Prepare MTB for road use

[944fan]

I am recently got back into cycling after having to practically give up running due to recurring injuries. I have started riding to work and also want to start some long rides and potentially look at some road races or endurance events.

I will look to getting a road bike in the summer. I have 2003/4 Specialized Rockhopper MTB that I want to use for the time being, its not very suitable for the tarmac though.

I have swapped the tyres for slicks but wonder what else I should do to it for road use? It has front suspension forks which are quite bouncy, despite being adjustable. Should I remove them and put a rigid fork on? The gears also seem quite low, can I upgrade the outer ring without changing the chain?

I live in MK and can stick to the Redways so don't need any safety equipment, have a helmet which I always wear.

[Janosh]

If you're spinning out your biggest gear (which is most likely 42/11) the option would be to switch to a road chainset, as they have different gears to MTB. The large chainring will have 53 teeth rather than 42.

If you're lucky, you might find a 48t chainring to fit your mtb cranks, like this one: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...

Otherwise, I suggest you take do and start saving money for a hybrid or road bike!

I hope that helps.

[shouldbworking]

Making your mtb into anything reasonable on road will cost almost as much as getting a road bike or an evil hybrid. Go find some hills to climb instead, that should avoid spinning out issues

[paulmon]

shouldbworking said:

Making your mtb into anything reasonable on road will cost almost as much as getting a road bike or an evil hybrid. Go find some hills to climb instead, that should avoid spinning out issues

This is a good point. I bought a Boardman MTB with rigid forks and slick tyres on it last year because I didn't think I was ready for a proper road bike. I put quite a lot of miles on it and it wasn't that hard to maintain a good average speed over long distances but its quite a light bike. However I too found that I was spinning out so I started looking at changing things to fix the problem.

After a lot of deliberation I ended up with a CAAD10 road bike and have converted the Boardman into a lightweight hardtail (decent forks and tyres) and now have the best of both worlds. You could pick up something like this for not much more than it would cost to make the Rockhopper half decent and it would allow you to see if you like riding a road bike for not a lot of outlay. If you do get the bug then you have the option of offloading the second hand bike for something better.

P

[CoolC]

Janosh said:

...........the option would be to switch to a road chainset, as they have different gears to MTB. .........

Be careful if you look at this option, as road chainsets will usually not fit on an MTB due to the wider chainstays to accept the wider MTB tyres.

As stated above, use the MTB as is, enjoy it, then enjoy a nice shiny new road bike when it arrives.

[Gizmoish]

Best preparation is to clean and oil it, put it in the shed and go buy a road bike.

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Lol, the other posters are quite right about buying a road bike, but if you don't have the budget, here's what I did with my 2000 Rockhopper:

Slick tyres,

Bigger outer front chainring,

And pulled my Manitou forks apart to see what I could do with them. They use a hard rubber tube inside for the 'suspension' bit, which is dead easy to remove by unscrewing the top adjuster units. So all I did was take one of the rubber bits down to a local engineering / fabrication shop, and got them to turn up on a lathe two identically-sized bits of hard plastic nylon. So now all I do is pop out the rubber bits and put in the nylon ones, and lo and behold, solid front forks for road use.

I found that as it got to winter, I could swap all this over to the bike in an hour or so to make it into an acceptable road bike. Worked for me.


Although when I had saved up some dosh, I did eventually buy a nice road bike a couple of years ago, and I have to say the difference is like night and day compared to the MTB. You would not believe how much faster and lighter the road bike is, but then again it depends on what you want from your biking.

If it's just a bit of keep-fit and fun, then those small mods to your MTB will suffice, as they did for me for years.

HTH

[anonymous-user]

I'd be surprised if you can fit anything bigger than a 44t chainring due to clearance issues. Also finding a 4 bolt chain ring with the right pcd greater than 44t, and cheap enough to make it a viable option, is going to be a challenge. You probably already have a top gear ratio of 44/12 so a road cassette wont help either. 44/12 at 80 rpm is going to give you something like 25 mph... keep that up on 26" wheels for a few weeks and you will have monster legs!!...

have a play: http://www.machars.net/1-bikecalc.htm

[944fan]

Thanks for this tips. I have ordered some slick tyres and turned the travel adjustment down on the forks as far as they go.

Currently on the flat bits with no wind I am getting about 23 MPH. But that is fully tilt,think I could easily push further.

My commute is 6.8 miles and currently it is taking me about 35 mins. I would like to get that down to 30 mins. I have been off the bike for years, in my teens I would happily fly down gravel fire trails at 35+MPH but these days I am little more cautious. I think I could knock a couple of mins off just be getting my confidence back on the corners.

Out of interest what are the Carrera bikes in Halfrauds like? Some are reduced to £370 from £600.

I find the road bike market very confusing. Bikes range from £160 to £6000 (which is more than my car cost). Are the bikes in the £300-500 range rubbish?

Eventually when I get back in to running also want to think about triathlons so will need a road bike then.

[Gizmoish]

The only road bike in the £300-500 tangle that anyone recommends is the Decathlon Triban 3.

Decent bikes start at £500-odd with the base Specialzed Allez / Trek 1.x IMO.

Secondhand bargains are available though...

[944fan]

I have heard of the Triban 3. It seems that they are all sold out in my size (I'm 6'5''). It looks like it has been replaced by the 3A which seems to have lost the carbon fork.

I think I will keep my eye out on Ebay for a second hand one.

[PomBstard]

I've used my XTC mainly for road use for a few years now. Fitted 1.5" slicks, rigid carbon MTB forks, RaceFace Next carbon bars and Avid Juicy 7s. Kept the MTB triple chainring as I do still use it occasionally off-road, but have had a 46-tooth XT set in the past, which was useful. Bike now weighs about 10kg.

Most of the road use it gets is local, hilly stuff, and whilst it might not be as fast as a road bike, I care less about potholes, kerbs and the general state of the roads than if I was on a roadie as well as making the most of whatever short cuts I can find. I also enjoy chasing roadies and find it a satisfying way to keep fit. Sure, I could cut about 10-15% off my commute time, but I'd have to buy a whole new bike an then I'd have to find that time again somewhere else to keep up the training.

Rubbish picture of my commuting weapon of choice...