Rigid mtb into commuter/road bike on a tight budget.

rogerhayllar

I've dug out an old, cheap rigid mountain bike from my garage that's been sitting there for a while and cleaned it up, bought some slick mtb tires and oiled it up.
I just did 30km today in about 2 hours and was thinking about improving it into more of a suitable road bike but really don't want to be spending a lot of money.
What are some simple things I can do/buy to make it better on roads. The bus is being cancelled into town soon and I would like to cycle the 16km into town without arriving as a pool of sweat.
Any ideas?

Barteos

Spend money on a pair of decent tyres: Grand Prix MTB, Marathon Racers, Kojaks. Other than that your speed will be determined mainly by aerodynamics and your legs.
You can get a pair of cheap bar ends and install them near the stem so you can go lower and more aero. Lower the bars, too if you can.


If you get the setup and position right, you shouldn't be slower than on a road bike (assuming the same body position) by more than ~1.00 mph on relatively flat routes.

The Rookie

I ride a slick shod MTB as a town hack and a Hybrid (with MTB kit) as a commuter, here is what I've learnt and would suggest.
1/ Fast road tyres, 26x1.5" at most, drop donw to 1.3 or even 1.0" for more speed.
2/ Get the front end down, the commuter runs no spacers, flipped stem and flat bars, either bars ends as above or I use the inboard ends of the bars inside the controls on faster sections, I can usually run a gear higher than if I'm out at the ends
3/ Tyre pressures - max recommended, for my 6.7 mile commute, 10psi equals about 1mph slower on average over the trip.
4/ Weight - no need to spend a fortune, but look at what you do or don't need, my commuter is 1x9 (46T and 11-26T) as that gives me a good enough spread of gears for my commute, so saving a shifter and cable, I also hacked down an old front mech to act as chain guide, my hack bike runs 1x8 (11-32T as more hills into town and back than the commute)

In terms of sweatiness, a well ventilated helmet is almost worth it's weight in gold!

Barteos

Tyres run at max. pressure may feel faster but they aren't unless you're riding on a velodrome or perfectly smooth tarmac.
There is always a sweet spot somewhere for every rider and road conditions. More PSI doesn't make you faster.

The Rookie

Most roads will be best at max recommneded psi on a 26" (typically 80psi), it would have to be a very rough road fro that not to be the case, I picked up a slow puncture from my strava times (well dodgy valve really), it had only dropped to 50psi.

Barteos

The Rookie wrote:

Most roads will be best at max recommneded psi on a 26" (typically 80psi)

No, they won't be.

simon_e

Rigid MTBs are a good option for cheap commuting. Your fitness and clothing (no. of layers and their suitability/breathability) will make far more difference than lightening or replacing your bike.

As Barteos says, being a little more aerodynamic can help significantly. Allowing more time for your journey should mean you won't have to ride so hard. IME a bare head or cycling cap is significantly less sweaty than a vented helmet.

I run 26x1.5" City Jets and Marathon Racers at about 60 psi. I don't find any significant variation in rolling resistance if I forget to pump them up and they drop to ~45. OTOH if your tyres are too hard you will use more energy over rough surfaces as the tyre won't deform sufficiently. I tried some Specialized 1" slick tyres (almost half the weight of the Jets) but they weren't as comfortable and didn't seem any faster on my lumpy rural commute.

If the bike has been sat a while I'd check that the hubs, chain etc run freely and your brakes aren't dragging.

The Rookie

Barteos wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

Most roads will be best at max recommneded psi on a 26" (typically 80psi)

No, they won't be.

Yes they will, even the much misquoted Schwalbe article admits that....

Barteos

The Rookie wrote:

Barteos wrote:

The Rookie wrote:

Most roads will be best at max recommneded psi on a 26" (typically 80psi)

No, they won't be.

Yes they will, even the much misquoted Schwalbe article admits that....

I've been riding various slick and mountain bike tyres from 28mm Grand Prix to 54mm Racing Ralphs on my 26" drop bar commuter/road bike for a few years now.
I realize that quality of roads may vary across the country but in the New Forest I could get the best times on pressures slightly lower than that recommended by the proven 15% tyre drop method/calculator. It's very far from the max. recommended numbers written on the side wall(s).

Examples: (all run tubeless, total weight of the rider + bike + kit... 213lb)

Conti Grand Prix 26x1.20 (32mm actual width) 60PSI rear, 40PSI front.
Kojaks, Racing Ralphs, Furious Freds 2.00-2.10 - 30-37 PSI rear, 20-27 PSI front.
Geax AKA Pluma 26x1.80 - 37PSI rear, 27 PSI front.

I've timed many 15-50 mile rides with a stopwatch and more pressure made either no difference at all or reduced my av. speeds while compromising comfort levels.
Of course to most of people up to date with the current research, it doesn't come as a surprise. I'm not reinventing anything here.

Unless you're riding on a velodrome or you're very heavy riding at max. recommended pressure will offer you no benefits whatsoever.

Mr.Duck

Raising the pressure to max will give lower drag and you can go faster (in general). But you will also have less grip. So if you are taking bends at speed (especially on rough roads), then I can see why lowering the pressure will help you go faster. But it's usually better to increase the PSI.

simon_e

Mr.Duck wrote:

Raising the pressure to max will give lower drag and you can go faster (in general).

Disagree. For most people, higher pressures (at or near the max recommended) will cause the tyre to skip on any surfaces other than billiard tables and velodrome boards.

Removing the blinkers and experimenting 10 psi either side of a sensible starting point (such as the one below from Michelin) is the only way to establish what suits each individual.



Further reading:
http://janheine.wordpress.com/2010/10/1 ... -pressure/
http://janheine.wordpress.com/2012/08/1 ... on-losses/

thistle_

The Rookie wrote:

4/ Weight - no need to spend a fortune, but look at what you do or don't need

Also ditch any unnecessary crap from your backpack/panniers if you can. Leave a spare jacket at work rather than carrying it around with you etc.

The Rookie

Barteos wrote:

Conti Grand Prix 26x1.20 (32mm actual width) 60PSI rear, 40PSI front.
Kojaks, Racing Ralphs, Furious Freds 2.00-2.10 - 30-37 PSI rear, 20-27 PSI front.
Geax AKA Pluma 26x1.80 - 37PSI rear, 27 PSI front.

Please read the bit where I picked uop dropping pressure based on strave times, I run 26x1.5" at 80psiR 65psi front, of course the individual tyre make and model may have an effect but dropping to 60/50 showed an increase in strava times.

Mr.Duck

Simon E wrote:

Further reading:
http://janheine.wordpress.com/2010/10/1 ... -pressure/
http://janheine.wordpress.com/2012/08/1 ... on-losses/

That chart does show to inflate to max PSI if you are ~80KG or more. That's not very heavy, unless you are on the shorter side.

Some of the further reading is interesting. It does match my experience pretty much. If the road is really bad and bumpy, then I am forced to slow right down. But for the rest of the journey I want low resistance. High pressure gives a bit of extra margin if you have a slow puncture too.