Considering MTB for Commute - Pros/Cons
 

Today I ride a cyclocross bike to commute. I am wanting to retire it from that task so I can put it back to work learning the game of CX, and getting back into racing (I race backwards, trying to avoid losing - DFL - rather than winning) CX. I have an opportunity for a steal of a deal on a 26" MTB. I know the rage today is a 29er, but this one is such a good deal I may not be able to make myself pass it up.

I have an 8-mile commute. The return has three substantial hills. I usually get to work in about 30 minutes, home in 40 or so.

Is the MTB going to significantly lengthen my commute time?

Will I be able to mount my panniers so that I don't have that danged heel strike on the bags?

Anything else worth considering that I maybe haven't?

The bike is a 2011 Giant Revel, mechanical disk brakes, $200.

Or should I save more for something else?

I appreciate your advice (and I am a year-round commuter, using my road bike in summer weather).

Hmmm...thinking about it more, I am going to hold off on the purchase. Need a bit better bike, I think. But I still would appreciate your opinions on MTB v skinny tire for commute.

I'd put smooth tires on it, but otherwise you're good to go. You'll notice slower speeds. Just accept it and go. I rode my single speed to work on my 12 mile commute and had a hard time accepting the slower speed at first. After I did, it was a good ride. Even then, it only made a difference in maybe 10 minutes.

put street tires on itand enjoy the ride.. You may not like the bobbing of the suspension fork,
but that can be exchanged for a rigid one , or..

Once the price tag passes $999. .. they start to feature lock out mechanisms in the fork


Lots of other options are getting a wider 700c wheel bike with a triple crank, but if the weekends
include mountainbiking , too. then the tire swap will put you in both purposes.. for the same bike..

That's a good deal. Go for it.

I just made the switch this month. Previously I had used a Surly LHT with 700x25 Schwalbe Marathons and Drop bars. to commute (13 mi each way). The new ride is a Surly Ogre w. 700x50 tires, upright Surly Open bars and a Rohloff hub. I commute over rolling hills in the suburbs west of Boston

My commute is not noticeably harder, it takes me 5-10 minutes longer (but my only experience on the new bike has been in very cold and icy weather so that may be part of the reason) The Rohloff has been stiff during the break-in, so I believe that has contributed to the slowness as well. I have found no ill effects from upright position; my butt, hands and neck are all happy. Blasting over the rough stuff on the side of the road has been a huge plus and the upright position is much better for appreciating the scenery around me.

All in all, I'm loving the switch and will not go back, even in the summer.

Steve

I use a MTB for commuting, an old Trek hardtail/fixed fork model. I wouldn't want suspension. I put slicks on it, but otherwise it is pretty much stock. In comparing commute times on my 10 mile commute between this bike vs. my 16 lb. carbon road bike, it may make a 5 minute difference, mostly because I can ride uphill faster on the road bike. Otherwise, the traffic and road conditions determine my top speed. Really, I can't ride at 25mph on Manhattan streets on my roadie, in fact I really have to take it easy to feel safe.

I'd say go for it. (btw, my mtb cost me $150 used, I wouldn't spend too much.)

As a rule a MTB with slicks and a solid fork, make a good choice for a commuter.

<----That is a 2006 Kona Smoke. Though marketed as a hybrid/urban bike (part of their asphalt line up), it is essentially a rigid mtb with 26x1.5 slick(ish) tires and 42/34/24 triple and 11-32 cassette. Back when I had a commute, avg speed was 14 mph, cruising speed was 17 mph, and my "I shouldn't have hit the snooze that third time..." was on the high side of 21 mph. It also has 16.3" chain stays, so heel strike has been an issue.

In other words, it can be done on a 26" mtb.

A mountain bike with a rigid fork and street tires is a lot more rugged and versatile then a road bike. You can even put drop bars on it and with road tires you'll be almost as fast as a road bike and a lot more comfortable. Plus you can get off the road if neccessary and take all types of short cuts and trails that would kill a road bike. The pros outnumber the cons so I'll choose a MTB.

most entry level MTBs should have lock-out forks (even the €400 ones here do.)

Why not have two bikes for commuting?

Besides, always good to have a back up in case one is down for repairs or an early morning flat.

To answer your question, I actually prefer drops bars and skinnier tires over a heavy steel MTB with 26x1.5 slicks. I like the varied hand positions that drop bars provide vs a flat bar, too.

Really though, your choice may have more to do with where you ride. And with an 8 mile commute, time difference will be minimal.

I would look for an old rigid mountain bike (no suspension) from the 80s/90s. For $200 you could get a very nice vintage MTB that has eyelets for racks and fenders. Put on some slick tires and you'll be ready to commute

I actually run 3 bikes for my commute. One setup with racks, a rear basket, and snow tires on a basic mtb 21 speed as my mule. The second is a cheap roadie converted to flat bars as a lighter faster option for good wrather. The last is a fuji famed mtb running deore all round with rock shox tora and mt15 wheels. Cost a.lot more than the other two combned but heres nowhere it can't go... and it makes an awesome commuter with slicks and the shocks locked out.

I switched from a fixed fork to a suspension fork for my commute and I love it. All the banging that my old bike did over the smallest of bumps, let alone uneven pavement and potholes that are sometimes unavoidable, are erased by my MTB w/suspension front fork. I thought my fixed fork was going to crack. I am considering using a slicker/thinner tire, though.

There are several different models of the Revel line - none of them are exceptional. Personally I like what you already have.

At most you're probably going to add 5 minutes to your commute, maybe less with smooth tires. I switch from a road bike to mountain bike in the winter and I have 7 mile commute, and the difference for me is less than 5 minutes.

Love commuting on my current steel monstercross (Origin8 CX700) buildup but...

One of my all time favs is still my old mid 90's steel trek mountain bike w/ upgraded everything including Long Haul Trucker forks running Big Apples, racked, of course. Super smooth, simple, durable, versatile, and fun. Allows me to take routes not possible on roadier setups and not that much slower on the city streets, anyway. Estimated 25-30K miles on this old steel frame, much of it pulling a trailer/trailabike w/ one or two of my 4 kiddos. Quite a good bit of it off pavement. My mtn bike is still a wonderful commuter setup for me in the conditions here in austin, tx.

Keys to this type of setup are steel frame and forks, wide smooth rolling tires w/ flat protection, good fitting saddle, and racks.
Fill in the blanks.
my two cents...

Realistically, a mountain bike with mountain bike tires is only going to be marginally slower on pavement. My definition of 'marginally' may differ from others but I only notice a 1 to 3 mph average difference...on pavement.

But why buy a mountain bike and then consign it to doing pavement duty? I commute by bike all year around and about 1/2 the trips are made by mountain bike. On those trips that I make by mountain bike, I try to find places where the mountain bike is in it's element. Riding off-road...even on flat trails...breaks up the monotony of the commute. Bicycling should be about the journey as much as the destination.

Another thing I like about the converted old mtn bike setup is the versatility of gearing and how easy it is to change. You can run an old mtn bike w/ 1, 2, or 3 rings up front and from 11-36 teeth in the rear. Major gearing choices for speed, hills, dirt, loads, trailers, whatever.

Currently running a triple (28, 38, 48) and sram 990 11-32 cassette in the rear because I pull a trailer so often on our hills, bike paths, and dirt, here.

I also like a double up front w/ about 34 and 50 teeth with around 11-25 road type spacing in the rear. This gives a little more elegant shifting/gearing when used mainly on city streets.

My winter commute is seven miles each way. I recently switched from 700x28 Conti GP 4 Seasons to 700x35 Schwalbe Marathon Supremes. I am genuinely surprised how much difference it is making in my speed, particularly when I don't over-inflate the new tires. At ~65 psi, I'd say my average speed has been about 1.5 to 2 mph slower, and I'm definitely feeling it more in the quads. On the flip side, when I took my road bike out this weekend with its 700x25's, I couldn't believe how much harsher the ride was.

Anyway, more to the point, even though my new tires have apparently slowed me down, the ride only takes around two minutes longer. I figure I'm gaining traction, visibility (reflective sidewalls) and comfort while also most likely getting a better workout (so maybe my fitness will suck a little less next CX season). I expect you'd see similar results by switching to a mountain bike, maybe a bit more slow down if you use a squishy fork.

I think the bigger difference would be in riding position. I don't really like flat bars and so I've never been happy commuting on a mountain bike without at least long bar ends. I just prefer drop bars for comfort. Wide tires are definitely nice, though.

Commuting on pavement? Then you will shed of speed on an MTB. It is a combination of the extra weight, the energy-robbing suspension bob, the ridiculously wide Q-factor of MTB cranksets, the extra wind resistance and most of all the heavy wheels and knobby tires.

You could recover some of this inefficiency by changing over the tires to something as light, high pressure and as narrow as possible. Slicks of course. Since the MTB wheels are way overbuilt for road use, using some lighter, cross type wheels would be the second biggest upgrade. Then ditch the unnessecary suspension fork for something rigid. This will remove the suspension bob, and tighten up the steering. Then lose the heavy, unncessary disk brakes. Then add some drop bars so that you have more hand positions. My wrists and hands go dead after a few miles while riding on flat bars on pavement. On anything but short convenience store rides, drop bars are more comfortable and far more efficient.

Next upgrade would be to change out the overbuilt frame of the MTB to something lighter and with a narrower Q-factor.

Personally I really like big fat slicks. On a 26" wheel AND on 700 series wheels. One of the advantages of your CX is that it has the clearance for wider tires. Good chance you can already run 700 x 50c slicks on there now and be driving a 29er monstercross.

Funny, I actually disagree with everything except your points about the suspension and knobby tires.

Weight - Add a rack, panniers/bag, lock, lights, fenders, etc to a bike, and the original weight of the bike isn't a big deal anymore.

Tires - There is little time difference between my road bike (700x23), MTB with 1.25" slicks, and MTB with 2.15" Schwalbe Big Apple slicks. For my every day 35 mile round trip commute, you can pry my Big Apples from my cold, dead hands. They feel a bit heavier when accelerating from a stop, but that's about it. The comfort advantage of getting to run them at 30psi and having them absorb crappy road surfaces is well worth it. Agree on getting rid of knobby tires though, slicks are the way to go.

Lighter wheels - No thanks, I'll take durable over lightweight. My road and tri bikes have light wheels, but they also don't need to go up and down curbs, hit potholes, and do whatever else I need on my commute.

Disc brakes - Not that much heavier than conventional brakes, and superior performance when it's wet or snowy out. I'd opt for a nice set of cable-actuated discs over hydraulic ones though, for ease of maintenance.

Drop bars - Personal preference. I have plenty of hand positions on my flat MTB bar with stubby bar ends. Ergon grips help here.

Overbuilt MTB frame - Overbuilt = durable. Q-factor? Again, why bother talking aerodynamics on a commuter, any gain you get from a narrower Q-factor goes right out the window once you start adding commuting bits like racks and fenders.

http://blewsclues.com/multimedia/ima...g/IMAG1992.jpg

+1 for everything you said.

That's a very nice set-up you have there :)