Mountain bike for commuting?

[mrs fry]

Aplologies for the posts! I was just reading up on the advice for newbies thread and realised I have completely the wrong bike. My commute is mostly long flat roads and I have a mountain bike. But we haven't got much money at the moment - I've just started a new job and we've just moved into a new house, so this one was the cheapest option.

I will indeed save up for a road bike, I believe this is the one I will need for commuting? Correct me if I am wrong. But will I be okay with this one for now? Or will it be an awful struggle? And the reason why my legs ache so much.

 

[potsy]

Aplologies for the posts! I was just reading up on the advice for newbies thread and realised I have completely the wrong bike. My commute is mostly long flat roads and I have a mountain bike. But we haven't got much money at the moment - I've just started a new job and we've just moved into a new house, so this one was the cheapest option.

I will indeed save up for a road bike, I believe this is the one I will need for commuting? Correct me if I am wrong. But will I be okay with this one for now? Or will it be an awful struggle? And the reason why my legs ache so much.

It's not ideal mrs fry,but if you put some road tyres on it instead of the knobblies it will be easier.

 

[Hacienda71]

+1 for what Potsy said re tyres. Get some thinner slick tyres, they make a mountain bike on the road much better and cost is not huge. Mountain bikes normally have low gears which are much easier for going up hills and they tend to be more rugged than a hybrid or road bike and can easily take mudguards and panniers for a commute.

 

[mrs fry]

Are there any other ways of making a mountain bike more road friendly? Are new tyres necessary? If so, can anyone recommend what type I need or post a link? Clueless. Sorry.

 

[ianrauk]

Mrs Fry. Can you let us know the make of your bike. That way people will be able to have a better understanding of what you need and what to suggest.

 

[Hacienda71]

It depends what type of mountain bike it is. Does it have suspension at the front or back? The tyres are probably the best upgrade to make. You can get different levels of road tyres some have a little tread some have none and are virtually slicks. The reduced rolling resistance makes a big difference from the knobblies a mountain bike comes with. I got my tyres for my mtb from decathlon, but most bike shops will stock them. you will probably find that they are 26" wheels. Despite having two road bikes i do still sometimes use my mtb for commutes (bad weather etc).

 

[cyberknight]

I have these on my MTB commuter , the 26x1.5 versions i went for.


http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Schwalbe_City_Jet_MTB_Tyre/5300003750/

great tyres for the price

Makes it a lot easier than the tyres that normally come with mtb and they have some puncture protection.

And as ianrauk suggested if you can tell us what the name of your bike is we can help a little more .

 

[Coco]

If you're fairly new to cycling then a road bike won't make your legs ache any less

Whilst not ideal for the terrain you're using it on, the bike will more than suffice for your journey. Think of it as extra exercise, so when you do get a road bike (although a hybrid might be a better option depending on your journey type) you'll be flying!

 

[mrs fry]

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_711007_langId_-1_categoryId_165499

It was cheap and I needed a bike immediately. We had no money because of moving into a new house so we borrowed the money off my boyfriend's grandad and so couldn't spend too much - It was £89 when I got it.

If in the future I need to get a new one, that's fine. But I need to make this one last at least a year and need it as comfortable for my 7 mile trips.

 

[HJ]

If you can lock the front suspension this will make it easier to ride on road. New tyre aren't strictly necessary, but getting slick tyres (or at least something not knobbly) will make riding a lot easier, the usual suggestion is Schwalbe Marathon Plus, which have the added advantage of being virtually bullet proof...

 

[gaz]

Any cycling you do now will be hard, and you will feel it, hence the achey legs.
BUT when you have saved up for enough money for a road bike, it will be so much easier

 

[potsy]

A good set of tyres (schwalbe,conti's etc) will cost upwards of £40 though,so might be an idea to just use what you have for now,it will get easier no matter what bike you are on(honest)

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

you haven't said how far you are commuting. if it is less than 10 miles then tyres / bike will not make much difference time wise, 10 mins saved. but on a mtb thru town you have the advantage of smoothing out the bumps and have the option of jumping up kerbs as an emergency get out.

 

[ianrauk]

As per HJ above. Lock out the front suspension if you can. His suggestion of tyres are good too. For a good rolling resistance get the 26x1.50's. They will work for you.

 

[cyberknight]

The Suspension will not help that sucks your power out of your legs , best bet is to stick some tyres on that we have suggested and upgrade asap.

If you need advice on what to buy when you have some money feel free to ask here, post links on choices etc so we can advise as much as we can.

Another thing to consider is the cycle to work scheme if your employer runs it then you can get a good bike at a good price spread over 12 months and your employer actually saves money via the way the tax /vat is done on it .And from what i gather it only takes negligible paper work to set up.

When you do get to look for a bike if it is for commuting look for something that can take mudgaurds/ a pannier rack as it will mean you wil be a lot cleaner and with panniers can carry a lot more .