that point it will be a bit more tricky. The good part is you are on a bike and on sand. So ...
- 2,547
7
votes
Does MTB tyres wear off fast in City - gravel pavement streets, city road?
Yes, absolutely. The knobs will get rounded off at an accelerated rate, particularly down the center of the rear tire, and the tires won't offer as much traction off-road. This doesn't happen ...
- 87k
7
votes
What tyre characteristics should I look for in a commuting tire?
Generally, wide tires have lower rolling resistance than narrow ones, and they will be more comfortable due to cushioning. Hence, there's an argument you could go all the way up to a 45mm tire, the ...
- 35.2k
7
votes
Mountain Biking And Clipless Pedals
There are plenty of people who do both.
Flat pedals are common, sometimes with added pins to give more traction on the foot.
Cleats are common too, with a larger proportion preferring 2-bolt designs ...
- 129k
7
votes
How can I alleviate sore hands when riding a rigid mountain bike?
On top of the body position, I'd add a few other suggestions:
handle bar grips: typical MTB grips are cylindrical, which is not ideal on a commuting context, but are good on a trail context. There ...
- 22.7k
7
votes
What bike should I buy if I want to fit a child seat and live in area with a lot of hills?
Product recommendations are usually off-topic here, as the availability of products depends on the region, so I'll define some guidelines and give some examples.
Generally speaking, what I commonly ...
- 22.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Did I pick the wrong bike?
Whether the cruiser style bike is suitable for the 'mountain bike trails' you are riding on really depends on exactly what those trails are like. The cruiser has pretty big tires so it should be able ...
- 75.9k
6
votes
Accepted
On what surfaces can I safely use my hybrid bike?
28mm wide tires are perfectly suitable for riding hard-packed fine gravel trail surfaces. You do have to be more careful when braking and cornering than on tarmac as the top surface is loose. Larger ...
- 75.9k
6
votes
Accepted
Is there a noticeable difference in the calorie-burning benefits of road vs. off-road cycling?
All that a smartphone app or cycle computer may hope to achieve, is to provide an estimate of the burnt calories. They do this by taking your speed, and possibly climb rate, and some assumptions about ...
5
votes
Which type of bike is the right for these conditions?
Gearing can be changed, though sometimes it's hard/expensive. Some adventure road bikes and almost all tourers have a much wider range of gears, but tend to be heavier than road bikes.
The available ...
- 61.2k
5
votes
How do carbon fibre road bikes handle rough conditions?
There's two distinct sides to this question: how does carbon fiber the material fare the way it's used in modern road bikes, and how do carbon road bikes with the features they almost all have fare.
...
- 87k
5
votes
Is it worth buying a lighter bike? If so what kind?
Add 5-8kg to your bike*, go for a ride.
Take it off, ride again.
Expect the difference in buying a lighter bike to be at least as good.
*Try to add mass uniformly, so as not to affect balance.
- 677
5
votes
Giant ATX vs Escape?
Depends on the actual spec, but both bikes, as you've identified are fairly similar apart from the suspension.
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/atx-3
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/escape-3
The ...
- 4,240
5
votes
Can I ride on the beach with 32c tires?
I haven’t seen the beach, or tried to cycle on one. I have at least cycled through numerous sandpits, a common obstacle in cyclocross races (and traditional CX tires are 32-34mm wide).
I would guess ...
- 35.2k
5
votes
Mountain Biking And Clipless Pedals
This is much more at the casual end.
I tend to fit SPDs when doing solo MTB rides, which tend to be quite a long way and mixed surface: some mild technical stuff, lots of gravel/dirt paths, too much ...
- 61.2k
5
votes
Mountain Biking And Clipless Pedals
Great answers already. Just to add one more data point...
I like riding clipped in (SPD) a lot, for all the reasons MaplePanda mentioned. This being Norway, it's another case in point that clips are ...
- 3,751
5
votes
What bike should I buy if I want to fit a child seat and live in area with a lot of hills?
I liked a rear seat, and after the toddler size one (Hamax Siesta), I fitted a bigger one for another couple of years. I fitted mine to a hybrid with a wide range of gears (3x8, nearly as low at the ...
- 61.2k
4
votes
Is there a noticeable difference in the calorie-burning benefits of road vs. off-road cycling?
Off-road a few maximum power bursts up a steep incline will feel exhausting, but don’t burn a lot of calories because the duration is so short. Usually you also have a lot of descents, technical ...
- 28.8k
4
votes
How can I alleviate sore hands when riding a rigid mountain bike?
Thick Silicone foam grips like ESI Extra Chunky, Wolf Tooth Fat Paw or similar worked well for me to reduce vibration and sore hands.
I found the larger diameter helps to a point, and the material in ...
- 18.3k
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