From Mountain Bike to Road Bike... Advice Sought

Biker Robert

Hi,

I'm new to this forum - just found it recently having been into cycling for years.

Here's my predicament. I cycle about 9 miles per day by road as part of my commute, a significant amount of which is up hill (I live in West Yorkshire.) I'm using a GT mountain bike, which I paid about £250 around 5 years ago. (see below..)



Granted, it's not a fancy, expensive bike, but I have been very happy with it over the years. It has 24 gears (so plenty of scope for going fast, or getting up steep hills), is sufficiently light (I need to carry it up stairs at the station and onto the train), and has excellent quick-fire gear changing. It seems a good quality product, still being in fairly good condition despite extensive use.

I'm starting to wonder though whether I should invest in a road bike (along the lines of the one below), since I am spending a lot of my time travelling by road, sometimes struggling up hills. I'm not sure whether the weight of my cheaper-end mountain bike is a problem here.



I'm not sure what the advantages are though. I mean, will it really make a difference to my daily commute? Will it make it easier to reach higher speeds, or get up the long, relentless hills? They also look a bit uncomfortable - Are they?

My situation is this...

My mountain bike basically does the job. I have been happily commuting by road with it for a long while now, being able to get up to a good speed. But I also like that I have the flexibility to hop onto a curb, and nip down some steps when I need to. And I like occassionally using it at the weekend to do non-road stuff.

Sorry for the long post, but could anybody give me some advice. What benefits will a road bike bring me? Is it worth it in my situation (I notice they ain't cheap)?

Thanks in advance
Robert

Not Another Hill

I've MTB for last 4 years and recently got into road biking (bought Focus Cayo 07 - superb). Also I commute on my MTB. Personally I will stay on the MTB for my commute (8 mile round trip - Huddersfield) because the state of the roads are so crap at moment (potholes etc). Plus the salt, grime, rain etc from winter riding will soon turn all that shiny alloy into a disaster zone unless you meticulously cleaned it regularly. You probably would not see a massive difference in the speed of your commute - hills are still hills and still need effort to get up them on a superlight road bike. Fitness will improve your speed. You would be as well to fit a pair of slicks on the MTB (26 x 1.3s) you'll find that your rolling resistance will improve dramatically. If you wanted to get into road riding per se then consider a kind of bike like the Focus. If just commuting then stick with the MTb or get a commuter specific road bike (Sirrus etc).

jpembroke

You're opening Pandora's shed mate. You'll buy a lovely, light, beautiful road bike; ride it to work a few times, then realise that it's too good for such mundane tasks but you won't want to go back to the MTB because it'll seem heavy and sluggish in comparison so you'll start looking for a commuting bike, perhaps a winter trainer or tourer. Then you'll want a fixie.....

and you'll take up Cyclocross

Anonymous

Trust me you would feel the difference immediately. If youve never ridden road it will feel a little odd at first but youll soon be flying past all the mountain bikers. I ride both but i wouldnt ever go back to commuting on a mountain bike even with slicks.
Faster acceleration, easier to maintain speeds, hills are much easier, weighs half as much, dont get nearly as much crap in my face and up my back. Plus on yours the suspension takes up half a ton of energy.
Even with a 250 pound road 'style' bike you'll notice it, but id suggest looking around the 500 mark for something long lasting.

http://www.ukbikesdepot.com/products.php?plid=m1b0s6p223- 200 quid.

Or if you still want a bit of a mtb feel try a flat bar,
http://www.ukbikesdepot.com/products.php?plid=m1b0s6p525

But yeah, and I've fallen in love with my spd's for commuting, makes it much more fun. See if you can borrow someones, thats in good nick.


And if you're on the leeds-halifax train route I might see you sometime Rob

Naz

I would try some slicks first, these will improve your average speed. And if you want to go even faster, then think about a road bike, however your MTB will always be more comfortable if your local roads are in poor condition.

Biker Robert

Thanks very much for these helpful responses guys. Very much appreciated.

I'm in a real quandry over this one. I am tempted by what McFlask says about weight and aerodynamics. At the moment, going down hill I am reaching speeds of 55km/h, but going up some of the relentless hills first thing in the morning is bleedin murder. I am fairly fit, but I find at points I can't maintain speeds higher than 12km/h on the nasty bits. The main problems, aside from the fact it is a hill (and that's how it is), is I think the weight of the bike. I don't have rear suspension on my mtb, which is awful for absorbing energy, but it is a bit bulky. The other problem is that I wear my work clothes, plus water proofs over the top, so I am about as aerodynamic as a brick wall.

I can see where the other guys are coming from though. There are advantages to the mtb - comfort (relatively), some of the bike lanes are horribly cratered. And as I say, I like the flexibility of being able to whip on and off the road as necessary, especially as some of the roads I use are frequented by psychotic car drivers.

I'm tempted to try and find a quality mountain bike that is lighter and more stream lined than the one I have... perhaps that would be a good compromise?

McFlask,
I am on the Leeds-Halifax route!! What a coincidence. I live in north Bradford, next to Calverley (Leeds.) In the mornings I cycle to Bradford Interchange and take the train to Halifax. There is about 2.5 miles of horrid, relentless up hill grinding, but the last few miles I am rewarded by steep hills going down into Bradford town. Then on the way home, I take the train to New Pudsey and cycle home from there. Basically, I'm avoiding having to go up the steepest hills. It would be nice to live in a flat part of the country.

I have only ever noticed one other serious looking cyclist on the train - I wonder if that's you. When cycling I usually take the 7am train from Bradford and then go home on the 16.19 to avoid bad traffic. Oh well, if you ever see a trampy looking bloke with cheap water proofs over his suit and a yellow mtb, come and say hello :-)

Biker Robert

Not Another Hill wrote:

If just commuting then stick with the MTb or get a commuter specific road bike (Sirrus etc).

How are the commuter specific ones different. This could be what I need. Have you a link mate, or type of Sirrus?

Thanks

simonali

Naz wrote:

I would try some slicks first, these will improve your average speed.

Seconded. Get some of the thinner, lighter ones and you'll notice a big difference in rotating weight. This will help acceleration and climbing no end!

Try a sub 400g tyre, such as Schwalbe Kojak 1.35 folding, Conti Sport Contact 1.3, Spesh All Condition Pro or Maxxis Xenith 1.5. A rigid fork will help if you're getting out of the saddle on the hills, too.

Not Another Hill

This link will take you to a Specialised Sirrus www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70093 Commuter bikes have road size wheels (700cc) and a sitting up postion of a mountain bike. They combine the best elements of MTb and road bikes. They will also take a bit a abuse. You should be able to fit mud guards and racks etc to them which a lot of road bikes you can't. I wouldn't spend a fortune on a road bike unless I was going to ride it for pleasure as well as commuting. On the MTB front, I understand Calverley Woods are good for trail riding. I've friends who ride there alot.

Biker Robert

Not Another Hill wrote:

This link will take you to a Specialised Sirrus www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70093 Commuter bikes have road size wheels (700cc) and a sitting up postion of a mountain bike. They combine the best elements of MTb and road bikes. They will also take a bit a abuse. You should be able to fit mud guards and racks etc to them which a lot of road bikes you can't. I wouldn't spend a fortune on a road bike unless I was going to ride it for pleasure as well as commuting. On the MTB front, I understand Calverley Woods are good for trail riding. I've friends who ride there alot.

Thanks for the link, I'll check that out. Yes, I live only a minute walk from Calverley Woods - it is great for a bit of messing about on the mtb. I sometimes go through there to the Leeds-Liverpool canal, and then do the ride all the way into Leeds and back. Nice and flat on the canal :-)

Rich Hcp

I changed the tyres on my MTB for slicks and its faster,

Still too slow.......

So I ended up buying an Specialized Allez Sport, which I love.

But the still like the MTB for off road stuff.

So My advice is, if you have space have both.

Biker Robert

Is it possible to get slicks that can be added and removed easily from the bike? You may notice from the image above that the wheels on my bike can be removed quite easily. It would be good to be able to add the slicks for commuting, but then replace them for off road. Also, would I need to add a slick at the back as well? Presumably this would require one with cogs on.

Where could I buy cheapish slicks for back and front - are they available in most bike stores and Halfords? I presume they wouldn't destabilise a bike designed for thicker wheels?

And how to slicks make difference? Is it simply because lower suface area reduces the friction?

Thanks

alfablue

You can fit slick tyres no problem, I have gone for really narrow 26x1.0 Specialized All Conditions Pro's for my commuting MTB (they are superb, I tried Continetal Sport Contacts, but the punctured often and wore out quick. I have not had a puncture on the Spesh tyres in 4000 miles). I would not reccomend going too cheap on tyres, however Schwalbe City Jets are very good and can be had for around £10 each, they are fatter than mine though (1.5 I think, too fat for my liking, but fine really). My 1.0 tyres are fine on my Mavic XC 717 rims (which specify tyre sizes from 1.0 up). Your rims could be fatter, but probably not, so these tyres should be okay. You can fit them front or rear, they will need inflating to 100psi or above. Slicks grip better on the road (more rubber actually in contact) much lower rolling resistance, less frontal area (wind resistance, pssibly a small factor) and no "squirm" that you get when cornering on knobblies. They won't destabilise the bike.

You can probably replace the tyres in 15 minutes when wanting to go off road, or you could get a second set of wheels (Merlin Cycles do excellent handbuilt wheel sets at great prices for example, Deore hubs on XM 317 rims, handbuilt £66 per pair, or any variation up from that, my XT hubbed XC717's were about £120). You will also need a cassette (the cogs), which you can get from £10 to £30ish depending on quality. You can then swap wheels out rapidly using the quick release skewers. The only slight issue may be if your new rims have a different width you would have to tweak the brake adjustment, not a big deal though.

I reckon, 2 tyres, £36, 2 wheels £66, Cassette (9 speed LX) £22, total £124 plus p&p (if applicable). I think it is well worth going down the slick route for road riding.

I would thoroghly recommed Merlin Handbuil wheels over any cheap factory built ones - in a different class, and totally reliable.

feel

Biker Robert wrote:

And how to slicks make difference? Is it simply because lower suface area reduces the friction?

Thanks

narrow slicks, front and back, could well be over a kilogram lighter than what you currently have. The tread pattern will also have a much lower rolling resistance due to the surface area and much higher pressure you will run them at. I have just restored my son's MTB and can second schwalbe city jets (unfortunately the rrp has just gone up to £14 so you will be lucky if you can find old stock at about £10 i got the last ones at my lbs ). The other thing that shocked me about his bike was the steel seatpost and seat - they weighed a ton :shock: £14 bought a really light, longer aluminium replacement and £20 bought a much lighter improved seat.

result = he has a much improved lighter, faster bike that only cost me £54

Biker Robert

I'm liking the look of this one. It is retailing in the US for between $599-$680, so presumably once it comes on the market here it should cost around £300.

Any thoughts on how this one would work out for commuting by road, and negotiating hills?

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... s-08-30672

simonali

Looks pretty heavy and I doubt very much it'll be under £500 if and when it gets to the UK. You can't convert dollars to pounds when it comes to bikes.

A Marin Point Reyes is $800 over there and £900 over here!!

skybolt100

Hi i am intersted in commuting to work from tyersal through to leeds city centre. i assume the safest route would be to avoid the major roads and try to follow the leeds-liverpoool canal which passes by my office - can you suggest a good off road route from tyersal through to say rodley? thanks

boyse7en

An option that hasn't been mentioned is, rather than get a pure road bike, get a Cyclocross bike. Compared to an MTB it will be lighter, roll easier (larger, narrower wheels and tyres) and be more aerodynamic on the drops and compared to a Road bike it will handle some rough stuff and not get so upset about potholes.

meanwhile

Not Another Hill wrote:

This link will take you to a Specialised Sirrus www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=70093 Commuter bikes have road size wheels (700cc) and a sitting up postion of a mountain bike. They combine the best elements of MTb and road bikes. They will also take a bit a abuse. You should be able to fit mud guards and racks etc to them which a lot of road bikes you can't. I wouldn't spend a fortune on a road bike unless I was going to ride it for pleasure as well as commuting. On the MTB front, I understand Calverley Woods are good for trail riding. I've friends who ride there alot.

The Sirrus is a mis-designed abomination (I've got one). Put decent slicks on your GT (Conti Sports Contacts) and it will probably be a better road bike than the Sirrus. The tyres you're running at the moment will hold you back like anchors and corner like pigs. There really isn't enough of a difference between an ok hardtail MTB and a similar quality hybrid to justify buying a new bike once the MTB is slicked up.

Otoh, if you feel like investing, consider a hybrid with disc brake. These 100% of braking power in the rain; the Sirrus doesn't have them, but a lot of cheaper better designed bikes do.

Oh - and hybrids often have 26 wheels instead of 700c. There's no definite best wheel size.

Steve_b77

Don't get that Schwinn thingy it's heavier than my Specialized Pitch (6" travel full suss all-mountain machine)

Seriously the best option is a road bike, I bought one a while ago and they're soooo fast compared to MTB's they're great, I too bought a Spec' Allez