Utility Cycling - Bike set up for around town use / short comutes

Hello. I have gotten my grubby mits on an ald Schwinn Woodlands MTB. I plan on using this as an around town bike to go to grocery store, run errands, perhaps ride back and forth to work when I'm in the close base about ten miles away and to ride on the road as a fitness tool. I know that I am asking a lot from any one bike but at least I DON"T want it to be a MTB. I have one of those that I was using for all that other stuff, but it's too cramped for any kind of longish street rides. I have questions in three areas rigth now.

I have had recomendations to put on "slick" tires. Well, I was talking to the guy in my super small LBS who runs Conti Town and Country tires on his and his wifes personal, streeted MTBs and LOVES them. He claims that those 4 tires have logged thousands of miles over the last 5 years with only one flat and no real wear on them. They look brand new on the bikes. He said that the local PD switched to them for their patrol bikes and swear by them over other similar tires. The only reviews that I found of them was an archived thread from this forum that complained a lot about them being prone to flats. Not at all what the lBS Guru said! Of course, they are a pretty expensive tire, the set of them would be worth more than the whoole rest of the bike, so the conspiricy theorist in me says.... So what I am wondering is shoulod I go with these or another sort of hybred tire or a strictly street tire? I'm not looking for maximum speed but DO want something faster than a full knobby that will be a good preformer in all-weather and be sturdy and durable.

Question two: The Bars. Flat bars? Slight rise bars? Swept bars? Drop bars?

Question three: Shifters. THe bike has old-school frame-type sifters with a lever that you move up to go up a gear and down to go down a gear, only the levers are shorter and they mount to the handlebars. Is it worth it/practicle/possable to swap these out with some thunb-and finger type shifters?

Thanks,

Ken

Tires: If all you are doing is riding around town, definitely get slicks. I've run 1.5" conti's in the past at 100psi and were just fine. Much better than the knobby tires that I got rid of. I know run on 2" schwalbe big apples because they give a bit more cushion while riding. I've run offroad with the big apples with no problems at all. Great all around tire.



Handlebars: I currently run straight bars with fairly large bar ends attached to them. I spend the majority of my time on the bar ends. If I was going to do it again, I would probably get a trekking bar like the navarro safari has.



Shifters: Switching them out depends on your rear hub/cassette and rear derailleur and whether or not they are compatible with the newer systems (probably not). Seems like a good bike to turn into a single speed, and use that to bomb around town, and spend the money you were going to use to upgrade that bike on one that would work better as a grocery getter.

Slick tires are best unless you're riding on very loose surfaces. If you can't find slick tires, you can use tires that have "negative tread" or minimal tread. The tread doesn't help, but it doesn't hurt, either.

My 2 cents

+1 on smaller smooth tires

If you keep the flat bars, get the cane creek ergo or the Ergon bar ends (i have problems with flat bars over longer time...ymmv) these provide a good, comfortable alternative hand position

Keep the shifters...as long as they work..... less hassle than finding the right shifter to match your drive train and less to fiddle with.

Thanks guys. This project got a little side tracked because of my Peugeot project and the fact that I have had ZERo cnace to runa bike errand in a while. SLick tires are the way to go I guess, BUT I can't find really slick tires at either of my LBSs. They all have tread on them. The "slickest" that I can find are 1.5" Continental Town and Country's at $36 each!

If I didn't keep the flat bars what would you recommend as a replacement?

So, the shifters stay and since I picked up that Peugeot I DON"T need the Woodlands to be a "road bike" any more!

If I didn't keep the flat bars what would you recommend as a replacement?

!

English 3 speed looking bars ie

nitto north road http://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=411

http://www.rivbike.com/products/list/handlebars_stems_and_tape?a=1&page=2#product=16-122

very comfy for errands, good hand postion, lets you be a little more upright

as for tires.....here are some from the perfomance site.....no experience with any

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/ProductCompareView?catalogId=10551&storeId=10052&langId=-1&categoryId=400054&parent_category_rn=400013&top_category=400013&searchTerm=&compareList=1035202%2C1035346%2C1035238&compSKU=1035202&compSKU=1035346&compSKU=1035238

I like the slightly swept back bars for utility riding. I am sure your wrists would like swept back too.

Depending on your budget, these are the things I'd change to make an "errand bike"

• Smooth tires, as mentioned, will make a pretty big improvement for not too much cost.

• Rear rack and something mounted to the rack to carry cargo (panniers, milk crate, etc.)

• Rear blinky light. I highly recommend a PB Superflash (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KBEH1W).

• Some "northroad" style bars (http://www.bikepartsusa.com/bikeparts/item/01-79884/handlebar-cruiser/Wald--Cruiser%2C-%23867%2C-Handle-Bar&category=handlebar-cruiser) will be comfortable and offer a nice upright position on the bike.

If having a sweet bike trumps having any cash left in your wallet I also suggest:

• Brooks B-67 saddle (http://clevercycles.com/store/?product=Brooks+saddle+B67)

• Dynamo hub and light system (http://www.bikedenver.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/dynamo.gif) (Very nice if some of your rides are at/near dawn dusk and you hate having to keep batteries in your lights.)

• CETMA (http://cetmaracks.com/) or The Rack Lady (http://www.flickr.com/photos/26811168@N07/) front rack.

We want to see pictures of the bike!

bikepartsusa.com also has semi-slick tires at good prices. They have a bit of "negative tread" which is OK though not truly functional.

I ran a pair of 1.9 X 26 conti's on a mountain bike for 10 years covering about 18k miles, recently selling the bike complete with tyres.

My normal commute included about 6 miles of cross country agricultural, and woodland tracks and I did pick up a few punctures over the years; mainly from small sharp flints and long thorns. This was easily overcome by the use of slime in the inner tubs and lining the the tyre carcass with a kevelar band. This set up remained puncture proof in use for nine of the ten years that I owned the Bike.

1. Slicks roll smooth with less resistance than a traditional mtb tire. So definitely start here. My hybrid sits on 26" 1.6 Continental Sport Contacts, excellent grip and smooth as whistle.

2. Its all personaly preference here. I like the straight bars cause I'm use to riding motorcycles.

3. This depends on the answer above. If you go with straight bars, you have to switch the hand controls anyways as drop bar stuff will not work on straight bars without moding.

I've been using Performance Forte Slicks and they seem to be great for the money- especially now since they're on sale for 9.99.

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1035134_-1_400054_400013_400237

amdoo, thanks for that tip. I just bought a pair.