'88-'89 Mountain Bike for commuting

"John L. Lucci" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've set up my mountain bike ('88-'89 Alpine Monitor pass all Shimano
Deore
Drive train) for commuting work. For short distances (5 to 6 miles) it
works great; however, for longer distances I'm finding that the gearing is
a little too low as I'm only averaging 10.6 per hour. If I set my gearing
on my largest chainwheel (I think it's a 43) and the rear on the fourth
(rear is 6 speed factory default ratios) riding the bike over distance is
fairly comfortable; however, my speed averages around 12 miles an hour
which is pretty slow. This raises the question is it possible to put a
road triple on the front and narrow down the rear cog set to increase
overall speed? Would this be feasible or am I better off trading off for
a
hybrid bike like a new Specialized Sirrus or one of the new Breezer's?

Thanks

I think as soon as you start to change something it will setoff a component
upgrade chainreaction, as you find you need to upgrade other components to
get the first one working.
For example, putting on road chainrings or a crank, usually means you need a
new front derailuer too. Which means a new cable at the least as well, and
then you find your shifter isn't too good so you need new shifters too. The
rear wheel gears for a six speed might be a problem to get or upgrade or
change, which leads to a new rear wheel for a 8 or 9 speed setup, which
leads to a new rear derailuer, chain, cable and shifter too. So now you
probably have spent enough to have paid for a new bike with change left over
as well.
I would go for a new bike, although the ones you mentioned are great, I am
partial to the Trek 7000 series bikes myself.
But a nice touring bike or something along that line or maybe a cyclecross
bike with street tires would be cool too.
I use a steel framed touing bike for my commutes (23 miles one way), but it
is fun to use my road bike for this too sometimes.

John L. Lucci said:

I've set up my mountain bike ('88-'89 Alpine Monitor pass all Shimano Deore Drive train) for commuting work.

Quoted message said:

If I set my gearing
on my largest chainwheel (I think it's a 43) and the rear on the fourth
(rear is 6 speed factory default ratios) riding the bike over distance is
fairly comfortable; however, my speed averages around 12 miles an hour

If you're using the 4th rear cog, your not using your highest gear
anyway.

Have you switched the tires to high pressure slicks? That would be the
first step. Then, if the gears aren't high enough, see if you can get a
cassette with a 12 or 11 tooth small cog.

Art Harris

John L. Lucci said:

I've set up my mountain bike ('88-'89 Alpine Monitor pass all Shimano Deore
Drive train) for commuting work. For short distances (5 to 6 miles) it
works great; however, for longer distances I'm finding that the gearing is
a little too low as I'm only averaging 10.6 per hour. If I set my gearing
on my largest chainwheel (I think it's a 43) and the rear on the fourth
(rear is 6 speed factory default ratios) riding the bike over distance is
fairly comfortable; however, my speed averages around 12 miles an hour
which is pretty slow. This raises the question is it possible to put a
road triple on the front and narrow down the rear cog set to increase
overall speed? Would this be feasible or am I better off trading off for a
hybrid bike like a new Specialized Sirrus or one of the new Breezer's?

I think you'll find that it's not the gearing that's limiting your
speed... the final drive ratios that I use to ride "at speed" are
available on just about any bike with multiple gears (including MTBs).
In other words, I could go as fast on just about any bike, all other
things being equal (which they aren't - but we're discussing
drivetrain choices).

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $795 ti frame

John L. Lucci said:

I've set up my mountain bike ('88-'89 Alpine Monitor pass all Shimano Deore
Drive train) for commuting work. For short distances (5 to 6 miles) it
works great; however, for longer distances I'm finding that the gearing is
a little too low as I'm only averaging 10.6 per hour. If I set my gearing
on my largest chainwheel (I think it's a 43) and the rear on the fourth
(rear is 6 speed factory default ratios) riding the bike over distance is
fairly comfortable; however, my speed averages around 12 miles an hour
which is pretty slow. This raises the question is it possible to put a
road triple on the front and narrow down the rear cog set to increase
overall speed? Would this be feasible or am I better off trading off for a
hybrid bike like a new Specialized Sirrus or one of the new Breezer's?

Thanks

Hi, as others have mentioned, there are a variety of options to
pursue. Starting with a road tire, Nashbar usually has some low priced
slick style tires in your size.
Second thing you could do would be to change out freewheel/cassette,
to one with higher gears. Not knowing what you have now, makes it hard
to make recommendations, for this or chainrings.

One thing you can do, that costs nothing, is to educate yourself on
the gears you have. Sheldon has a page where you can enter your info
and find out about gear inches, gain ratios, and speed at various
cadences[rpms of crank].

You may find that learning to ride at a higher cadence will get you
the speed you want. Over the years, my comfort range has gone from the
low 70s, to the mid 90s. Spinning up to a 100, seemed crazy three
years ago, now no big deal. My cadence went up from riding and was
helped by spin bike classes, at the Y. We were doing spin up exercises
where I reached about 140 and could spin comforably at 120. I have yet
to achieve those kind of numbers on the road, but the improvements
that I have made are worthwhile.

One question, why don't you use the fifth and/or sixth gears in back?

Life is Good!
Jeff

John L. Lucci said:

I've set up my mountain bike ('88-'89 Alpine Monitor pass all Shimano Deore
Drive train) for commuting work. For short distances (5 to 6 miles) it
works great; however, for longer distances I'm finding that the gearing is
a little too low as I'm only averaging 10.6 per hour. If I set my gearing
on my largest chainwheel (I think it's a 43) and the rear on the fourth
(rear is 6 speed factory default ratios) riding the bike over distance is
fairly comfortable; however, my speed averages around 12 miles an hour
which is pretty slow. This raises the question is it possible to put a
road triple on the front and narrow down the rear cog set to increase
overall speed? Would this be feasible or am I better off trading off for a
hybrid bike like a new Specialized Sirrus or one of the new Breezer's?

Thanks

John, I did pretty much the same for my beater/commuter and had a
similar concern.
I found a great crankset at Harris that gives you a little better
gearing for the streets.
See the Sugino XD300 on this page:

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/cranks.html

It is a 46/36/26 crank (listed as a "touring" crank), but I have found
it perfect to get the slightly higher gearing. Nice crank at a very
good price. And, as others have pointed out, get some nice slick
tires.

Happy Easter to all!

Cheers,
Bill

John L. Lucci said:

I've set up my mountain bike ('88-'89 Alpine Monitor pass all Shimano Deore
Drive train) for commuting work.

What changes did you make?

Quoted message said:

For short distances (5 to 6 miles) it
works great; however, for longer distances I'm finding that the gearing is
a little too low as I'm only averaging 10.6 per hour. If I set my gearing
on my largest chainwheel (I think it's a 43)

Count them. It's more likely to be 46 or 48, but might be 44 or 42.

Quoted message said:

and the rear on the fourth
(rear is 6 speed factory default ratios) riding the bike over distance is
fairly comfortable; however, my speed averages around 12 miles an hour
which is pretty slow.

For a rider without a lot of daily time in the saddle, that's a
typical figure.

Quoted message said:

This raises the question is it possible to put a
road triple on the front and narrow down the rear cog set to increase
overall speed?

Possible to do, yes. Would it do what you state? In my opinion, no,
in this instance.

Quoted message said:

Would this be feasible or am I better off trading off for a
hybrid bike like a new Specialized Sirrus or one of the new Breezer's?

Although switching to a more street-oriented bike might allow a higher
speed, there are other options available.

First, be aware that the exact sizes of the gears are pretty much
irrelevant; the ratios are the important bit, and since you're not
getting into the top combinations now, the fact that the majority of
the gears are too low is not going to make a difference. I think your
problems lie elsewhere. I would suggest starting by swapping out the
tires to 26 x 1.5" slicks; this will probably allow you to shift up to
the tallest gear combinations and achieve a higher running speed right
away. If, after riding for several weeks, you find that you're now
spinning up in top gear and have developed the real need for a higher
top gear, it would be time to look at swapping out the freewheel for a
unit with a smaller high gear sprocket, or swapping out the large
sprocket in the front for something with more teeth. Right now, I
think the real limiting factors are your tires and your own level of
conditioning. I would advise leaving the gears alone for now.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
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"John L. Lucci" <[email hidden]> a écrit dans le message de
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Quoted message said:

I've set up my mountain bike ('88-'89 Alpine Monitor pass all Shimano
Deore
Drive train) for commuting work. For short distances (5 to 6 miles) it
works great; however, for longer distances I'm finding that the gearing is
a little too low as I'm only averaging 10.6 per hour. If I set my gearing
on my largest chainwheel (I think it's a 43) and the rear on the fourth
(rear is 6 speed factory default ratios) riding the bike over distance is
fairly comfortable; however, my speed averages around 12 miles an hour
which is pretty slow. This raises the question is it possible to put a
road triple on the front and narrow down the rear cog set to increase
overall speed? Would this be feasible or am I better off trading off for
a
hybrid bike like a new Specialized Sirrus or one of the new Breezer's?

Thanks

I"d say your three best bets are

1) Get in better condition
2) Get tires that roll better
3) Get clipless pedals.

If after that you find yourself riding in the large chainring/small sproket
combination and spinning out, then I'd worry about the bike's gearing.

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In article <[email hidden]>,

Earl Bollinger said:

"John L. Lucci" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've set up my mountain bike ('88-'89 Alpine Monitor pass all Shimano
Deore
Drive train) for commuting work. For short distances (5 to 6 miles) it
works great; however, for longer distances I'm finding that the gearing is
a little too low as I'm only averaging 10.6 per hour. If I set my gearing
on my largest chainwheel (I think it's a 43) and the rear on the fourth
(rear is 6 speed factory default ratios) riding the bike over distance is
fairly comfortable; however, my speed averages around 12 miles an hour
which is pretty slow. This raises the question is it possible to put a
road triple on the front and narrow down the rear cog set to increase
overall speed? Would this be feasible or am I better off trading off for
a
hybrid bike like a new Specialized Sirrus or one of the new Breezer's?

Thanks

I think as soon as you start to change something it will setoff a component
upgrade chainreaction, as you find you need to upgrade other components to
get the first one working.
For example, putting on road chainrings or a crank, usually means you need a
new front derailuer too. Which means a new cable at the least as well, and
then you find your shifter isn't too good so you need new shifters too. The
rear wheel gears for a six speed might be a problem to get or upgrade or
change, which leads to a new rear wheel for a 8 or 9 speed setup, which
leads to a new rear derailuer, chain, cable and shifter too. So now you
probably have spent enough to have paid for a new bike with change left over
as well.

_ That may all happen, but it's not necessary. That's likely a
pre-indexed or at least easily turned off indexed bike and all
that stuff is pretty interchangeable. I use 9sp cranks and rings
with my 89 vintage deore shifters with no problems at all.

_ You might try just getting a slightly bigger big ring, but
gears don't make you fast. Riding makes you fast, on a bike
like that with big fat tires, 12mph is a respectable speed
if you haven't been riding much. You could buy a bigger
chainring, but I would start with the tires. Get some nice
26" tires with minimal or no tread.

_ Booker C. Bense

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