Commuting on a front sus'ed MTB?
 

Does anyone commute exclusively on a MTB with front suspension? Did you make any street-worthy mods to make the ride smoother?

Got some ideas rollon' around in my head for my HardRock....

Plenty of people use hard tails to commute on. If you only have the space for one bike and like to go play in the dirt, they make perfect sense. Only real drawback is that of fitting a proper fender up front.

The main street worthy mod is to replace the tires with narrower slicks!

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=257760
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=257761

I commute on those. The bike with racks is my favorite because its much cheaper and thus less likely to be stolen. It has Dual purpose tires fitted (not sure if they are in that photo), a 48t front ring, rack and basket on the back. The mtb is setup for more speed and offroad with rock shock tora and discs for single track as well as road.

I commuted on a front sus MTB for a couple of years, but not exclusively. Mods started with 1.5 inch slicks, then fenders, and then a drop bar conversion. Kept the suspension. Alas, that bike was destroyed in a collision with a car. :( It was a neat experiment, and worthwhile in my opinion, but I would never build up something like that from scratch.

I use one and love it, especially for bad weather and lots of debris on the roads. Alternate with a hybrid commuter. I switched out knobbies for wide smooth tires, put fenders, rack, panniers, raised the handlebars with a stem riser, added lights.

If you're riding on paved roads, it would be a good idea to completely get rid of the shocks. It's extra weight, and the squishy suspension makes for much less efficient pedaling. I recently borrowed a friend's fully suspended MTB for a ride into town on the bike path, and I was stunned by how slow and mushy it felt.

i commute on this:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=257803

i didn't have a bike in Germany (gave away my bikes to friends when I moved from sweden) and wanted to start the stable with an MTB because it's the most versatile and excellent single-track riding can be reached here by subway.

the suspension can be locked-out and i have the rebound adjust set really high (stiff). also, i do like the suspension and the wider tires because the bike paths here are often made from pavers.

also, i want something that I can throw a baby seat on the back of, which rules out most road bikes. also, i think drop bars are kinda ridiculous unless you're actually riding very seriously and would be pretty much useless for touring over here, so I didn't consider them.

however, after logging about 1200km of commuting I do have a few concerns:

1. I would get a bike with a trekking front crank (with 48T in the front) ... they're quite common
2. My bike has all of the equipment for metal fender installation front/rear and rack installation rear, but not all do.
3. if you'll be on road most of the time look for 20x700c (20-622) wheels/tires and they'll be more efficient.
4. I really enjoy the disc brakes and highly recommend them in the wet

If I know what I knew now, I would go with this (cheapest disc brake model in the CUBE line-up) ... non-disc brake models are roughly 400€ / those with discs are roughly 500€ new:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=257805

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=257806

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=257807

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=257808

I do commute on a MTB, it has a sturdy feel (as the road to work has quite a number of bumps and the like), but it also feels mushy, heavy (not that I mind the extra leg work), and strong headwinds can be quite annoying. I jump up and down quite a number of sidewalks along the route so I'm guessing a road bike would not be the best for me anyways..

That said, a couple months ago an expensive-looking road bike passed by my side on the commute, guy looked at me and mumbled 'ah damn bumpy roads'.. Put a smile to my face haha

My last two commuting bikes have been hardtails.

However the current one's front suspension died, and they were not able to be disassembled, so I replaced them with stiff forks, losing a pile of weight.

Unless you really need it, I would replace the front tyre and add at least front fenders. That stuff that flicks up off the front wheel and sits in the air waiting for your panting mouth and open eyes isnt nice pure water.

z

Suspension is generally going to be heavier than a rigid fork, and will soak up a portion of your pedalling effort. However, front suspension isn't too bad in this respect, especially if you can stiffen the suspension up for road riding. It can also come in handy for absorbing shocks from rough roads.

I'd fit some slick tyres as well as fenders and see how you get on. You can get fenders with a reasonable coverage that attach to just the reflector mount on the unsprung part of the fork. You may even have fork eyelets for normal fenders.

+1

Sounds like a genuine plan to me! :thumb:

I commute only on my mtn bike. It does have front suspension but I always lock it out. I tried one time with it unlocked but it sucked and I lost too much power. I put city slick tires on the bike, horn, two lights, two blinkies for the back, and spoke reflectors.

My commuter is a hardtail mountain bike with front suspension. The only road speciffic changes I've made to it are putting on fat semi-slick tires, 2.1 Continental Town & Country and a fair amount of 3M reflective tape. I like this set-up for it's ruggedness and versitility. Yes, my commute is entirely on pavement, but that also includes train tracks, broken concrete, curbs and a lot of stop lights. I figure that since the local Bike Patrol Police use/used essentially the same set-up, it will work just as well for me. Also with this set-up, I have a second set of wheels with knobby tires already mounted, so when I want to hit some good single track all I have to do is take a minute to swap out the wheels.

Better than a road bike! Maxxis 26 x 2.5in Hookworms at 40PSI, adjustable travel and lockout - damn the potholes!! ... full speed ahead!

Extra entertainment value comes from passing other commuters (including roadies) who are using the paved bicycle path while I'm on the unpaved single track that runs parallel to it.

Yes. Im commuting on a Marin Coast Trail MTB.

Replaced the stock plastic pedals with platforms and a pair of 5.10's. Replaced the stock saddle with a Bella Italia Ldy. Replaced the knobbies with Michelin "City" tires. They made the ride a little stiffer, but much faster.

Added bar ends, white blinkie front light, red blinkie rear light, wireless computer, Topeak DX Pro Tourist rack, Ortleib panniers, bar end mirror, front fender, clip on water bottle holder, TiGr lock. I have some bright lights for winter...they may need to be replaced this year.

How well do the Hookworms hold up over time? One of the things that I like about the Town & Country tires is the big thick continuous band that takes all the abuse and wear. I'm always on the look out for better/different tires.

I'm thinking of breathing life back into my 2002 trek 6500 as a commuter. I did pickup a nice road bike, but i would love to have something with flat pedals, lights and storage. Anyone ever replace the front forks on a 6500 with straight forks/no shocks? any brand/kit i should look out for that is pretty much a swap out?

Easiest and cheapest upgrade ever was to ditch the suspension fork for a steel rigid fork. The loss of weight and gain in efficiency greatly improved the bike. Suspension forks have their place, but not on a commuter bike.

one of the first bikes i started commuting on was an old raleigh hard tail. over the years i made some commuting specific mods to it:

- ditched the suspension fork for a rigid one
- swapped out old wheel set and wide tires for narrow slicks and a lighter wheel set
- upsized the drive train for pavement riding (from a 42-34-24 chainring to a 48-38-28)
- swapped out flat bar for a more aerodynamic bullhorn set-up with reverse pulls



it started out like this:

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/4124/newbike2.jpg






and ended up like this (shown below with wider studded tires for winter), before it was destroyed in a collision with a bus:

http://img852.imageshack.us/img852/3...llhorns002.jpg

I used to commute to work on a Marin B-17...its almost a 40lb downhill MTB with 130mm of travel in the front. It was hard, but I have never been as strong since stopping. Upgraded to a GF Marlin with 60mm travel and lockout, was awesome. Wish I switched to slicks, but the suspension was a nice option. Currently rebuilding a mid-90s rigid Univega for commuting...I figure it will fare better than my Motobecane. I'd say its a personal choice, depending on your fitness and desire to work.

IMO, go for it. Your body will thank you, eventually.

EDIT: my commute was only 4.5mi each way back then and I was 16/17, now its 17mi each way and I'm 22.

For the past 4 months I've been commuting ( 12 miles round trip ) on my 2002 Trek 4900, not as nice as a 6500, but it serves the purpose.
Left the front suspension for now; think it's too old to spend the time and money to switch to rigid.
( if you want to change it out, there are some corrected rigid forks out there. Nashbar, Surly, etc.)
I just put some street tires on it and ride.

That may be the easiest and cheapest but not the best. The best is to get a lockable, high quality suspension fork and leave the bike as a mountain bike that can still be used as a mountain bike. If you are going to ride a mountain bike with slick tires and a rigid fork, there are far better choices out there. Personally I commute on any one of these

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_0765.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMGP2562.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMGP2566.jpg

as they sit with knobbies and everything. I also look for places to ride where I can take advantage of the 'mountain bikeness' of the bikes. Commuting doesn't always have to be about efficiency and/or speed. It can be about fun too.

And, if you are trying to lose weight or build fitness, pushing knobbies on any surface does a better job of it in fewer miles than a road bike.

I agree :D

I feel that I'm burning way more calories than suggested in the calories computer by riding casually (13mph) for one hour per day. The amount of effort expended by riding a knobby-tired MTB at 13MPH feels so much greater with a 44T upfront seem so much greater than riding on a slick-tired trekking bike with 700c wheels and a 48T upfront.

I dunno about that, on my road bike there is no such thing as casual, the second i click in i just want to go fast and feel the wind in my face.. on my MTB, i can drop that thing into gears so low i don't even know i'm going up a hill ;)