I just finished my first week of commuting by bike. I own a '97 Kona Firemountain and I worked it over last weekend converting it over to an urban commuter. Replaced the knobbys with narrower urban tires with slime tubes, added fenders, lights, bar ends, replaced the brake pads, and added a comfortable seat. Nothin' fancy but it works!

I ride 3 miles each way, with the ride home being all uphill. My goal is to do this all year and then reward myself with a new mountain bike this winter. I'm thinking the LBS's will be more willing to cut me a deal in the off season. Having been out of the bike world for several years I'm clueless as to what is available now in the mountain bike realm now days. This gives me time to get back in shape, shed some pounds, and shop! I will probably continue using this Kona as my daily commuter and the new mountain bike for the trails on the weekends. Here she is...

Looks like you've set it up well.
Welcome to BF and congrats on your commute!

Looks good! Keep it up!

The front fender...is....uhmm....

Yeah I think your front fender is mounted backwards?

Just go out there and ride. In time you will really be able to decide if a MTB is he right bike for your type of riding.

I like the PB Speedez fenders for hardtails.

Thanks guys! yeah the front fender is backwards...They are cheapys from walmart and the front fender won't fit through the front suspension forks to bolt correctly. I mounted it the way it is because it at least blocks some splash. I may go nuts and just cut it up so it will mount correctly. I'm trying be super cheap on this project for now and save the funds for this winter.

Hi,
Welcome to the forum and congratulations with the change in lifestyle.
You should start already thinking about which bike to buy after the year, but look into things with an open mind, consider ALL the options. Its great fun to study all the bikes available and try to figure out what would be the best buy.
If the bike is for commuting, a good idea would be to scroll through the commuter bicycle pics thread.

So things have changed a lot since I first posted this. Come to find out that Kona has a bent frame at the rear! Couldn't figure out why the chain was skipping under load. Replaced the chain, cassette, derailleurs, and rear wheel and still had problems. Had my father in law (he worked at an LBS for years) check it out and we found out the derailleur hanger was weakened from being bent several times in the past plus the frame was bent slightly. So having fallen in love with bike commuting already and not wanting to skip a beat I bought a 2010 Specialized Rockhopper Comp at my LBS and love it! I have been riding every single day, even on the weekends. My father in law happened to have a 2000 vintage Specialized Hardrock frame at his place I bought off of him and we are swapping the Kona components over to that frame so my wife will have a bike plus a back up for me. Currently my Rockhopper is back at the LBS having the crankset warrantied out because it was screwed up. Can't wait to get it back! Had to drive in to work today.