hamiltonian

That stem is definitely coming off the bike entirely—probably tomorrow. Lately that bike has just been on my trainer, though.

cny-bikeman

I would agree that something similar to a Cross Check would be ideal for the mix of pavement and gravel you face. If you want to eventually upgrade save up and look for deals when you are ready. I had similar needs to yours - I wanted a bike I could ride fairly fast when equipped with lighter tires/wheels but that also could handle panniers and back roads (including a trip to Italy) with heavier duty wheels/tires. REI has a winter sale every year, and that's when I bought my Novara Randonee - another bike that would be appropriate. I saved at least a couple hundred dollars by getting the previous year model.

As I was a mechanic for many years I could have built a bike from scratch but it was less expensive and time consuming to buy stock, make changes, and then sell the replaced seat, bars, stem and saddle. I would also echo the previous comments about making sure the bike is tuned into your body. You'll notice that the items I replaced were those that are the interface between body and bike.

xenologer

for better acceleration you can go even narrower on the tires; 26x1.25 should be workable, possibly even as low as 26x1.1

rather than worrying about the chainrings; focus on the cassette. get something with the cogs spaced closer and focus on shifting more often; should help a lot with being faster
how about a 12-21 : 12,13,14,15.17,19,21 or a 13-23?

your brake levers seem to be pointed upwards above horizontal? try angling them down around 45*. should be a lot more comfortable on wrists when reaching for brakes.

consider non-mtb-ish handlebars
look up Soma Sparrow bars for something useful for road / semi trail. they're compatible with your current control hardware. they'll also sweep back more and help offset the frame oversize and long stem
plus uncommon handlebars make sense for uncommon bike conversions
for a cheaper option, get NorthRoads bars and mount them upside down (identical to Sparrow)

dabac

OP:
While it might provide a warm, tingly feeling to spec a bike for "high" speeds, I don't see much of a problem with spinning out occasionally.
My winter commuter will take me to about 25 MPH when the cranks hit 100 RPM.
This might sound low, but in reality, this means I'm off power for maybe a minute each hour, which for my circumstances is a non-issue entirely in terms of rideability, average speed and travelling time.
I'm quite happy to have more useable ratios in a narrower range than the average rider.
Lowest gear is as close to 1:1 as to make no difference, which will let me climb any paved road, even if there's been a bit of a snow.

To be honest, there's been two times when I briefly wished for a taller gear.
Once was when I hooked up with a buddy, who was on his fair weather bike(full road bike) while I had the winter bike.
The other when I had the tailwind of a lifetime while taking the long way home once.

I'm not too fond of the really narrow 26" tires, like 1.0" or 1.2"
I'm just not good enough at bunnyhopping a bike with panniers to be able to pass curbs w/o due concern on those. 1.3 seems to work though, but I wouldn't mind trying 1.5"

krobinson103

+1. I run my 'nice' mtb with 44/11 as the highest gear and while its possible to reach or exceed 30 mph on the flat, even riding 15 hours a week and training every single day I can only hold her at about 24 mph for any length of time and around 20-23mph for long term cruising. It just takes too much energy to keep her moving. I also find that I switch between 11/13/15 on the read cluster quite often as the grade changes. At 44/11 down a hill in an aero tuck at maximum output I can hit around 34mph but any more than that is almost impossible. Even with dual purpose tires installed.

DCB0

With the right gearing it is possible to accelerate well beyond 30 mph on a long downhill. On flat goround 30mph is close to the fastest that an elite athlete can go with an aero time-trial or pursuit bike. But down a hill the sky is th elimit. I don't know where Hamiltonian is from (Hamilton?) but if he lives in a mountainous area and has nerves of steel then higher gears might be an advantage. If there are no long hills around him then based on the evidence provided in this discussion I agree it will not be useful.

hamiltonian

For the record, I'm leaving the gears how they are, but I still find the discussion interesting. I'm going to my bike co-op today, and if the crankset is too bent, I'll replace it with the same as I have. I'm also planning to get a new stem, a new seat, and a solution for the front canti brakes, which of course I completely messed up by adjusting the stem.

hamiltonian

I did think of getting a spare wheelset with narrower tires. Then I could swap them out if I wanted to go on a trip that was all road. Currently I have 26x1.75.

Good observation. I haven't done any long trips with this bike, so I didn't notice any discomfort.

I tried some northroads-style bars on this bike already, but the grip area was too short for my rapidfire shifters. I'm not stuck on the MTB bars, so I'll look further into the options.

ThermionicScott 

I wouldn't go much below 1.5" if you want to keep riding gravel and crummy pavement.

DCB0

And since you are heavier than average, you might need to overinflate narrower tires to keep from pinching them on bumps. 1.75" is a great width, IMHO.

hamiltonian

I just got back from the co-op, and here's the bike—much improved and all finished for now. I didn't need to do anything about the crankset, after all. I'd like to thank all you guys for your great advice. This bike is much nicer to ride now than it ever was, and will suit my needs very well. All for the cost of $25, including the seat. (I love my co-op.)

jyl

Bike co-ops are great!

Looks like a nice solid bike.

Are you going to ride in the winter? Keep your eye out for a cheap/used fender set.

jyl

I don't love admitting this, but if you ever see me going 30 mph on my mountain bike (flat road, no wind) I am sprinting with my tongue hanging out and am in the early stages of blowing up.

I really don't love admitting this, but the same is likely to be true if you replace "mountain bike" with "road bike".

30 mph is just really fast. Without gravity, wind, or draft help, my sustainable distance at 30 mph is measured in increments of 100 meters <whimper>

hamiltonian

I have an old beach cruiser that I was planning to use as a utility bike this winter. It's so ridiculously comfortable, I call it "the couch." And it's perfect for utility use, since it's ugly enough that no one is likely to want to steal it while I'm in the store.

Fenders would be a good idea for the MTB anyway, now that you mention it.

LarDasse74

THe 'being chased by a bear' theory of locking your bike:

"If you are in the woods with your friend and being chased by a bear, you don't have to outrun the bear - you just have to outrun your friend."
THe corollary:
"If you are locking up your bike near other bikes, it doesn't have to be impossible to steal - it just has to be less attractive to steal than the one next to it - either cheaper, uglier, or better locked (but ideally some combination of the three)."

PHT

I didnt really weigh in with any advice because everyone got to reply before I did. (check the stem, keep the tires fat, etc.) But I just wanted to add- You have a great all around utility/commute bike that wil last forever. Especially for a big guy. Bikes like these are often under appreciated but not by me!