[Closed] Advice please - buying a bike for me Dad who's retiring hybrid or MTB?

I'd go for a 29er hardtail just in the fact you can put semi slick touring tyres on and it'll bimble about country lanes all day but you can't (well you can but it'll be crap) MTBifie a hybrid if you want to shred some gnarrr..

Post says he will only ever do gravel [MTB is overkill and heavy for no need]i would get the lightest bike I could at the price
Boardman bikes from halfords?

I read that but a half decent alu MTB will be lighter than a hybrid anyway and be more versatile and handle better on off road routes,

I think the lightest hardtail mtb you can find would be a good option. Short travel forks and not laid back / slack head angles. Boardman bikes can be good in that sort of budget.

E-bike and watch him grin like a loon.
I recently saw 6 older guys all on fat e-bikes whooping about like teenagers again.

E-bike

For £700?

I'd buy a 29er and stick some rigid forks in. Light and versatile.

I would LOVE to buy him an e-bike and take him on the blue at Glentress or Whinlatter. Sadly not my budget though... I'd also love to see my Mum's face if I took him out there (she worries about her little girl going mountain biking still...)

MTB with rigid forks is not a bad shout. I'll take a look at the Boardmans too.

Don't forget you get 10% off at Halfords with BC membership, even off the sale bikes so bargains can be had if your canny,
The Boardman 29er with 1x11 and Recon forks for £850 is close to your budget with BC discount and is a lot of bike for the money

'Gravel', BWs and canal towpaths can be more bumpy than you imagine. Might want to factor in a comfort factor for a chap in his 60's if you are regularly venturing onto broken surfaces. Otherwise a nice light rigid 29er would be great.

"a half decent alu MTB will be lighter than a hybrid anyway" I have read this or similar, several times on here, I find it hard to believe, are you sure?

Re original post: for my father, I'd get a bike which will take decent sized tyres, mudguards and have pannier rack mounts should he need them.

Don't forget to budget for a jetboil, so he can make a brew when he's out.
Best. Present. Ever.
Edit: id go for a 29er hardtail

I'd buy a 29er and stick some rigid forks in. Light and versatile.

Or just buy a hybrid rather than buying an MTB and converting it into a hybrid

Just bought the Mrs a Whyte hybrid and swapped the 32c tyres that were fitted to it with 36c tyres from my gravel bike and its a great ride. Really grippy, smooth and comfy. It's a great bike and perfect for knocking about on gravel paths, canal paths etc. Much lighter than an MTB, more versatile geometry than an MTB and has all the usual mudguard and rack mounts.

I'm a little older than he. I'd suggest a hybrid, later he can trade up for off-road use if he choses. Meanwhile he can have mudguards if he wants to, which may help him to keep going out through the winter.

What a lovely thought. I hope he finds fun, interest, wider horizons and healthy exercise.

Is there a local group of mature riders you could find for him?

(edit) he may find the position easier for a older man's back and shoulders, too.

A mtb with rigid forks isn't really the same as a hybrid or not the ones I've seen.

If your just bumbling along then make sure you don't get some hardtail for XC....i.e. stem length (which is easy to change) but also where they cut the steerer ....

better a few spacers that can be moved than he goes the first time and it kills his back or something....

Thanks so much all. Going to Halfords tomorrow for a good look. I'm thinking the Boardman Hybrid Comp and treating him to some 36 c tyres for it.

Great suggestion for the local group - I'll have a look online and write it out for him. I'm sure there must be some in York as it's such a popular cycle town.

He's coming up next weekend so hoping to have it sorted for then (I'd been planning for June but since Halfords is so close by it is much easier than planned).

Hoping to get him to Loch Katrine for a steady start to it all.

Halfords also offering £75 worth of accessories in 2016 bikes so I can sort him out with the essentials.

Thanks for all the feedback!

And I'm gonna treat myself to a jet boil!

Don't get a hybrid, they're too limiting.

Get a 29er and put less aggressive tyres on it. The difference a wider tyre makes is well worth it in terms of handling and confidence.

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Or for a bit over budget [url= https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-ramin-3-plus-2017-mountain-bike-EV264163 ]Ramin 3 Plus[/url]...

[i]Don't get a hybrid, they're too limiting. [/i]

Not necessarily, ISTR riding mine on the Karrimor Trail at CyB, and doing some Salisbury Plain events. I also went riding with FastYoungGit and his mate locally, with them on MTBs.

I suggested a 29er with a rigid fork to a friend recently looking at cheap hybrids with rubbish "suspension" forks for general tootling with his GF. The specs just looked better and I pointed out they would be much better off with a decent rigid fork than some crappy chromed steel stanchions that weight more than the rest of the bike.

Similarly though I have been thinking of buying my dad an e-bike recently to get him out of the house.

+1 for a 29er, stick some nice xc race tyres on it and it'll be as fast as a hybrid and far more versatile.

Did you find something? Lucky dad btw. Mine's in his late 70s and has never ridden much, loves driving. But recently he moved to an area with a lot of cycle paths and so recently (Xmas) I got him hooked up with a sweet '98 Ritchey Logic-framed rigid Rockhopper in top nic (to replace his old lead-weight Diamondback BSO). He loves it! Called me the other day like a big kid relating his new ride/route and stopoffs in minute detail, hahaha. Just need to get him sorted some more suitable bars with some sweep and rise for comfy cruising (North Rounder bars will be perfect)

Looking at fitting his bike with some Schwalbe Landcruiser tyres for the same kind of riding as you mention. I used these on my M-Trax MTB for gravel-bridleway-back lane hybrid use and they were spot on in the wet and winter months under (SKS cromoplastic 55mm) mudguards. Summer or longer road tours saw it shod with Marathon Racers

slowoldgit - Member
Don't get a hybrid, they're too limiting.

Not necessarily, ISTR riding mine on the Karrimor Trail at CyB, and doing some Salisbury Plain events. I also went riding with FastYoungGit and his mate locally, with them on MTBs.

I agree, with the right rider, anything can be ridden. I was thinking more in terms of it being easier for someone who hasn't ridden for a while. The fatter tyres are a great skill compensator.

When I bought the hybrid I hadn't ridden a bike for over twenty-five years. I even had the shop put dropped bars on it, because that was what I'd last used.

Let's call this a draw.

I'm officially retiring in a couple of months, at 65. When I suggested to my lovely wife that she might like to buy me another Liteville 301 frame, so I could have one in Greece as well as the grim north, for some reason she wasn't having any of it. Can't imagine why........