There are so many personal preferences involved that it's impossible to give a solid answer to that. Might as well ask what's the best candy. Besides, Scott or Trek doesn't say that much, you've got to compare what components they have to be able to learn anything about them.

The frame geometries are so different that short of rewelding the frame you'll never get anything but a fairly crappy cruiser copy. If you insist on trying the things you can do are: 1) switch to a stem with really short reach, you might even want to run it backwards. 2) switch the handle bar to a style known as a North Shore bar. 3) switch seat post to a setback seat post, set it low, get a wide, well padded saddle and slide it all the way back. To get the stance "right" (or maybe less wrong) you could consider swapping the rear wheel for a smaller one, but that would loók right ugly. Another option is to stick a longer fork in there. If you're starting with a 26-inch bike you could swap to rigid fork for a 29er, or a fork for a 622 mm road bike. Do note that: a) there are a couple of different standards out there, so swapping forks can be a real pain if you don't know what you're doing. b) swapping forks is likely to lead to troubles fitting a front rim brake c) swapping forks will increase the load on both fork and headtube and can not be recommended for hard riding or a heavy rider. It will also interfere with handling, but usually not beyond what rider capability. d) IMO this endeavor isn't worth the effort. You'd be better off using ebay, craigslist or whatever to sell your current bike and buy a cruiser instead.

Same reason as a jeep won't do as well as a NASCAR car on a racetrack. The MTB is built heavier and stronger to be able to stand jumps and drops, which the road bike isn't expected to have to hold up to. The MTB riding position gives better view but more wind resistance than the road bike. Road bikes can have real aerodynamic and slim tires, while the MTB need wider more knobbly tires for traction on dirt.

With that said, a MTB w/o suspension but with slick tires can make a real good bike for city/urban riding. Good overview, good brakes, nimble, rugged and manouverable. Usually speeds during urban riding isn't high enough for the improved aerodynamic of the road bike to mean much.

Road bikes tend to be lighter, and faster on downhills.

Depends on what you want from your bike. A MTB is likely to have better riding characteristics than a freestyle bike, important if you want to cover any distances with your bike. But if you only want to ride at skate parks, then a freestyle bike is probably the better choice.

And the question is....?

Hello. A klein serial number can be easyest read as this. Ok i have a Klein Attitude from 94 with serial nr: 20t0694313 that means it is a medium 20" made in June 94 number 313 that month. earlyer models have other numbers that are much simpler such as: AD03c which indicates its just an Adroit or ATT00168 which indicates its an Attitude. these early numbers are mostly from 1990 to 93. for those of you who are interested you can go to oldklein.com and see much of these oldschool beauties. look for the collection from Norway and you will see a lot of the bikes i have now or have previously owned before:-)

For further Q's you can send me a mail at Andre.hefferli@bluezone.no

hope this helps a little Thanks André

Basically 3 guys from somewhere in America ( Im not sure where) all had rubbish bikes (probably beach cruisers). They had a pick up between them and one day they decided to go up a hill and cycle down it. When they got down they thought it was fun, and then went up in the pickup and down again, this is how downhill mountain biking started.

If you want to learn more I would recommend reading the book To the Limit Mountain biking. It is really useful, and tells you about many types of mountain biking.

No. With it's 20" wheels it'd be considered a BMX, and a fairly cheap one at that.

Trek is a well proven brand and there are millions of them out there so it's probable you can find a good used one. Also consider this, because of there popularity parts are always available. Go to a dealer and ask questions related to the style of riding you plan to do. Rock jumps, rough trails, cross country off road etc. EBAY.

That depends upon what sort of crank set you have.

cottered crank (older bicycle)

press fit - newer / current bicycles

out board bearing (newer current bikes - expensive bicycles generally

one piece crank sets - cheapo bicycles mostly

You need different tools for each of these types

The best way to figure it out would be to go to the Park tool web site,

then find out first what kind of crank it is, what tool(s) you need, then how to use the tool(s)

The Schwinn Mesa Google can find has a 65 mm travel fork. This, for real MTBs is short. Current standard is 80 mm and up. 65 mm is Hybrid territory.

Changing to a longer travel fork is so-so. It'll change the geometry and the steering response of the bike, make it more sluggish.

And it'll increase the load on the head tube-down tube junction, and the fork. Something may break.

At USD200 you won't be able to find a particularly better fork at full price, you'll have to buy used. And hope that you pick a good one.

You need to match steerer tube diameter(yours is a 1 1/8" straight), steerer tube length, type of brake mount and type of front axle(yours is a standard quick-release axle)

The traditional difference between a man's bike and a woman's bike is the top tube design. A man's bike would have a top tube going straight from the top of the head tube to the top of the seat tube, while a woman's bike would have a top tube that connected to the seat tube somewhere lower down.

This was originally to make it possible to ride a bike while wearing a skirt w/o exposing any morally offending body parts while mounting the bike.

A consequence of this is that traditional women's frames are torsionally and vertically weaker than men's, which is why performance-oriented bikes all look the same regardless of the gender of the rider.

If you're looking for a performance-based difference, then women often have proportionally shorter upper bodies and arms than men, so some manufacturers adapt to that by building frames with shorter top tubes and other tweaks to the geometry.

Others merely slap a "cute" paint scheme on the smaller sizes of their standard frames and call it a woman's bike.

Do note that the dfference from one person to another can easily be bigger than the differences between the male and female norm.

There are also a few other ways of fitting a bike to the rider, if the frame isn't spot on. Stems and handlebars can be replaced for moderate adjustments of riding position.

While it's nice to have a well-fitting bike, for a recreational rider it's not as critical for a MTB as it is for a road bike. On a MTB the rider spends more time out of the saddle, moving around. Riding a road bike is a lot more static, so the position has to fit better.

And if it's just for pottering around the block, then most riders would prefer a "woman's" bike. They will usually provide a more upright riding position, which is more comfortable for casual riding.

Don't really know what part you're calling a crossbar, but it's probably what's otherwise known as the top tube. The reason for having a lower top tube is that it makes the bike more manouverable during tricks, jumps and technical riding. The downside is that it's not as efficient for seated riding, which isn't much of an issue for MTBs.

http://www.houstonbiketrails.com is a good website to find mountain bike trails and bike paths in the South Houston and surrounding areas.

Yes, but not without consequences. The front wheel will probably fit, but the brakes won't reach the rim and it's likely that the tire will get squeezed by the fork. A modern rear MTB hub is 135 mm wide, while a modern road hub is 130 mm, so there's your first problem. Then you'll also have the same issues with brakes not reaching and tire clearance as you had for the front. Bikes with disc brakes can sometimes take different wheel sizes w/o any further issues, but keep in mind that pedal clearence will change.

Very much depends on what kind of MTB you're looking for, and what you're ready to spend on it. A high-end XC(cross country) MTB can be around 20-22 lbs(less than 10 kg). For an FS DH MTB (full suspension downhill) around 35 lbs(15 kg) is more to be expected. Here is a bunch of mountain bike frames so you can see the difference in weight ratios....

The main differences between the two types of racing are the terrain and bicycles. Road races are usually held on closed courses around a city, across a state, etc. They cover a lot of miles. Races can go from 1 mile sprints to centuries (100 miles), to the well known Tour de France. Distances are determined by the race, skill levels, type, etc. Mountain bike races are on closed courses obviously in the mountains. Single-track courses are the most prevalent. Like road races distances vary. Road bicycles are significantly lighter and streamlined than mountain bikes. They are designed to fit their riders so comfortably they could ride hundreds of miles. They have skinnier tires for less friction on the road, and drop-style handlebars for comfort. A mountain bike is designed to deal with the terrain as well as the rider. Some mountain bikes may have full front and rear suspension, or none at all. They have beefier tires as well as stronger, thicker frames. The differences truly are night and day.

$290

Most BMX have sprockets with freewheels as one unit. This means that you need a special puller to grip notches on the freewheel to be able to unscrew the old one. The new one can be started by hand and will tighten down by itself as you pedal. If you have a low-end one with a built-in coaster brake other rules apply and you're probably looking at something with a lockring arrangement.

It greatly depends on the style of riding of the female. you can get full suspension, hardtail, unsuspended.... I think she should just get one that is made for women, women specific desing of some bikes. they are made to be easier to ride for a female. just ask the person at the bike shop.

Sounds like the freewheel (the clutch prom). You need a special tool to remove it in order to be able to replace it with a new one you can find the tool at a shop near you most of all have them

I bought my 2009 Giant Boulder Mountain bike for $319 in Dallas. The Giant website says the average price is about $275, but varies due to shipping costs.

For an equal amount of effort from the same rider, a mountainbike ought to be faster. It's likely to be lighter, offer a better riding position and multiple gears will allow the rider to ride more efficiently.

The one I could see on the net had a quill stem, which means that you loosen the bolt straight above where the fork goes through the frame a few turns. This should cause the bolt to rise a little. Then give it a tap so that it settles down again. This frees up the expander wedge inside the fork. The handlebars (or rather, the stem) should now be free to move up/down and sideways. If you're raising the bars, make sure you don't go above the minimum insertion line which is probably stamped into the stem.