Originally Posted by
johnny8fingaz
I'm missing middle and ring on left hand and ring on right. It's really hard to change gears on it. I also have a condition called Reynauds which means I have to wear gloves. All this adds to a not so fun ride.
I love the bike, very pissed off I have to get rid of it. Yes its a 2012 model I'm sure.
I have a Specialized rock hopper(I think) hard tail. Would it be easier just to buy some really light rims for that. I just thought it was quite a heavy bike and weight for me is an issue.
Basically I need a comfortable bike (which the Specialized is) that is geared for speed but rides like a mountain bike.
I'm such a noob.
Personally, I'd take your road bike into a good LBS, (if the Pro shops give you grief, find a Good FAMILY bike shop) and see what it would cost to have it "converted" to
flat bar so you can keep the largest part of the, "performance level" your use to, jmho. You'd need flat bar, brake levers, shifters, (IF, the normal "trigger" shifters won't work for you, have them use, high end, "CLICK SHIFTERS"), with click shifters you really only need the "index finger and thumb to shift". Putting "slick tires" on the MTB really won't cut it if you still want decent performance out of your ride.
NO, it will not be just as good as your current road bike set up BUT, it will work better for you and I really think you'd be happier than using the MTB with slick tires. I've done that myself and ended up selling the MTB and getting a more "road" worthy hybrid, which at least to me seems "BETTER". YMMV.