GT Tequesta for commuting

benjii19

Should I look at getting new tyres for the mountain bike for commuting. Roads are pretty rough in places, this isn't a city commute.

Any other things I should look into when using a mountain bike to get to and from work. Obviously a road bike would probably be easier but I'm focussing on what i've got. I would still like it to retain its mountain bike ability as well, ie not go too far that I cant ride it through the woods ever again

prawny

Just get some fast rolling tyres and you'll be fine. Something like crossmarks or SB8s.

Obviously if you weren't going to ride it off road at all I'd get some proper slicks even if your commute isn't far.

If it is far, n+1 time 8)

benjii19

Should I also look at hardening up the front suspension? I take it I just turn each side to the minus instead of the plus?

prawny

If you want. Although if it's anything like my old tequesta it won't make a fat lot of difference.

That'll just be preload, you might as well leave it how it is and see how you get on. How far are you riding?

benjii19

Only about 9 miles round trip. 4.5 there and 4.5 back. Quite hilly on the way back though.

prawny

You'll be alright on that. I'd definitely invest in some quicker tyres. But 4.5 miles isnt too bad. Wouldnt want to go much over that without making some extra mods though, like ridid forks (or suss forks with lockout) and slick tyres. But then fot thay much you'd be better of getting a cheap hybrid for £200ish and keeping your mtb for off road.

walkingbootweather

My first 'proper bike' was a circa 1996 GT Tequesta - thanks for bringing back some happy memories. I stuck some slicks and a rack on it and toured Ireland doing between 42 and 75 miles each day (mileage was largely dependant upon how much Guinness we had drunk the night before). In the past decade I have bought 4 new (or new to me) bikes but still used the Tequesta regularly until I part exchanged it 2 years ago. My bike took loads of abuse, but with the right tyres and fork is fine for playing in the hills or commuting to work.

Have to agree with prawny wrt mods and N+1.

benjii19

I've been hearing a lot about Schwalbe Marathon tyres, although some people state they are quite heavy. Would I still see a difference in performance? My bikes heavy enough already.

I think my tequesta is circa 1998 (orange with white manitou forks)

prawny

They are heavy, but they'll roll better than knobblies. Depends how much actual MTBing you're looking at doing.

Slick tyres make a huge difference, even when you're not pedaling. I'd say they're the first thing you should upgrade if you're converting a mountain bike for road use. But, they're next to useless off road, unless youre riding cinder tracks and dry stuff.

walkingbootweather

Mine was blue and yellow like this one



Note this isn't my actual bike but is the same model, year and colour scheme.

I've now got a couple of road bikes and one of these



running Marathon XRs when the going isn't too rough. My preferred route is about 14 miles each way, mostly along unmade roads and tracks.

For a commute on the black stuff life is much easier with a proper road bike and puncture resistant tyres.