Converting Mtb Bike to Road Bike?

[Bill Henry]

I've got a 2004 Gary Fisher Marlin sitting in my garage. I bought it
new, thinking I would go mountain biking on a regular basis. Well, that
never really panned.

I've been thinking of getting a road bike for my fairly short rides
around town and on paved surfaces. But then it occurred to me that I
might be able to convert the bike to something of a road bike. I have a
few questions, though.

1) The tires are 26", but I would want to add some road slicks. Do I
need to get new tubes to do this? Will the current wheels work?

2) Can I (and should I) add road handlebars? If so, will they work with
the current stem and/or braking system?

3) The heavy suspension fork isn't going to be necessary. How do I go
about looking for a road-type fork? Will most forks fit with my
headset, etc., or do I have to be very specific what I'm looking for?

I have some decent mechanical skills and am something of a gearhead, but
don't have a lot of experience working on bicycles.

Of course, the other option is to just sell the damn thing and buy a
used road bike. But I like everything else about this bike so that kind
of seems like a waste. Plus, this sounds like more fun.

Thanks for any tips.

 

[Earl Bollinger]

"Bill Henry" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've got a 2004 Gary Fisher Marlin sitting in my garage. I bought it new,
> thinking I would go mountain biking on a regular basis. Well, that never
> really panned.
> I've been thinking of getting a road bike for my fairly short rides around
> town and on paved surfaces. But then it occurred to me that I might be
> able to convert the bike to something of a road bike. I have a few
> questions, though.
> 1) The tires are 26", but I would want to add some road slicks. Do I need
> to get new tubes to do this? Will the current wheels work?
> 2) Can I (and should I) add road handlebars? If so, will they work with
> the current stem and/or braking system?
> 3) The heavy suspension fork isn't going to be necessary. How do I go
> about looking for a road-type fork? Will most forks fit with my headset,
> etc., or do I have to be very specific what I'm looking for?
> I have some decent mechanical skills and am something of a gearhead, but
> don't have a lot of experience working on bicycles.
> Of course, the other option is to just sell the damn thing and buy a used
> road bike. But I like everything else about this bike so that kind of
> seems like a waste. Plus, this sounds like more fun.
> Thanks for any tips.

In my opinion you only need to mount road slicks or semi-road slicks. If you
get the larger 1.5" or 1.9" slicks, your tubes should be just fine.
I would probably add bar ends, if you haven't done it yet.
Other than that you don't need to change a thing, the suspension feels nice
on the rough roads. But if you really want to a fork could be gotten for it,
the rear suspensiuon could be relaced with a machine aluminum bar
appropriately drilled and machined.
If you think you will be out at times it may be getting darker or something,
then a LED tailight and or a headlight would be useful.
The more upright position makes it easier to see what is going on around
you, so although you could put on road bars, I don't see it as being too
useful.
But your could if you want to. The trick would be if your grips and shifters
and brake levers could be moved over or not, the drop down bar has a lot of
curves and the parts may not slide onto it, I don't know for sure.
But just putting on road slicks is all you really need to do.

 

[Earl Bollinger]

"Bill Henry" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've got a 2004 Gary Fisher Marlin sitting in my garage. I bought it new,
> thinking I would go mountain biking on a regular basis. Well, that never
> really panned.
> I've been thinking of getting a road bike for my fairly short rides around
> town and on paved surfaces. But then it occurred to me that I might be
> able to convert the bike to something of a road bike. I have a few
> questions, though.
> 1) The tires are 26", but I would want to add some road slicks. Do I need
> to get new tubes to do this? Will the current wheels work?
> 2) Can I (and should I) add road handlebars? If so, will they work with
> the current stem and/or braking system?
> 3) The heavy suspension fork isn't going to be necessary. How do I go
> about looking for a road-type fork? Will most forks fit with my headset,
> etc., or do I have to be very specific what I'm looking for?
> I have some decent mechanical skills and am something of a gearhead, but
> don't have a lot of experience working on bicycles.
> Of course, the other option is to just sell the damn thing and buy a used
> road bike. But I like everything else about this bike so that kind of
> seems like a waste. Plus, this sounds like more fun.
> Thanks for any tips.

In my opinion you only need to mount road slicks or semi-road slicks. If you
get the larger 1.5" or 1.9" slicks, your tubes should be just fine.
I would probably add bar ends, if you haven't done it yet.
Other than that you don't need to change a thing, the suspension feels nice
on the rough roads. But if you really want to a fork could be gotten for it,
the rear suspensiuon could be relaced with a machine aluminum bar
appropriately drilled and machined.
If you think you will be out at times it may be getting darker or something,
then a LED tailight and or a headlight would be useful.
The more upright position makes it easier to see what is going on around
you, so although you could put on road bars, I don't see it as being too
useful.
But your could if you want to. The trick would be if your grips and shifters
and brake levers could be moved over or not, the drop down bar has a lot of
curves and the parts may not slide onto it, I don't know for sure.
But just putting on road slicks is all you really need to do.

 

[Earl Bollinger]

"Bill Henry" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've got a 2004 Gary Fisher Marlin sitting in my garage. I bought it new,
> thinking I would go mountain biking on a regular basis. Well, that never
> really panned.
> I've been thinking of getting a road bike for my fairly short rides around
> town and on paved surfaces. But then it occurred to me that I might be
> able to convert the bike to something of a road bike. I have a few
> questions, though.
> 1) The tires are 26", but I would want to add some road slicks. Do I need
> to get new tubes to do this? Will the current wheels work?
> 2) Can I (and should I) add road handlebars? If so, will they work with
> the current stem and/or braking system?
> 3) The heavy suspension fork isn't going to be necessary. How do I go
> about looking for a road-type fork? Will most forks fit with my headset,
> etc., or do I have to be very specific what I'm looking for?
> I have some decent mechanical skills and am something of a gearhead, but
> don't have a lot of experience working on bicycles.
> Of course, the other option is to just sell the damn thing and buy a used
> road bike. But I like everything else about this bike so that kind of
> seems like a waste. Plus, this sounds like more fun.
> Thanks for any tips.

In my opinion you only need to mount road slicks or semi-road slicks. If you
get the larger 1.5" or 1.9" slicks, your tubes should be just fine.
I would probably add bar ends, if you haven't done it yet.
Other than that you don't need to change a thing, the suspension feels nice
on the rough roads. But if you really want to a fork could be gotten for it,
the rear suspensiuon could be relaced with a machine aluminum bar
appropriately drilled and machined.
If you think you will be out at times it may be getting darker or something,
then a LED tailight and or a headlight would be useful.
The more upright position makes it easier to see what is going on around
you, so although you could put on road bars, I don't see it as being too
useful.
But your could if you want to. The trick would be if your grips and shifters
and brake levers could be moved over or not, the drop down bar has a lot of
curves and the parts may not slide onto it, I don't know for sure.
But just putting on road slicks is all you really need to do.

 

[Gooserider]

"Bill Henry" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've got a 2004 Gary Fisher Marlin sitting in my garage. I bought it new,
> thinking I would go mountain biking on a regular basis. Well, that never
> really panned.
>
> I've been thinking of getting a road bike for my fairly short rides around
> town and on paved surfaces. But then it occurred to me that I might be
> able to convert the bike to something of a road bike. I have a few
> questions, though.
>
> 1) The tires are 26", but I would want to add some road slicks. Do I need
> to get new tubes to do this? Will the current wheels work?
>
Possibly. I have a front suspended MTB with slicks, and it's OK in town. Not
as fast as my road bikes, but it's fun. Good curb jumper, too.

 

[Bill Sornson]

Earl Bollinger wrote:
> "Bill Henry" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I've got a 2004 Gary Fisher Marlin sitting in my garage. I bought
>> it new, thinking I would go mountain biking on a regular basis. Well,
>> that never really panned.
>> I've been thinking of getting a road bike for my fairly short rides
>> around town and on paved surfaces. But then it occurred to me that
>> I might be able to convert the bike to something of a road bike. I
>> have a few questions, though.
>> 1) The tires are 26", but I would want to add some road slicks. Do
>> I need to get new tubes to do this? Will the current wheels work?
>> 2) Can I (and should I) add road handlebars? If so, will they work
>> with the current stem and/or braking system?
>> 3) The heavy suspension fork isn't going to be necessary. How do I
>> go about looking for a road-type fork? Will most forks fit with my
>> headset, etc., or do I have to be very specific what I'm looking for?
>> I have some decent mechanical skills and am something of a gearhead,
>> but don't have a lot of experience working on bicycles.
>> Of course, the other option is to just sell the damn thing and buy a
>> used road bike. But I like everything else about this bike so that
>> kind of seems like a waste. Plus, this sounds like more fun.
>> Thanks for any tips.
>
> In my opinion you only need to mount road slicks or semi-road slicks.
> If you get the larger 1.5" or 1.9" slicks, your tubes should be just
> fine. I would probably add bar ends, if you haven't done it yet.
> Other than that you don't need to change a thing, the suspension
> feels nice on the rough roads. But if you really want to a fork could
> be gotten for it, the rear suspensiuon could be relaced with a
> machine aluminum bar appropriately drilled and machined.

Fisher Marlin is a hard tail, IINM.

I agree with most of the rest -- just get some slick tires and ride the
thing. *IF* you find the front bobbing too much (doubtful), then rigid mtb
forks are cheap and plentiful. If you later decide to do more "serious"
road riding, then a full-on road bike will fit the bill...and you'll still
have the Marlin for fun cruises, backup, and even off-road (w/knobbies back
on)...

Bill S.

 

[maxo]

On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 20:24:25 -0500, Bill Henry wrote:

> Subject: Converting Mtb Bike to Road Bike?
> From: Bill Henry <[email protected]>
> Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.misc
> User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird 1.0.2 (Windows/20050317)
> Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 20:24:25 -0500
>
> I've got a 2004 Gary Fisher Marlin sitting in my garage. I bought it new,
> thinking I would go mountain biking on a regular basis. Well, that never
> really panned.
>
A lot of us have been there in one shape or form. No biggie.

> I've been thinking of getting a road bike for my fairly short rides around
> town and on paved surfaces. But then it occurred to me that I might be
> able to convert the bike to something of a road bike. I have a few
> questions, though.
>

It'll never be as nimble and quick and fun as a pure road bike BUT you can
make it a damn fine and fun street machine of a different caliber
altogether--best part is that you can jump curbs.

> 1) The tires are
26", but I would want to add some road slicks. Do I
> need to get new tubes to do this? Will the current wheels work?

New tires AND tubes. Tubes do stretch, but you're gonna want 1" or 1.25"
tires, and you can't shrink a tube down to that size. Quite a few nice
tires in that size. Google will serve ya well. I've got the Performance
house brand 1.25's and they're not bad at all--light, handle decently,
AND cheap.

> 2) Can I (and should I) add road handlebars? If so, will they
work with
> the current stem and/or braking system?

You can't but don't. It'll be a major PITA with trying get the fit
right, not to mention the couple hundred in parts. Do this: trim your
bars to a reasonable comfy width with a hacksaw, probably a couple inches
from each end. You don't need wide bar leverage on road and the closer the
bars are to shoulder width the more comfy. Get some nice ergonomic
bar-ends. I like the Cane Creeks, but there are dozens more.

> 3) The heavy suspension
fork isn't going to be necessary. How do I go
> about looking for a road-type fork?

A rigid fork will drop a few pounds and cost about a hundred. you'll need
a MTB specific rigid fork. Surly makes one, and there are other
manufacturers. About a hundred bucks. Needs to be "suspension adjusted"
meaning that it's tall to compensate for the height of the removed
suspension fork

> I have some decent mechanical skills and am something of
a gearhead, but
> don't have a lot of experience working on bicycles.

Thank goodness for the internet then. You might want to leave the fork
swapping to a shop. It's not hard, but you can do a lot of damage w/o the
right tools. I did my own headset with a 2x4 and a section of PVC--I
really don't recommend it, it's easy to screw up. Tires and bars are easy.

> Of course, the other option is to just sell the damn thing and buy a
> used road bike.

You might very well come out ahead this way. Probably your best option.

On the other hand, slicks, a new fork, and a tighter rear cassette for the
road (you don't need all those silly low gears on pavement) would run a
couple hundred and net you a very bulletproof pavement ride.

 

[araby]

"Bill Henry" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've got a 2004 Gary Fisher Marlin sitting in my garage. I bought it new,
> thinking I would go mountain biking on a regular basis. Well, that never
> really panned.
>
> I've been thinking of getting a road bike for my fairly short rides around
> town and on paved surfaces. But then it occurred to me that I might be
> able to convert the bike to something of a road bike. I have a few
> questions, though.
I converted my 1991 Shogun Team Issue. It's very simple. I bought some 1.5"
Chen Shin Tyres in a sale for $9 Canadian (!)each plus some new tubes. The
wheels are just fine. I had already fitted end bars. Don't bother with the
forks. There is no reason to change them. I also fitted a rear rack on mine
for touring purposes.
The only shortcoming for longer rides is that you can't get down "on the
drops" in headwinds. Also I don't care for the straight bars. They are at
the wrong angle for my wrists. I chopped about 2" off the ends and use the
end bars most of the time.
On the up side you will have a bombproof bike more than capable of coping
with any road condition.

Good luck,

Roy

 

[Ken M]

I ride an mtb for around town commuting and stuff, I just put some
touring type tires on it, high pressure deals up to 80psi that works
really good. I find the wide upright position of the mtb bars to be
better for around town than drop bars.

Ken

 

[Eric Babula]

Bill Henry <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> I've got a 2004 Gary Fisher Marlin sitting in my garage. I bought
> it new, thinking I would go mountain biking on a regular basis.
> Well, that never really panned.
>
> I've been thinking of getting a road bike for my fairly short rides
> around town and on paved surfaces. But then it occurred to me that
> I might be able to convert the bike to something of a road bike. I
> have a few questions, though.
>
> 1) The tires are 26", but I would want to add some road slicks. Do
> I need to get new tubes to do this? Will the current wheels work?
>
> 2) Can I (and should I) add road handlebars? If so, will they work
> with the current stem and/or braking system?
>
> 3) The heavy suspension fork isn't going to be necessary. How do I
> go about looking for a road-type fork? Will most forks fit with my
> headset, etc., or do I have to be very specific what I'm looking
> for?
>
> I have some decent mechanical skills and am something of a
> gearhead, but don't have a lot of experience working on bicycles.
>
> Of course, the other option is to just sell the damn thing and buy
> a used road bike. But I like everything else about this bike so
> that kind of seems like a waste. Plus, this sounds like more fun.
>
> Thanks for any tips.

I converted my Trek 800 into a commuter bike. All you really need to do
(well, you don't 'need' to do anything, really) is put some 1.95" slicks
on your MTB - would use the same tubes. I decided to go with 1.25"
slicks (requires different tubes, but tubes are cheap) on mine (still
compatible with the original rims). At 95PSI, they're better for going
faster.

I didn't go with the drop bars. I think there'd be some extra work
involved in messing with the brake and transmission cables, and I didn't
feel like going thru that extra work.

But, now that I've commuted on my bike for 5 years, I'm longing for a
road bike - something lighter and faster - to have more fun on. I'm
thinking of getting something like the Jamis Satellite or Trek 1500.
Well, it's a dream right now - gotta convince the wife, first.

--
Eric Babula
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

 

[Will]

Eric,

You are in Trek land. Keep on the lookout. There's got to be a few 531
steel, lugged and butted, road Treks floating around Milwaukee. A lot
of those great mid-80's bikes came with Shimano 600 groups to boot.
They call that line Ultegra now. Plenty fast, plenty cheap, great
rides.

 

[Peter Cole]

araby wrote:

> The only shortcoming for longer rides is that you can't get down "on the
> drops" in headwinds. Also I don't care for the straight bars. They are at
> the wrong angle for my wrists. I chopped about 2" off the ends and use the
> end bars most of the time.

I know a couple of guys who use converted MTBs for fast road rides, both
added aerobars to the flat bars.