Hi everyone,

I have an urge to get my hands a bit dirty. I've been startign to commute on my roadie and it's making me a little uncomfortable. Basically I can't be as mean to it as I would like and I have to clean it so often (it's white). And even the smallest amount of water on the ground makes me keep it inside.

So I am thinking of getting a dedicated commuter bike to ease my mind. The trouble is I'm trying to do it on the cheap side, so I am considering options that make a good commuter whilst also being cheap.

There appears to be more and more new bikes available especially targeted as commuters. But for me they are a bit pricey, especially disc brake versions (which is what I would like). So I am thinking of commutafying a decent second hand mountain bike if I can get my hands on one.
There are a number of options to make it more commuter friendly, these include of course...

-Changing knobby tires to slicks - as thin as the rim will allow (I think it's normally around 1.5")
-Changing suspension fork to rigid fork
-Swapping wheels to 700c to fit an even thinner tire on (probably 700 x 28)

So my questions relate to how hard are these things to do, both in physically doing them and figuring out compatibility issues. For example, changing a tire is relatiavely easy, but how can you find out the thinnest tire able to fit on your rim?

Regarding the forks - how do you figure out what a compatible fork is? I would probably get this one installed by a pro.

Swapping wheels - again, is it possible to go to 700c on all MTB frames? Particulalry if you want the disc brakes to stay.

And I'm not feeling in the mood to give up and just by a cyclocross.

For all the work you intend to do to a second-hand MTB to make it as close to a roadie as possible, why not just get a second-hand roadie?

What you wanted to do with tires reminds of a quote from an illustrious forum member:For the past, I dunno, forever it seems, entry-level roadies have all included rack and fender mounts. Four years ago I picked up a second-hand Trek 1000. There's enough room in the frame and fork for 28mm without fenders, 25mm with. I run 25s.

All I had to do was install the rack, fenders I put on and off according to season, and I replaced the brake pads with Kool-Stop (salmon) for the wet. Along with lights, which I swap among all my bikes, and it was all set.

The other nice thing about it being entry-level, is that it's 8-speed. Chains last 1,000 miles longer than on my 10-speed, and cost about a third.

I did eventually upgrade the wheels, but it was because I wanted to, rather than needed to. I stayed with 32-spoke in the rear and they're still true as the day I bought them, three years ago.

I am with tsl, the stuff you want to change about a mtb is going to jump the build price up to the cost of a secound hand bike that is closer to what you want. I would recomend a cyclecross bike, I have seen used Surlys go for the 500 to 800 range for a really nice bike and they are bullet proof. Mine is my commuter and before that I used it as a light duty mtb.

As far as the disc brakes go...........look into Avid shorty 4's. I have discs on my mtb and the shortys on my CX commuter and the avids are almost as good in my opinion.

Without an actual bike its tough to say how hard or easy something is in order to commuterize it. Most things aren't that difficult to do if you have the knowledge, time, and equipment necessary to do it.

Is that fork the original? I haven't seen too many forks on entry level roadies with fender mounts.

No. The original fork was bent when we were hit by a Pontiac in April 2009. The Wound Up fork was a replacement. Now that was hard to find. Near as I can tell, it's the only carbon road fork with a 1" steerer (carbon too!) and fender eyelets. Even then it had to be special-ordered.

Here's Yellow Bike with its original CroMoly fork--which also had fender eyelets.



I haven't examined all the 2011s yet, but through last year, all the top tier makers' entry-level road bikes had fender eyelets, and many of the second tier makers' too. One of the things you give up on "better" road bikes are fender eyelets.

Interesting.
I've always like the idea of disc brakes on a commuter. I've been keeping an eye out for second hand bikes, particularly cyclocross, but nothing has come up in my size. Would most frames and rim accept a 700 x 28 tire? I like the idea of a slightly wider one, and something I can throw around a bit more.

My all-seasons all-conditions commuter has disc brakes. In the rain and the snow I wouldn't have it any other way. Disc brake road bikes are very rare and carry a price premium. It's a premium I happily paid, and I was delighted to be able to do so. Then again, we get four months of snow bracketed by three months of wet on either end. Even our dry season is wet compared to Aus.

My other commuter, the one shown above, originally cost me $100. When it comes to stopping in the wet, KoolStop salmon pads are the thing to use on rim brakes. They grip without being grabby, and they don't disintegrate like other pads do. They're a very close second to discs.

Touring and cyclocross bikes will generally accept 28s and larger with fenders. Most "road" frames will not. If you look closely at Yellow Bike's front end you see how close-fitting the fenders are with 25s.