Hi all,

Attached are a few pics of the bicycle that I ride. It is an old mountain bike, I believe a cheap department-store brand (though there is almost no information about it online so I don't really know much about the brand or the quality of the bike). I got it for free, and have done some basic work to bring it into working order (replaced chain, cables) and now it rides just fine. However, I'm thinking about maybe adapting it to make it more commuter-friendly. What would you suggest I do? I am more or less a beginner when it comes to bicycle mechanics/ maintenance, but would like to become more knowledgeable.

Primarily I'm thinking of changing the tires, and the handlebars. It'd be nice to get some slimmer tires, and I'd also like some dropped handlebars. However I took it into the local bike shop the other day, and the guy there told me that in order to put on road-style tires I'd probably need new rims. He also suggested that to switch up the handlebars would be a bit of work, given that my brakes and gears are designed for the flat-bar handles. Is this true, and if so, do you think this would be more trouble than it's worth? I don't really want to buy a new bike, especially since I can live with what I've got. Again, I suspect the bike itself isn't worth much, but then I didn't pay anything for it either. What would you do if you were me?

Also, looking at the tires I have now, do you think I would notice a significant difference in speed/ feel with road tires? I've never ridden a good-quality road bike so I don't have much to compare to, though with my current tires the ride is smooth enough. The guy at the store mentioned the tires I have on now are pretty good (not sure if he was just being patronizing). I should also mention that I live in a notoriously pothole-ridden city…

Thanks for any thoughts you may have.

Those old MTB rigs make nice commuters.
I definitely like drop bars better. I think(?) that one would be easy to change over . . . Something drop, but low drop, like 'Cross bars. Another option would be bullhorn bars which would accommodate your existing levers and stuff. MEasure first, though
The only other things I'd do would be skinnier, road style tires, of which a lot of companies make stuff that will fit. Schwalbe Big Apples for instance, but flat resistant for sure!! A flat on your way into work is really, really an undesirable situation. Spent the money on good tires and look at it like an insurance policy. a few lights and blinkies ( I cheap out and get nice lights at CVS for way less money that bike specific from the shop) and mirror would turn that into a real nice commuter. Maybe fenders later if you re so inclined? In summation, that is the basis for a nice utility rig !

Depends on your commute. If you are sure you'll be on smooth roads the whole time, might go with the skinny road tires for better speed/efficiency. If, like me, you have to go through a bunch of gravel and poorly paved roads, you might want to stay with the mountain bike tires.

The main thing I would do is put a rack on the back. Very few things I hate more than a long commute while carrying a heavy backpack full of my laptop, change of clothes, and various bike tools (and any groceries I had to get along the way). Dragging a 15-20 pound pack on your back for a 30 mile round trip commute can be brutal.

Welcome to the Forums

1. Tires: You don't need to swap to skinnier tires. You can get wide, smooth(er) tires and that will improve your ride a bit. Also, wider tires offer more cushion from surface imperfections (like potholes).
2. Handlebars: The guy at the LBS was right- swapping to drops will get pricey in a hurry, especially if you pay them to do it.

I would just put on fenders, rack and bar-ends on the handlebars and keep everything else the way it is. Ride it for a while and see how it feels.

I wouldn't do anything to your bike. It's yours, not mine, after all. What do I think you should do to your bike? Sell it.

Alright, all kidding aside, rack and fenders, and some narrower slicks, bar ends, clipless pedals, new saddle and remove the reflectors.

Smooth tires, a rear rack, and good lights.

well, some easy stuff: put on some bar ends (gives you another hand position), rack, rear basket and fenders. oh and a handlebar bag (you can get one cheap at walmart that has a nice capacity). I use the handlebar bag to hold tubes, multi-tool, tire levers. If you ride at night a light (cree 1200 lumen light on amazon for something like $20)... I also put on thinner tires in order to make the bike more spritely...

New tires first. There are plenty of slick tires out there for MTB wheels. New saddle second.

The change to drop bars sounds simple, but isn't. I converted an old MTB to drop bars and I did it by using old road levers with travel agents plus clamp-on downtube shifters. It's not the prettiest, but it works.

Agree. Looks like a good all-round setup as it is, just a few tweaks & you'll be good to go!

Post any updates!!

- Andy

Since your city is riddled with potholes, keep your current tires. Once they wear out (and they WILL wear out), then get some slicks of the same wide width. Wide tires survive rough surfaces better than narrow tires and they're more comfortable too.

You'll need fenders, if you don't want mud and wet crap cycling up your back and legs (like from puddles, potholes, and such)...

If you'll be carrying stuff like extra clothing, laptops, books, lunch, groceries, etc, you'll need a rack.

Don't bother with switching to drop handlebars, because that'll be way too expensive. Perhaps bull handlebars or something...Research different bars and decide if you'd prefer a different style from what you currently have, that'll be worth it.

Join a bicycle co-op first, before you actually do anything.

Good Luck!

....and fenders.

The tires I think are good enough. they're not too knobby. Maybe barend handles for extra hand position.

I converted a MTB for commuting 15 years ago and my suggestions are: wide road tires. Biggest front chainring you can fit for better high-speed cruising (53-tooth for me) and bar ends. On some bikes you can simply unbolt the chain ring and install the new one without removing anything else.

How wide do you think for the OP? I personally just did a 1.5x26 setup and it seems quite plush... but I know that's the skinnier end of the spectrum.

mudguards and maybe a Wald front basket , to carry stuff,

and a really good lock to have it's still be there when you come out from school, Or Shopping.

Thanks all for the suggestions! Seems like the consensus is that I should get fenders and a rack. So I'm going to do that right away. I think I'll stick with the current tires for now, maybe switch them to some wide road tires once the current ones wear out a bit more. I'm going to look into bar-ends as well.

Thanks!

Take a look at the Trekking handlebars too. They'd be easy to adapt on. Fenders, rack, lights, a pannier bag of some sort and you're good to go. On rough streets, you want to keep the bigger tires. Look around and see if there's a bike project shop with second hand parts like fenders and racks, along with workstations you can use. Check the army surplus stores as you might find bags you can easily (and cheaply) adapt as panniers. You've got a good, very useable bike that should keep you going for years.

A lot of the answers to your questions depend on your riding conditions. Distance, terrain, loads carried, time constraints, availability of showers or changing facilities, etc, etc, etc. I have been commuting for years and spent a lot of time reading about commuting and although there is a lot of great advice, some of it is silly in the face of what the given commute is. For instance, I see a lot of people asking about commuting who have sub 5 mile round trip commutes across fairly flat ground. In this case, I say ride whatever, however. You could stick a pair of wheels on a granite boulder and ride that. It just doesnt much matter. On the other hand is the person who has a 30 mile round trip that is half gravel trail and half serious urban street biking while carrying a 30 pound load. This requires some consideration and planning.

As someone who has been on the farther end of that scale for some years, I can offer my thoughts, but you don't need them if your commute is two miles down the road.

Tell us about your commuting conditions and needs and you will get better advice.

Serfas has some inverted tread tires you may like. I have 2 on my old cruiser, skinny up front for less gyroscopic resistance steering, and a fat one in back for maximum traction & cushion. You could put that skinnier one on both wheels and see how that feels, but be warned, they are not for off-road or gravel, just pavement. One huge bonus, is that they do have some grip pattern to it but they are very quiet vs normal treaded tires. Freedom also has some excellent choices to pick from in both slicks and treaded.

- Andy

Good to see I'm not alone on this within BF. I'm all about value, Aldi grocery recently had some great prices on some bike gear. I bought both pumps (they look to german made) and the light kit and they appear to be decent quality IMO.

Aldi/Lidl are great for biking stuff.

Also, most of the foreign (i.e. non-German) Aldi stores are Aldi-Süd, which is far superior to it's Aldi-Nord brethren

All most everything sold in Aldi comes from canada or continental europe, especially germany, as they are a german company.

They have really neat stuff every now and again, i'm guessing spring arriving = bike stuff this year.

- Andy

I've actually found the UK version of Aldi a little lacking compared to the German version. I haven't been into one in the US.

Did they:

1. Keep the entry gate with the alarm that goes off if you back out?
2. Keep carts with coin slots?
3. Make you bag your own stuff with no shelf after the cashier?
4. Keep those huge bottle return/crusher machines?
5. Pay for bags?
6. Have AldiTalk (prepaid SIMs) in the US?
7. Have MEDION electronic equipment?

1. only some have that.
2. Yes.
3. All have shelves
4. No, thats a european thing.
5. Yes.
6. The wireless regulations & business models are different here.
7. They do not sell consumer electronics aside from BPM and calculator, and scales as far as i can remember.

Its been 2 years so my memory is a lil fuzzy, but i plan to go again soon & score some of their very yummy & very inexpensive bagels...

- Andy

+1 new tires (some type of schwalbe) also, the high end schwalbe tubes can shave 100gr/pr from other options.

maybe go 1x up front (depends on your hill conditions and the range you have on the cassette).

a new saddle could be found that is lighter and equally/more comfortable for not too much.

carbon seatposts can be had off ebay inexpensively.

new brakes + pads, also. not pricey. weigh much less and will offer better stopping power. (v-brakes).

first, lose the pie plate, then tires, then brakes.