Commuting - Help, I want to commute but....

I would like to know what upgrades I would need to make to my IHBC Maveric to make it a solid platform for commuting. My trip is pretty level evcept for the very end before work and it is a mile uphill grade. THose who have been there the Halawa Heights hill behind the Aloha Stadium on Oahu. The other problem is that I am 5'10'' and 220+ lbs. Any help would be great.

sorry, but never heard of a IHBC Maveric. Do you have more information about the bike ? Is it a hybrid, road, or mtb ?

What year is your Iron Horse? It looks like the older models, 1999 and 2000, had rigid forks. Do you have front suspension, or rigid? I occasionally ride my older Kona Cinder Cone on an 11 mile commute. All I did when I started riding it to work was substitute the quill stem for a slightly more upright angle because I found that I was putting a lot of pressure on my arms and having a lot of wrist pain. I also switched my mud tires for mountain bike street tires, they usually have a PSI rating around 90. The tires made a huge difference, I wasted a lot less energy, the ride became really smooth, and my time dropped by about 5 - 10 minutes almost instantly.

Apart from that, my Kona still has straps on the pedals and everything else is original. I'm riding a road bike to work now, but the Kona's ready to go when the weather's ugly.

By the way, I'm your height and 235 lbs on June 1st when I started riding. I'm 195 lbs now.

Definitely smooth tires. If it's not a short commute; I'd get a better saddle. If your riding position isn't comfy, you might try a more upright position, as was suggested.Panniers are great.

I think just about any bike can be used for commuting. Fenders and lights would be a good idea, as would a rack or panniers.

It might or might not be the best bike for your route and conditions.

Paul

ok - I did a search and found a 1999 Iron Horse Maverick. Looks like a nice commuter. Steel frame and fork at about 23 pounds. Steel is comfortable. I had an old steel mountain bike with a Rock Shox on it that weighed about 28 pounds. I put a nice cro-moly steel fork on it and 26x1.4 Richey Tommy Slick tires, fenders, rack, and now use it as a bad weather commuter. It is perfect. I would definitely consider slickes in the 1.25 to 1.5 inch range, they make a huge difference over heavier 26x1.95 or 26x2.25 tires.

1.25 are a great tyre for commuting.

Hello all,
Thank you for the input. When I posted my question I was not near my bike. I was in Indiana an it was in Hawaii. But here it more info on it. It is a 6160 alu frame, with a stock Iron Horse Saddle, seatpost, and bars, on the front it has WTB Primal Raptors 47/52, Rear WTB VelociRaptor 1.95/44/50's, 21 speed Shimano Drivetrain and a RST CAPA CL non-adjustable front fork.

There is not too much of a vibration except at top speed going down the Hill/Mountain (Halawa Heights Rd.) I ride the Aiea Loop Trail (an begin/intermediate) so I would like the best tire to do both routes. OR a better alternative what evee that might be. I am a Active duty Navy enlisted man, so money is tight. But I am reprioritizing funds, but I need to liquidate some Stinged instruments first before I can buy upgrades/ second bike.

Thanks all.

WTB Primal Raptors 47/52, Rear WTB VelociRaptor 1.95/44/50's

These WTBs are purely off-road tires, they OK tires. Used to have PrimalRaptors on my Marin back in '95 but kind of heavy and probably loud on the road. Get 1.25-1.5" tires for road riding or perhaps 1.95" semislicks if you occasional go off-road for commuting. You can typically find decent semislicks on sale at Performance, Nashbar, Pricepoint, etc... And if you wait for the coupons and stuff, you'll get a great bargain.

Don't forget the lights and other commuting goodies! :)

Jay

Thank you all for the advise...I have added a rack to the back and added MTB Street tires and a lighting system, but now with the 2 mile hill down from work I need advice on eye protection from the wind, I wear glasses and don't have much money to spend. The street semi slicks have added about 10 or so mph to my down hill and I don't want to burn up my brakes, and the rush is cool.

You need some kind of goggles. I had been having trouble with my eyes drying out & my doctor noticed I had some damage. He suggested the goggles (& also you can buy artificial tears over the counter).I had a set of clear plastic goggles that came with some power equipment. They fit over my glasses & knock down most of the wind. Home Depot or any place that sells power tools, weed eaters etc should have them for not much $. In the winter I now wear ski goggles to deal with the cold wind but your probably won't need that much protection in Hawaii! Don

How about motocross goggles. they have models specific to fit over glasses. easily removeable.

John

It's great to read a post from a fellow Camp Smith commuter :D . I keep some eye drops in my desk and make sure that my eyes are wet before leaving the office. This has helped keep my eyes from watering on the downhill. Enjoy your ride!!

If you have to deal with any broken glass, I recommend kevlar liners for your tires, or tires with the kevlar already in them.

I have had only one flat since I put the liners on, and that was a sneaky piece of glass that came in just to the edge of the liner. And they have been tested. On my ride, both the streets and the bike paths have glass problems. The streets have the problem for obvious reasons. The bike paths have problems because homeless people throw their empties onto the paths.