MTB/ Road hybrid

[Banana Up]

I have an old MTB frame with slicks that i have been commuting on and its just not fast enough for me. I was wondering if it is possible to use road bike cranks and gearing on an MTB frame? Or are the BB too different between the two. Or is there any way to make a road bike a little less harsh, i have ridden them around a few times and its a rough ride!

[strobelite]

try a road cassette.

[2wheel_lee]

Originally Posted by strobelite

try a road cassette.

A road cassette wouldn't help much since the smallest cog on a road cassette is either an 11 or a 12, which is the same for mtb cassettes.

Depending on the cranks that are currently on the bike, you may be able to install larger chainrings. If that's not an option, you could go with road cranks if your bottom bracket shell on your bike is 68 mm. Also, depending on your frame, you may be limited by the size of the front chainring.

Yet another option if you have disc brakes is to build up another set of wheels using disc hubs (and 135 mm rear hub spacing for an mtb) with 700c rims. With nominal 25 mm tires, this setup should fit in most 26" mtbs. This doesn't change actual gearing, but the diameter of these wheels is significantly larger than 26" wheels with 1.5" slicks. Then you if you're still running out of gear, look for a slightly larger front ring (42>44) and check to make sure your cassette's smallest cog is an 11.

[DISCO]

i ride a 26/36/46 up front and it has worked pretty well for commuting with an 8spd rear. The easiest fix will be to swap your big ring and make ure you have enough chain.

[Banana Up]

I will have to see if my bike can accept other chain rings, since its not really a name brand (motiv, 45$ on craigslist! ) But it does shimano shifters but i dont remember what the cranks are i will have to see what i can do.

[BoingBoing]

Another angle: make sure your tires are pumped up to the maximum psi. It helps a bit.

[strobelite]

Originally Posted by 2wheel_lee

A road cassette wouldn't help much since the smallest cog on a road cassette is either an 11 or a 12, which is the same for mtb cassettes.

Depending on the cranks that are currently on the bike, you may be able to install larger chainrings. If that's not an option, you could go with road cranks if your bottom bracket shell on your bike is 68 mm. Also, depending on your frame, you may be limited by the size of the front chainring.

Yet another option if you have disc brakes is to build up another set of wheels using disc hubs (and 135 mm rear hub spacing for an mtb) with 700c rims. With nominal 25 mm tires, this setup should fit in most 26" mtbs. This doesn't change actual gearing, but the diameter of these wheels is significantly larger than 26" wheels with 1.5" slicks. Then you if you're still running out of gear, look for a slightly larger front ring (42>44) and check to make sure your cassette's smallest cog is an 11.

final drive, yes, but the rest of the range will be faster.