Buy a road bike or just road wheels?

[MontyVeda]

Hi all,

I've applied for a job which involves a 15 mile commute (30 miles a day).

There is a train which gets me there 50 minutes early and the train back is an hour after clocking off, and costs £6.50 a day (or £130 a month).

I've got my mountain bike (fully rigid) with nobly tyres, but I'm thinking (if i get the job) of investing in a road bike/hybrid for the commute... but would just buying a new set of wheels with slickerer tyres be a more cost effective solution than an entire new bike?

Anybody else have one bike and two sets of wheels for versatility?

 

[Moodyman]

Put some slicks on your MTB and you'll be a lot faster. A dedicated road bike will not make much difference in speed.

My road bike is only 3 mins quicker than my rigid mtb with slicks over a 12 mile commute and those 3 mins are only lost on the hills.

Of course, th road bike is nicer to ride.

 

[Bicycle]

I'd go for the 2nd set of wheels/tyres. I did that for an MTB that was also my 'Station to Meetings' bruiser in London.

Longer commutes in the sticks were still on a road bike with ergo levers on drops, but I prefer an MTB when contact is on the cards.

Earlier replies are in line with my thinking: An MTB on slicks is pretty much as good as a road bike for standard commutes.

It can also be more comfortable (is that herecy?) and the flat bars make that swoop for a gap or last-minute braking effort so much easier and more elegant than it is on an arse-in-the-sky road bike.

Think Moto X rather than Moto GP....

Be careful (if on rim brakes) to get the same size of rim (there are many widths) or you'll be adjusting the brakes at every change. Tedious...

If on discs, add the cost of a set of discs to your price.

If on cantilever brakes, become deeply religious and read a lot of books about brakes. I cannot adjust those things to save my life. I think they were invented as a practical joke that no-one noticed...

As to tyres... I think I still have something called a Conti SportContact which is almost slick and runs very well on tarmac at 80 psi. Absolute mustard on dry or damp roads and still just about OK on wet ones... Just a thin, snaky line of tread around the centre of the contact patch.

And I almost forgot... when you order the rear wheel, get the smallest, tightest groupset you can find at a reasonable cost. It won't raise your overall gearing much, but it all helps.

 

[BrumJim]

On one hand, the road wheels on the HT mountain bike would be the sensible, cheap and easy option, and wouldn't be that much slower than a road bike.

On the other hand, what better excuse for a new bike, and you'll want a spare for days when one bike suffers problems and is off the road?

I manage with one bike, but have the car as a back-up.

 

[Beebo]

I'd go the slicks option too. If you have a rigid MTB with slicks it will fine.

The one thing to watch out for are the gear ratios on the MTB, especially the big front ring.

Once you are familar with the 30 mile round trip you may find that you spend all your time in top gear if the ratios are too low.

 

[HLaB]

I'd go for the slick option just now too but down the line treat your self to n+1 :-)

 

[uphillstruggler]

Firstly, good luck getting the job.

Secondly, i bet your back on in a couple of months (job pending) with a 'what bike' thread . Not because you need it, just because you want it

best of luck.

 

[John the Monkey]

It can also be more comfortable (is that herecy?) and the flat bars make that swoop for a gap or last-minute braking effort so much easier and more elegant than it is on an arse-in-the-sky road bike.

Just to balance this slightly, the idea that the road bike limits you to a head down, racing position isn't entirely true. It certainly can, if you set it up that way, but riding from the hoods gives a flat bar-ish position, with the option to tuck out of the wind on the drops should you choose to.

If on cantilever brakes, become deeply religious and read a lot of books about brakes. I cannot adjust those things to save my life. I think they were invented as a practical joke that no-one noticed...

Heh I finally have the ones on the LHT set up the way I want - once you've figured it out, it's easy, in my case, getting the right brake (Oryx with Fibrax "Extreme" pads) for the levers (Tiagra Road STi)

All that said, I'd still go for the wheels over a new bike - should be a fairly cheap option, and you'll already be used to the bike. My commuter has Continental City Contact (700 x 42c) roll nicely, cope with potholes well enough.

 

[MontyVeda]

Thanks for the replies people... you've just about made my mind up.

Thanks for reminding me about rim size/width Bicycle... something I'm likely to overlook when thinking 'black rims or silver rims?'

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Just to balance this slightly, the idea that the road bike limits you to a head down, racing position isn't entirely true. It certainly can, if you set it up that way, but riding from the hoods gives a flat bar-ish position, with the option to tuck out of the wind on the drops should you choose to.

Absolutely right. I can think of six hand positions on drop bars - drops lower and upper, hoods, palms on hoods, shoulders and tops - whereas I can manage, er, one position on the riser bars on my Kona Lavadome. Hence why the Kona (fitted with slicks, incidentally) hasn't been used for over a year, despite being the ideal commuter bike. Soon I'll fit it with drops, then I'll be able to use it again. I hate flat bars.

 

[Night Train]

I went the very cheapskate option of buying just the slicks, with knobbles on the edges, for my Marin. If I want knobblies on I change the tyres back.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Absolutely right. I can think of six hand positions on drop bars - drops lower and upper, hoods, palms on hoods, shoulders and tops - whereas I can manage, er, one position on the riser bars on my Kona Lavadome. Hence why the Kona (fitted with slicks, incidentally) hasn't been used for over a year, despite being the ideal commuter bike. Soon I'll fit it with drops, then I'll be able to use it again. I hate flat bars.

Agree, flat bars OK for maybe 5 miles but a 15 miler daily, I'd buy a road-bike with guards. More efficient. quicker, more comfortable, no contest.

 

[Sittingduck]

Road bike all the way! 30 miles a day, multiple days a week sounds like a right slog on an MTB, slicked-up or otherwise...

Good Luck, whatever your decision

 

[Bicycle]

Absolutely right. I can think of six hand positions on drop bars - drops lower and upper, hoods, palms on hoods, shoulders and tops - whereas I can manage, er, one position on the riser bars on my Kona Lavadome. Hence why the Kona (fitted with slicks, incidentally) hasn't been used for over a year, despite being the ideal commuter bike. Soon I'll fit it with drops, then I'll be able to use it again. I hate flat bars.

Although my reply advocated slicks on the MTB, I did make it clear that for longer commutes I use a road bike.

I do far more miles on a road bike (with drops) than I do on an MTB.

My former commute was 22 miles one-way, by road bike much more often than by slicked MTB. But.. that was a rural run.

My slicked MTB has shortened flat bars (to slip between buses & cabs) with bar-ends. I have about as many hand positions on that as my quite adorable Cinelli road bars and Campag ergos offer me.

To my jaded mind, nothing competes with a locked-out HT MTB on slicks between Paddington and SW1. A bicycle like that simply owns (in the jargon of youth) central London.

Gap? Dive... Gap gone! Mirror on FX4? Whap! Mirror folded against door! Clear lane up the inside onto HPC? Blam! It's mine.... Yeeeha! Post Office van running wide at the apex? Lean on it and it tightens its line! Pure MTB territory.

I just adore my road bike, but that information was not going to help the OP make a decision.

I'm sorry if anyone hates flat bars, but I'm not sure the OP was eliciting people's emotional response to various bar types. He appeared to be looking for a practical solution to a common quandary.

(Not all the opinions expressed in this post are entirely serious).

 

[cyberknight]

I would slick the MTB first and start making some money before spending more.

I used to use schwable city jets and for the price they were a great tyre .

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/...dium=shopping&utm_campaign=Google-Products-UK