why do people ride mountain bikes?

[B_Marius567]

I have a mountain bikes and it is 45 pounds and they are made to go down hills but not up hills sines they are heavy and slow I ride my mountain bikes at the park and guys on road bikes go flying by me

Im buying a $500.00 Road bike and its only 20 pounds and fast

 

[B_dxjnorto]

There's a lot of mountain bikes in the thirty pound range too. Check out the Cannondale Rush and the Rize. The Rize is new so I don't know if they are available yet.

 

[whatireallywant]

I have a mountain bike and a road bike (unfortunately, both of them are gathering dust right now because they need a tuneup and I no longer have a bike rack on my car, etc... long story). I like the road bike for most riding - I've gone on organized rides and usually used the road bike. However, some of the rides I've seen are off-road and you need a mountain bike, with the fatter tires, for that. So it's really nice to have both kinds of bikes if you want to do a variety of different riding in different terrain.

 

[Ed69]

I have a mountain bikes and it is 45 pounds and they are made to go down hills but not up hills sines they are heavy and slow I ride my mountain bikes at the park and guys on road bikes go flying by me

Im buying a $500.00 Road bike and its only 20 pounds and fast

Geez what kind of tank are you riding?I have a 1994 Bridgestone MB3 mountain bike and it only weighs 26.7 lbs. and 24 gears to choose from.In Ashland,OR I got stopped for doing 35 mph in a 20 mph school zone.Far from slow!

Edit:I included a pick from the original catalog.

 

[erratic]

I prefer mountain bikes for city riding for safety. I never know what the roads will throw at me. Like potholes, dead things, wigs, and any other manner of fuckery. Further, because they're heavier and have more traction, I like the workout I get.

The only time I want to use a road bike is for going long-distance on smooth pavement.

 

[1longride]

If you want lighter one you have come off the hip. 20-25lb mountain bike will be about $1500 to $3000 and higher. Me I still ride and race bmx. Its all in what you want.

 

[transformer_99]

For that mountain bike you might want to investigate and consider hybrid commuter road rims and tires. That'll get you somewhere between the off road knobby of a mountain bike and the slimmer road bike. But for me it's a matter of comfort, the mountain bike by far handles even the worst asphalt surfaces better. The road bike I have is a chro-molly 27 X 1 1/8" 1986 Fuji Allegro and needs an ideal road surface. The Mountain bike a 1997 Fuji MX-200 26 X 1.95 (both are mid-range priced bikes). I've considered a road rim and tire for the MX-200, the knobbies aren't worn out completely. Here's a site that I use to get replacement parts for :

Performance Bike - Home for all your cycling needs!
City Tires @ Performance Bicycle

Anyway, quick release hubs and you can get your MB city commuter ready, it won't be as fast as a true road bike, but not as much road resistance as a true 1.95+ rim for off road. I'm considering a 26 X 1.5 commuter rim for mine.

Been a while for me, but the Allegro was a refurb project (new tires, seat and lower bracket), but bikes have come a long way since I bought one of those. The MX-200, that was a Sports Authority special. And when you go into the bike shop, sticker shock really hit me. Carbon Fiber frames, disk brakes instead of caliper, just amazing what cycling has turned into.

 

[billybulge]

Specialized S-Works........

 

[gimme_another_inch]

Santa Cruz Bullit on show in the dining room, enough said???

 

[vince]

I ride a mountain bike because of the tougher frame and tires they have. The city streets around here are too punishing for a road bike. I also ride a lot of gravel roads.

I have a riding buddy who insisted on buying a road bike because of the lighter weight. He's been through maybe 8 tires since last summer. Funny thing is he's about 25 lbs overweight! I keep telling him to ride more and lose the spare tire around his gut, but he's too lazy to get up at 5:30 in the morning and come out with me.

 

[ManlyBanisters]

I prefer mountain bikes for city riding for safety. I never know what the roads will throw at me. Like potholes, dead things, wigs, and any other manner of fuckery. Further, because they're heavier and have more traction, I like the workout I get.

I ride a mountain bike because of the tougher frame and tires they have. The city streets around here are too punishing for a road bike. I also ride a lot of gravel roads.

:yup: They said it - I cycled an 8 mile round trip to/from college for a year or so and I could not have done it on a road bike, would have been shook apart after a couple of months, unless a pot hole ate it first. The mountain bike was a bit of a pain on the home straight - just under a mile of hill - but shit, everyone needs a workout now and then.

 

[transformer_99]

Just curious, some of these mountain bikes posted have the shock absorbers for the forks and instead of the rear post a spring and shock absorber. How long before they need replacement ? Motorcycles (road use) have them and they pretty much last as long as you keep them from pitting. I figure a dirt bike you'd have to clean them pretty often. The solid forks mine has and rear post get pretty dusty and filthy from road use, but that's immaterial, there is no spring or even hydraulic component to wear from the dirt.

And a few other questions, does the suspension system really work effectively for more comfort ? Or is it in extreme conditions where you notice anything at all ? If you've ever replaced them, do you upgrade at the bike shop (going out the door) or after the shock components have been worn out ? The forks can be pricey at the web site I linked earlier and I didn't see the rear shock component listed ?

As for disk brakes, overkill and just more hassle than replacing the rubber pads that are old school or worth it ? Are they more effective than old school bake pads when wet ? Old school pads pretty much are ineffective when a rim is wet. Just curious if the disk brakes resist water better, guess being closer to the center of the hub you could go thru puddles without worry, but what about light rain ?

EDIT: After researching shock prices, between forks and rear seat post shock absorber, damn you can get a standard frame bike for what those parts cost !

 

[B_dxjnorto]

A mountain bike definitely has more rolling resistance, but when I ride around town I end up going over a lot of curbs and through a lot of obstacles. That's one reason to ride a bike is because you can cut through traffic by avoiding stop signs and lights.

To be truthful, the air springs on bikes do have to be replenished regularly. They leak down about the same as a bike tire. You need a small shock pump with a gauge. The rear shock is readily replaceable. They just need to be the same length and stroke. They can be pricey. There's a highly rated Cane Creek Double Barrel that sells for something like 700 or 800 dollars. I just bought a Marzocchi TST coil for one of my bikes for about $350. Nice shock. Some don't have a spring at all. They have only an "air" spring.

Forks - very pricey and more complex to replace because they have to fit inside the head tube. There are different sizes of headtubes and different sizes of headsets and headset adapters.

Disk brakes definitely work better than v-brakes or the old cantilever brakes. Another advantage is the wheel doesn't have to be as true as with rim brakes. Disk brake shoes do have to be replaced, but not very frequently. Replacement shoes are $10 - $20.

 

[transformer_99]

Yeah, kind of glad I went basic old school with the bikes I have/retained after looking at the price tag of the hardware. I couldn't believe there are bikes that'll set you back on the order of a motorcycle ? One of the bigger challenges with my road bike is finding the right sized tires and selection. Sports Authority carries tubes for the 27 X 1-1/8, but try finding a tire that isn't 650 or 700 cc anymore. I order on-line for that, find a choice of two, but that's better selection as the local cycle shops don't carry them and if they do, it's a non-kevlar cheapo tire that winds up costing as much as the kevlar ones on-line.

Forté GT2 Kevlar Road Tire @ Performance Bicycle

But this says it all about the $ 11 tire for an vintage road bike:

"A great training tire with puncture resistance."

Just happy I don't have those "pita" glue on tires. Guess they don't think the old Fuji road bike/tourer has a good race left in her and she's only a trainer ? Granted it'll never be carbon fiber light or techy, but she's still pretty darn fast with a good tail wind and downhill grade for a Chro-Molly 12 speed.

 

[yurkon]

Mountain bikes are great for what they were designed for: rough trail, no trail. Hybrid is great for city and suburbs because they can go up and down curbs. On straight-aways they are as smooth as can be. Many gears with a wide range of ratios very low, low gear and very high high gear.

I'm not in great shape, but put it in first to third gear and I've gone up some long grades and some short steep roads without a problem.