Turning old MTB into a commuter

mediamonkey

I've just bought a new mountain bike to replace my old 1992 GT Karakoram. The new bike is a full-suspension Specialized which is great off road but not so hot for commuting.

I know I could just buy a cheap hybrid or road bike for commuting, but I'm more inclined to rebuild the GT as a commuter - I've already got a rack on the back, and I love the frame and geometry for road riding.

The chainset will need replacing for a start - the chain must be nearly 10,000 miles old and the chainrings are worn like you wouldn't believe. I suspect the rims are also knackered from years of braking in gritty conditions - is there any way of telling just how worn they are or is the first indication likely to be the sidewall bursting at high speed? :shock:

I'm half tempted to go single speed for ease of maintenance - my commute is pretty flat (or at least can be... in summer I tend to take a more hilly route through the woods sometimes). Presumably this would cut the cost as well as I would only need one new chainring and one rear sprocket.

Anyone done anything similar with any advice? I'm finding it difficult to estimate how much it'll cost. I know I could get a new hybbrid for £250 or so but I'm quite attached to the GT and it would be nice to give it a new lease of life...

r0msey

Interestingly I've just done this with my old MTB. I think its a good way to go, since you maintain the 26" wheel format so light off road/paths isn't going to be an issue.

Costs to date: new groupset from merlin cycles, was special offer LX/XT mix with shimano dual controls (thought I'd give it a go) bargain: £140, including new V-brakes & hollowtech II bottom bracket. was on special offer, closest I can find now:
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=produ ... egoryId=83
Certtainly recommend buying a whole groupset, you will save a lot.

Kona Project II forks - £40 from wiggle, ( http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... 202%20Fork )but then I got fancy, sold them on eBay (for more than I paid for them!) and treated myself to pace RC31 rigid carbon forks. £200! Although superstar components reckon they'll do a carbon fork for £95, bargain! http://www.superstarcomponents.com/ForkProduct.html


Brak booster on front to hold the mudguard - £5 eBay.
New saddle - optional £25.
Mudguards - SKS from LBS optional £22.
Rack, from wiggle, optional £17 I think.
New headset £35 chainreaction.
New pedals (not shown below) Shimano M324 single sided SPD £30. (merlin)
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=23957
New-ish stem, I had lying around.
Slick tyres, lying around, but I've just ordered some new ones, have a look a my thread on tyre choice: http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12559940

Wheels/Handlebars/Seat post recycled. Old BB removal £10 LBS, new headset fitting LBS £10, the rest I built myself.

All in all I've probably spent in excess of £400, probably nearer £500, but I've ended up with the bike I want. Quite light -11.5Kg inc rack 7 mudgaurds. The frame

If you recycle bits I guess you could get away with £250-£300, depends how much you plan to use it:

this is what I've ended up with:



Sorry that's a bit of a mish mash of a post, but hopefully some useful info you can extract.

PS - the frame is a "fuji stout lite" I saw one go on ebay fro £40 recently with forks. Bargain, I paid £200 for mine new, but that was over 10years ago!

jedster

I've done this with a 1992 steel rigid stumpjumper. It's great for a flat commute.

I did the following:

1. replace all the chain rings with a single chain ring on the middle. I bought a new one designed for use without a front mech - it is not ramped to allow changes so should be harder wearing and less prone to skipping. You can get down-hill specific chainrings which are ideal

2. replace cassette with a single sprocket and spacers - you can buy kits. Mine was a seven speed hub and I needed to use one of the old sprockets from the cassette as an additional spacer to get it snug

3. replace the chain with a half-link chain. This is a cunning thing that allows you to adjust chain length in half link steps. Using this I have been able to get the chain snug without using a tensioning device. This is great because it looks neater, is cheaper and is less to go wrong.

Ebay is quite a good source for all this stuff. I found an ebay shop called "Charlie the bike monger" of something similar that was selling lots of SS/fixie specific stuff.

Cheers,

J

My wheels were OK so I just stripped the shifters and mechs off, changed the brake pads, put slick tyres on, added proper mudguards and a rack. It really is good for chucking around potholed London streets.

el_presidente

I did it too. The main thing I can recommend is rigid forks. Project IIs are completely adequate however I pimped up mine with carbon forks, I used On-Ones at £140. Way OTT for a commute bike but what the heck.

I went singlespeed with a converter on my cassette hub and a simple tensioner. No probs.

There is no need to replace anything else unless it is worn out. E.g. no need for a new chainset, just a chainring. And I just put new pads on the old v-brakes.

jedster

BTW, cost were about the following:

chain ring £15
sprocket and spacers £15
chain £10

tyres (specialized nimbus armadillo) £35
rack £20
guards £20

I did have to replace a wheel after a crash and managed to get one with alex rims and LX hub for about £50.

jedster

another thing! you need shorter chainring bolts if you are only using one ring - can get these from the site I mentioned

snooks

I got a FREE frame, It was a mates unfinished project, 94/95 Marin (rigid)..rusty in places but it's all straight, and it now goes like a train! ...It had thumbshifters that worked so I went the geared route.

I put 1.5 City Jet Schwalbe (ebay £21 a pair) from Ebay (had the wheel trued at LBS)

I also had to get new brake blocks, derailures, cassette, chain, cables etc around £70 Ebay...rode it with the existing chainset to begin with, but it was slightly bent and I wanted to get bigger chainrings anyway...I found with the slicks I was in top gear all the time.

I got the biggest chain rings I could...I think I got 52 (might be 48 though)...now I can quite happily cruise at 22mph (where as on my mtb same effort will be 16-18mph) I didn't go for super light weight, I went to my LBS and asked what I could do (cheaply!)...I think the new crank and chainrings (old bike remember) cost around £35 inc fitting...could still use the existing BB so that saved a bit

I put flat bars on mine and cut a couple of inches off each end...don't feel like I riding a bull by the horns and can fit through tighter gaps :0)

Only thing I really "splashed out" on was my saddle Selle Italia Flite Max Gel Flow at £70, but a little bit of comfort down there is money well spent in my book!

Also allow a bit of money for lights, computer, spare tube, pump etc unless you want to keep moving it all from one bike to another.

Buy stuff on Ebay can save you a few quid here and there, some of it's boxed, some isn't but I'd rather save a few quid an not have a box...most instructions can be downloaded off the internet, so you don't need em either

mediamonkey

Thanks for all the advice! No worries on the fork front... the GT is fully rigid anyway!

Before deciding on single speed I'll guess I'll have to try the commute a few times staying in one gear and see how I get on. Jedster - what gear ratio do you use?

The shifters and derailleurs work pretty flawlessly so in a way it'd be a shame to take them off - perhaps I'll just go for the new chainset option and bigger chainrings... like snook I spend most of the time in top gear on road and spin out!

I guess the big expense will be new wheels... as I said the rims must be pretty worn out and I don't fancy having them blow out at speed!

alfablue

Done this with my Titanium Rock Lobster, swapped Rock Shox SID SL forks for Kona Project II Triple Butted (£50),

Tubus Cosmo Stainless Steel Rack (£80) with axle quick release fitting (no rack mounts) (£22) and Tubus upper mounting kit (£6). This rack offers a lower and further back pannier mounting (helped further by the QR axle mount) improving heel clearance which can be a problem with MTB frames and big feet.

SKS Mudguards (P65, could have gone narrower) (£22),

Specialized All Condition Pro 26 x 1.0 tyres (£38 the pair, fast, grippy, light, no p*nctures in 4000 miles).

Needed a new headset - FSA Orbit II, X-Lite stem cap, Hope spacers.

Swapped seatpost for a Use Titanium (ebay, £35).

Changed seat to Specialized Alias 143mm (good, but I want to get a Selle An-Atomica).

Grips swapped to Specialized BG Gel grips.

Fitted XTR spd pedals (OEM version, Wiggle, £50).

Needed a new rear wheel as rim wore out (quite concave), Merlin handbuilt Mavic 717 on XT hub, about £70.

The bike is XT/XTR mix, original combined XT brake/shifter wore out, now seperate XTR brake levers, v-brakes and shifters; still on original XT chainset and front and rear mechs, been through about 3 cassettes and maybe 5 chains.

I fitted Transfil Mudlovers fully sealed cables after winter commuting filled the old outers with muck regularly, impairing shifting, been maintenance free for 2 winters now.

I have a rack mounted rear LED with reflector, plus a Smart Superflash 1/2 watt on the seatpost; Got a Dinotte 5w front lamp, but now riding with Fenix L2D CE and Ultrafire (copy) flashlights (brighter, lighter, longer run time, fewer batteries). I have an Altura Urban 17" briefcase style waterproof pannier (with laptop insert), and a set of Ortleib Bike Packer Plus panniers (usually use one with Altura).

It is a fast, comfy commuter!

With a quick change to Schwalbe Marathon 26 x 1.5 tyres it is also an excellent full on tourer.

With 45 minutes work it is back to a hardtail mtb.

alfablue

mediamonkey wrote:

I guess the big expense will be new wheels... as I said the rims must be pretty worn out and I don't fancy having them blow out at speed!

I thoroughly recommend getting a handbuilt set from Merlin, they are really well built and mine stayed true till they wore out (and I got another one). They are little or no more expensive than a budget factory built wheel.

A set with Mavic XM 317 on Deore hub is just £72, you can customise the spec upwards from that as you wish.

niblue

I built my commuter bike from the ground up based on an MTB frame (On-One Inbred), but also based on previous experience of converting an older MTB for commuting purposes.

Rigid forks are a good idea and Project 2's are a good option. Pace RC31's are nice and light but more expensive (I have those on my singlespeed), On-One rigid steel forks are also good (that's what I have on my commuter).

I did originally intend running a 28-38-48 chainset on mine but initially stuck a spare 22-32-44 on and have since found that I don't really need the higher gears on my commute. I don't use the 22 ring much (possibly not at all) so going to a single 32 or 34 on the front would have been an option, with 11-34 on the back. If you go with a triple chainset then something like Deore would be a good option because it has some steel chainrings which will last longer.

Disks are definitely useful for low maintenance - I use Avid mechanical disks on mine and have been impressed by them.

mediamonkey

alfablue wrote:

I thoroughly recommend getting a handbuilt set from Merlin, they are really well built and mine stayed true till they wore out (and I got another one). They are little or no more expensive than a budget factory built wheel.

A set with Mavic XM 317 on Deore hub is just £72, you can customise the spec upwards from that as you wish.

Thanks for the link - looks like a pretty good deal!

dirk_van_gently

I too am in the process of singlespeeding an old MTB, although in my case it's more for wobbling to the shops/pub and rides out with her indoors, it will slow me down a bit.
Got a very old Marin Bear Valley, so it's fully rigid already, don't intend to spend much money on it though, it's already served me well, and I have 2 other bikes.
Got to agree with the wheels from Merlin, the Marin still has a set on it that I bought at least 8 years ago and still true, despite being subjected to some abuse.

r0msey

Of course for the singlespped option, you could get lucky, I got one of these off eBay as new for less than £100, its now got slicks and I now use it for road based fun:


£250 new http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/p ... ts_id=6798

jedster

Jedster - what gear ratio do you use?

44 x 14 I think

works pretty well, bit of a grind from the lights and I do spin out down park lane but a decent compromise

dazzawazza

alfablue wrote:

I thoroughly recommend getting a handbuilt set from Merlin, they are really well built and mine stayed true till they wore out (and I got another one). They are little or no more expensive than a budget factory built wheel.

A set with Mavic XM 317 on Deore hub is just £72, you can customise the spec upwards from that as you wish.

I also recommend these hand built wheels. I've had a pair on my MTB commuter for a year now and they are as true as the day I put them on the bike (after hitting many London pot-holes). Actually I'm considering getting hand built wheels for my Allez when funds permit; not sure if Merlin build 700c though.
I just wish I had of ordered disk hubs as I'm thinking of upgrading the MTB. It was purchased when I knew F-all about cycling and the frame size is way too big.
By the time I purchased the Allez my cycling knowledge was much better and it's a perfect fit.

fossyant

Guess what - my MTB too is a commuter - new chain, cassette, pads, BB, Headset Bearings, mud guards and 1.5 semi slick tyres.... wheels still OK. Resurected an old set of BLT lamps as well - new battery and cables....

acr

I did the same with my 1993 GT Tequesta. Costs you buttons really, mudguards £20, rack £40, road friendly cassette ( 11-28 ), slick tyres etc

It's up for sale on ebay (shameless plug!) however it's been returned to it's original condition as I can reuse the MTN2 rack and other bits.

Only thing I found with a GT is that it can be a hassle getting the rack to connect to the braze-ons on the seat stays courtesy of the triple triangle lark ie. they're further forward, I recall having to buy a Blackburn mounting kit with extra long "rack to braze-on" metal strips.

dazzawazza

I love riding my road bike during the commutes, but must admit it's also a joy on my MTB slamming through pot holes and being able to load it up with massive weight on the rack.
I'm just waiting now for a second-hand MTB (upgrade from current) with high spec, disk brakes and a lock-out fork that can serve as a commuter and a capable off road beast when required(another set of wheels also needed). Limited London house space prevents 3 bikes (I would like one for every occasion... 5++)
Nice photos above (got to get myself a pair of shiny bar-ends).

niblue

This is my MTB based commuter. I bought a 2nd hand Inbred frame and forks and pretty much everything else was from my spares bin - including the mismatched wheels.

richk

My MTB (which is now used more for commuting than off road) is heading the same way.

I'd like to fit some fixed front forks but am unsure of what to go for. It's got 5" travel but I only seem to see fixed ones 'corrected for 4" travel' - will that be OK or will it cause problems?

Any suggestions? Low cost is essential, though I'm not too worried about weight (existing forks are something like 5lbs).

alfablue

I don't think I have ever seen rigid forks that long. One thing to bear in mind is that though you have 5inch forks, when you sit on the bike you should have sag, maybe taking up one of those inches.

Kona Project II are cheapish (£30 to £50 depending on tye and source), the triple butted version weighs about 1.1 kg uncut, mine are 900g cut.