TXCiclista

I'm doing a 150 this Fall so I decided to switch from my mountain bike to a road bike. I bought a Trek 2000 ('99 or '00) from eBay for about $300 and it came today (in nice shape). I just took it for a spin and here are some questions:

1. It feels small to me. The frame is right size (perhaps 1-2 cm too long), but I don't feel as stretched out as on my mountain bike. Is this normal? I've got it adjusted 90% right for my body. I happn to be one of those people with short legs and long torsos (6'4" w/ 32" inseam). I've seen a few pictures in sizing guides and the rider always seems to be too big for the road bike and just right for the mountain bike. Is this normal?

2. I live on a dirt/gravel road and have to go about 2oo yards to get to the road. Is it safe to rise this on the rb if I watch for rocks? I've heard that road bike tires have little tolerance for anything but smooth pavement (contrary to Lance's experience a few days ago). Should I walk it? Is it OK to ride? etc

3. I'm a decently experienced rider on a mountain bike, but have NO experience on a road bike. What should I be aware of, do differently, etc?

Thanks for your help!
#5 for Armstrong = The Tour de Lance

-Carl J. Stoneham

deliriou5

wow you got an awesome deal on your trek 2000.... do you have any pictures? congratulations.... that's an amazing bargain for a very nice bike.

1. if you don't feel stretched out enough, you're probably not. try swapping out the stem, moving the saddle back on the rails, or getting a setback seatpost.

2. road bikes can handle rough stuff.... they're not as delicate as most people think. riding on hard-packed dirt or even cobblestones is no problem if you're vigilant. gravel is scary though cuz of all the pointy stuff.... but i guess that depends on how coarse the gravel is.

3. Road riding is about SMOOTHNESS.... learn how to pedal at a steady cadence without pausing. learn how to ride in a straight line.... this is especially important when riding in traffic.

sch

I would put a few hundred miles on the bike and then begin to adjust or change things, as long as the basics are taken care of - saddle height being the most important. The saddle should not be too far behind the BB. You can ride on the drops, the hoods or the top of the bar, and probably will use all of these positions during a ride. As you get used to it you may feel that you can do with a longer reach on the stem, maybe not. Road bikes are usually set up with the top of the saddle 2-4" above the top of the bar. A saddle level with the bar is usually called a comfort bike. 4" or higher above the bar suggests
too small a frame or an unusually lithe rider. Steve

TXCiclista

Thanks! I also feel like I'm not getting as much power on the pedals as I'm used to. I'm getting about the same leg extension and the crankarms look to be the same size. Is there something about the geometry of a road bike compared to a mountain bike?

bac

If you are like me, it will take some time to accustom to the differing position on the bike. After your body and mind begin to meld with the new postion, you will feel much more efficient on the pedals.

In other words - time in the saddle, my man! Good luck. You're gonna love it!

danr

Many people, including me, believe that mountain biking leads to being a better road bike handler. Of course, it will feel funny at first. But once you get use to it, you'll feel like you've always ridden a road bike.

And as far as the dirt road, I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you have tires that are not very puncture-resistant (like racing tires that only last 1,000 miles).

TXCiclista

I;m totally eating up as this helpful info. I KNEW there was a reason I got into cycling!

Another question: I ordered a racing road bike (didn't really know there was another option) and the front chainrings are HUGE! It only has two and the smalest one is the same size, if not a bit larger, as the outer ring on my mb. The cassette also has less change etween rings. I know I'm supposed to learn to spin at a steady cadence, but I had to drop down to almost the lowest gear today to get up a relatively easy hill (at least on my mb). Will I just get used to this and be able to put more to the pedals? Am I just too used to having it easy on an mb? etc, etc, etc

Thanks for ALL the comments. They've been VERY helpful. I guess TdF fever caught me a bit (though the MS 150 was the main reason for the bike) and I expected to be taking hills standing up and averaging 35+ mph on flats a la Lance. When this didn't happen, I got a bit worried

marcpotash

Go to www.wrenchscience.com. They have an excellent fit program so you will know what it should be.

I also went from only mountain to both road and mountain. Going from knowing nothing about road biking,(although a very experienced mtn biker), was a lot of fun. I ended up buying a carbon bike from supergo.com.

MichaelW

Measure the cranks and compare them on your road and MTB. Often MTBs have 175 and road bikes have 170. Make sure your saddle is adjusted properly in fore-aft. Once your saddle is set, you can adjust your bars, you can place them wherever you want, and even replicate your MTB position if you like. The brake hoods should be your primary riding position.

Most road bikes are grossly overgeared for most riders. Outside of racing, there are few people who really need a 53/11 gear. It is possible to gear down a racing bike to more usable ratios, and to get some useful climbing gears.
Road bikes are quite robust and can cope with rough roads and unsurfaced gravel roads. Some of the classic road races of Europe are ridden over the cobbled lanes of Northern France. These give bike and rider a real beating.

Gargoola

Definately road bikes can handle varying degrees of road surface condition. I've ridden my road bike for a prolonged period of time on smooth to gravelly off road conditions. That was with continental 2000 tires, which I believe are soft compound as well.
On a regular basis you shouldn't any problems with 200 yards shouldn't be any problems.

deliriou5

Yeah when i made the MTB to road transition, even the tiniest hill would absolutely kill me. you are just accustomed to the lower gearing of the MTB. As you gain conditioning, you'll find that the hills get easier, so don't go swapping out your chainrings or cassette just yet. That hill that I'm talking about used to get my heart rate up to max, with me gasping for air like I was gonna die.... now i can fly up the hill faster than i did then with about half as much effort.