Considering delving into road cycling!

MP87

Hello, I posted this elsewhere on the interwebs. I am a noobie around here, looking for input in case I am overlooking some flaw in my plan. Here are the relevant details

- I am an enthusiastic mountain biker of about 10 years
- for the past 3 riding seasons I put slick road tires on my hardtail to commute to work (10km one way) 3-5 days a week from April through September
- Last winter I started using an indoor trainer several times a week with my mtb
- there are currently great deals on end of season road bikes here in my area of Canada
- I have recently moved, my commute is now 20km one way (all paved - path and road), so far I have completed it about 10 times on my hardtail mountain bike, it is fine for distance, but I am on my highest gear for the flat sections (need a harder gear), and there are a couple climbs near the end where I am cursing the guys in spandex on road bikes, and even though my fork locks out, I can feel it bob a bit
- I have also recently been doing more singletrack mountain riding, feeling less inclined to constantly swap knobby mountain tires for slick road tires (and vice versa) if I want to get an after work trail ride in
- plan to use road bike for commuting and indoor training
- my work has a very secure/private bike area
- I am considering something like this bike in XL (I am 6'5"/198cm): http://www.mec.ca/product/5036-350/ridl ... 0013+51076

Based on my high usage of my mid-range hardtail, I feel a road bike is a win win.....let me know what you think.

I am a little hesitant as I have never delved into the world of road bikes.

Thanks much, I understand I am being a bit of a leech here, having never contributed to the forums.

g00se

Sounds like the perfect solution - the Ridley's a nice bike too.

dj58

If I were in your position I'd get a road bike to use as you suggest, it will compliment your MTB riding and it's nice to have the choice to do both, plus a road bike is more efficient for road work. Either that or buy a second pair of wheels for your MTB, to negate having to keep switching between tyres.

redbikejohn

I bought a road bike to commute on as the 25 miles each way seemed a bit far for the mtb. First time I road it (the road bike) it was a bit of a shock. Concrete saddle, steel tyres and twitching all over the road! Plus gearing was a lot higher than the mtb so I had to stop four times up a big hill!!!
Felt a bit down and didn't want to ride it due to gearing and spinal pain from road jolts. BUT - I swooped the gears for something a little easier for a beginner, let some air out the tyres and learnt to lift my weight on the peddles when hitting cracks in the road. I quite like it now and get up at 3.45am to commute to work. I jumped on the mtb the other day and when I came to a hill I was shocked at the amount of peddle power was soaked up by the suspension (full suss) .
So the point I'm making is yes get one - but don't be put off if you jump on it and feel its not right for you. Get the setup right and they are great.

ai_1

I've had a look at the Fenix and it looks like a nice bike. Haven't riden it.
Gearing is compact (50/34) chainrings and wide range cassette (11-28) so you probably won't run into quite the same shock as redbikejohn who I presume had a standard double chainrings, a narrower range cassette or both initially. The Fenix setup is good for all round riding including hills. If you want a narrower range cassette later it's a pretty cheap and easy change. The tyres specified are 23mm but as the Fenix was supposedly developed as a classics racer and has cobbles included in the graphics I presume it will easily take 25mm tyres and probably 27mm or bigger which you can run a bit softer should you want more comfort. It's not especially light due to the Sora, Tiagra, 105 combo of components and the presumably fairly basic wheels but it's a good frame and for that price it looks ideal as a road bike/commuter.

P.S.
It would be worth checking if it's straightforward to mount mudguards as you'll presumably want them if you plan to commuting in all weathers. The same goes for a rack mount if that's something you'll want but you may be happy with a rucksack or seatpost mounted bag.

MP87

Thanks for the advice, I am planning on getting properly fitted. Hope to be riding something within the next week or two, the Fenix is a top contender.