MTB to commuter

kayliss

Hi i decided to buy a bike to get fit on so i decided to do a ride to work scheme and bought a carrera Vulcan thinking it was a nice looking bike and not having a clue what bike i needed to commute to work, now my commute is a 34 mile round trip which i havent started yet as i am trying to get my fitness up as i am 42 years old and not ridden since i was 12. i have had the bike 5 weeks and i ride 5 to 6 time a week and about 10 miles each time which has done me good as i have gone from 15 stone down to 13 St 5 lb in that 5 weeks but even though its easier now than when i started i thinki i will struggle to do the full return trip is there anything i can do that will make the 34 mile round trip easier as i guess my bike is better suited to riding in the mud to riding on roads?

fnegroni

Yes, change fork and tyres. Rigid fork + slick/touring tyres will make 90% of the difference.

kayliss

my forks have a lockout which i guess means i can make them rigid and what slick tyres the ones i have are 26" 215 is that the siz slicks i need to get or can i get smaller as i see alot of 26" x 1.5 at a good price?

Mikey41

26x1.5 would be the ones to go for, they really do make a huge difference to an MTB on the road. Lock out the forks too. Then you'll find out how short MTB gearing really is

englander

I'm commuting on a Carrera Crossfire and I've been wondering about the suspension. There is a dial to increase or decrease springiness (making decidedly no difference on max or min) but I was hoping there would be a way to lock it completely. I often wonder as I bounce along how much energy I've wasted on up and down movement.

kayliss

i have seen some shwalbe 1.95 city jets would these be ok or does it need to be 1.5 to get the benefits of slicks?

supersonic

The dial on the fork on the Crossfire is for Preload, this sets sag and does not affect spring rate.

Is worth upgrading to rigid forks completely as the forks on both these Carreras are heavy.

1.95 will offer more comfort, but will be heavier.

Initialised

Main draw back on an MTB for commuting is the gearing and small tyres are only going to exacerbate this since your driving a smaller circumference final gear (the wheel). I changed my front rings to 48-36-26 as I was spinning out on 44-12 even on the flat sometimes. I currently ride 1.2 Gatorskin at the front and 1.6 SportContact at the rear, it seems to be a good balance and the 1.2 Gators always felt a bit loose at the rear so with a 1.6 I have more confidence cornering and a little more grip if I hit mud. In my experience it takes mud, grass or fairly fine gravel to unsettle a bike on slicks.

Tips to keep you going:
- Keep your tyre pressures up, you should be safe to go 10-20% over the recommended this will reduce rolling resistance.
- The 1.95 CityJets are a good place to start
- Keep your cadence (pedalling RPMs) high, it's easier to maintain decent speeds for longer distances this way.
- Lock your fork if you can, if it's an air fork try increasing the pressure to stiffen it up
- Swap out the chain set for a commuter oriented 48T big ring
- You have a relatively heavy bike, use momentum when you can to avoid having to get back up to speed again spinning at high RPMs can help maintain momentum

Your weight loss seems a bit to quick to be entirely healthy so perhaps you aren't fuelling right and that is reducing your stamina, like you've burned off loads of fat but haven't yet built up your riding muscles so maybe now focus on body fat ratio rather than weight.

Finally if you aren't going to ride the Vulcan down your local trail centre's red (you don't need suspension for red runs but it helps a lot and is overkill for anything less) grade trails, then you don't really need the fork, so you might as well sell the bike to someone that will use it properly and buy an entry level road bike like the Carrera TdF. Technical trails are a great way to improve your bike handling skills and confidence, especially if you can go out with a guide or friend who knows what they're doing so try it a few times before you decide to get rid, you might just love it.

passout

Certainly go for slick tyres & get some decent ones - you won't regret it. If you have the cash, rigid forks do make sense although no rush there. Gearing will be fine although you are unlikely to use the lower half of the range very much.

kayliss

Thanks initailised for the tips and yeah i have lost the weight quickly but i am at a weight where i am comfortable now so will start eating properly while i train as for changing the forks i dont have the cash to make drastic changes as it is a bit of a sore point at home me spending more money on that "damn bike" at the moment which is why i was wondering if schwalbe jet city 1.95s would be as beneficail to me as the 1.5's as i wouldn't have to buy new innertubes

inkz

I commute on a Carrera Fury 2004 and I've kitted it with a pair of Schwalbe Cityjet 1.5.

The 1.5 are still quite big so I'd definately go for the 1.5s. I bought mine from highonbikes on Ebay.

I also have a Carradice Trax saddlebag, Crud Raceguards and a Neoguard to stop water going in my eyes which makes it a pretty good commuting machine.

If you are stuck with the Vulcan I would definitely look at getting some weight off of it. Forks would be a good place to start, they are massive!

cyberknight

Mikey41 wrote:

26x1.5 would be the ones to go for, they really do make a huge difference to an MTB on the road. Lock out the forks too. Then you'll find out how short MTB gearing really is

+1
When i dig out my rigid MTB with travel contacts when the weather is icy i spin out the top gear on the flat compared to mid block on the road bike , the weight is another factor as well as you need to work harder to overcome the weight of the bike and its rolling resistance.On a hill wasonce talking to a guy on a road bike and i had to pedal to keep paceo f his freewheeling.
For a 34 mile round trip i would do as others have said with tyres/fork lock out or cut your losses and sell the MTB and look for a more road orientated bike be it a flat bar bike, road bike , tourer or CX.

The Rookie

You can get tubes for as little as £4 each if you shop around, I like Schwalbe as they are quite light, look for some used slicks on ebay, they often sell for less than a tenner a pair leaving you money for tubes. Make a note of fuel savings to justify expenditure to your 'accountant'!

mtb-idle

yes, get some 700c wheels with discs and 23 or 25c tyres like the one i kitted out for my youngest to commute on: