There is no need to go out and buy a fancy new bike. The urban dirt community is also here to help share components and ideas, so your urban dirt bike doesn’t have to be made out of gold.
When you ride on urban dirt, you don’t need a gravel grinder, a mountain bike, or an electric fat-bike (“e-fatty”). You could be like Fay Presto; a magician on a bike for all we know. Maybe you can ride trails in reverse while juggling knives. But, if you aren’t like Fay, then there are still ways to tune your existing bike to be more compatible to ride on technical trails.
However, you need to make sure your bike’s frame can handle wider tires. Your local bike mechanic or mechanically inclined friends should be able to help you.
Also, you can still ride any of the urbandirt rides on a bike with tiny tires. Just know that your experience might be more difficult, but you’ll still have fun.
A hard-tail mountain bike is an excellent choice to ride on a wide range of technical terrain. Riding a lesser-equipped bike in technical terrain (often referred to as “under biking”) can be equally rewarding for the challenge it presents. As of 2022, many of us are riding rigid bikes with drop handlebars and moderately wide tires (35mm to 50mm). We are generally riding with “touring” bikes; however, instead of touring the paved paradise, we are venturing into the varied terrain of urban dirt.
You should enjoy riding the bike you take to urban dirt. Honing your technical skills is the first thing to do that doesn’t cost anything fiscal, it just takes time and reflection. See our “Tips and tricks” page (In development) to help you to improve your bicycle handling aptitude.
Or maybe to better enjoy urban dirt, you might need to find that “new used” bike. Because again, you shouldn’t have to spend all of the money in your piggy bank to ride in your forgotten backyard. That being said, whatever you ride on, make sure everything works on your bike. Your brakes should stop you, your derailleur (if you have one) should work, and your tires should hold air.
