Full Suspension Commuting

[Billett05]

Hi,

Ive just started commuting to work on bike (who would have guessed). My route is all pavment and cycle tracks, with changing hills to flats atleast every 0.5 miles. It;s only a 4.6 mile journey, but im finding it difficult on a full suspension MTB. This could be as im unfit lol.

What changes could I make to my bike to make it a little easier. I understand that the MTB is could for hills and slower on the flats, but the bike overall is fairly heavy.

TYhanks in advance for the biking newbie

Chris

 

[fossyant]

First change would be to get some city tyres - if you are still doing some off road tracks then you'll want something with a little grip. Schwalbe do loads of tyres - marathons are puncture proof !

 

[Billett05]

First change would be to get some city tyres - if you are still doing some off road tracks then you'll want something with a little grip. Schwalbe do loads of tyres - marathons are puncture proof !

One track right by my house about 500 yards long, not necessary as I only use it for fun. Maybe Schwalbe Sammy Slick or Land Cruiser?

 

[Beebo]

If you can lock the suspension or make it as firm as possible you will go faster.

The suspension soaks up bumps but also soaks up the power that you send through the pedals, it's a bit like running through sand.

 

[BlackPanther]

+1 for the Marathon plus's. Ditch those mtb tyres. So much effort is wasted compressing the knobbles. The same can be said of suspension, especially on the rear. As for front suspension, my hybrid has a 'lock out' feature, and I used to lock it out for road work, but I once left it on 'off road' setting for a fortnight and didn't notice, so I guess front suspension isn't so bad for road work.

 

[naffa]

Hi Billett first I have to say that I'm riding a dual suspension mtb and have soon realised that the faster you pedal the more energy you seem to lose through the suspension so if you can I'd say try staying in the lowest gear youre comfy with so theres less energy waste.

I'm not going to hijack your thread but someone has said about stiffening the suspension to reduce energy loss. How is this done on the rear? By making the adjustable suspension spring longer or shorter?

Thanks Nathan

 

[gbb]

One point not touched on...make sure your tyres are pumped up as hard as possible. Its amazing how many people i see riding with half inflated tyres...it's guaranteed to make life difficult.

 

[DrSquirrel]

-Slicks
-Lock/harden suspension
-Highest tyre pressure you can get away with

(as above really)

Though for the cost of some slicks - you might be able to pick yourself up a 2nd hand ridgid MTB from somewhere... would still need tyres, although I ride no knobblies as its not worth the time and effort of swapping my tyres around


For 4.6 miles it shouldn't be *that* much harder on a full susser, and what you should take away from it is... harder it is, the more exercise you will get

 

[adds21]

One track right by my house about 500 yards long, not necessary as I only use it for fun. Maybe Schwalbe Sammy Slick or Land Cruiser?

I have Land Cruisers on my MTB, and have been pretty pleased with them. I do quite a bit of track riding, but also occasionaly commute on the MTB (which is about 50/50 road/off-road the way I go). Land Cruisers are pretty good in both situations (but not excellent in either!). I like that they're pretty much slick in the middle, which means when the tyres are pumped up, and you're going in a straight line, they almost feel like slicks on the road.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

I have Land Cruisers on my MTB, and have been pretty pleased with them. I do quite a bit of track riding, but also occasionaly commute on the MTB (which is about 50/50 road/off-road the way I go). Land Cruisers are pretty good in both situations (but not excellent in either!). I like that they're pretty much slick in the middle, which means when the tyres are pumped up, and you're going in a straight line, they almost feel like slicks on the road.

I've got Land Cruisers on my commuting MTB, too. They've lasted well, and offer a sort of "Jack of All Tades" thing - they're a good compromise for a some-and-some commute which it sounds like yours is. I ran them all through last winter and they're not much use in proper mud but did the job: in the couple of places on my commute where I was spinning like mad and going nowhere (short, steep, muddly climb) I just got off and walked for a bit. And I think I paid under £20 for the pair which ain't bad.

 

[beanzontoast]

I was of the opinion that commuting on an mtb was infinitely less preferable to using a road bike or tourer on my 6-7 mile commute, but since I've been using my front sus mtb I'm not so sure.

The state of the roads around these parts - potholes, cracks, quite a bit of bad resurfacing and lots of glass and grit - means that mtb tyres and the front sus actually do help I find. I keep the tyres at their maximum pressure and the ride quality isn't bad. The front sus is not adjustable on my bike but is pretty stiff.

The tyres I'm using are nothing special - came with the Trek bike - and as well as an outer knobbly element have a central and fairly 'continuous' dense tread area that makes them ok for road use. No additional puncture protection as such, but in the 8 months I've been using it I haven't had a puncture, though I have dug a fair few flints and bits of glass out of the relatively thick tread.

I wouldn't want to commute miles and miles on them - the furthest I've ridden the bike on a trail was about 20 miles in a day - but for commuting across town, I quite like it.

 

[Billett05]

Hi Billett first I have to say that I'm riding a dual suspension mtb and have soon realised that the faster you pedal the more energy you seem to lose through the suspension so if you can I'd say try staying in the lowest gear youre comfy with so theres less energy waste.

I'm not going to hijack your thread but someone has said about stiffening the suspension to reduce energy loss. How is this done on the rear? By making the adjustable suspension spring longer or shorter?

Thanks Nathan

Nathan, i've stiffened my rear suspension. Make the spring shorter, more compressed, thi smeans there is less give when used. First time I did this I noticed a great improvement from my first attempt to commute.

 

[thomas]

I was of the opinion that commuting on an mtb was infinitely less preferable to using a road bike or tourer on my 6-7 mile commute, but since I've been using my front sus mtb I'm not so sure.

I wouldn't want to commute miles and miles on them - the furthest I've ridden the bike on a trail was about 20 miles in a day - but for commuting across town, I quite like it.

I always quite enjoyed riding my MTB to work. I think it took about the same time, as I probably put more effort in as I was worried about being late. I found it was a slightly nicer position for the busy roads I commuted down...or at least I felt tougher as a MTBer than a roadie

I had slick tyres on (still quite wide). I only had front suspension which I didn't lock but it didn't really compress much.

Was nice as some parts of the route the surfaces were crap so you'd have to be in the gutter or primary...neither of which were appropriate positions really.