Another MTB'r hits the road.

paul1275s

Hi everyone, I'm a longstanding MTB'r who has just taken the plunge and got a road bike. Had an excellent bit of luck and managed to pick this up for £225



It doesn't have a scratch on it, the triple will come in very handy for me (it's quite hilly and I'm overweight!), and the carbon forks are a godsend on our terrible road surfaces. I'm looking to do a few upgrades on the running gear over time, are the wheels the best place to start? If I got new wheels that are 10spd compatible is it still possible to run the 8spd cassette until I upgrade the transmission?

First couple of rides have been great, just bedding my arse cheeks in and fine tuning the riding position.Had a hairy moment today on a descent when I came around a bend to see 3 inches of slush covering the road in the shade of some trees. No braking and a bit of luck got me through! MTB gear is keeping me nice and toasty.

danlikesbikes

Probably changing the tyres would be a cheaper upgrade - but can't quite see what your running in that photo.

Looks like a cracking deal though for that money.

Changing the wheels will make a difference but it can be a mine field & to notice much of a difference you might end up spending more than you paid for the bike itself.

Bookwyse

Did you get that from a bloke called Steve in Sittingbourne by any chance?

As for the wheels then depending on the wheels you get you may be able to run the 8 speed set up and then change to 10 speed later on. It all depends on which wheels you go for.

I would certainly look at changing the tyresto something like the Continental 4000 or Four Seasons though to give you a better grip on the road.

paul1275s

Yep, it was from Steve, fairplay to the guy, he looked after it!
Currently running Schwalbe Blizzard Sport tyres, if I do get wheels I'll probably try and get another Ebay bargain, the freehub is a bit graunchy and I'm not sure if it's rebuildable, thats why I'm looking at maybe wheels first.

Bookwyse

I use the Planet X AL30's on both mine and the wifes winter bikes and they have so far proven to be bulletproof. They also have good feedback on the web from other users as well. Plus they are 8/9 & 10 speed compatible for £150.

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/WPP ... 0_wheelset

paul1275s

Thanks for the tip on the wheels, they look ideal for my purpose.

keef66

If it's just the freehub that's graunchy, remove it and either clean / lube the internals or if it's knackered, replace it. No point in buying a new wheelset till you've worn those rims and bearings out. Your £225 bargain could quickly become an expensive cheap bike if you're not careful...

paul1275s

I've got a cassette tool coming in the post so hopefully I'll be able to service the freehub, the rear bearings need some attention too, hopefully just a splash of grease needed there. You're right Keef, I'll lay down some miles and save my pennies for now.

cheaterkiller

Am I the only one that clicked on this topic thinking it was gonna be about a mountain biker falling off his bike and landing badly on a country road somewhere?

BTW nice bike OP. Cheap too.

paul1275s

A quick update, five rides this week a total of 72 Miles, feeling better and stronger with each. No real problems with my body apart from a slightly numb bum on todays 22 miler, I had a rear wheel spoke break on me though, LBS did a great job of replacing that and a couple of others that were dodgy and truing the wheel. I rebuilt the rear hub and lubed up the freehub so should get a few more miles out of this wheelset! Loving it!

paul1275s

Further update, 30 miles today at a 17.5 average. Bike going well, I replaced the seatpost as It was impossible to get the angle of the saddle right, spot on now, apart from that just chainlube. Rider going well too! I've lost a lot of fat but muscle growth has meant I've only lost 4kg overall, I'm managing to keep up with the boys when they don't try too hard, also a massive difference in fitness evident when on the Mountain Bike.

keef66

Jolly well done that man! And now the weather's improving too...

James Q

Lovely looking bike, and great news on your progress, I came from a MTB and since getting a road bike have never looked back, havn't used the mtb in months, now all I have to do is convince the wife to get a road bike lol.

Daz555

Don't ditch the MTB is my advice. I've logged about 150km on my spandly new road bike in the last couple of weeks and then yesterday I went for a 20k blast round Ashton Court and Leigh Woods - I felt sooo strong. The km's I've put in on the road are already showing the benefit in just a very short time.

I'm not using road to train or anything - I just like riding. But I'm definitely going to be getting more out of my MTB as well as a result of my improving fitness.

My target though is to be fint enough to ride with my roadie brothers-in-law this summer in Mallorca - I have a fair few miles to munch through yet.

paul1275s

Amen to that Daz, the road work is great fun in itself but has shown massive improvements off road for me, the hills where previously I would needed to have had a small pause have flown by. I live in such a good area for both disciplines and it's great that they compliment each other so well! My biggest problem has been having to swap pedals and lights across from bike to bike but I have just solved part of that... A nice pair of these; http://www.wiggle.co.uk/northwave-fight ... oad-shoes/ and some 105 pedals from one of my local bike shops (Tri Store in Eastbourne) for considerably less dosh than Wiggle just this afternoon! A good win for the high street and I'm a happy bunny too! Road helmet next I feel... I need a bigger wardrobe!

paul1275s

30 miles on Sunday at an average of 18.8 mph (24.7mph over one 5 mile segment!) ended with the rear wheel bearing sounding like it was full of gravel... I'd already rebuilt it once with new bearings, the bearing face in the wheels was heavily pitted so I knew I was on borrowed time. A set of Fulcrum 7's ordered from Wiggle at 11am on Sunday, delivered today (Monday) at 3pm! That was the free postage option so I wasn't expecting them until at least Wednesday... All fitted now, about 300 grams lighter than the old wheels and great looking.