I don't like commuting on a mountain bike

[dgk]

My hybrid is in the shop (see geiger counter post) hopefully they'll
find the problem, so I took the old mountain bike (Trek 7000) off the
wall and used that. My hands hurt a bit since I'm not used to leaning
on them so much. This bike cost more than twice what my hybrid cost,
but I think I should just sell it since I hardly use it. I'm glad I
used it today though; it's always looking at me when I take the hybrid
each morning and I feel guilty.

It's clearly a better bike though. The shifting is so nice and it's
just so solid, but the geometry is wrong for commuting. And I think my
days of riding on dirt are pretty much over.

I do get more arm exercise on it clearly. I can sort of do pushups
while riding along.

 

[trino]

I find my MTB the best for carrying home heavy groceries without getting a
flat.
I do not own a motor vehicle so I think the more durable the better.
I have the Trek 4100. speed shifting is nice.
I also own a Trek 1500 and it cannot even carry it's own fenders lol

"dgk" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My hybrid is in the shop (see geiger counter post) hopefully they'll
> find the problem, so I took the old mountain bike (Trek 7000) off the
> wall and used that. My hands hurt a bit since I'm not used to leaning
> on them so much. This bike cost more than twice what my hybrid cost,
> but I think I should just sell it since I hardly use it. I'm glad I
> used it today though; it's always looking at me when I take the hybrid
> each morning and I feel guilty.
>
> It's clearly a better bike though. The shifting is so nice and it's
> just so solid, but the geometry is wrong for commuting. And I think my
> days of riding on dirt are pretty much over.
>
> I do get more arm exercise on it clearly. I can sort of do pushups
> while riding along.

 

[Bill]

trino wrote:
> I find my MTB the best for carrying home heavy groceries without getting a
> flat.
> I do not own a motor vehicle so I think the more durable the better.
> I have the Trek 4100. speed shifting is nice.
> I also own a Trek 1500 and it cannot even carry it's own fenders lol
>
> "dgk" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> My hybrid is in the shop (see geiger counter post) hopefully they'll
>> find the problem, so I took the old mountain bike (Trek 7000) off the
>> wall and used that. My hands hurt a bit since I'm not used to leaning
>> on them so much. This bike cost more than twice what my hybrid cost,
>> but I think I should just sell it since I hardly use it. I'm glad I
>> used it today though; it's always looking at me when I take the hybrid
>> each morning and I feel guilty.
>>
>> It's clearly a better bike though. The shifting is so nice and it's
>> just so solid, but the geometry is wrong for commuting. And I think my
>> days of riding on dirt are pretty much over.
>>
>> I do get more arm exercise on it clearly. I can sort of do pushups
>> while riding along.
>
>
I am sort of with both you guys. The mountain bike does give me more arm
exercise but also gives me sore hands if I ride it for more than about 3
hours (9 max so far) and the road bike is more comfortable. But a rack
on the back of a road bike? Not me. I have one MTB with a rack and 3
water bottle holders (one is clamped to the front fork) and I can carry
all kinds of store stuff, but both wheels and even the seat have quick
disconnects so it is a bit hard to lock if I go into a bike non friendly
store, like my new Wal mart.
I can haul about 150 pounds if I have to and would not want to try that
with a road bike and 700 by skinny tires.
Bill Baka

 

[[email protected]]

Hello I bought mountain bike by mistake seating / riding position bad !
One saving grace - bought the biggest cusion seat 11 inches / bike shop
- then went to lowes hardware and got poly foam pipe insulation fit
right over hand grips for more cushion - 6 feet of the stuff was $1.48
helps the hands - leaning forward position.

http://www.bicycles-electric-bikes.com/default.htm


dgk wrote:
> My hybrid is in the shop (see geiger counter post) hopefully they'll
> find the problem, so I took the old mountain bike (Trek 7000) off the
> wall and used that. My hands hurt a bit since I'm not used to leaning
> on them so much. This bike cost more than twice what my hybrid cost,
> but I think I should just sell it since I hardly use it. I'm glad I
> used it today though; it's always looking at me when I take the hybrid
> each morning and I feel guilty.
>
> It's clearly a better bike though. The shifting is so nice and it's
> just so solid, but the geometry is wrong for commuting. And I think my
> days of riding on dirt are pretty much over.
>
> I do get more arm exercise on it clearly. I can sort of do pushups
> while riding along.

 

[Will]

Bill wrote:

> >> It's clearly a better bike though. The shifting is so nice and it's
> >> just so solid, but the geometry is wrong for commuting. And I think my
> >> days of riding on dirt are pretty much over.

Why not change out stems? Get something shorter and higher to cut the
torso stretch forward. Then add those "C" shaped bar-ends to give
yourself another hand position. Where is your seat... all of the way
back on the rails? You may have a half inch there that you could adjust
without killing power.

Simple, cheap, will probably make a worthwhile difference.

 

[Werehatrack]

On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 09:33:13 -0400, dgk <[email protected]> wrote:

>My hybrid is in the shop (see geiger counter post) hopefully they'll
>find the problem, so I took the old mountain bike (Trek 7000) off the
>wall and used that. My hands hurt a bit since I'm not used to leaning
>on them so much. This bike cost more than twice what my hybrid cost,
>but I think I should just sell it since I hardly use it. I'm glad I
>used it today though; it's always looking at me when I take the hybrid
>each morning and I feel guilty.
>
>It's clearly a better bike though. The shifting is so nice and it's
>just so solid, but the geometry is wrong for commuting. And I think my
>days of riding on dirt are pretty much over.
>
>I do get more arm exercise on it clearly. I can sort of do pushups
>while riding along.

Suggestion: Get a more appropriate stem for it, so that the bars are
in a position like the hybrid's, and equip it with some skinnier
slicks. I think you'll find that it will make a worthy alternative to
the hybrid given these fairly simple changes.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[dgk]

On Wed, 19 Jul 2006 02:21:33 GMT, Werehatrack
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 09:33:13 -0400, dgk <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>My hybrid is in the shop (see geiger counter post) hopefully they'll
>>find the problem, so I took the old mountain bike (Trek 7000) off the
>>wall and used that. My hands hurt a bit since I'm not used to leaning
>>on them so much. This bike cost more than twice what my hybrid cost,
>>but I think I should just sell it since I hardly use it. I'm glad I
>>used it today though; it's always looking at me when I take the hybrid
>>each morning and I feel guilty.
>>
>>It's clearly a better bike though. The shifting is so nice and it's
>>just so solid, but the geometry is wrong for commuting. And I think my
>>days of riding on dirt are pretty much over.
>>
>>I do get more arm exercise on it clearly. I can sort of do pushups
>>while riding along.
>
>Suggestion: Get a more appropriate stem for it, so that the bars are
>in a position like the hybrid's, and equip it with some skinnier
>slicks. I think you'll find that it will make a worthy alternative to
>the hybrid given these fairly simple changes.

Both you and Will made the same suggestion, and it looks like a good
one. I'm going to look into changing the bars and maybe the tires.

 

[Buck]

dgk wrote:

> I'm going to look into changing the bars and maybe the tires.

If the stem is threadless, you may be able to flip it over so it angles
up instead of down. If it isn't threadless (a quill stem), you may be
able to loosen the quill and raise the stem.

Take a look at one of my regular commuters:
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1608/600/1600/new_bicycles 002.jpg

I flipped the stem to make it lower and lowered its position on the
fork steerer tube by swapping spacers. Also note the tires. They are
Specialized Nimbus Armadillo 26" x 1.5". You can see a better picture
here:
http://kozy.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=4790

I like them, but I preferred my older Kenda 26" x 1.0" tires.
Unfortunately, it appears they don't make them that small any longer.

So, you may not have to buy parts to raise the bar position and nearly
any slick will be better than knobbies.

Good luck!

-Buck

 

[TonyKiz]

I've done both (higher stem, upswept bars with bar ends, Kenda Kwest 1.5"
slicks), and now have a comfortable bike capable of flat-less urban/suburban
riding, able to goble up curbs (thanks to Marzocchi fork) while also being
able to keep up with road bikes while being able to climb the Alps (due to
my 11-34 freewheel).

"dgk" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Wed, 19 Jul 2006 02:21:33 GMT, Werehatrack
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 09:33:13 -0400, dgk <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >>My hybrid is in the shop (see geiger counter post) hopefully they'll
> >>find the problem, so I took the old mountain bike (Trek 7000) off the
> >>wall and used that. My hands hurt a bit since I'm not used to leaning
> >>on them so much. This bike cost more than twice what my hybrid cost,
> >>but I think I should just sell it since I hardly use it. I'm glad I
> >>used it today though; it's always looking at me when I take the hybrid
> >>each morning and I feel guilty.
> >>
> >>It's clearly a better bike though. The shifting is so nice and it's
> >>just so solid, but the geometry is wrong for commuting. And I think my
> >>days of riding on dirt are pretty much over.
> >>
> >>I do get more arm exercise on it clearly. I can sort of do pushups
> >>while riding along.
> >
> >Suggestion: Get a more appropriate stem for it, so that the bars are
> >in a position like the hybrid's, and equip it with some skinnier
> >slicks. I think you'll find that it will make a worthy alternative to
> >the hybrid given these fairly simple changes.
>
> Both you and Will made the same suggestion, and it looks like a good
> one. I'm going to look into changing the bars and maybe the tires.

 

[Kevin T. Neely]

On 2006-07-19, Buck <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Take a look at one of my regular commuters:
> http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1608/600/1600/new_bicycles 002.jpg

Just curious, why do you have a shock on the front of your bike? Do
you have to travel over rough roads on your commute? Or do you just like
it better? I was trying to decide if I wanted to take the shock off the
front of my bike for commuting purposes, but I have it pretty stiff, so it
doesn't seem worth it.

thanks,
K


--
http://astroturfgarden.com

 

[Buck]

Kevin T. Neely wrote:
> Just curious, why do you have a shock on the front of your bike? Do

I'm not nearly as negative about suspension as many in this forum. I
commuted on a full-suspension Cannondale Super-V for several years.
When you are limited to one bicycle, it works well - swap the tires for
street or trail.

A shock resides on this bicycle because of convenience. When I bought
the frame the only fork I had available in the 1 1/8" size was a
suspension fork. It's nice for the railroad tracks I must cross every
day. Where I gingerly ride across on my road bike, I can bomb across at
full speed with suspension. It's fun!

Some will tell you that it robs your energy with every pedal stroke. I
have found that my commute times are no different and I feel the same
no matter which multi-geared bicycle I ride. However, commuting on my
single-speed is a much different experience.

-Buck

 

[TonyKiz]

It's very nice for pot-holed streets around Chicago (as well as jumping
curbs) and I do some offroad riding sometimes, too. The key thing is to have
a good quality shock adjusted correctly so it does what it's supposed to.
It's alot easier on my hands, arms, back, and body to have the shock absorb
the holes.

"Kevin T. Neely" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 2006-07-19, Buck <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > Take a look at one of my regular commuters:
> > http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1608/600/1600/new_bicycles 002.jpg
>
> Just curious, why do you have a shock on the front of your bike? Do
> you have to travel over rough roads on your commute? Or do you just like
> it better? I was trying to decide if I wanted to take the shock off the
> front of my bike for commuting purposes, but I have it pretty stiff, so it
> doesn't seem worth it.
>
> thanks,
> K
>
>
> --
> http://astroturfgarden.com

 

[David Wagner]

Heh. I occasionally commute 11 miles to work in Houston on a 1979 Trek
model 512 touring bike, with lugged steel frame, an Eclipse rack and
panniers, and 27 x 1-1/8" tires. There are a few bumps on my route, but
nothing that requires a suspended mountain bike.

It's hard to get bikes like this now, unless you buy a custom-built.

David Wagner

 

[recycled-one]

"dgk" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My hybrid is in the shop (see geiger counter post) hopefully they'll
> find the problem, so I took the old mountain bike (Trek 7000) off the
> wall and used that. My hands hurt a bit since I'm not used to leaning
> on them so much. This bike cost more than twice what my hybrid cost,
> but I think I should just sell it since I hardly use it. I'm glad I
> used it today though; it's always looking at me when I take the hybrid
> each morning and I feel guilty.
>
> It's clearly a better bike though. The shifting is so nice and it's
> just so solid, but the geometry is wrong for commuting. And I think my
> days of riding on dirt are pretty much over.
>
> I do get more arm exercise on it clearly. I can sort of do pushups
> while riding along.

Does your mtb have 'riser' handlebars? I have those on one of my mtb's and
I find it helps for longer, road rides. It isn't as optimal offroad, of
course. Everything is a tradeoff.