A question about a roady chainset for my MTB

"Eatmorepies" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have a 97 Pine Mountain I use on road rides with a few
friends. They

have

Quoted message said:

recently bought real road bikes and I am being left behind
on the flat

bits

Quoted message said:

and downhill. I had a go on one of the road bikes tonight
(a Coppi) and I did seem to fly along the flat bits.

So what chainset to fit to my Pine Mountain? I would like
a triple because there are a couple of seriously steep
bits around me. I don't want to pay

a

Quoted message said:

lot of money for what is 2, 22 mile rides a week at the
most (STX level would suit if I were buying for a MTB). I
want to keep my XT sti gear

levers

Quoted message said:

and front mech. (My Pine has 1.5" smooth tyres run at
60 psi).

Is there anything out there? Or am I being silly?

Well, if you don't want to spend a lot of money, you may
be disappointed, and also an mtb is not really designed
for fast road use - it has a rather un-aerodynamic
position for starters, and I think the geometry is
somewhat different, but my understanding of things like
trail length is sketchy at best.

I was planning to switch to a more road oriented chainset on
my mtb before I had to switch a completely different type of
bike, but I had a look, and there are lots - go to edinburgh-edinburgh-Open ↗
bicycle.co.uk and visit the online shop, Accessories and
components, Gears,Cranks,Headsets,Chains & Transmission
Spares, Chainsets for Road Race Bikes, and have a look
(sorry for the weird way of linking, but you can't directly
link to the EBC shop items) - BUT - remember you will almost
certainly have to replace your front gear changer as well,
an mtb changer is adapted for the smaller radius rings on
your mtb - you can try filing your current one down
according to Sheldon Brown, but I'm not sure it's worth it -
a Tiagra or Sora mech comes in at about 20 pounds, which
isn't excessive. The 50+ pounds for the crankset may be so.
You might be able to fit new rings to your current cranks, I
/think/ the BCD/PCD (whatever) i.e. the bolts, are, as far
as I know, in the same place, but I found it cost more to
replace them individually than to buy a whole new crankset.

HTH

E

Eatmorepies said:

I have a 97 Pine Mountain I use on road rides with a few
friends. They have recently bought real road bikes and I
am being left behind on the flat bits and downhill. I had
a go on one of the road bikes tonight (a Coppi) and I did
seem to fly along the flat bits.

So what chainset to fit to my Pine Mountain? I would like
a triple because there are a couple of seriously steep
bits around me. I don't want to pay a lot of money for
what is 2, 22 mile rides a week at the most (STX level
would suit if I were buying for a MTB). I want to keep my
XT sti gear levers and front mech. (My Pine has 1.5"
smooth tyres run at 60 psi).

Is there anything out there? Or am I being silly?

John

I would say that the road bikes are faster because they
offer less resistence to the road and air. Changing your
gear ratios will make a difference, probably a larger front
ring is what you are thinking of. I have no idea if your
current set up will accommodate a larger ring, you could
change the chainset so that a larger ring can be fitted but
then your front mech may not be capable enough. I don't know
what level of quality STX is, with Shimano road chainsets,
Sora looks reasonable, 105, Ultegra and Dura Ace are the
real thing though. You'd need to make sure the correct
length BB is used for the frame/chaniset combo. Front mech
may need to be replaced, shifter should be OK.

"Eatmorepies" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have a 97 Pine Mountain I use on road rides with a few
friends. They

have

Quoted message said:

recently bought real road bikes and I am being left behind
on the flat

bits

Quoted message said:

and downhill. I had a go on one of the road bikes tonight
(a Coppi) and I did seem to fly along the flat bits.

So what chainset to fit to my Pine Mountain? I would like
a triple because there are a couple of seriously steep
bits around me. I don't want to pay

a

Quoted message said:

lot of money for what is 2, 22 mile rides a week at the
most (STX level would suit if I were buying for a MTB). I
want to keep my XT sti gear

levers

Quoted message said:

and front mech. (My Pine has 1.5" smooth tyres run at
60 psi).

Is there anything out there? Or am I being silly?

If you haven't already done so, a good pair of slicks will
make the biggest change for the smallest outlay.

Eatmorepies said:

I have a 97 Pine Mountain I use on road rides with a few
friends. They have recently bought real road bikes and I
am being left behind on the flat bits and downhill. I had
a go on one of the road bikes tonight (a Coppi) and I did
seem to fly along the flat bits.

Your gears for the flat bits (at least) are already bound to
be high enough. A new chainset won't make you go faster
there, and a higher *top* gear will only help for the
steepest descents.

Quoted message said:

So what chainset to fit to my Pine Mountain? I would like
a triple because there are a couple of seriously steep
bits around me. I don't want to pay a lot of money for
what is 2, 22 mile rides a week at the most (STX level
would suit if I were buying for a MTB). I want to keep my
XT sti gear levers and front mech. (My Pine has 1.5"
smooth tyres run at 60 psi).

A new chainset might require a different bottom bracket and
front mech, and a longer chain.

Instead (if not getting a road bike), I suggest getting some
good road tyres, slightly bigger middle and outer chainrings
for the cranks you have (if poss), a closer cassette, and
pedal at a higher cadence. Smaller jumps between rear
sprockets will mean you'll be able use an optimum gear more
of the time.

~PB