I have both MTB (converted to slick) and a road bike.

My experience and tips for those intending to cycle, what bikes to get first.


I recommend buying a cheap MTB with disc brakes, converted to slick tyres if you intend to use it for commuting.

The reason I recommend a cheap under rm 600 mtb is due to YOU being a beginner and never cycled before, you're likely to trash the bike a few times from falls compared to straight starting out with a road bike which costs you 4 times more or even 6 times more if you buy a branded low end/entry level model road bike.


As a beginning cyclist, the flat bar mtb is easier to control/handle and the thicker tyres makes the ride more stable and actually easier for you to balance at SLOW speeds.


The road bike is not good for slow speeds, because of the thin tyres and as a beginner, you would not be able to track stand as good compared to an mtb.
Even a slick modified mtb has thicker tyres than your typical road bike.
Drop bars are finicky to hold and lack precision when doing slow turns, because these bikes are not meant to be rode slowly. They're simply not stable at speeds under 5 km/h.
Or at least you need more effort/experience balancing a bike with skinny tyres at that speed.

A cheap mtb with suspension also makes your ride more comfortable over shitty roads with stones/pebbles/pot holes as typical lousy Malaysian roads.
They're more suited for our poorly maintained roads.
A road bike is best on the same roads that car actually use, which also means it is more dangerous compared to riding in small taman area.

Unless you're fairly fit enough to get at least 30 km/h on a road bike, it's best not to ride in open roads even if they're not highways.
There will always be dickheads in cars and bikes who wants to overtake you even if it's unnecessary and in traffic jams where you could easily move faster than them.
It's the ego with fuckwits on 4 wheels that it is humiliating to follow behind a bicycle even if the bicycle is faster than them in that particular instance.
I've experienced it too many times. Nobody wants to lose out to a bicycle on the road even if you are riding at over 40 km/h ....


So once you're experienced on a flat bar bike, you wanna move on to a road bike.

1. You need to know your budget.
2. You need to know the frame size available for that budget.


You don't need to go to expensive branded bike specific shops to get a road bike.
You can get good cheap under 3k road bikes as long as you're fine with China branded alloy bikes. They're fine as they mostly use Shimano parts made from our Malaysian based factory anyway.
Most Malaysians should have no problem getting ride frame size for these cheap china road bikes because Malaysians are not that tall.
If you're tall, around 177cm or more, you may have problem buying cheap road bikes unless you're willing to settle for smaller frames that aren't exactly your fit, which is fine because it's all a matter of how flexible you are.

Otherwise, you will have no choice but to spend more money, around 3k or more to get entry level bikes with the right frame size and bike fitting done at these branded bike shops that sell giant, specialized, cannondale, etc you get the idea, bikes over 10k in price.


Among the cheap brands you can get for under 3k are CAMP, GTA, Raleigh, Twitter.
If you can get a cable disc brake model, by all means go ahead. But most likely you'll end up with rim/wheel brakes due to the prices in these segment because they're cheaper to make.
Minimum speed should be 8, using either claris or microshift set. The more speed from 9 to 11, the more expensive the maintenance and faster wearing out if used incorrectly.

Don't get road bikes with 7 speed because they don't use cassette sprockets, but outdated freewheels (though cheaper to replace but it's really outdated stuff)



So, conclusion is, IF you get a road bike, you better be more careful riding it because you're more likely to get killed on it due to the more squirrelly handling and faster speeds (and generally less effective braking due to mostly rim brakes).

Don't get a road bike as a beginner cyclist, because even if you have money, you'll likely eventually cold storage the bike simply because it would not ride as comfortable compared to the flat bar bikes and you'll progress very slowly, eventually losing interest in riding.


Money won't buy patience and skills, so don't be greedy and show off or under peer pressure to buy a road bike instantly as a beginner. Road bikes make POOR and shitty beginner bicycles.

noted

Thus, do u recommend mountain bike for beginner?

Yes, get a cheap alloy bike for beginner under 600.

Lajak ftw

Already know since i cycled to school. Better off with MTB with road tires and taller handlebars.

How do you convert to slick? How much damage?

Just go to your local bike shop and say want to change tyre to slick tyres. May need to change tubes too.

This enable you to ride 15-20 percent faster on road compared to the knobby tyres.

The thinner the tyre, faster and easier to pedal.

Would you recommend super fast electric bicycle that can easily go over 100 km/h?

Don't if you are a newbie. Those bike are 5x heavier/harder to handle.

What brand should i get as beginner budget 1k to 2k?

sure mtb. any terrain also can ride.

disk brake or v brake or c brake is not an issue at all.

Is the handling the same as kapchai? I would love to see reaction of other motorists on hway as they are watching a dude cycling on a bicycle overtaking them.

This one what category

Roadbike got bigger cranks 53T 1cycle more spins means faster on the road, MTB got bigger cassette can up till 36T I'm not sure, don't own 1 easier for hill climb

Doesn't mean it's easy to spin with bigger crank. It's actually very tedious to even max out a compact 50/34 crank.

But it does have potential to easily exceed 40 km/h compared to an mtb on slicks.

crank with 53T up hill need cry with no tear some more rear cassette for road bike all are close ratio.

no one will use mtb race with rb, it is pointless. It is same like asking rb to ride off road, pointless too.

Last time here got one fellow cheongster has mtb said, he can over take rb on a hill. But after that, he no longer appears.

If you were used to ride kapchai, you will caught of guard riding it. Throttle is way twitchier, if not careful you will easier lift-up the front end. Weight distribution is bad. Heavier on the rear. Also unsprung weight of the motor feels unnatural. That what i get from my first ride on one of this. Forgot the model number but the name sounded like sauron or something. Yeah. Its scary.

this ok?

Can ride a mountain bike for long distance, eg from sg. buloh to ijok via latar highway? Will the road bike be a better option?

get a cheap one.. and up grade ur leg first.. some ppl just change bicycle like change cloth.. but yah..their money..who cares

Here I was thinking why TS comparing a MBT (Main Battle Tank) with a bike... Nanti perasaan MTB.. sorry TS

Google says that's about 26km. Back when I was actively riding, my nightly ride also 30km on my mtb though I had pretty light wheelset and tires