small question

[teroline]

Hi, I'm new to the forums, and not even sure if i'm allowed
to ask questions here. (but i really didn't see anywhere else
to post, so i'll post it up here.)

i've just read the FAQ list in the forums, and read the
part where it specified about bikes.

Anyways, what I noticed in that chart was that Mountain
Bikes are not good for running long distance AT ALL?

Here's the link :

http://www.bikeforums.net/faq.php?faq=how_to_buy_a_bike#faq_2

Could anybody confirm me? Also i would like to ask people who
ride MTBs if they go on long distance trips. Because I've seen
some of my friends do it.

Are there any cons about riding long distance with MTBs?

[kponds]

This is "as I understand it," and I'm still a newbie so, keep that in mind. Also, I am defining "long ride" as anything over 100 miles.


A mountain bike configured properly will take you as far as you want to go.

But, almost all of the mountain bikes sold new today, are configured for short (<100 miles) trail and offroad rides.


If I were selecting a mountain bike for a long distance trip (such as a brevet, not a tour, since this isn't the touring forum :)), I would buy used, making sure it had a rigid fork (no shocks, especially no rear shocks and ideally no seatpost shock), wide gearing (ratio of largest cog to smallest cog, especially making sure that the low gear inch is about 20"), and eyelets/braze-ons for racks and fenders. It would preferably have a steel frame, but I wouldn't pass up a good aluminium one. I would also, and this is most important, make sure it fit real well.

Then I would buy:

A good saddle (subjectivity reigns here so I can't make a real reccomendation, I like the Brooks though)
Slick Tires
These handlebars: http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=&sku=9756&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Show%20All%20Products
Or, alternatively, bar ends for the existing handlebars.
Fenders
Whatever bag solution you need to carry your stuff (I prefer a rack and a trunk bag, and possibly a handlebar bag, then panniers if you need)
Whatever lights you want.

[brunop]

i set up a surly mountain (karate monkey) 29er as a touring/commuter bike. i put a 14 speed rohloff hub on it and some slick tires (schwalbe big apples). i can ride this thing forever at good speeds very comfortably. big tires smooth out the road. a mountain bike is a viable long distance bike. especially if you're gonna be on some rough pavement or dirt.:) :) :) :eek: :eek: :)

[thebulls]

Hey, teroline,

That table doesn't just show Mountain bikes as being unsuitable for rides of more than 15 miles, it also shows them as being unsuitable for rides of less than 15 miles! Guess I'm going to have to quit using mine for my 20 mile round-trip commute :-)

To address your original question, I don't see any reason you couldn't set up a mountain bike to ride brevets, though it wouldn't be my first choice. For commuting, I ride my Cannondale F600 hardtail with Panaracer TServ 26x1-1/8" tires (semi-slick). With those tires, the mountain bike rolls along just about the same as my road bike on TServ 700x32's. If I didn't have a road bike that I use on brevets, the mountain bike would be alright, though the frame is overbuilt relative to the stresses of a typical brevet (and therefore unnecessarily heavy), and the front suspension also adds unnecessary weight, lost energy, and mechanical complexity. It's about 5 pounds heavier than my road bike. Still, it'd be OK for a shorter brevet like a 200K.

[Machka]

You can ride a mountain bike on just about any ride. I've ridden many, many centuries on my 40 lb, knobby-tire Mongoose mtn bike, as well as my first 200K brevet. Those rides are a bit slower than they would be with a road bicycle, but in some cases, like if you want to do a century over icy/snowy conditions, the mountain bike is the better choice.

I have also seen people riding mtn bikes on 1200K randonnees. The Rocky Mountain 1200 springs to mind ... and Italian guy rode it on a fairly heavy-duty mtn bike. I'm sure people have ridden the PBP with mtn bikes too.

So, if your only bike is a mtn bike, you can still ride long distances on it. But if you want to get into doing a lot of long distances, you might want to modify it with slicks, bar ends, etc. to make it a bit more comfortable, or going to a more road-type bicycle.

[teroline]

Thanks for the information guys. Helped a lot : )

[Carbonfiberboy]

Hey, I ran into a guy in the North Cascades on an MTB, an Iron Horse hardtail, IIRC. He was on a 450 mile loaded tour and having a great time. I imagine those low gears were great in the mountains.