Adapting my road bike for more rugged riding?

[DCM1]

Hi all, I have only recently took up cycling (around 4 months ago) and earlier this year I bought myself a cube attempt road bike which has performed really well so far.

Heres a link to my bike (though mine is the 2010 model) :

http://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/product/cubeattemptcompactracingroadbike2011.aspx?&id=15397


This summer I have agreed to go on a weeks cycling holiday around scotland. Although i'm not too sure what to expect some of the guys that have been before suggest the best way to go is a hybrid style bike as although there is a lot of general road travel there are times at which we are likely to venture off onto trails which may get a bit rough for a road bike.

I am a bit concerned that the wheels/tyres on my bike at present wont really cope too well with the abuse, so i am in a bit of a dilema as to what to do.

Is it possible to fit some beefier wheels and tyres to my road bike that would cope with the off road tracks?

Should i really bite the bullet and also purchase a hybrid bike? If i went down the route of buying another bike then i'd have prefered to get a mountain bike as a hybrid would be similar in many ways to my road bike where as a mountain bike would open up more opportunites to do more off road type riding in the future. My friend has recomended though that for the scotland trip a mountain bike would probably not be the best way to go as we could easily be ccyling up to 60 miles a day and on a mountain bike I may struggle to keep up.

The other concern is i'm likely to want to be able to use paniers (rear ones) to store my gear, does anyone know if its possible to fit these to a road bike, if so how are they installed?

Thanks for reading, any advice is appreciated.

 

[Steve_A]

Well...the best way to educate yourself on these questions, IMHO, it to spend some quality time on the Rivendell bicycle Works website. Their bikes are expensive and I'm not advocating that you order one up for your trip. But they make bikes for exactly the type of riding that you are looking at, and the site contains a wealth of information if you care to mine it. The main issue from your post is: what wheels/tires could you fit to your bike to allow you to go off-road to some extent. Modern road frames such as yours typically will only accommodate tires up to about 28mm. That's a start, but not optimal. If you want to stay with your bike, the easiest and cheapest solution is to mount the widest (but not the cheapest) tires that you can in your frame/fork. I'm afraid that your carbon fork will probably limit you more in the front than your alum frame will in the rear. If you're serious, look into some quality 28mm (or larger, if they fit) tires like Grand Bois (I think they make a 700c-28, but could be wrong) or Panaracer.

The second question is that of mounting racks and panniers. Without threaded eyelets, it is more difficult, but possible. However, if you want to use panniers, you much consider the issue of heel-strike, and that is where chainstay length comes in. Your frame probably does not have long enough chainstays to use panniers in a satisfactory way. But it depends on how much you want to carry. Maybe you could mount a rear rack, get a trunk bag, possibly a handlebar bag, and carry what you want.

What this all leads to is that, for this tour, you would like to have a touring bike, or an all-rounder, that would meet all of the requirements and let you mount tires up to say 42mm. Not a mountain bike. These issues are part of the reason why I no longer ride a titanium road bike with carbon fork, but a Rivendell steel all-rounder (or "country bike" as they prefer to call it). So I'm posting this as some food for thought and further research.

Steve

 

[DCM1]

Hi, thats certianly some food for thought

I will have a good look at that webiste, thanks for replying.

 

[Steve_A]

Good deal. I envy you touring Scotland, esp. if you get to Islay (by ferry, i assume!). Anyway, stronger wheels would also be a good idea, but it gets expensive if you're trying to modify an existing bike. If I were in your position and had a little money beyond what a good pair of tires would cost, I'd look for a used Trek 520 on eBay, or equivalent. Good luck, Steve

 

[alfeng]

Originally Posted by DCM1 .

[COLOR= #ff0000]Should i really bite the bullet and also purchase a hybrid bike?[/COLOR]

FYI. In addition to tyre clearance, you need to be aware that most rear Panniers will probably intrude on the space which your heel will need to pedal comfortably ...

If you can fit 700x28c tyres in your frame + mount a suitable rack on your frame AND the Panniers don't intrude, then you could just buy a CX/Touring/Tandem fork + appropriate brake caliper(s) AND retrofit the it on your current frame ...

• the resultant head tube angle will be about 1º slacker ... presuming the CUBE's frame has a 73º head tube, then it would become ~72º with the alternate fork
• if you are a wise shopper, the fork + mini-V-brakes calipers will cost less than £65 ... a "new" steel fork which was removed from a Tandem could cost less than £20 + shipping via eBay.

FWIW. A Hybrid with a RIGID fork might be a good option ... but be forewarned that the cheap suspension forks which are a premium "upgrade" are dead weight and unnecessary expense which should be avoided.

If you are taller tha 5'10", then a slightly better option, might be a 29er Hardtail with a Rigid fork.

BTW. You could simply buy a 26" Hardtail + a Touring/Tandem/CX fork ... here is an old picture of my Hardtail with 700c wheels + a regular Road fork which I set up as a Road bike:

​

• The particular MONGOOSE frame has clearance for a 700x42 tyre without a fender.
• The particular Road fork can probably only handle a 700x25 ([COLOR= #808080]an uninflated 700x32 tyre rubs against the inside of the crown, so a 700x28 might fit, but I don't have a tyre that size to validate-or-refute that notion[/COLOR]).
• The Road fork changed the geometry of the front end so that the head tube angle is about 73º ([COLOR= #808080]approximately the norm for most Road bikes[/COLOR]).
• A CX/etc. fork would result in a head tube angle of approximately 72º [COLOR= #808080](... the norm for Touring frames[/COLOR]).
• Because the frame is alloy, I needed to lace a 700c rim to a 135mm rear hub ... if it were a steel frame, then I would simply respace the frame's rear dropouts to 130mm.
• I was able to use a TEKTRO long reach (49-59) brake caliper for both the rear & front.
• I needed to use a 118mm ISIS BB for the particular crankset to get the arms AND chainring to clear the chain stays.

If you were to buy a Hybrid, 29er, or re-do a 26" Hardtail, you could borrow most of the components which are on your CUBE for your excursion ...

But, either non-QS, 10-speed & 11-speed Campagnolo shifters can be mated to Shimano drivetrains & would be better than the shifters which are currently on your bike BECAUSE Campagnolo shifters can downshift when the drivetrain is under a load ([COLOR= #808080]i.e., when you are going uphill[/COLOR]).

 

[DCM1]

Thanks for replies, again its much appreciated.

alfeng, thanks for going into so much detail, that post must have taken some time to write

The more I think about it the more I am tempted to purchase a hybrid type bike (Two bikes are better than one right), I'm still looking around but the bike that stands out so far is the Giant Roam XR0 (or the cheaper XR1 model). The reason this particular bike appeals to me is that it appears to be set up similar to a hybrid but with mountain bike styling. It does come with front suspension forks but these can be apparantly locked off whilst riding on the smoother road surfaces, it is also geared up to take rear paniers I believe.

What do you guys think, heres a link: http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/roam.xr.0/7860/45492/

 

[Eichers]

+1 with turning a 26er into an awesome tourer running a 700 wheelset (especially with 140/160mm disc brakes) and they look terrific also, as alfengs pic ^^^ shows

 

[DCM1]

Thanks for the replys, some really good ideas, thanks alfeng for your very detailed post that must have taken a while to write!

The more I look into it the more i think im going to lean towards maybee buying a hybrid bike, at the moment i am giving some serious consideration to a Giant Roam XR0, i like the fact that although this bike has a lot of the attributes associated with a hybrid it is also styled similar to a mountain bike, it does have front suspension forks but these can be locked out for the smoother roads i think, it is also able to accomidate a rack and rear paniers.

What do you guys think? Heres a link http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/roam.xr.0/7860/45492/

Thanks again for reading through and taking the time to respond, its really good to get other views especially as im pretty new to all this cycling lark!

 

[DCM1]

Or maybee even something like this focus cyclocross may be better? Though if i went down this route i would probably sell my road bike as 'id be happy to use this in place of my cube road bike.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/focus-mares-ax-10-ultegra-2011/

 

[alfeng]

A CX frame (FOCUS MARES AX) is a good choice for many types of riding, but will be unsatisfactory for Touring because of the "heel-strike" which Steve_A mentioned ([COLOR= #808080]or, what I referred to as an intrusion[/COLOR]) due to chain stays which are only infinitesmally longer than on most Road bikes ([COLOR= #808080]i.e., NOT long enough for most rack-and-pannier combinations[/COLOR]).

A bike like the GIANT ROAM XR0 would be better if it did not have the suspension fork ... by the third day, if not sooner, if you are carrying a lot of weight, you will probably curse the unnecessary, added poundage that such a minimalist suspension fork adds.

• check out the RALEIGH XXIX ... the base model is a Single Speed ... use it as a benchmark. If you do opt for the Raleigh ([COLOR= #808080]instead of some other bike[/COLOR]) you would want to get the derailleur hanger or the XXIX+G model AND THEN move all of your relevant components from the CUBE to it for your trip ...
• you will also probably want tyres & tubes in the 700x28 to 700x32 range.

BTW. If you aren't planning on riding in the rain OR on wet roadways-or-paths, then the disc brakes are over-kill ...

• IMO, more important than a suspension fork OR disc brakes ... consider adding fenders (mud guards) to the bike for the trip + rain gear ...
• if you have your heart set on a Hybrid which has a suspension fork, then give serious consideration to acquiring a rigid steel fork that was removed from a new Tandem to use for the trip OR ask the bike shop if there isn't a model which doesn't have the suspension fork ... expect to pay £30, or less, if the fork was removed from an existing bike ... more, if it has "new" packaging from the distributor. A carbon fibre CX fork is NOT a good idea for Touring, BTW.

 

[Eichers]

Hi DCM1, actually having disc brakes is quite handy, especially if they are [SIZE=10.0pt]hydraulic[/SIZE].

They stop better and allow you to keep riding with brakes should you buckle a rim a little (even a reasonable amount)