sympleman

I have an old MTB (it was old 10 years ago). I went riding in Asheville last week on a comfort bike (Giant Sedona DX), and it was really comfortable. I'm in the market for a new bike, and was wondering if I can get a new MTB and get an adjustable stem and a suspension seat post to make it plush like the Giant Sedona DX felt. I have read that the comfort bikes have a little different frame, with the neck higher, but how much of a difference is it. I enjoy mountain biking with the guys, so I would like that capability also. I was looking at the Motobecane 600HT, or the Phantom trail, or the Giant Yukon.

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...ne_600HT07.htm
and
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...om_trail08.htm
and
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/...in/1280/29353/


Thanks.

Podolak

You can definitely take a mountain bike and give it a more "upright" feel. However, it will never feel exactly like the way a comfort bike does. It may be good enough though. Have you considered putting an adjustable stem on your current mountain bike? Even if you have a quill stem there are adapters you can use to take advantage of the new threadless stems.

I would stay away from suspension seat posts. If you have a little extra dough, a carbon fiber seat post would be the way to go. They aren't that expensive as JensonUSA usually has them on sale.

sympleman

I ended up getting the Giant Yukon. Why do you recommend against the suspension seatpost? I rode a Giant Sedonda DX that had one, and it definately smoothed the road out. Is there a durability concern? Thank you for the advise.

Podolak

Hey, congratulations on the purchase. The best thing you can do is come back and post how you like the ride.

As far as the seat post, there are two concerns that I can think of.

1. Weight, a suspension seat post weighs more than a non. However, I don't think most of us in this forum care that much about a few grams.

2. leg extension; a suspension seat post will mess with your proper leg extension. This IS something I am concerned with no matter what kind of riding I do.

I just prefer other methods to soak up the vibrations and bumps. This is just my opinion of course.

SKIDOZER

I just converted my old mountain bike to be more comfort friendly.
After riding 2 friends comfort and hybrid bikes.
I added a new seat post, seat and 3 inch rise handle bar.
I found with the new bar I really didn't need a new stem.
I did need a new front brake cable.

But after riding with friends on their comfort and hybrid found my mountain bike is not geared the same.
They have a much larger sprocket on the crank. They can go much faster with 8 gears to go when I am in my top gear.
My girlfriend has a 7 speed hybrid and in 3rd gear blows my bike away and is not peddling as hard as me.

I will be buying a new bike,problem is they are hard to come by in my area.
They are selling new comfort and hybrids like crazy.

grayloon

I've a suspension seat on my Gary Fisher mountain bike and none on my two road bikes. The rigid seat is more comfortable and wastes less energy. Of course, as my handle says, I'm a bit of a loon. I like downturn handlebars and road bike seats and find them more comfortable than the more erect seats and bars found on comfort and hybrid bikes.

yardmutt

https://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z...ose1995/bikes/

I use my High Plains as both a comfort and a MTB for now. It does me a good job too I can't do real hard terrain due to my back, but I can do moderate terrian. I'm shopping around for a comfort bike though for a campground cruiser and very light trail riding. When I find the one that I like, I will put more of an off road tire on the High Plains and use it more on the rugged trail.

CraigVM62

Sympleman, One thing to consider with your plans.... When I was looking at adjustable stems, even those labeled as MTB Stems had warnings that they were not for "aggressive riding" to avoid stripping out the pivot point
You would need to decide if your off road use would fall under their warning.

I also recently converted two older MTB's to bike trail / casual street riding bikes.
Basically the same as Skidozer projects except I went with threaded / threadless adapters as well as adjustable stems and riser bars. I also swapped out the knobbies with High Pressure 1 1/2" street tires. I did have to dump the ultra light seat on one for something with a few more ounces of Gel padding.

I have been very happy with the suspension seat post on one of them "older USE model" I only wish the CF post on my road bike could eat up vibration and bumps like the suspension post does.

The $100 or so bucks I invested to "Comfortize" these two MB's saved me around $800+ each compared to buying a new comfort / cross bike with the same components.
Granted, something has to be said for that "New Bike Smell"