Another "which bike". Can a MTB survive the urban commute?

Brief backgound. I own a Kona Dr Dew, and a 15yo mountain bike (solid forks). I commute 25kms each way to work, twice a week on the Kona. On the weekend I ride about 2hours offroad (eg Manly Dam) on the old girl. I'm actually borrowing a mate's old MTB with suspension forks so I don't break my wrists!

Question is, I really need a better bike for the off-road riding I do. It’s crazy. But I can’t afford/justify two bikes. So I’m contemplating selling the Dr Dew and buying a hardtail (eg Kona Blast Deluxe) with dual purpose tires. Will this totally suck on a 50km urban road trip, or can I get away with it so that my off-road weekend trips are heaps better?


Would a dual suspension mountain bike be totally off limits on my road trips (weight) or again, is it ok?

I hate the thought of selling my Dew as I love it, but is really is road-only. At least a MTB is genuinely dual purpose.....

An MTB is ideal for commuting, but I think I'd only use a full suspension one if both front and back shocks had lock outs. And get a cheap second wheelset for your commute and run slicks on them. Then you can switch to your offroad wheels for the weekend.

Good advice. And two sets of wheels sounds sensible. I guess v-brakes would therefore be an advantage if I did this hey, meaning a cheaper 2nd wheelset....

Keep the old bike and fit some really slick tyres, 26x1 Conti GP or 26x28mm Ultra Gator Skins.

Buy a dirt bike just for the dirt!

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Cheers,
George.

I agree, I think without some kind of lockout your commute would be a real struggle.

Yep, get some slicks on the Kona and possibly a close ratio cluster, like 11-21, and use it for your commute. Then go nuts on a good mtb.

Keep the Kona and get a good duallie. You don't want suspension on your commuter. Lock-outs stress a fork and can cause premature failure. Good forks are supposed to be serviced every 50-odd hours, would you believe - not that I know anyone who does that.
If you need room, sell the rigid MTB (although that, itself, would be a good commuter, especially with thin slicks and drop bars...)

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"All that we see and seem is but a dream, within a dream..."

Hi Mobbee,

I would be leaning on the 'totally suck side'.

From my limited experience and what I found with my MTB Commuter, I think the money your would save by having good slicks on your commuter would actually pay for your new MTB and be a much better, faster commuter.

I wore out the set of original tyres in a matter of a few months on just a 20km per day commute. I replaced them with good Road Kevlars and they have been on some 18 months and look fine still and I don't get punctures either!!

Yep, I agree, with some other punters here, the two purposes as far as tyres go, are mutually exclusive so either get two sets of wheels or two bikes.

In the end it will be much more enjoyable anyway, which is what it is all about.

Cheers,

AdamVW

I am terrible when it comes to how many bikes is enough

i have just bought my 5th bike.

I currently run:

DMR Switchback for XC riding (2007)

DMR Trailstar2 for FR (2006)

Giant OCR composite 3 for longer road rides (2007)

Giant CRX 1 for commutes and shorter/slower rides (2006)

Apollo Himalaya (1995) for commuting, parking around and shopping

My Apollo had long been my commuter, cheap to maintain, added rigid forks, rear racks... now it is pretty worn out but great for a hack to throw around. I keep it for wet weather and if I need to carry alot to work.

My CRX1 does alot of work and is a dream to ride especially for fast commutes.

When it comes to MTBs, I used to have a Giant VT3 2004 but sold it and built my own hardtails. I just love my cromo hardtails, I just find them alot of fun to ride, simple and more in control than a duallie. I just hate any soggy feeling from the back and found that my stacks were so much worse than a duallie because you were going much quicker before you lost it.

And my new sweet sweet composite roadie....

My advice? use your old mtb for crap weather commuting or if you need to lock up your bike, keep you kona for road rides and commuting in general and get a good quality hardtail.... this will keep you going for years!

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Rob

www.bikenorth.org.au

'07 Giant OCR Composite 3 - R550s with Michi Prorace2

'06 Giant CRX1

'96 Apollo Himalaya commuter - Rigid Fork, slicks, fully racked

DMR Switchback Reynolds 520- Velocity Cliffhangers, SRAM X-9, Easton bar/stem


DMR Trailstar 2 4130- Mavic117, Dice Whiplash, SCUD DH bars, LX 9spd, DMR Crisis Cranks.

'04 Giant VT3 frame - SOLD

Thanks Rob. My old thing is an Apollo Kosciosko! They just keep going hey.

I'm hearing all this adviceand decided I will keep the Kona for the majority of road duties. I'll keep an eye out most likely on Ebay for a used hardtail for off-road work. It seems that around the $500 mark can get me something decent, not too old, with Deore gearset (so min for me).

You'll get bugger all for a 15 year old bike. Why don't you keep Dr Dew for the commute.

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Training Log

[QUOTE=Eggyolkeo]Thanks Rob. My old thing is an Apollo Kosciosko! They just keep going hey.

Hi Egg and Rob,

I'm glad to hear some good comments on old Apollo bikes. I have a new 2008 Apollo Ventoux on layby to use for tri so this is encouraging news of the brands reliability.

My old hybrid is fine for commuting but not up to the grade for tri. No chance of catching anyone that has not actually crashed and burned

When my old commuter bike does die though I will be forking out for a more upmarket ride that is designed for commuting for my conditions. If you are going to do it you may as well buy the right equipment and enjoy it I reckon.

I do like ogling my new tri bike so will show off the link at:

http://www.apollobikes.com/apollopro.../title/Ventoux

Can't wait to get it!!

Cheers,

AdamVW