m2244

Hello,

I have roughly 6 years left in the Air National Guard and these days, the PT test is becoming a challenge due mostly to leg injuries. So I've decided to buy a bike this spring. I was hoping I could give the experts (you guys) and idea of what I plan to use this bike for and have you give me a few suggestions to research.

I was originally thinking of getting a mountain bike but recently I received advice from someone at work who suggests I get a certain type of bike that is not a mountain bike (sorry, forgot what she called it).

First of all, I'm not new to biking, but it's been several years. I want something I can ride to and from work which is about a 30 to 45 minute ride uphill, the morning is all downhill. But I would also like something that my son and I can take on the trails. So basically, I would use a bike mostly on roads, both dirt and pavement, with the occasional trail ride. Now that I've written this down, it sounds like I need 2 bikes; I don't want two bikes.

Anyway, your advice would be appreciated.

**EDIT**
I didn't mention, I'd like advice on type as well as model. So many models to choose from these days!

katsup

You need to clarify what you mean by trails. Do you mean a dirt path around a lake, or single track with rocks, roots, switchbacks, etc... Are you and your son close in height?

You should visit a few bike shops and test ride some bikes to get an idea of what you are looking for.

big chainring 

Check out a Salsa Journeyman. Lots of versatility.

CAT7RDR

Gravel BIke.

mcours2006

Hmm. An all-round bike that can handle pavement and dirt, and light trail. Perhaps a hybrid or hardtail of some sort. How about this one:

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/roam-2-disc

m2244

One thing I noticed in some of the threads on this site is the lack of suspension bikes. I guess that's part of my struggles with making this decision - to suspension or not.

Rajflyboy

themp

On our MUP, the fat bikes are really noisy. You can here them coming from a distance because of the tire noise. They do make tires that are quiet for fat bikes, but you have to search them out.

TrojanHorse

You don't need suspension for riding on roads or smooth trails, that's for sure. A good suspension is expensive, a bad one is miserable.

Gravel bikes are nice all-around bikes these days - you can put fatter tires on them, which makes them comfortable on roads and able to handle a variety of off-road terrain (dirt paths, gravel roads etc). They're still plenty easy to ride on roads though, which is part of the appeal.

Gresp15C

Some of the modern suspension forks have a lever that lets you lock the suspension when you're riding on pavement or smoother trails. That would seem like the best of both worlds, not that I've tried it yet.

This guide looks pretty credible:

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/suspension.html

My first guess would be to get something like a sporty hybrid, gravel bike, etc., with a front suspension that can be locked out, but no rear suspension. Also, the balance between on- and off-road riding will be governed by your tires to some extent, and you can put pavement tires on an MTB. I'm being vague about the bike category because sticking with a single marketing category might limit your choices unnecessarily. My own experience with a non suspension "sporty looking hybrid" is that I can handle any path that wasn't deliberately designed to be difficult for MTB'ers.

TiHabanero

Why not just get a 29er mountain bike like the Cannondale Trail series of bikes and put narrower tires on it if desired? A fat bike is a lot of work to push down the road or trail, has a wide Q factor which some find uncomfortable (myself included), and weight a lot more than a typical mountain bike hard tail. Honestly there is little need for tires that wide unless flotation on snow or sand is needed. A 29er mountain bike is very versatile, and can adapt to any terrain with little effort and cost. Just makes more sense.
Note that the smaller frame sizes use a 27.5 tire.

Riveting

Gravel bike, with 2 sets of wheels. One wheelset with slick 25-28mm tires for road (commute), and another wheelset for dirt trails with the fattest tubeless tires you can fit on the bike.

Ironfish653

Good suspension can be a very nice thing to have on an all-around bike. Problem is that good suspension is very expensive. Something with adjustable spring rates / preload and on-the-fly lock-out as well as reasonably light weight. You usually don't find suspension like this until you get to race-spec XC and Enduro mountain bikes, and modern MTBs don't make very good on-road machines, they're too mission-focused.

The prevailing opinion here at BF, is that carbon forks (which are standard on a lot of bikes) and good-sized tires are more benefit than cheap suspension forks.
I like a flat-bar road bike as an all-arounder. It's a lot simpler to get setup than a drop-bar bike.

Since someone mentioned the Giant Roam, I'd point you to their Toughroad, which is the Roam, but without suspension, and a little nicer spec, and the Fastroad, which is a more road-focused bike, but still capable of tackling mixed surfaces.
Cannondale's 'Quick' series are similar to the Fastroad, while their Bad Boy city bike is a tire-change away from being a NORBA-style trail bike.

Rajflyboy

HerrKaLeun

For trails and gravel no suspension needed if you have large enough tires (no road tires).

i love my fatbike, but it is for snow, sand, crawling through the forest with no trails etc. For a trail it is too heavy, has too much rolling resistance and at a given quality level will be much more expensive to buy and maintain. Like an actual off-road car is more expensive than a corolla.
your 45 minute commute would be way over an hour with a fatbike. On the upside, on a given distance it will give you the best workout :-)

A giant toughroad with Cf fork and 2" tires will perform as well over bad roads as the cheap suspension forks but weighs much less.

CadenceCrazy

A bike will only help improve the cardio aspects of the PFT and then only if you really hump during some of your rides. Essentially, to keep your cardio fitness high enough to be PFT ready, it is going to hurt on the bike. However, you will save beating up your ankles, knees, and hips in the process.Unfortunately, you will still have to get off the bike and run some since the timed PFT run uses different muscles than the bike; it just feels different. You can be super on the bike but still be toast on the PFT. The bike can help knock down a lot of weight if that is an issue.

Good luck.

Kedosto

fietsbob

Bike Shop, Go to a few, Test ride a variety... brands matter less,
than after sale service..
as most brands all come from ever fewer sources...
but must compete for price and quality.

consolidation, is how the business world works these days..

Bike shops are a service business..





...

Metieval

Go test ride a Salsa Journeyman. One with the 650 wheelset on it. the Volume really won't slow you down, and the Volume more than makes up for no suspension. It rides like a road bike, yet is as comfortable as a hybrid.

The best part, it is inexpensive and geared very well.
racks, fenders, lot's of mounts (top tube , fork) for what ever your needs

https://salsacycles.com/bikes/journe...eyman_sora_650

daoswald

A commuter, a road bike, a hybrid, a mountain bike... you are sort of all over the map.

Pick one usage and buy the best bike you can afford for that purpose. If you decide that the sport is for you, pick another use case and get the ideal ride for that one too.

I have a road bike for distance, going fast, endurance, and pleasure riding. I have a hybrid for casual rides, family rides, utility, and commuting. But even on the hybrid I'm tempted to own a second wheelset to better tweak the configuration to meet the use case of a given day.

BobbyG

I ride my drop-bar commuter on packed and loose dirt trails on 700x35 smoothies. It works just fine except for loose sand and heavy gravel. I can handle heavy gravel on my older commuter which is mountain bike with 26x1.85 smoothies. I find I really only needed heavily treaded tires for snow, mud and loose sand.

In fact, the supple, pliant 26x1,85 smoothies made my MTB-based commuter much faster than the tough, firm 26x1.5 they replaced.
Here's the trail on the 35s (at 24 sec in)
And here's my MTB based commuter with it's 1.85s

manapua_man

If you're going to get a bike with suspension, get a bike with *good* suspension, and be prepared to pay for maintenance or go through the whole thrash of it yourself. Crappy suspension forks etc. are just more trouble than they're worth, and upgrading pretty much always costs more than just buying a high end bike outright IME.

daoswald

Of course if the point to this post is "Can I improve my fitness by buying AND RIDING REGULARLY a bike?" then assuming fairly average current fitness levels the answer is probably yes. And the answer to which bike to get is the one you will gladly ride every day. While commuting looks great on paper, it is possible you would find the routine of it quickly unappealing, and that you would be more prone to stick to riding if you get a bike that supports your "for fun" time rather than your "for trabsportation" time.

TimothyH

What is the budget for the new bike?

How much do you want to spend?

downtube42

Criteria #1 : A bike that fits. No bike that doesn't fit will suit your needs, no matter the style or price.

Criteria #2 : A bike you will ride.That probably means fun, but it also might mean not so expensive you're afraid to leave it where you'd park it, not so cheap you're embarrassed to ride it.

If you cover the first two criteria, you'll be good. The rest is gravy.

Criteria #3 is a distant third. Suitable for your use. People have recommended fat tire bikes, gravel bikes, hybrids, touring-ish bikes. For your purpose, you don't NEED drop bars, 10 or 18 or 21 speeds, suspension, disc brakes, or fenders & rack mounts. Frame material is immaterial .

What's your price point?