Originally Posted by
mrleft2000
Aside from the knobbies, how is a mountain bike any less suitable than a true road bike for commuting?
Cons of mountain bike:
- Knobbie tires
- Suspension fork adds extra 2-3 lbs
Cons of road bike:
- No rack or fender eyelets
- Caliper brakes limit you to 25 maybe 28 mm tires
- Even if you manage to get a rack on it, it has short chainstays
- Many road bikes don't have anything close to a gear setting that's even close to a 1:1 ratio, makes carrying any load up hills difficult without getting out of the seat
I dunno, I think the problems with a mountain bike are overlook-able or easily fixable in the future. I dunno if I would say the same thing about a road bike. I am pretty much never going to buy a bike with caliper brakes simply because I refuse to be limited to 25 or 28 mm tires and there aren't any cheap ways to change out of calipers. It's quite a tragedy that so many bikes are closed off to me as well as their potential utility for simply lack of eyelets and brake bosses; it's not like they weigh that much.
Besides, if exercise is one of the reasons to commute, then what does it matter if it takes a little longer to get there?
All the cons you listed for road bikes only apply to racing bikes. Touring or Cross bikes have lower gearing, can take large tires and especially touring bikes will have as many or more eyelets than you would see on an MTB. Fender mounting tends to be more straightforward without a suspension.
The big con in my mind for MTBs is the single riding position/lack of hand positions. Not everyone cares about that obviously. Gearing and tires can be changed to suit your needs with either road or mountain bikes though there are limitations.
Of course you can put slicks and drop bars on a MTB, but you get to a point where you're not sure whether it's really a MTB any more or just a heavy road bike.