New to MB-ish

[gnarwhal]

Hi,
I have a hybrid type bike which i mostly ride on railway paths and cycle routes at the moment but would love to try some more off road type mountain bike trails.
Do you think my bike would be suitable for base level trails? Or will i need to make modifications? Or get another bike (which i'm not sure i can afford)

What i have currently is an 18" Carerra Subway 1 WSD with chubby 2.1 StoneTrax tyres because the city tyres were basically useless if there was a stone or a sniff of moisture on the ground.

many thanks.

[rocknrollgirl]

I do not really know. I guess it would depend on the trails that you plan to ride. M y first mt bike had no suspension and I rode it in some pretty rough places, but it was still a mt bike.

I looked up your current bike online, but I could not really tell from the photo, however the description said it was a city bike, so that makes me think that it is not really built for off raod.

Now that being said, it brings me back to ...what are the trails like that you plan to ride it on? Any roots, rocks, drop offs?

Ruth

[gnarwhal]

To start with some roots and rocks but minimal dropoffs. The bike is a city/MTB hybrid and as stock it sits closer to the city end of the scale - but it has a shocked saddle, and new grippy as anything pedals on it and i intend at some point to see if i can put sus on the front at least. It rides like the last MTB i had but it was a Raleigh so i don't know whether that was a good MTB or not.

[Pebble]

I wouldn't go doing drop offs or anything like that with it, otherwise I don't see why you can't give it a go - make sure you check the bike over first though - all the bolts are tight? bike is in good condition etc.

I had a kmart bike when I was back at school (basically a wallmart bike) pretty much cheapest you can get - you know a 26" mens, steel mountainbike with no suspension. I used to ride it up and down any trails I could find in the local hills. It wasn't exactly designed for off road use and it was a 18kg monster but it held up pretty well. Eventually things wore out though mainly because the components were cheap & never replaced.

Based on my experience I'd say give it a go, but be sensible aobut what you ride with it because it can be dangerous. If you take a liking to that type of riding then I'd highly recommend saving up for a good entry level mtb - it will make the riding better all round, and there's noting stopping you using the mtb on the pavement either.

Just a note of caution - if you do decide to try drop offs etc with it, you may find that the wheels will bend or go out of true as they're not designed for that sort of thing - probably not as strong as mtb specific wheels.