The Glade 4.0

So now that I'm making a bit longer commute several times a day, consistently, I'm re-evaluating my bike.

I have a Trek 1000 road bike that I like quite a bit, but it's starting to be a bit painful for the hazards of commuting vs long rides.

My options at this point are to re-work it (new handlebars, slightly wider tires) or to put the money into getting a hybrid (Trek makes some nice ones). Anyone have any experience modifying a road bike into a hybrid?

Do any of the rest of you commute on bikes, and what do you ride?

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

What are your questions about modifying it? Obviously you need a new bar. You'll also need new shifters and brake levers.

Depending on which ones you buy will determine whether or not your current derailleurs will still work. I've never looked into whether or not there are hybrid shifters. The indexed shifting kinda depends on having the cassette spacing a certain size. I'm not sure if mountain bike derailleurs would transfer over right. Maybe you could tweak the limiter screws to make it work.

You'll also need to determine if your front fork can handle a wider (I'm assuming knobby) tire. That could be a deal-breaker right there. The rear wheel is usually more tolerant because the cross-bar connecting the two seat-stays (what the rear brake mounts to) usually has enough clearance to not matter.

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The Dude abides.

Yeah, the fork is what immediately came to my mind.

What, specifically, are you trying to get rid of, "painful"-wise?

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Do you, or have you done, any mountain biking? Honestly, I haven't looked at hybrids in a decade or two, but I think they still suffer from the flaws of any bike (or piece of equipment) that's has its wheels in two camps.

The reason I ask if you have done any mountain biking, or if you might, is to look into getting a mountain bike and putting slicks on it. I have two sets of wheels, one knobby, one slick (although the knobby set hasn't been on the bike in quite a while) for my (very old) mountain bike. I have a rear rack, and I slap some panniers with my change of clothes and shoes in them, and it works out pretty well. I even gave my road bike to a friend (who then turned it into a really cool commuting bike ), since it was just sitting around collecting dust. Then, if I ever want to do real off-road riding, just switch the wheels.

But, yeah, I second Kaffis' question. What kind of pain are you trying to address? Rough roads (shocks)? Narrow storm sewer grates and broken glass in the gutters (wide tires with a thicker tread)? General pain in the bum (which I wouldn't expect, if you're already used to riding a road bike)? Ah, now I see that the Trek 1000 has an aluminum frame. Is overall stiffness the pain you're wanting to address? Don't know how much you'll be able to address that via equipment, unless you get one of those seat-post shocks (which you can mimic by good riding position and pedaling habits, if you ask me).

I would say if you really just want to modify your Trek, you might be able to find some cyclocross tires that should fit your fork. Bars shouldn't be too much of an issue.

If a mountain bike isn't your thing, how about a touring bike? That's going to be much more forgiving - most likely steel instead of aluminum - and will have a nice triple chainring for pedaling under load, etc. (Which, honestly, is why I gave up my road bike. My knees just couldn't handle it anymore.)

Good luck! If you lived in SoCal, I'd go bike shopping with you. I love going bike shopping.

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Generally, the overall riding pain from seat/posture is not a problem, I've done a fair amount of cross country touring on this bike (70-80 mile days, several week rides), so I'm used to it.

I used to have a touring bike, and I found the extra weight made for a smoother ride, but was not worth it when it came to carrying it up and down stairs (I store my bikes inside, at my office and at home).

I had been using a mountain bike to commute, but switched to the road bike for a few weeks, and am finding that on a longer commute the smoother ride is worth it.

The main problem to me is being able to quickly hit the breaks, and the degree of fast control I have on the handlebars. Having done a good bit of mountain biking, I am much more comfortable with straight bars for fast starts/stops/turns. The more upright posture will help for maneuvering with pedestrians and traffic too. I tend to ride mostly on the flat portion of my handles as it is now, but I can't get to the brakes fast enough from there.

My fork will support a bit wider tires, enough so that I'm happy with them. I ride mostly on roads/bike paths anyway, but the roads in New Orleans are.... not in great shape.

From what I understand, most straight handlebars have separate shifters/brakes, whereas my current setup has them together. So I would need new breaks/shifters as well as the handlebars.

I have heard of people using moustache handlebars, where the same type of brakes/shift levers work, but I haven't actually seen anyone use them in action.

I'm trying to minimize my cost, obviously, I've heard some people say swapping bars can be a few hundred bucks, and in that case I'd just put the money into a new bike.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

I have been sitting here thinking "What kind of chitty milage are you getting at only 70-80 miles a day. Then it all cleared up when you said you store the bike inside.

You have something similar to this:


and not like this:


suddenly 70-80 miles becomes holy crap that is a good ride.. as opposed to WTF that sucks.

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

Back in the day (mid80s), I just mounted some fat boys (big slicks) on a spare set of rims and put them on my mountain bike for commuting

I had a road bike for training and racing and and a track bike for the velo. I just popped my mountain bike rims back on if I wanted to go off road.

i never cared for the riding positions I could get from a hybrid. My Tom Ritchey mountain bike was custom made and had an exceptionally long stem (I'm tall from the hips up) and it allowed me to stretch out into a comfortable position. Much goodness (too bad that bike got stolen).

A Honda VTX1300C

I think this goes on sale soon:

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"It's real, grew up in trife life, the times of white lines
The hype vice, murderous nighttimes and knife fights invite crimes" - Nasir Jones

Well, you'd definitely be buying different brake levers. I'm pretty sure some normal v-brake levers would work if you have a set laying around, although you may need a spacer for it to work right. I'd say your biggest issue is going to going from roadie shifters to trigger shifters and the compatibility problems that will arise from that. The front shifter might not be a big deal but I'm sure the rear likely would be. I'm not as up on components these days, but I'm still fairly sure the cassette spacing would be way different.

Honestly, I'd just get a new bike.

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The Dude abides.

Yeah, thats what I was afraid of. I don't really want to tear up my road bike unless I have to, but I haven't done enough bike work to know what kind of a project I'm getting myself in for- I mostly just stick to the minor repairs.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

I wouldn't change your road bike, but add street tires to your mountain bike.

You can get thinner tires that will reduce drag on the bike making for an easier ride than the normal wide knobbies, and still be less likely to transmit road problems into your hands at the bars.

I had a big reply typed up last night, then worried about the lack of intonation the Internet, and killed it.

So, it's a matter of smoothness, and keeping your current STI setup, etc. Yeah, I think you'd be happier with a dedicated bike, or an extra set of wheels for your mountain bike. I use 1.50" tires on my mountain bike for street riding, and that works plenty well.

Heck, depending what kind of wheels you have now on your mountain bike, you could just upgrade those to something nice, and use the old ones for commuting slicks. I think the versatility of having a mountain bike, a commuting bike, and a dedicated road bike would be more rewarding then tearing apart your road bike, really.

I think it's funny that you find your Aluminum (stiff) road bike more smooth than your mountain bike. I would think it would be just the opposite.

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

There is also the distinct possibility that it has something to do with the fact that my mountain bike is about 10 years old (although a good bike), and my road bike is only about 5 years old....

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Darksiege: You are not a god damned vulcan homie.

Man, I couldn't imagine trying to go back to the old chromoly rig I was trail riding on 10 years ago.

I <3 my Santa Cruz.

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The Dude abides.

Heh, true, maybe I should confess to riding a 16-year old Specialized ... maybe you shouldn't listen to me!

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

I've got one of these and I absolutely love it. Joint problems have made it more difficult to ride recently, but the 'bent is a blast.

Freakin hippie.

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The Dude abides.

A guy flew past me on a bullet bike today going well over 100 mph in a 55 mph zone. And all I could think to myself was, "If I watched him wipe out right now..... the first thing I would do is laugh. Then maybe I'd call 911 for him." I felt kind of bad for thinking that. But not by much.

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Heh. How 'bout when I've got it strapped to the Wrangler?

Freakin yuppie?

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The Dude abides.

That's so funny. Hippie is not the word I generally associate with recumbents, just "freaks," usually, as in "recumbent freaks."

Nothing personal, though, Ladas. I should probably try one some day. I suspect I'd dig it.

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This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

See - I'm such a lurker, I'm even misattributed.

And yeah, I'm a 'bent freak. Wrangler's plate is "GOTBENT" and I haven't ridden a wedgie in years. It's almost like a recliner on wheels. Almost. And it's safer than riding a wedgie, 'cause all the drivers just don't know what to make of ya, and give ya a wide berth.

It's kinda like flying an ultralite - you can go just about whatever speed you want, don't have to worry about falling over (much), and see the world around ya more.

Think you meant Lalaas.

Every freakin' time. Yep. And, neither of you live in Sacramento, right? (That would be the third <consonant-short 'a'-consonant-short 'a'-consonant> name that I constantly confuse, Katas.)

I don't know about that "safer" thing, though. I can see what you mean about cars giving you a wide birth because they don't know how to react, but that implies that they see you in the first place. I ride in pretty heavy traffic much of the time, and I don't think drivers would even notice those cool little flags that you can fly above your 'bent. Heck, I don't think they see me most of the time, and I'm about the height of a car. Plus, I think I get better visibility for riding in traffic than I would at car-wheel level.

But, hey, at least you're ridin'!

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge