Hey folks,

I'm about to start commuting soon, having a 2012 Specialized HardRock at my disposal, and I was wondering what kind of adjustments I should and can make. I plan to ride ~14 miles a day, and my route consists mainly of asphalt roads and bike lanes, although there's a bit of dirt road and sidewalk.

Any advice is appreciated. After looking at an older thread, I would especially like to know if my tires (Fast Trak LK Sport 26x2.0) fit my needs and also what kind of fenders I should get (seeing as I have v-brakes).

Thanks!

get some tires that are smooth in the center with knobs on the sides. kenda kross plus comes to mind. should be ~$15 apiece.

Thanks for the quick reply.

I don't know if it matters, but perhaps I should also mention that my route is quite hilly at times.

Hills? Good thing you have a triple crank on there.

Check out fenders at your Local Bike Shop (LBS) ; I'm fan of the Planet Bike black polycarbonate fenders for my commuters, your LBS should be able to offer better advice with the bike in hand.

I rode an older hardrock for years. The best thing I ever did was put on slick tires (Specialized Fatboys in my case). In my experience, they were much faster than knobbies & made for a more enjoyable ride. The other thing you might want to do is put on some bar ends & possibly ergon grips. Bar ends for more hand positions/ ergons if your hands go numb during the ride.

It doesn't look like your fork has a lockout, so adjust it to be as stiff as humunly possible for road riding. Shocks just suck up all your power, especially on hills.

You'll be wanting more of a road tire. I personally like 26 x 1.5" Serfas Drifter tires for mountain bike conversions. They have decent flat protection, and roll pretty well. They're really good in the rain.

https://www.amazon.com/Serfas-Drifter.../dp/B003BYUL2E



Cheap fenders are always good. I like the plastic Planet bike fenders. Longer fenders are better. The Planet Bike Full ATB fenders work well.

Thanks a lot for the help, guys.

AlmostGreenGuy: As a matter of fact, my fork does have a lockout, but I was unaware of its importance in hill-riding. I did feel like I was putting too much effort into climbing "easy" hills. Thanks a lot for the info. The tires look great! I'll check if the bike shops in my area sell them. About the fenders - do they fit easily into MTBs such as the Hardrock, or should I let a pro handle that?

MK313: Thanks. How do the Fatboys handle dirt roads, and how prone are they to flats?

Scarlight, I completely missed the part of your post about the dirt trails. Please ignore my comment about slicks. They are great for turning the Hardrock into a commuter, but not great for dirt trails. You'll be happier with some of the other tires recommended on this thread (unless they are relatively flat dirt paths, more like an unpaved bike path that an off-road trail-in which case the fatboys or other slicks would be fine.) I have not had any flats ever on a fatboy, so I'd say they are pretty good. But aside from a stint with Continental Gatorskins I have never really had a problem with flats on any tires I've ridden.

They're very easy to install, as long as you have mounting points on the front fork.