just received a bike as a gift!

[jimlad]

Hello everyone. I am looking for some advice after just being handed a second hand bike. I am intending to ride Lejog next year to raise money for my mates daughter who needs £50,000 to go to america for life changing cerebral palsy surgery. After hearing of my intentions a friend has given me their bike, but I now need to make some alterations to it as it was too much of a gift horse to look in the mouth.
It is an Al Carter XTPro Mountain bike around 18 years old but is in fabulous condition. However because of my intention for next year I need to turn it into a road bike.
Is it a simple operation to remove the chunky off-road rubber for road tyres? Bearing in mind that this will slightly change the overall diameter of the wheels, or am I better off getting new wheels?
With shimano Deore gears and shift system together with brakes of the same make I am confident they will be more than adequate.
The frame is aluminium lightweight tubing and there are quick release Deore hubs and seat pin. Having not ridden the bike for quite a number of years he is glad it is going to a good home and knowing the guy wuite well I can well believe that he did pay the £1200 he claims to have parted with for it in the early nineties.
Itreally is the real deal and I dearly hope that it won't take much to turn it into the ideal set of wheels for me to fulfill my dream of raising £5000 for what is a really worthy cause.
All help and advice will be greatfully received, thanks.

 

[cycleruk]

all i had to do to mine was put road tires on (26x1.75) it will feel a bit different with the thinner tires but you will get used to it, a gel seat was fitted and i locked the front suspension out and i was well away

if yours is duel suspension, then it will be even more important to lock the rear suspension out other wise you will waste a lot of energy as you ride (watch some one ride on a full suspension bike on road and watch how it bonces up and down and that is what i am on about! good luck with your ride

 

[Ian 74]

aye slick tyres a gel seat and maybe clip in pedals and shoes to give you a bit more efficiency in transfering power through the pedal stroke.

Good luck with your LEJOG hope you raise what you need for your daughter.

 

[betty swollocks]

I'm betting that a bike that old has no suspension: good! For long distance cycling on road, you don't need it.
Just check it out for mechanical soundness (you'll get plenty of advice here) and stick some slicker tyres on. Such tyres may reduce the wheel diameter ever so slightly: this does not matter.
Love to see some pics!

 

[jimlad]

thanks guys, i knew i'd get a good response from those who know what they are on about! In reference to comments so far, betty swollocks is dead right - there is no suspension. Also (Ian74) I am planning on changing the pedals for the clip in type to fit to shoe plate (any suggestions on what is best to go for or is it more about personal preference and affordability? I am pleased that you folks are in agreement that it can easily be turned into a road bike! I am also going to be in the market for some paniers. I want to get the bike set up for LeJog as soon as possible so I can do all my training without then making drastic changes to it and finding it hard to get used to. I am thinking of a rear carrier, front and back paniers and a handlebar bag (too much?) is there a particular make I should have my eye out for (bearing in mind I will probably use ebay to keep the costs to a minimum) and do all paniers fit all bikes?
Thanks so far and I look forward to your continued support and advice.
I'm also going to need a new seat as the one fitted is rock hard!

 

[PpPete]

rock hard saddle = good
soft saddle = bad

you just have to find a hard one that suits your arse

soft saddle are fine if you are only riding 30 minutes - on a long tour they will chafe something chronic.

 

[vernon]

Having just returned from a cycling tour through bits of France, Switzerland and Germany; my opinion of what makes an ideal tourer has been drastically altered.

The majority of the bikes that I saw kitted out for touring were mountain bikes and hybrids with slick tyres though some folk still had knobblies on their bikes. Although a lot of folk used four panniers a significant number got by with just two.

I became a two pannier tourer three years ago and do not regret shedding the front panniers. It helped to reduce the amount of unused stuff carted around for three weeks.

SPD shoes are fine but you will only gain a significant advantage from them if you train yourself to pull upwards during the the bottom dead centre to top dead part of the crank rotation. Once again there were many folk observed touring using conventional flat pedals.

If you do want to go down the SPD route look at getting some single sided SPD pedals which will allow you to use conventional shoes on the flat side of the pedal.

I have found that Diadora SPD shoes to be good value for money at £35 a pair from Bike Plus who also offer them with a pair of Wellgo SPD pedals for £50.

Most panniers will fit most racks. If you do not envisage using the panniers rarely if ever again after the LEJOG then a set from Halfords well. I used a set for three years before upgrading.

Check for rear rack mounting points on the bike. There are ways of mounting a rack if they are absent.

Don't dismiss the hard seat out of hand. Spend a couple of weeks riding the bike then make a judgement.

Enjoy the ride and don't overdo the training.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

once upon a time 'back in the day' the trade used to buy Al Carter mtb's to strip the Shimano bits off as buying the whole bike, even if it was some BSO makers - can't recall which - alternate premium brand was cheaper than buying a groupset. Tidy if heavy frames iirc.