First MTB vs Winter Road Bike

It’s new bike time. Looking for some unscientific and casual opinions on what add?

For some mild background: have solid road bike (S-works Tarmac, rim brakes), good trainer set up. Looking at Stumpjumper or a Titanium winter bike with discs (Enigma). It rains in the UK (disc and MTB considerations). Moving out of the city to the countryside, used to BMX and MTB before moving University and work (10+yrs ago).

Whereabouts are you moving to? If somewhere like Buxton I’d say MTB, if Sleaford then winter bike!

Or a real left field approach - how about a pumptrack/dirt jump bike? I built up a Transition PBJ recently and love it!

Chilterns, so think Aston Hill is near and will have bridal ways on my doorstep (literally). Ultimately I wana get back out to the Alpes in the summer, done that 3 time spread over life (4yrs gaps) so keen to build on that and while at home.

Do you worry about riding your road bike in the winter? Do you do a lot of winter rides on the road, and is the lack of bike stopping you? If not, go MTB.

When you do buy a winter road bike, buy one that can take wide tyres and doubles as a gravel/cross bike. You’ll have nore fun that way.

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If your offroad rides aren’t to technical, go for a gravel bike. Buy some mudguards which can be installed and removed quickly and you have all the flexibility you need all year round. Especially together with you dedicated road bike.

If the offroad rides are (very) technical go for an mtb.

MTB.
Way more versatile than a gravel bike.

Proper road winter bike if you plan to go out and knock out the miles during the rubbish weather and want to stay reasonably clean.

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So you need a rain bike / soft roader? That’s a gravel bike. If you plan on hitting tree branches or rocks bigger than 4-6" on occasion, that’s a bike with front suspension (to keep you from going over the bars). If you’re going to get them regularly, that’s dual suspension. If you want to ride more than 2hrs, that’s drop bars (for hand position options).

Those are very different bikes for riding very different terrain. It comes down to what kind of terrain you plan to ride. And then pick the bike that best fits.

FWIW, I have both a gravel bike (Diverge) and MTB (Trek Fuel), as I like to ride both. Maybe get 2 bikes? :rofl:

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It’s kinda my conundrum. I want both!!! I’d love to not be a pussy when it’s raining because I fear for my rim breaks on my current S-works, but i also love jumping and going fast but living in the city hasn’t been conducive to off road (in fact my first endurance focused bike was an XC I bought when moving to London, but never found any C to X, and it ended up with slicks on it then sold).

You’re totally right! Two bikes is the sensible answer (not joking) just spend less on each, but that’s not as fun and I know if I buy a non plush winter road bike I won’t ride it.

The Enigma bikes look good, but by the time you get it, it might be time for your summer bike. So with that in mind, my advice would be to find out how quickly you can get an Enigma, if the timescale is long, get the MTB, enjoy it during the summer and then get the Enigma in the autumn.

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Yeah - I learned my lesson about spending the money to get the bike you want. Otherwise you’re always tempted to spend more and upgrade.

Maybe buy the first bike now - the one you’ll likely use the most - and wait a year or two to save for the next one?

Which bike will make you happier?

Cheers all, think the MTB wins on fun factor! All have to do now is find one in stock somewhere.

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Chris Horner just made a video talking about how he likes his titanium road bike…

I have an aluminum gravel bike w/ 38mm tires and a mountain bike… I still find myself debating what to take out for a nasty winter ride. Eventually you will get both. It’s inevitable lol.

I ride my cyclocross-type bike in the snow and especially after it snows, usually on plowed/salted surfaces once the city gets things somewhat cleared up. It has 40mm tires with small knobs, and disc brakes. I take it easy and try to avoid turning when I’m on icy surfaces. Once in a while, I bottom out the chainring on piles of snow (usually when hopping over a plowed-up section of snow/ice), or clip a pedal.

My advice:

Number one is get disc brakes. With these brakes, you can feel free to actually go through the snow rather than try to avoid it.

Number two is use flat pedals (don’t clip in unless you want to break a hip or something more precious).

Three is use some good clip-on fenders that are quick and easy to install and remove. Most fenders don’t handle tire sizes above 35mm or so, so find ones that are designed for large tires.

Four is make sure you carry enough insulation so you don’t freeze if you’re forced to stop for 10 minutes. A pack with a so-called belay jacket is good peace of mind.

Bonus advice: use a rear-facing radar. Turning to look behind you while on icy surfaces seems like a bad idea to me.