Forgive me if this sounds stupid, but.... I'm in need of a new mountain bike. Can I use a cross bike instead of a mountian bike? I mostly used my old mountain bike for lolly-gagging around the neighborhood (which a cross bike will do) and put maybe 300 mi/yr on it at the local MTB trails. I assume I would have to dismount and run through any mud or sand on a cross bike. But how will it handle scree and roots? Do I really have to have a mountain bike for an MTB trail?

I use my cross bike on MTB trails including some singletrack. It handles most of it quite well.

Forgive me if this sounds stupid, but.... I'm in need of a new mountain bike. Can I use a cross bike instead of a mountian bike? I mostly used my old mountain bike for lolly-gagging around the neighborhood (which a cross bike will do) and put maybe 300 mi/yr on it at the local MTB trails. I assume I would have to dismount and run through any mud or sand on a cross bike. But how will it handle scree and roots? Do I really have to have a mountain bike for an MTB trail?


29in mtb? compromise (kinda)?

yup yup, cross bikes on singletrack is a ton of fun. I've never been a very good technical rider but I do okay on the rooty, rocky stuff. I do have to pay a lot more attention to my lines on the cross bike than I did on a mountain bike, and I wouldn't want to do any serious off roading, but it's fun all the same.

A cross bike can do it, but if you're going to have just one bike I second the 29er. You can get a good one for well under 1k. Of course if you like the rigid feel and challenge.....

I do fine in the sand on a cross bike and here in Tampa we've got serious sand. Roots are a bit rough depending on your skill and weight and I avoid rocks and staircases. But for faster and smoother trails a cross bike rocks.

Ron

I've been dying to hear this question.

Here are a few options you may want to consider:

http://www.willitsbikes.com/Willits.html

The Monster X is a beautiful bike and is very versatile. The folks at Willts are easy to work with, very friendly, and very smart about their bikes. Of course, the cost is a bit prohibitive. Depending on the terrain of the trails you ride and your capabilities as a technical rider, this would probably suit your needs nicely.

http://www.nycbikes.com/item.php?item_id=605

This is another, much less expensive alternative from the NYC Bikes people.

And, of course, how could anyone recommend an all-around, durable, tried-and-true, bombproof ride capable of riding anywhere with any size tires without throwing a hat in the ring for the Karate Monkey...

http://www.surlybikes.com/karatemonkey.html

I hope this helps. Keep us posted on what dilemmas you run in to and what you wind up getting.

Heres an important thing to consider... do you want a rigid bike? To my knowledge, the only suspension forks avail for 700c bikes are crappy hybrid forks. There are 29er forks with suspension, but they are built for 80 to 130mm of travel. This will not work well on a 'cross frame.

You should do what I did... sell your 26" mtn bike and build a 29er mtn bike. You will not be sorry. I now neglect all my other bikes.


peep these out... I ride a Niner EMD.
http://forums.mtbr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=61
www.ninerbikes.com


CYCLOCROSS STILL RULES!

Man, I've never even thought of a 29er. I was just thinking about a cross bike because they tend to be much lighter than a mtb. For the record, I typically ride 3-4k miles a year on my road bike. My road bike stays inside; my mountain bike sits in the shop - as long as I remember to put it up. I'm just looking for something for off roading. I have some research to do.