Newbie to mtbs

Cycler6n said:

Hey, I've been into road bikes a long time, and love it, i've considered trying mountain bikes for fun, i'vegot an old Raleigh m20 in good shape, is this a good bike to upgrade? I don't want to spend much, as I don't want to take money away from my road bike funds.

I have a Raleigh m20 (black and green) from 1998. The answer to your question is no. The rear wheel has a nut and bolt arrangement and I'm not sure a regular wheel with a skewer would work. The headset is different and it looks like it's less than 1 1/8in so I don't know what mtb forks will work.

spydernyc said:

I have a Raleigh m20 (black and green) from 1998. The answer to your question is no. The rear wheel has a nut and bolt arrangement and I'm not sure a regular wheel with a skewer would work. The headset is different and it looks like it's less than 1 1/8in so I don't know what mtb forks will work.

WOAH that is the exact year AND color that mine is, thats so weird, anyway, thx for the help, would you know of any good mtb?

You can search for a good mtb at mtbr.com. Being that you're into road bikes, weight and anything that would rob power would be an issue so I would think twice about a dual suspension mtb. Personally, I don't like them. Disc brakes are heavy but I think they're worth it with their stopping power and you don't have to worry about mud or dirt affecting them. I wouldn't worry too much about forks. My Trek mtb had a cheap suspension fork and it did the job.

I had a Trek 4100 disc and that was a so so bike. The frame is good but the wheels and brakes were [censored] so I ended up replacing those. I would still recommend a Trek b/c of it's alpha aluminum frame which is light and strong. Personally, I prefer chromoly over aluminum b/c it absorbs bumps much better. I ended up taking the upgraded parts on my Trek and put them on a Nashbar chromoly frame. It's hard to find a chromoly hardtail nowadays b/c the industry is so obsessed on aluminum.

As for bikes out right now, I would check out a Trek 4300 b/c it's an 8 spd and the wheels are from Bontrager would should be stronger than anything from Matrix or Weinmann found on entry level bikes. It doesn't have disc brakes but you won't be missing out on much. It's gotten good reviews on mtbr.com and it costs around $370.

I have a bike too, I think it's really great.