Please help!!!
eupharies
Posts: 43
basically i have a raleigh freeride AT10.... it was cheap like £180
Its kinda heavy, the brakes are crap, as i weigh 100kg, and have worn out, tyres are so grippy that it slows me down, and it doesnt have enough gears for me (21).
would it be better to just, buy a road bike.... and cut my losses or
replace tyres and brakes on this bike, maybe install disc ones or something...
I cant decide! cheers
Its kinda heavy, the brakes are crap, as i weigh 100kg, and have worn out, tyres are so grippy that it slows me down, and it doesnt have enough gears for me (21).
would it be better to just, buy a road bike.... and cut my losses or
replace tyres and brakes on this bike, maybe install disc ones or something...
I cant decide! cheers
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Comments
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If you want a bike for Road-Use, get a Road Bike. And i think 21 gears should be enough unless you live in the alps! Need a bit more background info though, so what do you want to use the bike for primarily?0
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You won't be able to fit disc brakes on a frame that wasn't designed for them, as it won't have the correct mounting points.
The best course really depends how much money you want to spend. Fitting slick (or semi-slick) tyres on that will make things a lot easier on roads, and will be cheap. Buying a new bike will obviously cost more, but will let you get something a lot nicer to ride if you're willing to pay for it.
So, what's your budget, and what sort of riding do you want to do?0 -
I think the expression that applies is the "lipstick on a pig" one. The AT10 is a mountain bike, 26" knobbly/heavy tyres, girlie gears and a heavy suspended front fork.
Why not start saving for a road bike, if you want road bike performance? £500 will get you a great s/h one or a little more will get you a very good brand new starter (Spesh Allez/Trek 1.2, etc). Worth looking out for end of 2011 bargains...
Oh, 21 gears can be more than enough, it is about the range and inches, but I can understand you looking for a 9spd triple.0 -
Hi guys thanks for the responses
I only use it for commuting to work 5 mile round trip, and to the gym ( 4 times a week) 3mile round trip)
So sometimes 8 miles a day, which i know isnt alot, but im really in to the gym, and its started affecting my leg days, as my legs are tired from cycling, which is probably due to the tyres more so...
Thing is im always jsut up n down the curb, therefore i couldnt do that on a road bike, but im sure i could jsut stop doing that haha
The reason i want mroe than 21 gears is my legs are very strong, and if i had road tyres on it, then 21 would not be enough i dont think!
My back rbakes have completely gone, and they cannot be adjusted anymore, so need to be replaced...
Budget wise, i suppose i could sell mine for about £120, and then spend maybe another £200... although if i could make it alot better by just replacing tyres and brakes, then id do that!0 -
i dont fully understand the gears, i know my ones are crappy.. 9 speed triple would be 27 of course but what does the triple mean??0
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Errm, you should easily be able to do a 3 or 5 mile round trip on that bike without it affecting your legs. Save yourself some money, replace the brake pads and ride your bike until you want to do more and your legs have caught up with your aspirations
Oh, stay off the pavements as it gets us all a bad name.0 -
it affects my legs as i train legs twice a week in the gym, heavy squats / deadlifts etc0
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i defo need new tyres thoguh i think!0
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Tyres obviously make a difference, but not enough difference over such a short ride i would imagine. As for gears etc, you shouldn't be running out of gears on a road bike cycling to work, the toughest gear on a standard 8speed double should be tough enough! riding a road bike is NOT easy compared to riding a mountain bike, especially if you are not used to the set-up and position!0
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The triple just refers to the number of rings on the front. Having more gears means you can stabilise your cadence across the range, which helps a lot on long/undulating rides. A triple generally offers a lower gear too (though not always). You currently have a triple with your bottom gear equal to 24 inches, which is low enough to cycle up the wall of a house
Your journeys are very short but offer a nice way to dynamically stretch, spending more money on your bike/new bike won't change owt, IMO.0 -
the tyres are really reall knobbly though!! I do run out of gearsm i never really leave 21st gear to be honest, like i said my legs are pretty strong,
So i should just get a decent set of brakes, and sum road tyres..
I saw some tyres which were like knobbly on the outer tyres and flat in the middle.. kind of best of both worlds, as im quite aggressive...
Reckon these would be ok?0 -
eupharies wrote:the tyres are really reall knobbly though!! I do run out of gearsm i never really leave 21st gear to be honest, like i said my legs are pretty strong,
So i should just get a decent set of brakes, and sum road tyres..
I saw some tyres which were like knobbly on the outer tyres and flat in the middle.. kind of best of both worlds, as im quite aggressive...
Reckon these would be ok?
Aggression shouldn't really come into it, Don't make the mistake in thinking that because Road tyres are not Knobbly that they are not grippy! Mark cavendish sprinting out a finish at 70kmph has plenty of grip on his not so knobbly 23's!0 -
To answer your original question though, for the distance of your commute and the amount of riding you do, i wouldn't advise buying a roadbike, its not worth the costs, especially as you won't really be using it to its full potential, make the most of what you have, do the repairs, put some slicks on, and if you really are spinning out in 21st, then you may have to look at a change of gears...but deffinately not worth the cost of a new Road bike IMHO!0
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£ 120 for a second hand BSO ??0
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Aha! I now see you are saying that you don't want more gears, you want a higher top gear. Sticking faster tyres on is going to excerbate your problem.
Why not check your cadence? If you are spinning more than 100, then look at getting a cassette with a smaller ring, e.g. 11-28 (compared to your current 14-28 ). Check with your lbs to see about compatibility, but cost will be about £15. Cadence less than 100, spin more!0 -
ok cool, ermm whats the difference between more gears and a higher top gear.. wouldnt it be the same?
whats cadence? Sorry i dont know much about biking, its jsut my transport
I think ill do some repairs then but was thinking if the repairs were going to be like £200... or something itd be better to sell mine, and replace it with something else....0 -
Bobbinogs wrote:Aha! I now see you are saying that you don't want more gears, you want a higher top gear. Sticking faster tyres on is going to excerbate your problem.
Why not check your cadence? If you are spinning more than 100, then look at getting a cassette with a smaller ring, e.g. 11-28 (compared to your current 14-28 ). Check with your lbs to see about compatibility, but cost will be about £15. Cadence less than 100, spin more!
+1
but also if you are spinning more than 100rpm for the duration of your ride in your highest gear on a 21, i'd look at turning pro!
(maybe im just weak) 0 -
eupharies wrote:ok cool, ermm whats the difference between more gears and a higher top gear.. wouldnt it be the same?
whats cadence? Sorry i dont know much about biking, its jsut my transport
I think ill do some repairs then but was thinking if the repairs were going to be like £200... or something itd be better to sell mine, and replace it with something else....
You shouldnt need to be spending £200 to get it up to scratch, but you could get a half decent second hand roadie for that price also0 -
How many times one leg revolves in 1 minute. Most of us, he says without wishing to start that one off, on the flat will aim to average about 80ish.
Easy to estimate using the "count out loud" method: concentrate on your right leg and count out loud and deliberately each time it is at the bottom, "100, 200, 300, 400" is about right (80 rpm, ish).0 -
ok cool!
I just have really decent legs, people on the proper road bikes do overtake me but, anyone else i dont struggle passing, and my bike is stupidly heavy and the tyres couldnt be fatter and grippier!!
Do you think those tyres with grip on the outside and flat in the middle would be good... and in terms of brakes, what type of V brakes would be better?
Whats cadence by the way? 0 -
Bobbinogs wrote:How many times one leg revolves in 1 minute. Most of us, he says without wishing to start that one off, on the flat will aim to average about 80ish.
Easy to estimate using the "count out loud" method: concentrate on your right leg and count out loud and deliberately each time it is at the bottom, "100, 200, 300, 400" is about right (80 rpm, ish).
Also easy to do it for 15 seconds and times by 4, even easier if you have a bike computer0 -
Whats cadence by the way?
See my last post0 -
ok cool, ill try it on the way home!
Would these tyres be cool?
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... re_DualPly0 -
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The second set look more suitable, to be honest though, i have no knowledge of anything to do with moutainbike tyres.0
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If your legs are tired prior to a gym session after 6.5 miles split into 3 journeys I would suggest that you are actually riding in too high a gear. Perhaps you ought to try riding a lower gear and saving your legs for the gym?0
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Ok cool, ill get them then,
Maybe i am but, i like to get to work fast, and get home fast, i cant be bothered to go slow... haha
Leicesterlad, if i were to put proper road tyres on, what would you suggest?0 -
You wouldn't be able to fit proper road tyres, you would need different rims, rims that probably wouldn't be compatible with a MTB. You could go all out and fit some proper slicks, although id be wary due to the onset of dodgy weather to come.0
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ah i see, i think ill go for those ones you said would be ok,, and replace the brakes with something decent!!!
Cheers 0
