Originally Posted by
uksoundz
Hi, I have a GT Aggressor HT mountain bike, and want to commute to work on it, now I know this isn't an ideal bike but I love off roading on my days off etc and dont fancy buying another bike, anyway I like the GT.
I was wondering is their anything I could do (change tyres etc) to make it more of a commute worthy rig ?
The commute would be mainly on roads and is around 7 miles each way.
Thanks !
You will be fine on your bike, many of us here commute daily on MTB's.
I am in the same boat as you, I only have one bike (fully rigid MTB) and use it for daily commuting and some off-roading (and single tracks etc.). Here are some suggestions based on my experience:
I would recommend buying slicks to commute on. How wide tyres depends on the streets you will be riding and how harsh ride you are willing to take. I ride a rigid MTB with 1.95" slicks (during summer time i.e.).
Buy some fenders! Consider installing full fenders for commuting. This does depend on location a little bit (yearly downpour) but I think Yorkshire is a relatively wet place. Full fenders will not only keep you dry (or somewhat drier) but will also keep your drive-train cleaner and thus lower your need for maintenance.
You do have a suspension fork. It is not ideal for commuting but it will work fine and you will probably not be bothered by it at all, but a rigid fork would be a better choice for commuting. I did notice your post on the mechanics forum (about your fork being seized). If it turns out that it can not be saved you should consider replacing it with a rigid fork or with a suspension fork with a lock-out feature (of course since your current fork is seized you could just redefine it as a rigid fork
)
I change my tires and remove my full fenders when I go mountain biking. It takes me about 30 minutes. This can be a pain in the rear, but I rather want my bike to be fit for commuting and invest these 30 minutes in the change than commute on knobby tires or without full fenders.
p.s. Welcome to the forums
