Hybrid and MTB frames - possibly dumb question

Eugenio Mastroviti said:

Is there any size difference, in general, between hybrid
and MTB frames? I mean, would it be possible to mount 700
wheels on an MTB frame, or would I need to use one with a
different form factor?

In general a frame designed for 700c wheels will differ in
its geometry from one designed for 26" wheels, but the
overall diameter of a 26" rim with a 2" off-road tyre is
quite close to that of a 700c rim with a narrow racing tyre,
and the substitution has been done. One of Cannondale's black-on-
black 'Bad Boy' models came with a pair of 26" wheels for
off-road use, and a pair of 700c for the road.

The major hurdle is providing braking. The Cannondale used
disk brakes. Few rim brakes have the necessary reach
adjustment to cope with both wheel diameters. Older forks
tended to be about the right length to allow a caliper brake
to be used, but modern suspension-corrected forks would
require an impracticably long reach. I've seen adapters used
to move the effective position of the brake boss the
necessary 3cm.

What is it that you're trying to achieve?

James Thomson

James Thomson said:

What is it that you're trying to achieve?

Basically, an ultra-light commuter's bike based on a carbon
MTB frame. It doesn't necessarily make sense, and it's
something I won't have the budget for until at least
December, but I was wondering if it's feasible at all.

Eugenio

--
Christian, n.: One who believes that the New Testament is a
divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual
needs of his neighbor.

in message <[email hidden]>, Eugenio

Mastroviti (') said:

Is there any size difference, in general, between hybrid
and MTB frames? I mean, would it be possible to mount 700
wheels on an MTB frame, or would I need to use one with a
different form factor?

It's not generally possible to mount 700c wheels on a frame
designed for 26inch unless you are using hub or disk brakes
because the rims are slightly different diameter and thus
the brake mountings will be in the wrong place.

However you can get narrow slick tyres for 26inch wheels.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke)
jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗ ;; If God does not write
LISP, God writes some code so similar to ;; LISP as to make
no difference.

Eugenio Mastroviti said:

Basically, an ultra-light commuter's bike based on a
carbon MTB frame.

A Pace RC31 carbon fork might be an idea for the front end.
They come with a disk-mount, and optional clamp-on V-brake
bosses that can be clamped anywhere on the fork blade.
Either way, that would take care of braking at the front. A
fixed gear at the back (with a White ENO hub if your frame
has vertical dropouts) would be ultra-light, and would deal
with the rear brake issue.

I'm inclined to think that 26" wheels would make more sense
though. A side effect of running narrow 26" slicks on a
mountain bike is that the bottom bracket height and steering
trail are reduced, which tends to make sense for road use.
700c wheels would have the opposite efect.

James Thomson

Eugenio Mastroviti said:

Basically, an ultra-light commuter's bike based on a
carbon MTB frame. It doesn't necessarily make sense, and
it's something I won't have the budget for until at least
December, but I was wondering if it's feasible at all.

I'd stick with 26": you can get performance wheels built up
in 26" and pop something like Schwalbe Stelvios on and
you'll have plenty of speed potential. It's an old myth that
you need 20mm 700c wheels to go fast.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111
ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382
640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
[email hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

Peter Clinch said:

I'd stick with 26": you can get performance wheels built
up in 26" and pop something like Schwalbe Stelvios on and
you'll have plenty of speed potential. It's an old myth
that you need 20mm 700c wheels to go fast.

Thanks everybody for the advice - this makes things a
lot easier.

Since you guys are in such a helpful mood, do you know of
any ways to explain to my better half that this kind of
purchase could be construed, in some ways, as more important
for my life and well-being than changing the curtains in the
living room, the kitchen table and the garden lights for the
THIRD time this year?

Well, short of getting down on my knees and begging for
mercy, I mean.

Eugenio

Eugenio Mastroviti said:

Since you guys are in such a helpful mood, do you know of
any ways to explain to my better half that this kind of
purchase could be construed, in some ways, as more
important for my life and well-being than changing the
curtains in the living room, the kitchen table and the
garden lights for the THIRD time this year?

I'd personally go for "it is a bicycle, QED"

But there again my better half has just spent a small
fortune on a very nice bike herself, so Understands These
Things... YMMV! ;-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111
ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382
640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
[email hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

in message <[email hidden]>, Eugenio

Mastroviti (') said:

Peter Clinch said:

I'd stick with 26": you can get performance wheels built
up in 26" and pop something like Schwalbe Stelvios on and
you'll have plenty of speed potential. It's an old myth
that you need 20mm 700c wheels to go fast.

Thanks everybody for the advice - this makes things a
lot easier.

Since you guys are in such a helpful mood, do you know of
any ways to explain to my better half that this kind of
purchase could be construed, in some ways, as more
important for my life and well-being than changing the
curtains in the living room, the kitchen table and the
garden lights for the THIRD time this year?

What do you currently spend in a year - total - on
commuting?

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke)
jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗

;; When your hammer is C++, everything begins to
look like a thumb.

Simon Brooke said:

Quoted message said:

Since you guys are in such a helpful mood, do you know of
any ways to explain to my better half that this kind of
purchase could be construed, in some ways, as more
important for my life and well-being than changing the
curtains in the living room, the kitchen table and the
garden lights for the THIRD time this year?

What do you currently spend in a year - total - on
commuting?

Ay, there's the rub. Next to nothing - I already have a
mountain bike, which I'd like to use only for MTB stuff at
weekends. So the issue is, I'd like a SECOND bike, optimised
for urban commuting... ehm...

Sigh, I can see where this is going. Off to Ikea...

Eugenio Mastroviti said:

Ay, there's the rub. Next to nothing - I already have a
mountain bike, which I'd like to use only for MTB stuff at
weekends. So the issue is, I'd like a SECOND bike,
optimised for urban commuting... ehm...

Ah, then you want one of /these/...
kinetics.org.uk853 commuter.shtmlOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

Sigh, I can see where this is going. Off to Ikea...

No, off to the bank, to rob it (above is in the "if you need
to ask how much it is you can't afford it" bracket: the
gearing alone would set you back around a grand).

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111
ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382
640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
[email hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

Peter Clinch said:

No, off to the bank, to rob it (above is in the "if you
need to ask how much it is you can't afford it" bracket:
the gearing alone would set you back around a grand).

Sigh.

I think I'm in love.

Eugenio

Quoted message said:

Since you guys are in such a helpful mood, do you know of
any ways to explain to my better half that this kind of
purchase could be construed, in some ways, as more
important for my life and well-being than changing the
curtains in the living room, the kitchen table and the
garden lights for the THIRD time this year?

Tell her that you are thinking of taking up a sport like
sailing or golf, both of which would cost more of her
curtain money and also take you away for longer periods of
time. Iain

iarocu [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

Tell her that you are thinking of taking up a sport like
sailing or golf, both of which would cost more of her
curtain money and also take you away for longer periods
of time.

I believe the concept of GSUs (Golf Subscription Units) has
been discussed as an appropriate way to justify expenditure.
Seems as good a route as any.

Jon

In article <[email hidden]>, Peter Clinch

Quoted message said:

But there again my better half has just spent a small
fortune on a very nice bike herself, so Understands These
Things... YMMV! ;-)

Did SWAMBO spend her money, your money or our money? These
things rarely equate to reality :-(

--
A T (Sandy) Morton on the Bicycle Island In the Global
Village millport.netmillport.netOpen ↗

In article <[email hidden]>,

Simon Brooke said:

What do you currently spend in a year - total - on
commuting?

I must hang my head in shame and admit that I spend nothing
on commuting - it take me 20 seconds to walk from the house
to the shop.

--
A T (Sandy) Morton on the Bicycle Island In the Global
Village millport.netmillport.netOpen ↗

Sandy Morton said:

Did SWAMBO spend her money, your money or our money? These
things rarely equate to reality :-(

All her own money, so it's even better than reality! ;-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111
ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382
640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
[email hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

Sandy Morton said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Peter Clinch

Quoted message said:

But there again my better half has just spent a small
fortune on a very nice bike herself, so Understands These
Things... YMMV! ;-)

Quoted message said:

Did SWAMBO spend her money, your money or our money? These
things rarely equate to reality :-(

What does the A stand for...? And it was *my* money 🙂

Those sort of things are easy when you have only lived
together for a couple of months, you both earn more than you
spend, and you move in with someone who already has a house
which means that I don't need my savings anymore for a
downpayment as planned.

Things get a lot more complicated if one of you is earning
less or when spending money on toys actually means not
spending it on something else and you get into discussions
on shared plans and values.

Though in our case shared plans and values might very well
involve spending money on bikes rather than curtains 🙂

Roos

Sandy Morton said:

In article <eo0tr1-
[email hidden]>, Simon Brooke

Quoted message said:

What do you currently spend in a year - total - on
commuting?

I must hang my head in shame and admit that I spend
nothing on commuting - it take me 20 seconds to walk from
the house to the shop.

When I worked for IBM Warwick, I lived just over the road
from its front entrance. It was a longer walk across the car
park than it was down the side street from the house to the
entrance. The next flat was a quick ride down the canal to
IBM's back entrance.

Monetary terms - back when I was fitter and commuted
regularly Harrogate to Leeds on bike, it was quite
affordable. The bike in question just went through brake
shoes on those long descents, and had a few tyre changes in
its time. It also ate cotter pins (it was old) and bar tape.
I finally thought it worthwhile spending £400 on a nice
hybrid, and fell ill before having too much chance to make
use of it.

Back then the cycle ride was 45 minutes (I was a lot fitter
- its about 60 or 70 if I do it now). I could go by train,
and spend £4.70 on the return ticket. A season ticket would
give a 20% reduction. The journey would still include a 5
mile cycle ride, and take just as long. Its a lot more
reliable now than it was back then. They tend to provide
more carriages, so its not such a squash, and the conductors
are more friendly towards cyclists.

Driving took half an hour, and used about £4.50 worth of
fuel at a really pessimistic estimation rounding my cost
per mile up to 15p (a handy multiple of 5p. Fuel can go up
a bit before I start rounding to 20p). I service every 12
months, not completing 12000 miles in that time, so those
costs are static.

That unfortunately means that with my new job, I'm not going
to see any reduction in car servicing costs, apart from
perhaps a lower chance of things wearing out. Its nice and
close though, 4 to 5 miles depending on route (longer if I
go a "scenic route"😉. As they provide lunch too, that means
huge reduction in living cost :-)

Modern bike parts last so well, that even at higher cost,
it averages out over the distance quite well. I've only had
to replace a rear cassette and chain once, and that was on
a second hand bike so who knows what wear it had had
before. Brake shoes for V brake are about a fiver. They
seem to wear out reasonably quickly, maybe 1000 miles on
the hills round here.

I'm told that disk brake pads last longer. Mine are wearing
down at about 900 miles, but still seem to have plenty of
life (and adjustment) left. The tandem's drum brake has
barely needed attention. I've had to replace a tyre that
came with my hybrid at about 2500 miles (give or take a few
computer failures) but am finding that the better branded
tyres are lasting very well.

One of the bigger expenses has to be cycle clothing.
Whatever you wear, seems to wear out fairly quickly.
Not good for a business suit, but even lycra rubs away
over time.

- Richard

In article <[email hidden]>,

Roos Eisma said:

What does the A stand for...?

Always

--
A T (Sandy) Morton on the Bicycle Island In the Global
Village millport.netmillport.netOpen ↗