Dec 27, 2009
Is It Better To Convert A Road Bike Or A Mountain Bike Into A Commuter Bike?
I want a bike that I can actually use for transportation. My road bike is very light and 3-4 mph faster, but my mountain bike already has flat handlebars, sturdier, and has disk brakes. …but converting the mountain bike makes it worthless in the dirt since switching out rims is not easy with my bike (Cannondale Lefty Fork).
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No bad answers here. I think you are the one that knows your commute better than us. If your roads are in good shape for your commute, you can put on some heavier and a little wider tires, making sure they will fit on the road bike. You don’t have to have flat bars and it is costly to convert to them. You could buy a shorter riser stem to get the bar up and closer to you. If you have really nice wheels on you road bike, you may what to opt for studier, cheaper and wider rims.
If your roads are in poor shape, the MTB would suit you better. Changing out the tires is one option. I change my wheels out on my MTB for this type of riding. Since I don’t know what it takes to change a wheel on a Lefty I can’t say it’s easy. But is it that hard? If you really want your MTB ready to go changing tires takes time too. Just commuting on your knobbies will wear them quickly. I’d still go with a 2nd set of wheels with 1.5 slicks on them.
Why switch out rims? If you are making a case for the MTB as a commuter — use it — we won’t tell.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with using your Cannondale as a commuter, just change the tires, not the rims. You can get some smooth treaded (as narrow as fits the current rim) tires with no wheel swap. Take them to max recommended pressure and you have an easier roller.
Commute!
Absolutely ANY bike can be good for commuting!!
McG’s answer makes good sense too, – take your pick!
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My friends are right any bike can and so can the cannondale, but eventually you’ll max out on speed hence the hybrid. The hybrid is built tough like an mtb and lighter like the road bike and the gearing is closer to road. I would invest in airless innertubes like nomore flats. (I would also use a crappier set of wheels for this – since they tend to be hard on nice rims).