ian123

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ian123

ok just answered my own question https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...bike-2274.html

lambo_vt

You certainly could do it, but why? The bike was free; if it works leave it alone and save for a bike you really want.

cycle16v

Last year, I used my Giant mountain bike to commute to work. I went out to Performance Bike and bought the Performance brand 26" 1.25 inch tires, tubes, and Slime and I was set.

I got from point A to point B just fine. However, I just felt my 19 mile commute could have gone a lot faster if I were on a road bike.

One thing I did notice is it took some time for me to transition the ride/feel back to my road bike on the weekends. My hands would forget how to shift up or down.

I agree with Lambo in saying saving your money though to buy a purpose built bike if you can. Don't pour a lot of money into this bike if ultimately you're going to find out you need a road bike like I did.

But hey- You gotta do what you gotta do. I was just happy to be riding my bike to work. Enjoy!

jgedwa

I am a fan of old GTs. The Outpost was nothing all that special, but its a solid bike, nevertheless. I have one with a monstrously ugly redish/orangish splatter paintjob that I use for my winter bike. I like it.

You will not readily be able to get larger wheels on it and still get the brake pads to line up with the rims. There really is no reason to do so, however. As another poster wrote, you can put narrow slicks on it and get them to roll as smoothly as road wheels/tires. In fact, I am inclined to say that an old, rigid MTB with slicks makes for a fantastic all-around bike.

Are you sure you want to replace the drivetrain? Bike components are pretty expensive, and you will quickly find yourself in the price range of a new bike unless you have a secret stash somewhere. Sure the components on there already can be cleaned and tuned up? If so, you might consider changing cables and housings and go from there. Maybe that (and a good cleaning/lubing) is all you need. Or maybe a new chain and cassette.

Bikes like that are remarkably robust, and might be surprised how readily it can be brought back to life with a little work and money. If you are interested in doing this, clean it up, see what you have to deal with, and then start asking questions in the Mechanics forum. They are very good at helping out projects like this.

jim

Sawtooth

+1. My jamis fits me just right so that when I am long and low on it I am in just as aero a position as some of my road bikes. Plus, with 1.5 or 1 inch slicks, it is really just as fast. I should ride mine more.

Is the drive train worn out or something?

I am in the process of upgrading my jamis from 7 speed to 9 speed but I don't really expect any performance advantage from doing so. It is really just because I have the parts to do it and hate to see them sitting around. I guess it will give me a couple of additional teeth on the big cog.

ian123

Nope not sure of anything! I am buying another bike, but i want to keep this one too because i have grown fonder than expected of it! Yes i know it is low end, but imo it is tough and neat looking/ feels great. And in that link that i posted that transformation surprised me. yeah im willing to spend a couple hundred. The chainrings have issues and need to be replaced..... and i want heavier gears lol my 125 pounds can be prepelled quite easily! already replaced the tires to panaracer pasela 1.5 and the crappy plastic pedals are now medal=) i love the old gt's too why they soldout to walmart brand i do not know!!! Ok fine... im convinced to keep smaller wheels, i just was wondering had anyone done it and then i found that link and it happened to be an old gt=) thanks replies all

jgedwa

Great. I think you are going in the right direction.

You need new chainrings or new cranks? What is wrong?

What do you mean by "heavier gears"? Is the bike geared too high or too low for you? If one of these two, then you can likely solve this problem if you get bigger or smaller chainrings. Or a bigger/smaller cassette, of course.

GT's have sort of a cult following. I count myself in that cult.

jim

ian123

sry for my confusing terminology. by heavier i mean higher. yes that is my plan to put bigger chain ring or smaler cassette, and the crank i will keep, so i guess not the entire drive train will be replaced. the cassettes and the chainrings are worn and teeth are bent bent etc. bike is 15 years old so that is expected imo.

jgedwa

The age hardly matters, especially since the components on a bike like that seem to be carved from stone. (I mean that in both the good and bad way).

But you have worn and bent teeth, so the point is moot. With luck, you should be able to do this with little work and money. And don't forget the chain the cables/housings.

Post pics of it in C&V, they will appreciate the bike.

j

rnorris

Same here, even smaller (5'3, 105). FWIW I've not found much speed difference at my size between bikes with 559's (26") and 700's, the tire width seems to have a larger effect than the diameter of the wheel. Your mileage may vary, as they say. In recent years I've trended toward having 26" wheels on all my bikes as it maximizes the clearances for fenders and the heavy boots I sometimes wear in the winter stay well clear of the smaller wheels.

Edit: I get to experiment with this now, because my new Marin comes with 559s and disc brakes. Am thinking of picking up a set of lightweight, narrow disc compatible 650's (I could ride on wheels with 2 spokes, I think) and swap them in for exclusively riding on the road.

Lambo

Skinny tires on the wheels you have now.
Continental Sport Contacts in 26 x 1.6

daxr

I've been commuting on my Giant w/2.1" knobbies all winter, no problems. In summer I have some cheap 1.5" slicks, but will probably switch to 26x1.5 SMP's next set.

I could ride my road bike but I'd have to kit-up, and then worry about the bike getting messed with and so forth. Its just easy on the mountain bike, and the speed difference doesn't amount to much over a 6 mile commute. If I had 10 or 20 miles to cover I'd probably get a cross bike, to fit tires to handle the snow.

JTGraphics

I have to ask why! do you want to replace the drive train and wheels? you can go buy a new cheap bike for less. Just go pick up a nice $300 bike and forget about it.

thehum

edit: i made the suggestion to change the tires to slicks then read that he already did.

Andy_K 

Changing out the chainrings and cogs may be cheap and easy, but it may also be a bigger headache than you'd imagine. What kind of gears do you have now? If it's a 7-speed freewheel, you can pick one of those up from JensonUSA for about $15 (you'll also need a couple of tools to take the old freewheel off).

Does it have indexed shifting? If not, then you can probably switch to a 7-speed freewheel if you've got a 6-speed now. But if you have indexed shifting, you'll end up wanting to replace the shifters too, and maybe the derailleur.

Replacing the chainrings will depend on being able to remove them from the crank. You can't do that on a lot of cheaper components, so you might need to replace the whole crankset. You used to be able to pick up a cheap Tourney crankset from Nashbar for $15, but right now it looks like ultra-cheap C051 for $10 or a Nashbar branded crankset with replaceable rings for $30. Either of those is likely to lead you to also replace the bottom bracket (another $25) and maybe the front derailleur.

You can see how this adds up to a new bike really quickly, but if everything aligns for you, you might be able to replace just the cogs and chainrings.

nahh

I see no difference on my main bike that has 26x1 1/8 Conti gatorskins, and my backup that has 700x25s.

ian123

because i like my bike. i dont want to get a cheep bike that wont be any better that would not be worth it. and i want the drive train to be geared a bit higher and since the chainrings are past their prime i figure why not just change it up a bit when i fix it. i was just wondering about the bigger wheels out of curiosity really. where can a i get a 300 dollar bike that is nice?? walmart? or used i guess. anyways, cash is not the issue for me right now. I am working on picking out a NICE bike right now, but i just cant find the one i want. So untill then i figure why not ride my cool, free, old gt and make it even cooler!

ian123

Nope not index shifting, has a 7 speed freewheel, looks like the deraillers have been replaced before, the chainrings do remove easily from crank, the crank is decent and bottom bracket will be fine. so hopefully just the cogs and chainrings (and chain) really by drivetrain i meant sprockets/chain lol (guess i gotta be careful how i word things!) thankyou for the info on the cheap products! So hopefully it will be doable cheep ill put up pics when i am done!