# Hello everyone...



## CoreDefence (4 Sep 2012)

I'm new here, I own a bike, a cheap mountain bike from the 1990s, ridden it twice, hate it with some passion. The reason for hating it is that I'm 60, overweight, have bad knees, and bandy legs but my heart is sound and my will is granite. Quite honestly, there's about 50% too much rubber on the road for me, pedalling is a nightmare. I recognise the incredible benefits to my health in taking up cycling but I've got the wrong kit and a limited income.
Question: could I change/swap the wheels on my mountain bike for some that are more road friendly?
If not I'd sell the mountain bike on eBay but what do I buy next? (LIMITED INCOME!)
Any other advice or mocking comment would be welcome from expert or beginner alike.


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## craven2354 (4 Sep 2012)

Do you plan to only ride on the roads of will you be going down towpaths and such as well?


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## Pauluk (4 Sep 2012)

I know you say you have a limited income, but can you give us any idea of how much you could spend because changing wheels or even just tyres costs and you don't want to be throwing good money after bad, especially as you seem to hate it. Having said that, without knowing your bike there may be things you can do to improve it.

If you can't afford to change the bike you could put slicker tyres on the current wheels. Does it have an alloy frame? Are the current wheels alloy?


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## Crosstrailer (4 Sep 2012)

Change the tyres to road tyres - it won't cost you a lot and will make a huge difference. I did this on my old MTB and could not believe how much of a difference it made to the riding experience.


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## CoreDefence (4 Sep 2012)

craven2354: I wouldn't know a 'towpath' if it jumped up and hit me in the face, which is probably a certainty.
21st century roads and streets is the terrain I aspire to.
Pauluk: If I sold the bike I'd spend what I made. If I just changed the wheels I'd be able to afford/spend maybe £50-£60. If I mentioned the name of the bike here I bet only the poorest 1% would recognise it. As to the frame and wheels, alloy I s'pose, what are the options? It sure aint carbon fibre but I'm pretty sure it's not cast iron (although it feels like it may be when pedalling). Hate? I loved to ride my bike as a kid. I live in Derbyshire, really beautiful country. My motivation now is to try to get a bit fitter and extend my mortal coil. I just hate pedalling THIS bike.


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## guitarpete247 (4 Sep 2012)

What is the bike? If you can put a photo up someone will know what slick tyres will fit your wheels. Changing the tyres is much cheaper than changing the wheels. 
I got some Schwalbe Land Cruisers for my old '80's Saracen. It's still heavy but I can tow a trailer with a 4 and 2 year old in it for 16 miles. I went for these tyres because it has a smooth tread pattern in the centre but still has the knobblies for off road if I want. Plus it has the p******e resistance of most Schwalbe tyres. The ones I have found on the link are the cheapest I've seen them.


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## CoreDefence (4 Sep 2012)

By the way, I'm really grateful for the responses. The bike is Integra Phantom (90s) and it has a decal saying "Mountain Tracks"


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## Pauluk (4 Sep 2012)

CoreDefence said:


> If I sold the bike I'd spend what I made. If I just changed the wheels I'd be able to afford/spend maybe £50-£60


If you sold your bike you may not get enough to then buy anything better anyway. If it's an alloy frame and wheels it shouldn't be that heavy. Without seeing the bike its very hard to give you the right advice but I would keep the wheels and fit slick tyres.

guitarpete mentions the land cruiser and there is also a more slick tyre:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24629

You could just try changing the rear one first (the rear one is the drive wheel and that will give you the most rolling/pedaling benefit) to see what improvement you get before spending more money.


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## BrianEvesham (4 Sep 2012)

CoreDefence said:


> By the way, I'm really grateful for the responses. The bike is Integra Phantom (90s) and it has a decal saying "Mountain Tracks"


Just looked online, it looks ok to me. I would just change the tyres.

Oh and welcome to the forum.


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## guitarpete247 (4 Sep 2012)

Does it look like this one? 
Here's a much slicker tyre and a nice price too.


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## Pauluk (4 Sep 2012)

CoreDefence said:


> The bike is Integra Phantom


Not sure CD but I think that may be a steel frame so its going to always be harder work than an alloy bike and I'm not sure that I would want to spend anything on it especially as you say, you hate it and you not getting any younger.

If that's the case I would probably search for a bargain alloy bike putting your £50 to £60 to the pot to try and get a second hand Carrera Subway always assuming you can get anything for your MTB.

Hope this helps.

PS. Where abouts do you live as there may be people on here like me who have old alloy MTBs that they could sell you for a reasonable price.


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## guitarpete247 (4 Sep 2012)

Pauluk said:


> ....... and there is also a more slick tyre:
> http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=24629
> 
> You could just try changing the rear one first (the rear one is the drive wheel and that will give you the most rolling/pedaling benefit) to see what improvement you get before spending more money.


 
You got there before me while I was still typing.


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## simon.r (4 Sep 2012)

Pauluk said:


> Not sure CD but I think that may be a steel frame so its going to always be harder work than an alloy bike and I'm not sure that I would want to spend anything on it especially as you say, you hate it and you not getting any younger.
> 
> If that's the case I would probably search for a bargain alloy bike putting your £50 to £60 to the pot to try and get a second hand Carrera Subway always assuming you can get anything for your MTB.
> 
> ...


 
A steel frame isn't necessarily going to be harder work than an alloy (aluminium) frame. I'd much sooner have a decent steel frame than a cheap and nasty aluminium one. Good steel frames have a lot going for them.

Re the OP - as others have said, if you're looking to improve the bike as cheaply as possible get some road tyres. Assuming the wheels are normal mountain bike size (26") there are numerous cheap slick / semi-slick options available which will make a world of difference to how the bike rides on the road.


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## Pauluk (4 Sep 2012)

simon.r said:


> Good steel frames have a lot going for them.


Yes. Like antiquity, rust and kilogrammes. I don't think I've ever seen a nasty alloy one but may be I've not tried looking or just been lucky.


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## simon.r (4 Sep 2012)

Pauluk said:


> Yes. Like antiquity, rust and kilogrammes. I don't think I've ever seen a nasty alloy one but may be I've not tried looking or just been lucky.


 
Sure, steel frames can be horrible, but a well designed and constructed one can be a joy to ride and well worth the small extra weight penalty.

If you've never ridden a really good steel frame I'd strongly recommend trying one out.

Although it is true that they all rust so badly that they have to be thrown away after about 5 years


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## Pauluk (4 Sep 2012)

simon.r said:


> If you've never ridden a really good steel frame I'd strongly recommend trying one out.


 
Can you still buy them? I know when I went from a thin steel MTB to my first alloy MTB I was astounded by how much lighter and easier the alloy bike was to lift and ride. I don't think I want to go back to that, especially as I have to lift them onto the roof of my car for my weekend rides.



simon.r said:


> Although it is true that they all rust so badly that they have to be thrown away after about 5 years


Thrown away. No. Just recycled like everything else in the universe 
_Thought:_ May be my old raleigh from years ago is now my fridge door or part of my car, who knows


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## guitarpete247 (5 Sep 2012)

My MTB is steel.


It's an '87 or '88 Saracen Tufftrax. It's still going strong. It maybe a little heavy but I can still pull 2 little girls and a trailer up hill with it. A couple of weeks ago GF's son and his 2 daughters and I went out for this ride. Me towing the trailer. If you look back at some of my rides from March you'll see a lot of rides round Loughborough that I did on the MTB. Steel ain't so bad just takes more effort and gets you fitter (to drop ).


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## sidevalve (5 Sep 2012)

simon.r said:


> Sure, steel frames can be horrible, but a well designed and constructed one can be a joy to ride and well worth the small extra weight penalty.
> 
> If you've never ridden a really good steel frame I'd strongly recommend trying one out.
> 
> Although it is true that they all rust so badly that they have to be thrown away after about 5 years


 Absolutely spot on about steel being good to ride but I'm not sure what you've ridden if you find a good steel frame much heavier than an ally one and as for rusting away in 5 years well, where do you store your bikes, in the sea ? Even an old steel bike like mine weighs in at 10kg which isn't bad even now.
As to the OP, try to get a few test rides at the local bike shops to check out the best types for you and the difference tyres / weight / gears can make and what suits you [what suits now may not be quite what you liked in your younger days]. Changing the tyres can make huge change as said above but if you only intend to ride on the road then maybe a road bike is the best way to go.
If you have the skills [and a little time] a nice refurb job on an older [but good make] road bike might suit you and still not cost much, and I do mean not much, my Dawes plus refurb came in at under £100 which included a Brooks saddle that I didn't need but it was too much of a bargain to miss at £35 new !


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## simon.r (5 Sep 2012)

I may have had my tongue slightly in my cheek about the 5 year life of a steel frame 

There are loads of people still making quality steel frames:
















And plenty more as well.


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## CoreDefence (14 Sep 2012)

Hello everyone. I'm really grateful for all the excellent advice and guidance received. It's people like you that prevent people like me screwing up and getting discouraged. I've decided to go the budget route and change the tyres, see how I go. I must admit, if I get on OK the perfect bike for me will be a hybrid and before I came here I didn't know there was such a thing. Thanks once again,
Core


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