Moving from Dawes Hybrid to Monty KZ8 MTB for commuting. Bad idea?

branners69

Hi,

am strongly thinking about moving from an over 10 year old Dawes hybrid to a Monty KZ8 MTB with e-Liner urban tyres.

I commute from Donaghmede to Baggot St and as some of the roads are in bits I thought the MTB might take more of a hit.

Has anyone changed to commuting on a MTB or should I stick with a hybrid?

Also is the Monty KZ8 a decent bike, cant find much online about it!

Thanks,

Branners

Squidgy Black

MTB for commuting is a bit pointless, the roads aren’t that bad, you’d be much better off with a decent set of puncture protected tyres like schwalbe marathon plus etc.

cletus

It looks like a fairly entry level hard tail MTB. It's likely going to be heavy, especially with the front suspension, which will be of little to no use to you on roads

8valve

KZ8 is a perfectly fine entry level hardtail MTB; no less capable than any other equivalent bike from any of the more mainstream brands. Monty is part of the better known BH brand.

It will do a commute no problem but if you are going to be weaving in and out through traffic, maybe get the shop to trim an inch or two off both ends of the handlebars? Any good bike shop willl do that and move brake/gear levers inboard on the bars for you without any issues.

As it's a 29er, it'll take large 700c tyres without any problems, so, as mentioned above, upgrade to schwalbe marathons or similar, for durability and puncture protection.

nigeldaniel

I have been a mountain bike user for years. as others say, its a decent enough-looking bike and the tyres can always be changed about for road use.

branners69

Thanks for all the replies, especially the tip about the handlebars.

I never knew you could get them shortened.

magicbastarder

i'd be in the 'keep the dawes and change the tyres out' camp; as above, an MTB is not an ideal commuter, if the bike choice is mainly for commuting it's not an ideal fit.

i guess you probably take the malahide road, or head for raheny and then the howth road?

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119191700#Comment_119191700

Hacksaw and a file to smooth them off, pretty easy to do.

Squidgy Black

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119192056#Comment_119192056

Pipe cutter is a slightly cleaner way to do it if you can get your hands on one and you don’t need to file it down really

branners69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119191988#Comment_119191988

Malahide Road is grand, it is more near work the roads are unreal. Erne St and Mount St are savage for potholes.

The Dawes served me well, just want a new bike. But might reconsider after the advice given. Might look for another hybrid!

AndrewJRenko

If most of your riding is commuting, get a commuting bike. Look for mudguards, dynamo lights, rack, kick-stand.

branners69

Am looking at the Cube Traveller Pro. This might be more suitable for my needs?

It comes with mudguards, dynamo lights, rack, kick-stand but is a belt drive. Any opinions? Thank!

https://www.cube.eu/en/2022/bikes/city-tour/offroad/travel/cube-travel-pro-blackgreenngreen/

magicbastarder

a friend of mine has something similar to that - a giant, i think - and swears by it.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119195292#Comment_119195292

Perfect for commuting anyway.

Large bottle small glass

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119195292#Comment_119195292

That's a close to zero maintenance as you will get, with a good gear range, mudguards, belt drive and forget about lights. With city riding other than very occasional brake pads changing and punctures it should need very little care.

I'd add a flap to front mudguard to keep shoes dry and clean in any weather

Squidgy Black

Yeah you won’t have to worry about anything at all with that cube in terms of maintenance or trying to keep it clean. Stick a set of 38c Schwalbe Marathon Plus on it and unless you’re hopping up and down curbs regularly or dipping into 3ft deep potholes you probably won’t have to worry about punctures either.

Flinty997

Who sells cube in Dublin...

branners69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119196417#Comment_119196417

I have Marathon Plus at the moment, this comes with Schwalbe Marathon Almoition, PerfL, Kevlar by the looks of it but will change them if punctures become an issue. Thanks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119196491#Comment_119196491

https://dublin2bike.ie/

From what I can see they dont have the Cube Traveller Pro on their website but they had it in store.

Squidgy Black

Cycle superstore stock Cube as well, out of stock in most sizes on their site but they can probably order

https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=163449

It would be harder work commiting on a MTB, unless you put skinny slicks on the rolling resistane is a killer.

When i ran a MTB I could barely manage half the range of my tourer and a hybrid closer to a tourer than a MTB.