Hello fellow cyclists!
do kindly forgive my poor writing skills
I rode my 26" Hard-Tail Mountain Bike (on normal roads/bicycle paths 100% of the time(I'm stupid emot)) for 6 months before having to take a break and in the 6 months gap that followed, I gained 7 kilos! Now I want to get back to cycling again, but the one thing that's eating my mind away is that I cannot decide between a Racer or a 27.5" Hard-Tail mountain bike. I am a fatty (84kg (lol emot)) and obviously have to lose a few kilos. I hope you can spare a minute or 10 and help me decide! I'll be mainly using it for short rides within city (in Germany) and daily rides of circa 40kms. I will list the for/against points I made for the different types of bicycles.
Fully-Mountain Bike: I rode this type(Hero Ranger 24"(or 21" can't remember) 18-Gear) as a teen for nearly 7 years and I absolutely love it. But I feel that the rear suspension causes power losses while pedalling hard and is hence less efficient comparatively. And I never do proper mountain-biking so it might be less useful for me.
For Hard-Tail, Against Racer: Toughness- My friend who had a racer had to avoid cobbled streets so as not to damage the 1mm thick wheels (jk) while I could go straight through them, like an SUV. I find this toughness very desirable!
Satisfaction- When I keep up with my friend (a 60kg skeleton(sorry Fred)), while on thick tyres and a bike that's heavier by 7 kilos, and also when I complete rides knowing that I spent that extra energy due to the inefficiencies, I get this weird sense of satisfaction that I love, and would love to get it with my new bike!
Comfort- When I rode my friend's racer, I found the bent down aerodynamic posture very uncomfortable, though I think I can get used to it. And I can carry stuff on a luggage rack (instead of my back), which might not be possible to fit on a racer.
Theft- I feel racers look quite expensive thanks to their sleek and well-designed frames and hence might be quite attractive to thieves. I am not a negligent/careless person who doesn't appreciate the things given to me but I would love to have a peace of mind when I leave it out for a minute or 2 while utilising the services of an ATM machine.
Against Hard-Tail, for Racer: Same old, same old!- Since I have always been riding mountain-bikes, I feel that a racer can be a great change! And since I am studying to be an Engineer, maybe I should start developing an irrational hatred towards inefficiency (like Maruti hates safety).
Uneven weight loss(yep!)- Now I am not a doctor or a medical person but I can definitely see that my legs have very less fat and are quite muscular, while my upper body is of Lord Vinayaka (no offence). I feel this might be due to the 100 Mega Newtons of effort (jk) required to pedal the inefficient MTB and I hope that a racer might help me lose weight more evenly. Or I am stupid and understood nothing about human body mechanics.
Longer Rides- When your friends ask what was your record distance or when you are a shameless bragger (Oh by the way I did a 100kms/5hrs ride with a broken front bearing), nothing beats cold straight-up triple digit numbers, and explaining why your 100kms ride is also epic because you did it on a MTB, makes you look...lame.
So, thanks for reading my boring post and I really appreciate any help! Here are some pics because everyone likes pics.
My previous companion:
It's a Hai
(=Shark in German) Rookie 26" Hard-Tail. It was given away by it's previous owner and the shop repaired it and was in a fairly good condition. I bought it for ₹15k(EUR 200) and only had a serious front wheel bearing issue once which the shop replaced under warranty.
The Hard Tail I'm considering:
This is the cheapest (₹18800/EUR250)(student budget you see) non-26" hard-tail I could find on amazon and the company seems quite reputable.
Accessories I will be adding: Luggage rack
They usually have a capacity of 5-10 Kilos and attach to the seatpost.
Lights
For safety. I really like the design of the reflector of this model (Büchel)
Mudguards
Rs.18k and no mudguard!!
Speedo
This is a must have if you ask me. It is an excellent tool to keep you motivated.
The racer I'm (not so seriously) considering:
This is the cheapest non-single speed racer on amazon. The company doesn't seem reputable (no website even). I will definitely do some research to find a better alternative if I decide to buy a racer but I think I might have to shell out more than EUR 300 for a quality racer.
Accessories:
Better Shifters (brake lever + shifter combo)
This is more of a convenience mod, and they are...expensive. Like it might end up costing me half the price of the bike itself if I decide to install them. But it can't stop me from drooling over it's amazing mechanism. With the Shimano make, you can simply push the lever inwards, upto 3 steps for shifting up 1 gear per step and pushing the additional lever (the black bit) will shift down gears. The left side is for the front derailleur.
And mud guard
and some others if need be.
Offtopic: A human being can produce .3HP for several hours if he/she exerts him/herself(Source: Wikipedia of course). So maybe we should call ourselves...wait for it...
Team-.3Bhpians!!!1 Anyone? No? Ok sorry.