Hello + Advantages of Road bikes

[tango_kid]

Just to keep you updated:
I have been riding a mountain bike on the road on rides for a long time but i have always wanted a road bike and so have decided to get one you see.
Now i have found a road bike (Giant OCR) secondhand, and the seller has named his price: £80 which i think is fine. I do have the money and a little more in the bike budget for accesories when bought such as a new pump (i have one but dont realy like it). However, the problem occurs when trying to contact the seller, even when he is says he is in he doesn't turn up
Oh, and i do have some bike maintenance books already.
So thats where i am at the moment.
Cheers,
Mike

 

[Globalti]

Mike, in your first post you mentioned an average speed of 12.5 to 13.5 mph. You must be riding on the road because this wouldn't be possible in proper offroad riding in hilly muddy terrain where 6 to 9 mph is more usual. If you fitted slick or commuter tyres to your MTB your average on tarmac would easily go up to 15 mph or more just by virtue of the faster rolling tyres.

The bloke selling the road bike is probably hard to pin down because he lives his life by the mobile phone and never actually makes appointments; like so many nowadays he just calls or texts on a whim and expects people to be around when it suits him. In the days before mobiles people made an appointment by phone or letter then made sure they got there on time. Some of us older people still do.

When you get the road bike, spend your money on a Topeak Joe Blow track pump as you'll never achieve the high tyre pressures you need with a hand pump. Just keep that on the bike as a get-you-home.

 

[tango_kid]

Yes, the times i talk about are on roads, although there are a few tracks around me they are quite overgrown and as much as i enjoy the challenge, after 45 mins or so of riding down a thin mud path being whipped in the face by wet leaves i get a little frustrated.
And as you say, the person who is selling the bike does not seem to be reliable at all. He never asnswers his phone either!! But he works in a bike shop so i will try and get in later today and ask him for a tme when he will be at home and possibly buy a bike lock and a track pump while im there (though probably not the one you mentioned as i don't have the funds really and i think a cheapish £10 one should sufice)
cheers,
Mike

 

[Globalti]

No Mike, save up and buy a proper track pump like this one: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?PartnerID=79&ModelID=4949

You need to be able to pump those road tyres to 100-120 and you can't do that with a hand pump. Don't buy the Halfords track pump as they are too fat and you need muscles like a gorilla to get the pressure.

 

[tango_kid]

I was going to buy a track pump which my lbs sell for £10. Or do i need the branded one??

 

[Globalti]

It depends on the thickness of the barrel. Frame pumps for road bikes are long and skinny for the good reason that you can achieve a high pressure with a long stroke but a narrow piston. A pal of mine meade the mistake of buying a cheap track pump from Halfords, which has a wide barrel which is fine for big volume MTB tyres at 45 psi but you can't get even 100 on a road tyre without a masssive effort, I mean jumping on the handle. Best thing is to test the pump in the shop to see if it will allow you to pump a road tyre up to 120.

 

[tango_kid]

ok, cheers