In the summer I ride every other day on a SUPER long trail that is very close to my house. Im in the middle of the path and you can either take the paved route to chicago or the tightly packed dirt with minimal gravel to wisconsin. Most of the time I am not riding on the road, but I would like to get into that more this year. Im young and in good shape, if that matters.
Anyway, I was on my trail 2 days ago and I had catastrophic failures with my bike (25th anniv. fuji MTB w/a few upgrades) The gear selector broke and so did the cable going to the actual "chain guider/phsycial gear selector". There are also a few other things on the bike which make me feel that I should save the money spent repairing and just buy new.
Id like something faster, lighter and with maybe a hybrid tire because I really can't justify a full MTB tire for what I do on my bike. I use it mainly for fun and for cardio.
Heres what I want to be able to do;
-Go fast on the road, I love speed
-Still be able to ride the dry tight packed dirt trail without worrying about bending a wheel on a "pothole"
-Have an exciting bike to ride
-Have a bike im not afriad to ride and possibly damage
How are the straight up hybrid bikes? -they seemed queer to me when I went into the "bike rack" with their weird handles and all. Looked like a bike for a middle aged person.
Should I look into a suspension system? Or would that cause more resistance and thus slowing me down?
Should I get a MTB and load it with hybrid tires?
Right now I have a millions questions and Ideas in my head, These were the first to come to mind. Please help out a newbie in the sport get his head on right!
Please reply with any information possible.
Thanks
Justin
Anyway, I was on my trail 2 days ago and I had catastrophic failures with my bike (25th anniv. fuji MTB w/a few upgrades) The gear selector broke and so did the cable going to the actual "chain guider/phsycial gear selector". There are also a few other things on the bike which make me feel that I should save the money spent repairing and just buy new.
Id like something faster, lighter and with maybe a hybrid tire because I really can't justify a full MTB tire for what I do on my bike. I use it mainly for fun and for cardio.
Heres what I want to be able to do;
-Go fast on the road, I love speed
-Still be able to ride the dry tight packed dirt trail without worrying about bending a wheel on a "pothole"
-Have an exciting bike to ride
-Have a bike im not afriad to ride and possibly damage
How are the straight up hybrid bikes? -they seemed queer to me when I went into the "bike rack" with their weird handles and all. Looked like a bike for a middle aged person.
Should I look into a suspension system? Or would that cause more resistance and thus slowing me down?
Should I get a MTB and load it with hybrid tires?
Right now I have a millions questions and Ideas in my head, These were the first to come to mind. Please help out a newbie in the sport get his head on right!
Please reply with any information possible.
Thanks
Justin