Upgrading my work hack mountain bike

munkee

I'm looking to upgrade my mountain bike to make it quicker and more pleasant for my daily town commute, which is about to get longer.
My main frustrations with the bike are its high gearing and the chunky tyres, both of which make it slow.
I'd welcome suggestions that would improve it.


Things I've considered so far:

-changing the wheels so I can fit skinnier tyres. Also have wondered if it's possible to fit bigger wheels on it.

-have wondered about changing the gearing, or ditching it in favour of a fixed gear option.

Are any of these options viable? I'd be looking to get a bike shop to do the work as I don't have time myself, and don't want to spend that much on it as it's a commuter hack. I'd also consider selling it and getting an old racing bike instead.

Thanks

mockerydawg

cheapest and quickest option is change the tyres for any thinner slicks. anything 1.75" or less pumped up to or above 60psi and you feel a huge improvement over the knobblies. and if its nicked you wont be crying as much. also get a longer stem (120mm) and flat bars. I'd keep the gearing for a while, see how the other changes are going

Capt'n Midnight

High gearing ?
stick to the middle chainring for a while, or do you have hills on the way ?

( low gearing is where you have to pedal a lot to get anywhere - if that's the problem and you are only pedaling at 60 rpm then practice pedaling faster ! )

Morgan

You shouldn't need to change the wheels to fit narrow slick tyres (unless they're particularly wide). You can get down to about 1" and they'll be OK.

You could run larger wheels (700c) if you're using disk brakes - otherwise the brakes won't touch the rims.

Single-speed (one chainring, and one cassette at the back) would be an option and maybe cheaper to maintain. (read about single speed conversions here)Unless it's a pretty old frame with (semi)horizontal dropouts you won't be able to make it a fixed gear since there will be no way of tensioning the chain. Otherwise you could change to a 48t chainring up front - that should stop you spinning out.

munkee

Thanks for the tips- much appreciated and very helpful.

mockerydawg wrote:

cheapest and quickest option is change the tyres for any thinner slicks...

Morgan wrote:

You shouldn't need to change the wheels to fit narrow slick tyres... You could run larger wheels (700c) if you're using disk brakes - otherwise the brakes won't touch the rims....

Seems like the best/cheapest option initially is the skinnier wheels so. I don't have disk brakes, which rules out larger wheels.

Re the gearing, I guess I meant low gearing. When I'm in the highest gear top speed is limited, even when I pedal like a loon. In Dublin traffic I don't often get up to speed, but it'd be nice to have the option.

Morgan wrote:

Otherwise you could change to a 48t chainring up front - that should stop you spinning out.

Excuse my noobness, but is it possible to just swap out one of my chainrings up front?

Also, any recommendations on a bikeshop to do this work? I've used Mc Donalds on Wexford Street for a good few years, they've always been helpful.

I want to research the fixed gear option a bit more, I've heard people rave about it, but it sounds like quite a change from what I have, and I wonder would it be a pain in stop start traffic...

BeardyGit

munkee wrote:

Also, any recommendations on a bikeshop to do this work? I've used Mc Donalds on Wexford Street for a good few years, they've always been helpful.....

No reason to change then - Local business, helpful, what more can you ask for?

uberwolf

Excuse my noobness, but is it possible to just swap out one of my chainrings up front?

on all but the most basic machines, the shop could advise you very quickly.

Morgan

Yes, you can just change the big ring. There will be a bit of a jump between the middle and large chainrings but it should be OK. It's a straightforward job, so if you're happy with your bike shop then stick with them.

If you want to read up about fixed gears you could start here:
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055085364

Membrane

See http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html to find out what size tyre you can reasonably fit to which size rim, and how to measure the rim width.

If your MTB has rear and/or front suspension then I'd replace it with a rigid bike, suspension eats energy.

Racing bikes are expensive (old or new), seeing as you don't want to spend much money I'd recommend looking at a second hand hybrid, much more affordable.

munkee

Rang Mac Donalds earlier, they quoted €60 for slick tyres, €40 for a bigger chainring, so €100 for some simple upgrades that will probably make a good difference.

My bike does have front suspension alright, which is a pain- so I'm considering picking up something rigid-framed second-hand.

Also wondering what the benefits are of a longer stem and flat bars?

(I'm now wishing I kept my old racer from years ago, that thing flew...)

munkee

Just to follow up on this, I rang a few bike shops to get prices for the new tyres, and the best deal was with Ranelagh Cycles, €38 fitted for a pair of Schwalbe 26" x 1.5". These were the same tyres Mac Donald's were going to fit for €60, so was worth shopping around. Other shops quoted from €50 upwards. Ranelagh Cycles is a small outfit but I found the guy helpful and he fitted the tyres within half an hour.

They make a noticeable difference compared to my old knobblies, a good bit quicker. I've inflated them to 60psi, although they're rated to a max of 80psi, so I'll try inflating them a bit more. Already notice the difference in highest gear, frantic pedalling, but I'll live with that for now. Ranelagh Cycles had a flat-bar road bike for sale, was tempted to trade- damned shiny baubles...