Mountain Bike Upgrade

[foghorn67]

My Santa Cruz LT-C with every trick component on it is stupid heavy compared to my entry level Specialized Allez road bike with mid grade components. Its probably the same as a mid level flat bar hybrid.
I can tackle any hill all day for miles on the mountain bike. I see one lazy hill and it causes my legs to burn in pain just looking at the grade thanks to it's gears that were meant for flatter rides.

Speed=wind resistance, tire resistance.
Responsiveness=lightweight, geometry
Hill climbing=Gears, and lightweights when you reapply power.

 

[foghorn67]

That's gross.

I'm too bored to go look through hundreds of google images but even just a brief overview found me this. thirty times nicer with almost zero the effort. If it's that easy...

Looks are subjective, go with the best in your budget and riding situation. I like almost all bikes in today's form, not sure why looks are so important to some.

 

[MrSquished]

Looks are subjective, go with the best in your budget and riding situation. I like almost all bikes in today's form, not sure why looks are so important to some.

Yeah they are subjective. And that's why some suck and others don't. Don't get a sucky bike. Lesson learned. Straight clean lines, that's a timeless look. Ain't no way about it.

 

[Humpy]

not to knock your bike cause it looks like a fine mountain bike, but I hate mountain bike geometry. The top tube slope is what doesn't do it for me. I prefer the lines of a more classic hybrid or road bike.

You don't like sloping top tubes but posted a pic of a sloping top tube as an example of a bike you like?

 

[highland145]

There is no way they can be that much better than me.

Yes they can.

I did have my disc brakes adjusted wrong once so they rubbed continually. Not sure what effect this had on performance but it wasn't a positive.

Upgrade the motor.

https://www.electricbike.com/gruber-assist/

Sorry for the major dirt spot on the front tire.

My magnifying glass must be broken. I don't see it.

 

[drnickriviera]

Electrify. I added a mid drive motor to my bike. 25mph is no problem. And you get the added benefit of no longer being a weight weenie trying to shave grams off the bike.

 

[Humpy]

https://www.electricbike.com/gruber-assist/

That's cheating!

There is an interesting concept/rumor of using the wheel rim as the rotor of an electric motor that is energized by electromagnets embedded in the frame. Only the well funded cheaters could afford it though.

 

[Humpy]

Electrify. I added a mid drive motor to my bike. 25mph is no problem. And you get the added benefit of no longer being a weight weenie trying to shave grams off the bike.

Motorcycles are pretty cool, just keep them off the trails intended for bicycles.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Did any of you see the 60 minutes report about cheating in cycling? The guy selling bikes with an electric motor hidden in them? Here ya go.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-investigates-hidden-motors-and-pro-cycling/

 

[cbrunny]

Sounds like what you want is a cyclocross bike. But you also don't want that because you said you don't want another bike.

Could look at your gear ratios. Your rear cassette might be for hills rather than for flats. That's a relatively cheap change.

 

[PricklyPete]

Best way to make a Mtn bike feel lighter is reduce the weight of your tires. A much more expensive way would be to reduce the weight of your wheels. Tires might be worth it on your bike...wheels will not be. Since you are not really riding anything technical, nearly any light mtb tire would work.

Beyond tires...I really don't think being a weight weeny is worth it. You will spend way more money than it is worth.

Simple question...do you keep your bike properly maintained and lubed? A poorly maintained drivetrain could easily make a bike feel wretched.

 

[purbeast0]

I just bought a new bike after doing some research for like 2 weeks and test riding like 8 or 9 different bikes. I test rode mainly mountain bikes and one hybrid, but after I realized I wanted to go the mountain bike route I focused on those.

And to be honest, I could hardly tell much of a difference between all of them. I rode 2 that were out of my price range (around $900) and I wouldn't be able to tell you the difference between those and the $450 bikes I rode. Well I guess one thing I could tell a difference with for sure is the hydraulic brakes vs. mechanical brakes. It's worth the extra money to get hydraulic so I ended up doing that.

But other than that, the only other difference I could tell was when I shifted gears. I don't know if it was just the shifter or the derauler, but the whole shifting process definitely felt different between the bikes.

I ended up trying out a Trek bike that was out of my price range (one of the $900 bikes) and absolutely LOVED how the gears felt when shifting. I also just felt better on the bike. Everything about it felt better to me for some reason, like the ride felt smoother, shifting gears was smoother and I felt comfortable on it. I ended up test riding out the model right below it and even though the components were "lower" than the ones on the higher model, I couldn't tell any difference at all. I knew within like 15 seconds of hopping on it that I was going to buy it.

Then I rode some other brands, such as Specialized, the Rockhopper specifically, which just didn't feel "right" to me. I test rode the higher end one and also one in the price range I was looking at, and something about them both just felt off. I'm glad I test rode them though because the last one I rode is where I saw they had Trek's to test ride and that is what eventually made me purchase it.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Yes they can.

I did have my disc brakes adjusted wrong once so they rubbed continually. Not sure what effect this had on performance but it wasn't a positive.
https://www.electricbike.com/gruber-assist/



My magnifying glass must be broken. I don't see it.

Front tire, 9 o'clock, its hideous.

 

[MrSquished]

You don't like sloping top tubes but posted a pic of a sloping top tube as an example of a bike you like?

That's a pretty slight slope. It's almost straight compared to nowadays geometry on MB's. You can't argue it's even in the same playing field as the example I quoted earlier.

I mean you could. If you were just a total dickhead.


Just who is being the dickhead here?

AT Moderator ElFenix

 

[foghorn67]

Yeah they are subjective. And that's why some suck and others don't. Don't get a sucky bike. Lesson learned. Straight clean lines, that's a timeless look. Ain't no way about it.

Try doing any MTBing in the bike you posted. You won't get far. I bent that same rim within 5 minutes. Like I said, everything has a purpose, nothing clean or timeless about being on a side of a trail with a crap rim.
The geometry of the downhill bike isn't that far from other disciplines of MTB. Sure, you can try it with a flat bar bike with "clean" lines, but I don't think you will have a good time. It sounds like you don't have a good time in general.
Seriously, are you trolling?

 

[drnickriviera]

Motorcycles are pretty cool, just keep them off the trails intended for bicycles.

Wut? You do know an ebike has other speeds that balls to the walls? It does nothing that someone with a pair of strong legs cant do.

 

[PricklyPete]

Wut? You do know an ebike has other speeds that balls to the walls? It does nothing that someone with a pair of strong legs cant do.

Hmmm...they definitely do more.

There is a local trail (Mt Falcon for anyone interested) for which I have held as high as the 5th fastest time up a particular segment (parking lot to Presidents house)...hovering around 10th now. My point is that I am not slow...actually way above average even for my fitness crazed region. A month ago I was going up that same segment and i got handily passed by a rather portly fellow riding a e-bike. In order to beat him, you would have had to be pro level XC rider.

 

[highland145]

Hmmm...they definitely do more.

There is a local trail (Mt Falcon for anyone interested) for which I have held as high as the 5th fastest time up a particular segment (parking lot to Presidents house)...hovering around 10th now. My point is that I am not slow...actually way above average even for my fitness crazed region. A month ago I was going up that same segment and i got handily passed by a rather portly fellow riding a e-bike. In order to beat him, you would have had to be pro level XC rider.

Should carry a stick for those types. If you get my meaning.

:sneaky;

 

[MrSquished]

Try doing any MTBing in the bike you posted. You won't get far. I bent that same rim within 5 minutes. Like I said, everything has a purpose, nothing clean or timeless about being on a side of a trail with a crap rim.
The geometry of the downhill bike isn't that far from other disciplines of MTB. Sure, you can try it with a flat bar bike with "clean" lines, but I don't think you will have a good time. It sounds like you don't have a good time in general.
Seriously, are you trolling?

Mayne stated he wanted a mountain bike but with city tires, aka he isn't taking the damn thing off road in slicks. Hence my response. Read dude.

I love city riding. It's one of the best habits I have cause I have a very good time actually.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I think you answered your own question. Me personally, i'm looking for a mtn bike with good city tires.

You sound like one of those people on HGTV spending $1M on a house and complaining about not having stainless steel appliances.

Buy the bike you want with the brakes, shifters, derailleurs, and wheels you want... Then buy your tires. I'm assuming you'd be looking for 26" tires....just pickup some tire levers and go for 26"X1.5" street slicks. Good ones can be found for $20-30 at performance bike, Nashbar, etc... I put some on my mountain bike years ago to replace my knobby velociraptor mtn bike tires and they helped make the ride much more smooth. The real bonus is that when I race my wife on her sport bike, I have an edge because my tires are thinner than hers.

 

[Humpy]

That's a pretty slight slope. It's almost straight compared to nowadays geometry on MB's. You can't argue it's even in the same playing field as the example I quoted earlier.

I mean you could. If you were just a total dickhead.

The old Humpy enjoyed being a total dickhead. The new and improved April 2017 Super Good Happy Time Humpy enjoys discussing bicycles and doggies/kitties and some techy stuff and occasionally being a bit of a dickhead to ATOT manlets, noobs, mods, and Canadians (my parents are tall anti-authoritarian introverted desert dwelling hippies, it's not my fault).

Anyways, my point was that top tubes are either horizontal or they are not and you were wrong.

 

[highland145]

The old Humpy enjoyed being a total dickhead. The new and improved April 2017 Super Good Happy Time Humpy enjoys discussing bicycles and doggies/kitties and some techy stuff and occasionally being a bit of a dickhead to ATOT manlets, noobs, mods, and Canadians (my parents are tall anti-authoritarian introverted desert dwelling hippies, it's not my fault).

unlike

 

[highland145]

fixed

https://youtu.be/MFzDaBzBlL0

 

[MrSquished]

The old Humpy enjoyed being a total dickhead. The new and improved April 2017 Super Good Happy Time Humpy enjoys discussing bicycles and doggies/kitties and some techy stuff and occasionally being a bit of a dickhead to ATOT manlets, noobs, mods, and Canadians (my parents are tall anti-authoritarian introverted desert dwelling hippies, it's not my fault).

Anyways, my point was that top tubes are either horizontal or they are not and you were wrong.

I agreed it was slightly sloped but way more closer to straight vs the example I had initially responded to. I stand behind that for sure. The hybrid I posted has an almost straight top tube, and that's just a fact jack.

I have a dog and have always had kitties all the time besides the last 9 months of mine passed.

 

[John Connor]

Don't they sell fly wheels you can add to the tires? It's been a long time since I opened a bike parts catalog. I remember seeing snow chains I wanted to buy for mine. I live in Colorado so that would come in damn handy. I used to ride all over hell. Lots of places to go and my town has plenty of trails.