Mountain bike for commuting?

[Arch]

I think you can cram a bigger tube into a smaller tyre if you have to (that's width, you have to get the diameter right!), and manage, but better not to risk a smaller tube in a bigger tyre, because it'll have too much room to spread inside the tyre and might fail.

 

[mrs fry]

Will a smaller tyre fit on my wheel or will I need whole new wheels?

 

[Hacienda71]

You should be fine with the existing wheels. As long as they existing tyres say 26x something on the side which is pretty normal for MTBs. The tyres you have looked at are specifically designed to make MTBs easier to ride on the road.

 

[Debian]

I know it's all extra cost, but as inner tubes are cheap (about a fiver each) I'd buy a couple of new ones anyway. You almost certainly won't have to but if you do you can keep the old ones on you as spares and carry them with you. At some point you will get a puncture and if you have a spare tube on you, and a pump of course, then you'll be able to change it at the roadside and be back on your way in a few minutes.

I just checked on CRC, only £2.99 each for tubes:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=184

Don't be scared of changing a tube either. Practice at home first. At some point you will get a pucture and if you know how to change a tube you'll be fine, if you don't you'll be stuck at the roadside. It really is very simple, even I can do it in ten minutes! Carry a few disposable latex gloves with you to keep the muck off your hands and a small pack of baby wipes to clean off any that does.

As for tyres - personally, and only personally, I'd keep to roughly the same same size. You probably have something like a 26" x 2.0 or 2.1 tyre now? If so I wouldn't go smaller than 26" x 1.75 but that's only my opinion. If nothing else a MTB looks pretty silly with skinny tyres fitted But then I'm vain!

Last of all - don't be afraid of asking any questions at all on here. Nothing is too basic or silly and we were all where you are once.

Best of luck.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

If you are buying new 26" tyres, be sure to ask for them in metric - ie, 26x1.25 NOT 26x one and a quarter. It's caught me out before now, and I've ended up with tyres and inner tubes designed to fit a very old fashioned roadster rather than my roadified MTB.

 

[Debian]

Another piece of advice I'd give is to keep the chain and front & rear shifter mechanisms reasonably clean and lubricated.

Bottle of lube from local bike shop or Halfords (about £5), oil the chain links and the moving joints of the shifters once a week or fortnight or so and wipe off the excess.

Stops the chain going rusty and the shifters from stiffening up. A rusty chain makes pedalling harder and sticky shifters make changing gear a hit and miss affair, usually a miss just when you need a nice slick shift!

No need to be obsessive about this, as a general rule if the weather is foul and wet when you cycle then aim for more rather than less lubrication; if the weather's generally dry and fine then you can go weeks without lubing. I aim to do mine once a week and sometimes I even remember to do so!

 

[Debian]

No. These ones come with free tubes.

Check first, I *think* the free tubes have presta valves and won't be any use for Mrs Fry.

 

[GrasB]

They come with free Schrader valve tubes & an ingenious valve nut which when put on the right way round secures a Presta valve in a Schrader valve hole.

 

[Debian]

They come with free Schrader valve tubes & an ingenious valve nut which when put on the right way round secures a Presta valve in a Schrader valve hole.

Did you mean to write Presta here?

 

[GrasB]

Yeah, sorry got my self confused!

 

[Debian]

Personally I wouldn't recommend presta valves purely because you need a specific type of pump for them. If you use schrader valves then there's every chance that you can borrow someone else's pump if needs be, including those very handy electric car tyre pumps

 

[summerdays]

A lot of pumps can do either valve after turning the inner part around so that's not too much of a problem - but I do find schrader valves easier to pump but currently use presta.

As for the questions - don't worry - I'm just you a couple of years on ... I've learnt some things in that time, and I'm still learning. I noted that tip about the tyres Arch - though I usually remember what pressure is needed - or even better - I get Mr Summerdays to do mine when he does his

 

[Ivan Ardon]

Yes, you've bought a cheap bike, and there are far better ones out there - but you need it for transport and it's not all that heavy for what it is (14.5 Kg) so you can make it into a commuter that'll last you the year

The new tyres will make a difference, and adjusting the rear suspension as hard as it will go will make a very noticeable change for the better.

I've built a few commuters from bikes of this quality, and they use low quality parts in the hubs and bottom bracket. Before you start putting serious miles on it, get the bearings either changed for better ones (under a tenner for the BB and the hubs), or get the ones on the bike adjusted and greased properly. I've found this makes this type of bike run far better.

Keep an eye on the pedals as well - these tend to fall apart on cheap bikes and make riding more difficult than it needs to be.

 

[GrasB]

Personally I wouldn't recommend presta valves purely because you need a specific type of pump for them. If you use schrader valves then there's every chance that you can borrow someone else's pump if needs be, including those very handy electric car tyre pumps

Just by some Presta valve adaptors & use a Schrader pump. Though I've not had a problem my self, some people have had problems with micro pumps bending the stem of the valve sealer, these adaptors protect them & means I don't have to worry about what tubes I'm using on what bike. I can't avoid using Presta valves due to using deep(ish) rims on 2 bikes which are to deep for all Schrader tubes.

 

[Ivan Ardon]

Also - if the front suspension is too squashy and is sapping your pedalling effort, you can lock it off with a strong jubilee clip around each fork tube so the bottom part cant slide up the top part. It's not a pretty solution, but it makes covering the miles easier.