Which Bike??

Chumpy

Hi
I used to have a racing bike when I was about 14-16... I rode it quite well, and enjoyed some 'shortish' journeys on it (15 miles or so).

I stopped bicycle riding since this time.... A few years ago, I bought a mountain bike, mainly because everyone else seemed to be buying them... and I wanted to get fit (or fitter).

I only rode it on the road, and found it just wasn't as fast as I remember my road bike being....


I want to buy another bike, but don't know whether to get:
a). a Road bike (a racer)
b). a nice mountain bike, with disc brakes, suspension etc etc.

I now weigh 18 stone, after doing some heavy weight lifting (competitive bodybuilding) for a while. I reckon I could afford to shed a couple of stone, to be lean again. However, I want to focus on controlled fitness, to shed the excess fat, and work on getting good aerobic capacity back.

Will a cheapish roadbike be ok with my weight (£300 UKP) ish??

What good deals are out there at the moment??

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

KellyT

Road bikes are much quicker than mountain bikes, generally. Lighter and higher gearing. Also the riding position, and the list goes on. But if your only real goal is to get fitter, then does it matter if it's a bit slower?

Personally, I think at 18 stone you might be well advised to go with a mountain bike. They tend to be a lot more robust (and of course heavy), and 18 stone is a chunky thing to keep off the deck when you hit the impressive pot holes in British roads. In any event I really think the lower gearing is going to help you to start with.

Perhaps a Trek 7100, or Kona Dew? I have several Trek bikes and really I just couldn't be more pleased with them. Got a Kona too, it's not bad (if not quite as 'loved' as my Trek's are). If you can get a 'ride to work' scheme you might get a really good discount, it's worth checking. Evans Cycles do some good discounts on 06 models of various bikes right now, it's worth checking their site. I bought one bike from them and aside from badly adjusted de-railleurs (which most bike shops can manage quite well too) the service was good.