Gerry221

Ok guys....looking for a bit of advice.....

My daughter and her partner gave me a £600 voucher for a large online bike retailer for Xmas.

Now, the problem I am faced with is do I buy a new road bike or a new MTB?

Looking at the road bikes, they are not as good as the ones I currently own.

Or am I better upgrading my MTB, I currently have a Bianchi Doss 500, which is a 2009 model. It does me as I dont do serious mountain biking.

But looking online, it seems to me that you get "more bike" for a £600 MTB than a £600 road bike.

I am happy to buy either, just cant make up my mind....

Advice**********?

hefeweizen

Time for a gravel bike.

Kapusta

Maybe neither?

No reason to buy a road bike that is not as good as the one you have. So that rules out that.

I imagine a new MTB might be a little better than the one you have, but at that price you are looking at the upper end of entry level. If you current bike works fine for you then you may not see much difference. You need to look specifically at what 600 buys you vs what you have.

If it is not worth spending money on a new MTB or road bike, there are always component upgrades.

HerrKaLeun

Would be helpful to know which retailer. Do they sell bikes only, or also components?

For a bike you may have to add some $ to get a good one.

I hate that type of strings-attached presents. Even worse when the giver is not a subject matter expert or doesn't know your secret dreams.

Steelman54 

I'd buy 600 pounds (~775 US dollars) of components, tires, clothing. Why buy an entry level road bike when you have better and it doesn't seem like you need a mountain bike (unless something is seriously wrong with yours).

I would be very happy is someone gave me a present like this, shop away, I say (assumes online place sells more than just bikes).

Good luck.

livedarklions

How do you do on a road bike with this retailer if you add some more pounds to the certificate? Another question is whether you could afford to do so, but 600 seems like a good base to build on.

I think there would be nothing wrong with naming the retailer. Someone here may have some insight on good deals with the particular one.

Gerry221

Hi guys...

The reailer is TREDZ.

I personally would buy new shoes and some kit. My daughter gave the voucher stating that "You can get yourself a new bike!" as it is always been 2nd hand ones I have bought.

I think I will get a new MTB and some kit. Get a decent MTB for £400. Spend rest on shoes and so on.

I'm liking the Cannondale Trail 8. Comes in at £399.99.

Phil_gretz

Can they order a wheelset for you? At nearly $800, you can begin to get decent wheels for your road bike. It's a shame that they tied it to a particular vendor...

Kapusta

Is the Cannondale Trail 8 really any better than what you have? I think you may be wasting your daughter's money.

Only you know the gift-giving dynamics and expectations are in your family, so do what you gotta do to keep everyone happy.

However, if this were my family giving this to me, they would be happy with whatever bike-related purchase I made, knowing it was what I really wanted most.

Gerry221

Problem solved!!

I am getting a Genesis Gravel bike. Retails at £599.99. So I am happy and my daughter is delighted I am buying a "new" bike.

Thanks for the input.

freeranger

Congrats on coming to a good solution that makes everyone happy! A friend has a gravel bike (among others) and rides on a local, paved, mup with us at times and has no problem keeping up with the road bikes. Don't know where he might use it off-road, as when I'm off-road, it's rocks, roots, stream crossings and I'm on a mtn.bike. Have a blast with the new bike!!

Gerry221

Exactly what I have went for