Originally Posted by
MattyLad
It's one of those, "well you would say that, wouldn't you" posts because I've just come off my new Crosstrail Sport Disc, damaged my knee, which is now swollen, grazed fingers and elbow etc. Alright, it was damp, it had been raining, but I was amazed to find myself hitting the tarmac hard and now, as I write this, my bandaged fingers making it a little difficult, I'm wondering about the bike. Fair enough, this might even be a case of 'a bad workman always blames his tools' but I'm wondering whether, had I bought a mountain bike (my usual steed even if it is inappropriate for the riding I do) with nice and thick, bulbous tyres (like my old Kona Scrap) would I have come off? And now I'm thinking, I'll put the Crosstrail on ebay for £425 (a good price for a brand new bike, it's only six weeks old and has been riden about eight times) and buy a new mountain bike instead. I think I will do that, but...then I thought: what about bigger tyres for the Crosstrail. Any thoughts?
The OEM triggers work very well on slippery terrain. They have some disadvantages in very high speed turns and rolling resistance, but those kinds of tires have slippery condition disadvantages. You would probably have taken a tumble regardless, although the geometry of a mountain bike may have given you a little more leverage to work with (or may have dumped you quicker). When riding a mountain bike, there always seems to be an expectation of slippery conditions so one may be more prepared for the unexpected.