i have a fs bike that i just love and the frame is a little hard to come by (klein adept). so i bought a used extra frame on ebay as insurance if my mtb ever was damaged beyond repair.
well i started building her here and there for fun and thought why do i keep swapping my knobbies and road tires back and forth. I ride sometimes to work 6 miles round trip and hit the streets to cruise around, also with the family now and then. so i built a full suspension, all mtb component bike but with road tires. so i got one klein adept for mtb and one for road. don't ever have to switch tires.
i kinda got the attitude that i don't care what people may say (poser!) and such but actually deep down i am an insecure bastard so i am posting this to see if others feel the same way or have done something similar. cmon don't give me too much hell. i mean my road bike riding is not triathalon type. just cruising checking out the chicks...
Nothing wrong with having an fs bike for the road (and it's still a spare for the trails when you need it). And contrary to what you think it's the person who has a problem with you doing so that has the security problem.
I have only one bike. Jekyll 1000. I have Hutchinson Pythons for the road as i commute and ride most places. The tires are 2.3in and fast rollers but very durable. I can go anywhere. I get good comments from people all the time. Never had a bad one, at least not vocal. Dont let it bother you at all. This is your thing, dont let any comments, or even percieved thoughts take it from you
'99 Specialized FSR Comp. It's also my guest bike. I have a spare wheel set with knobbies plus a different seat post/ seat (not alot of adjustment on this bike). It's heavy, but rolls really well. It has real comfortable geometry and is tough. With the Hookworms mounted you can roll over just about anything without worrying about flats.
Since riding my road bikes seems to inflame my back, I may be doing the same thing soon to allow a more upright riding position.
Who cares what others may think about it? Fugetaboutit!
I once owned a Klein Adept Pro that I bought from Rishi Grewal. It was one of his ex race bikes. That is one bike I wish I had kept. For some odd reason, it was a superb street bike. I could usually keep up with road bikes, unless they were being ridden by a racer-type.
I have a very used single pivot 5" travel frame that has all the worn (but not worn out) parts that have been replaced or upgraded from my other bikes. It has avid mechanical brakes, psylo fork (just put in third set of seals), selle italia seat, xt front derailluer and cranks from 02 with over 11000 miles on them. The funniest thing about the whole bike is that it rides great on or off road. I just change the tire pressure and let her eat. It is cool having a bike you can enjoy so much and abuse at the same time. The best thing is it really fills in nicely when the "real" bike is down for service or I need a loaner for daughter/friends. And I truely don`t give a rats a$$ if someone doesn`t like it because I do
thanks for the comments all. good or bad, i take it as it comes. i agree with most that with a mtb bike i can pretty much ride it anywhere. "road" doesn't actually mean smoothed baby butt paved roads and a mtb would handle the curbs, potholes, bumps, steps, and occasional grassy dirt areas (not to say i'll be riding on someones lawn). all in all more versatile. i also agree about the back thing being hunched way over all the time would do a number on my back.
I have only one bike. Jekyll 1000. I have Hutchinson Pythons for the road as i commute and ride most places. The tires are 2.3in and fast rollers but very durable. I can go anywhere. I get good comments from people all the time. Never had a bad one, at least not vocal. Dont let it bother you at all. This is your thing, dont let any comments, or even percieved thoughts take it from you
Funny, my bike is a jekyll 1000 also. I commuted to work for over a year on it. My ride was mostly on a bike path through the park. A very relaxing ride. The jekyll is so comfortable to ride both on the trail and on the road.
Go for it! This way you can huck it off curbs and stairs to make your commute a bit more exciting
My sentiments exactly!
As well as those, with the 2.0 contenental town & country slicks, I can corner like a superbike. Granted by cyclommuting I'm spending less for gas, saving the environment, blah blah, but the funner you can make it the more you'll want to cyclommute.
As an added benefit, you're representing yourself as a mountainbiker by not conforming to conventional road transportation, and all of the muscle gain will translate straight to your mountain biking because there is no change in bike geometry or body position.
Are you using actual road bike tires, or fat slicks like Rock? I did this once quite a long time ago...I believe I did it to a cannondale...was basically mt frame, all mt parts...but I had little skinny 1 inch road tires on it.
DJ, "Because I'm sure the world need's more dudes stalking the woods stoned out of their mind carrying a deadly weapon."
It would be one thing if you bought the bike with its sole purpose being for the road, but I don't see the problem with having an extra mtb and using it for some road riding.
The only problem I see is that you might start liking your "road" bike better then your mtb.
I lubed my disc brakes because they squeaked.
Man was that fun to work out
Absolutely no reason to buy a road bike to ride road. You got it use it. Now if you get serious about road riding on full susser watch out for an inferiority complex in group rides yours or theirs. A buddy of mine just rode PALM Pedal across lower Michigan http://www.lmb.org/palm/ He really enjoyed it he rode the 300+ miles on his knobbies and ducked off on some mountain bike trails that the route passed by. All he did was change tire pressure. He also got some looks and comments when he caught up weekend warriors on road bikes on the optional century route one day. They just couldn't believe someone would try to ride the route on a mountain bike. let alone keep up with them.
hahah...I did something similar once, I joined up with this old fogie rodie group for a 25 mile round trip ride on my mt bike, I was in my late 20's and most of them were 45-65...funny thing was half of them were trying to keep up with me. Well...they treated me ok but I just know in the back of there head they were wishing I would just drop dead.
DJ, "Because I'm sure the world need's more dudes stalking the woods stoned out of their mind carrying a deadly weapon."
Absolutely no reason to buy a road bike to ride road. You got it use it. Now if you get serious about road riding on full susser watch out for an inferiority complex in group rides yours or theirs. A buddy of mine just rode PALM Pedal across lower Michigan http://www.lmb.org/palm/ He really enjoyed it he rode the 300+ miles on his knobbies and ducked off on some mountain bike trails that the route passed by. All he did was change tire pressure. He also got some looks and comments when he caught up weekend warriors on road bikes on the optional century route one day. They just couldn't believe someone would try to ride the route on a mountain bike. let alone keep up with them.
Seems "most" ROADIES have the complex that you can ride anything but a road bike on the pave! Ha!
Let's think about this pavement does not get technical! Gradients change but not surface much.
I think it's the other way around! You can ONLY ride a ROAD bike on the ROAD. Funny, I never see a "ROADIE" on the rocky tech trails with their road bike? So it seems mt bikers have way more accessibility and are more diverse than the skinny tired "one use" bikes. They do venture into cyclo x but that kinda requires a different bike with better brakes and mud clearance.
I have seen roadies get mad at others in the group road ride that have flat handlebar road bikes or wear water packs on their back.
What is with this road bicycle "air of ignorance"
I have many different motorcycles, when I show up for a ride on my supermoto motorcycle guys don't treat me any different. Most times they ask how she handles and I end up riding on of their cruiser bikes while they take mine for a spin. Mt bikers will swap bikes to see how the others ride. It all about fun and enjoying the ride not who's who's or what ya ride!
I think I will show up at the next "trail" ride on my road bike! Anyone wanna loan me their wheels for a day...
Nothing wrong with a FS converted for road work. Yesterday I did a 125 road mile road ride on my Fisher Cake with slicks on it...everything else was the exact same as I use in the dirt.
One thing I've never understood is many road bikers do it for the excercise, yet they use very high-end carbon fiber bike to keep the weight down. If you want excercise a heavier bike = more workout with less miles, at least that the way I see it. If you race, then it's a different story and every oz matters.
I ride my FS on the roads and trails all the time. I jump as many curbs and obsticals as I can along the way it add to the fun
I can answer the weight thing, I use my road bike for fitness and my mountain bike for fun. My road bike is a tad under 16lbs, and weight matters to me. The reason it matters is with the lighter bike I can go faster and get more mileage in the same time. Which means more scenery and generally speaking more fun, no point in making your workout boring afterall.
Also I want to see someone on a FS with slicks keep up with me on the road, much less one with knobbies You might keep pace for a mile or two, maybe even ten miles, but no way your keeping up for the full 40+ miles I tend to do on a fitness ride
In any case ride what you want, I ride an old hard-tail with slicks for grocery shopping and store trips. For awhile I was commuting on my FS with knobbies, before I had a road bike, when my HT was out of commission with a busted rear wheel. As long as your riding it's all good
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Originally Posted by HandyMan
