worth upgrading my old MTB?

Hi,

I've got a bit of a newfound interesting in cycling lately. I've been
using the old 15-speed (cost $300 in about 1995) malvernstar MTB I got
when I was a kid but I've been a bit dissapointed with my times. I did
an 8km ride (4km upwind, slightly uphill and 4km downwind and slightly
downhill) and only managed to average ~24kmh (~20kmh on the way up,
~29kmh on the way down). On longer rides, 15 or 20km, I'm only
averaging in the low 20's usually. I'm 22 and I thought reasonably fit,
but I've read on the net that the entry level in cycling club time
trials is usually an average of about 30kmh over 15km. My MTB starts
spinning-out, in top gear, at about 45 kmh so I can't get much faster
than that except down a steep hill.

My question is would switching to a new road bike be likely to
significantly increase my speed? If so any suggestions as to what would
be a good bike for under $1000?

Thanks

Tim

G'day Ti
From my limited experience (im in much the same boat) a road bike wil
whip the arse of a MTB on the bitumen and you'll be a lot mor
comfortable. I was riding my MTB (Trek 3700) on the road for months bu
i would get hammered doing a ride of only 30kms. Now im using an ol
crappy roady and its heaps better. Better gears and your not pushin
all the weight and knobby tyres. Plus the riding positions better. I
in the middle of organising my first real road bike and I wa
budgetting $1000 till i went shopping. I decided to wait the extr
little bit of time to up the budget to $1500. All of the roadies aroun
$1000 were good recreational bikes but i wanted a bit better group se
for dreams of racing down the track. Hope you find something that doe
the job for you
cheer
Mic
Wrote:
Hi

I've got a bit of a newfound interesting in cycling lately. I've bee
using the old 15-speed (cost $300 in about 1995) malvernstar MTB I go
when I was a kid but I've been a bit dissapointed with my times. I di
an 8km ride (4km upwind, slightly uphill and 4km downwind and slightl
downhill) and only managed to average ~24kmh (~20kmh on the way up
~29kmh on the way down). On longer rides, 15 or 20km, I'm onl
averaging in the low 20's usually. I'm 22 and I thought reasonably fit
but I've read on the net that the entry level in cycling club tim
trials is usually an average of about 30kmh over 15km. My MTB start
spinning-out, in top gear, at about 45 kmh so I can't get much faste
than that except down a steep hill

My question is would switching to a new road bike be likely t
significantly increase my speed? If so any suggestions as to what woul
be a good bike for under $1000

Thank

Ti

--
trek-man

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

I've got a bit of a newfound interesting in cycling lately. I've been
using the old 15-speed (cost $300 in about 1995) malvernstar MTB I got
when I was a kid but I've been a bit dissapointed with my times. I did
an 8km ride (4km upwind, slightly uphill and 4km downwind and slightly
downhill) and only managed to average ~24kmh (~20kmh on the way up,
~29kmh on the way down). On longer rides, 15 or 20km, I'm only
averaging in the low 20's usually. I'm 22 and I thought reasonably fit,
but I've read on the net that the entry level in cycling club time
trials is usually an average of about 30kmh over 15km. My MTB starts
spinning-out, in top gear, at about 45 kmh so I can't get much faster
than that except down a steep hill.

My question is would switching to a new road bike be likely to
significantly increase my speed? If so any suggestions as to what would
be a good bike for under $1000?

Thanks

Tim


24kph as an average isn't all that bad at the very start, especially with a
MTB. I was a lot slower when I started than that, I can assure you! Yes, a
road bike will make a noticeable difference. As far as which bike to get
goes, my Giant OCR3 cost me an even $1000 ($999 if you want to be picky, but
then add lights, bidon + cage etc...who's counting, really?). I've also seen
Avanti road bikes kitted out with Shimano 105 gear (mine's running Sora,
which isn't as good) for $1000 as well, but I honestly don't know what
they're like. For general commuting and semi serious recreational riding, I
don't think a much better bike would make a huge difference, but again, I
can't speak from experience. Take them for a ride and see what you think. Be
prepared to allow for getting the bike setup properly and when you do settle
on a bike, make sure the shop you get it from is prepared to spend some time
with you to fit it. I got rushed out the door with a crappy fit and I'm
regretting it now. I'm fairly sure I should have a shorter stem, but six
months after the fact, I'm not travelling 45km to contest the issue. The OCR
is such a huge step up from the Shogun MTB (probably wery similar to what
you've got) as to be ridiculous, so if you feel that the bug has bitten
hard, go for it. On another note, if you find that you've run out of gears
at 45kph then you probably need to work on being able to pedal at a higher
cadence. MTB gearing is shorter than road bike, but not that much!
Concentrate on pushing forward at the top of the stroke and backwards
("scraping mud off your shoe" movement) at the bottom, and don't worry about
stomping on the pedal, that just happens. I found that trying to make the
pedals spin faster rather than actively pushing harder on the pedals works
well. Again, I'm not an experienced cyclist and I've had no training. Listen
to what people in this group have to say...it's helped me enormously, even
though I don't compete, only commute.

Crap...I just cut and pasted that lot into a word document out of
curiosity...374 words! Why can't I do that as easily with the essay I'm
supposed to be writing?

On 29 May 2005 06:21:29 -0700, wrote:

My question is would switching to a new road bike be likely to
significantly increase my speed?

Yes, greatly, but it has as much to do with your lower, more aerodynamic
position as with the bike itself. So make sure you're fitted properly,
and be willing to spend some time getting used to the 'cruising' position,
with your hands on the brake hoods.

If so any suggestions as to what would be a good bike for under $1000?

All of the low-end road bikes from companies who also sell high-end
ones (Giant, Avanti, Trek, Specialized etc) are good, and cost about the
same. Finding a shop that takes you seriously and gives you good before
and after-sale service is probably a more important choice.

--
bpo gallery at http://www4.tpgi.com.au/users/mvw1/bpo

wrote:


My question is would switching to a new road bike

Nope, but if you really want to burn the money, you can write me a
cheque or, if you are in Sydney give me your old bike {:-).

Seriously, a bit of training (ie riding) would go further. Then reward
yourself with the new road bike when you reach a reasonably good
improvement.