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New to forum! Couple questions!

907 views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  Mpatrick 
#1 ·
Hello everyone! New to mountain bikes but not really new to bikes in general! I purchased today a cannondale trail 4 29er. It is the matte black one with white lettering. Like I said, I purchased the bike today, and upon walking out of the store I really wanted to ride it. So I rode it my 5.5 miles home. Lol just a quick story but into my questions! What kind of seat bags or frame bags are good for holding a tube, patch kit and a co2 canister at least? I want something to hold my needs but not something that is gonna swing around a lot. And then my last question is what kind of tires are good for moderate trail riding as well as street riding? Thanks for any input!
 
#3 ·
For your first question, get a Camel Back or other type Hydration unit and keep your stuff in it. Frame bags are loud, annoying, at at times make it hard to move around and behind the seat.

Moderate??? well anything that would work on moderate would have nobbies of some size so would not be ideal for street (wear rapidly). The problem with hybrid anything or compromise is it may work a little for all things intended but it is never good at any of them.
 
#5 ·
I have a backpack for hydration and most of my goodies. However, that's a lot of extra bulk to carry if you're out on a short ride and a water bottle will suffice for hydration, but you still need something for your tire kit, so I recommend something light, tight, out of sight like this:

Grey Carbon Composite material Motorcycle accessories Bicycles--Equipment and supplies


That's more than enough pouch to carry a tire repair kit. Pack it right, and it won't make noise.

As far as tires go, I don't think there's any tire that will suit both purposes exceptionally well. You might think of investing in a spare set of wheels to make easy swaps depending on what you're riding that day.

Oh, and welcome here!
 
#6 ·
I don't like hydration packs. I usually put a couple tubes in a small seat wedge and my tools in a jersey pocket. Too big a seat wedge can get in the way of getting behind the saddle.

Lately, my 'A' bike has the larger Timbuk2 seat wedge. The small one is really tiny!

I won't go into the woods with just CO2. I only recently started carrying CO2 at all, since a pump makes it redundant. The speed's pretty cool, though. Just need not to have a mishap...

Your bike probably already has a reasonable trail/street tire. Stock tires always seem to be more in that category than what I'd buy for a dedicated trail bike. I'm a sucker for fancy tires and I'm a XC guy, so I don't typically buy tires with a huge knob anyway. XC tires work fine on the road, though nicer MTB tires tend to wear pretty quickly if you do a lot of pavement miles.

What's the context of your street riding? Lately, my mountain bikes only see the street on the way to the trailhead, so it's a no-brainer for me to ride what I want to ride off-road and not worry about it. I'd make different choices for commuting or if some of my rides were road rides, however.
 
#7 ·
You can use any tire on roads. Bigger knobbies will be loud and slow on pavement, but grippier off road. XC tires roll better on pavement, but good ones with tacky rubber will wear quickly if used on a lot of pavement.

Go to your local shop...they'll have seat bag options you can actually touch and look at (and stuff things into so you make sure that they'll fit what you want to carry). I don't like seat bags off road. But my commuter bike has one, because I don't like wearing a pack for my commute. I wear a pack on my mtb rides. In addition to the tube, pump, and multitool, I calso carry a first aid kit, some extra food, and my water in it. This time of year, maybe also a jacket, and/or some arm and leg warmers. Maybe I start a ride wearing them and take them off as I warm up, or I start a ride when it's warm, and it cools off throughout the day so I need to add layers.
 
#8 ·
Nate pretty much sums it up for me too. Backpack is a lot more versatile. A lot of the new ones have the laptop slot. It will hold a 2 litre bladder. I use my bladder for longer rides to top off my bottles. A gallon of water weighs 8.8 pounds.
 
#9 ·
i found kenda small block 8's are a good all rounder. i've about 2k miles on a set with about a 1/3 of those miles pavement and ~50% tread left. when i patrol i def use a pack but when i'm riding for myself i usually just carry a bottle and a top peak saddle kit that doesn't extend much past the saddle.
 
#11 ·
Thank you everyone for all the posts! Helps a lot! I have seen the camelbaks but am not to hot on having a backpack on while riding. I do have 2 water bottles on my bike and so far that has proven to be pretty good. I also did some research on the seat bags and it seems that people have mixed opinions on them, and then I have also seen that the kenda small block 8's are a good in the middle tire, any comments about those tires?
 
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