hmmmm.... then i'll have to do more research... I don't really want a mountain bike.. more like hybrid or maybe a road if my budget permits. I hardly go on dirt trails so don't really see the need for a mountain bike.
or should I wait for bikeasia to check out the deals?
Mountain bike are more casual and easy to ride, maintain and use in any terrain without almost a care. Wanna whack the trail in Bukit Timah...you can just go for it, wanna hit the pavement, again..no problem...take it on a mix pathway...it can change role without hardly any problem. When you get to the road bike or a hybrid road bike like those uses in cyclo cross or triathlon, you are looking at a difference breed. If you want power riding and long cruising speed on the road, there are nothing better for it then with those bikes. I started off with road bikes eons ago heh.. in fact I started with a Raleigh bike made in UK anbd later upgrade it to a Colnago. They are fast bikes and there are reason why they are design to look that way and why they have curve drop bars and yes some also have the additional aerobar too. The reason for them or even why have that dropbar handle is to help you keep your body lower and almost horizontal to the road. Why? Aerodynamic. With mountain bike the bend over stance is not as acute so there is less strain on your back. The proper way you need to condition your body is to always try to bend at your waist...problem is as we tired, we tend to bend our back too. Riding a road bike will take some getting use to if you are switching over from a MTB.
There is also the thing about fragility of the bike. Unlike a MTB, they are usually made to be lighter and with much slimmer tubings and parts, so knocking it about can casue abit more damages and with thinner wheelset, you get knocks side way, the wheel will collapse alot easier then a MTB knobby wheelset. Sometime just hitting into a pothole can break your wheel and send you flying over your handle bar. Road Bikes are not so much a bike built for sight seeing in my view. Hunch over the handle bar and with minimum gear ( you should not carry too much gear with a road bike as weight is an issue depending on what kind of frame and component you have) and the road bike is built more for speed and pretty straight road or gradual curve lines. If you watch a Tour de France race and you see cyclist do a tight turn on a slippery road or even sandy one...watch then slide and fall. Trust me, you will not want that to happen to you. It is like have sandpaper scrapping your thigh when you slip and meet the ground. Road bike uses thinner smaller tires so GRIP is delicate.
You have to learn how to adapt to it and you might even have to know the road ahead so you know if you should whack hard on the pedal to counter it or slow down or take a foot off the pedal and bring it down on the ground to support your corner.. There are quite a few things to note when you switch from a MTB to a road bike or a hybrid. Aero-bar helps long distance ride to stretch out their body in the low hunch position to spread out the weight more and take some of the strain off your back and yes...help further improve the aero-dynamic. I think road Riding hunch is good as it help you to keep your tummy down hahahah.... if not it can be quite a pain as you crunch at the hip down and squeeze your tummy between your rib cage and your crotch to your saddle. heheh imagine a 137km round island ride in that position heheheh.....
Most road bikes are stiff and strong to some extend ( depending on your how deep your pockets) but they have a weakness. The strength is made to take pressure and strain on forward motion and when you pedal hard on it, it transfer the energy into the wheel heading forward. Problem is anything that is happening side way or falling side way, damages are alot more serious to the bike and you too. Compared to a MTB, you can catch yourself and save yourself abit easier then on a road bike. You can turn a MTB's handle bar alot more acute side to side then a road bike. On an aero bar...that is even worst. You are slump over and stretch out on the bar for only one kind of ride. The Long and straight. The last things you want to do is something happen to you and you need to steer hard and fast. You almost can do so on a aerobar. You actually have to lift your body up, grab your normal drop down handle bar to steel. Imagine doing that in a split second something happens. heheh.. Trust me.. I have been there... it was not a fun day. The fall took me off cycling for 2 months....and a big bill to change my tires, rims, spokes and handle bar. Oh I threw the aerobar into the sea heheheh. It looks really cool I know but well...not for me.
Think carefully about buying a road bike, it is really not for everyone. It distinctively a bike only for those who likes a certain riding style, love speed and does a lot of road riding on straights and gentle curve mainly. As I use to following alot of US MTB races in magazines previously, I know alot of the top MTB racers during their off season or in between training for a race season, they would take to road bike to train for power riding. But for ease of control, finesse and technical ride, MTB type bikes are still the choice. These is just the tip of the iceberg to get you wet on the topic heheh...wanna know more I can give you more details or point you to some sites to learn more about road bikes.
oh and ah....having a mountain bike does not mean you HAVE to go off road. You can still get a mountain bike like a hybrid or free-ride geometry and put slicks on them and use them on the road. Slick tires will make it alot easier to pedal, more efficient use of your pedal power to transfer them to the ground and let you cover longer distance with less strain heheh... choice of tires can make you love your MTB alot more if you are not aware of it by now heh..