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Yet another "What kind of road bike to get" thread..........

Andyman_1970

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2003
3,105
5
The Natural State
Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that with my work/family schedule and the insanely hot and humid summers here in central Arkansas, I need to convert/sell my Ti hardtail in favor of a dedicated road bike. My road rides consist of mainly riding several laps around a neighborhood circuit I’ve mapped out (lots of hills) and the weekly 3+ hour road ride on Saturdays. My Ti hardtail currently is running XT 8 speed (old skool baby!!) drive train, Avid Ultimate V brakes and a Fox Float 100 RL Fork using 1.0” slicks on my MTB wheelset.

I’d like to keep it pretty cheap, $800 max, and if possible to keep the cost down use as many existing components as I can.

So the options that I have come up with (and open to any others) are the following:

>Put a carbon (winwood) rigid fork on my Ti hardtail, and a 48t chainring (the largest I can go up to on my compact Race Face crankset), some super light Conti 26” road tires and call it a day.

>Get a Giant TCX cyclocross frame (XL for the required top tube length to match my MTB geometry), using my existing drive train and brakes, purchase a cheap 700c wheel set (I saw a Shimano R-500 set new for $190). This set up would be more pricy than my first option, but give me the added “gearing” of 700c wheels. I could offset the $ option by selling the Ti frame and the Fox 100 RL fork.

Anyway, those are my current thoughts on the issue. Feel free to comment or offer any advice you may have.

Thanks………………..
 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
First and foremost, does your mtb provide you with the geometry and comfort needed for longer road rides? My mtb most certianly is uncomfortable after 20 miles.

If your mtb works for you, then keep riding it.

As for gearing, could you put a road crank on it? Tho I think that 48t is enough?

Bottomline, focus on what's the right geometry for you :)
 

jacksonpt

Turbo Monkey
Jul 22, 2002
6,791
59
Vestal, NY
Assuming your Ti hardtail is a good ride and fits you well, I say keep it unless you are serious about road riding. You can probably get some 700cc wheels to put on the bike with road tires and be good to go. If you've got the cash, swap out the fork for a rigid and/or a road-geared crankset.
 

Andyman_1970

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2003
3,105
5
The Natural State
LordOpie said:
First and foremost, does your mtb provide you with the geometry and comfort needed for longer road rides? My mtb most certianly is uncomfortable after 20 miles.
Truth be told the vast majority of my road rides to not go beyond about 45 miles, most don’t last more than 3 hours.

My MTB geometry is not bad, I’m certainly used to it as it has become my “stand in” road bike. I was thinking of “convering” a CX frame to a flat bar road bike type configuration to try to stay as close to my current riding position as possible. The last road bike I had (a 2001 Cannondale R600) fit “ok” for the most part, but I noticed I rode the majority of the time on the hoods, the drops were too comfortable – but I didn’t try too many stem/bar combos to help that situation either.

LordOpie said:
As for gearing, could you put a road crank on it? Tho I think that 48t is enough?
With all the hills around here, even on the flat sections on my Saturday road rides I think 48t would be better than the 46t I’m running now.

LordOpie said:
As Bottomline, focus on what's the right geometry for you :)
Yeah I learned from my road bike experience that comfort and correct positioning is key.

Thanks LO for the input.
 

Andyman_1970

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2003
3,105
5
The Natural State
jacksonpt said:
Assuming your Ti hardtail is a good ride and fits you well, I say keep it unless you are serious about road riding. You can probably get some 700cc wheels to put on the bike with road tires and be good to go. If you've got the cash, swap out the fork for a rigid and/or a road-geared crankset.
I didn't think V brakes are compatable with 700c wheels on a MTB..............
 

Pau11y

Turbo Monkey
jacksonpt said:
ah, nope... made the assumption that you were running discs.
Jacksonpt/Andyman, check out my little project (look in middle for pic and towards the bottom for conclusion):
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1710730#post1710730
Andyman, since you don't plan on swaping to drops, the disc might be a good option provided you have disc tabs. A 700c w/ cross or road slicks will be VERY close to say a 2.1 x 26 wheel in dia. A 1 x 26 you'll actually loose some height across the board on the bike, but keeping the same geo except BB height (which means crank strikes - altho not really an issue on the road). Changing your fork to a stiffie (Winwood) will steepen all your angles, but it doens't change your wheelbase much. Your bike will have a more "nervous" feeling in steering and a longish feel overall - my experience from the project (linky above). I didn't like the ride much at all w/ the drops (VERY/too long). But w/ the risers and 700c, the Cove feels just like my old XC bike which I like very much. I think I want to try to ride the 700c wheels on some single track, especially some smoother climbs to check efficiency.
 

Andyman_1970

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2003
3,105
5
The Natural State
Thanks for the post, I enjoyed the read on the link you put up.

I'm still keeping my eyes peeled for an XL Giant TCX frame/fork that I can throw my MTB components on, that and a decent "cheap" set of wheels something like a Shimano R550 wheelset.