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Use MTB frame as basis for road bike a la Long/Low or XO?
I have an old rigid/rigid late-80s Italian MTB. The frame looks to be in really good nick, but the components are pretty clapped out. I was thinking of making it into a 26" "rough stuff" touring/road/commuter bike with some hand-me-downs from my race bike and I guess a few new bits and pieces. It will look kind of wierd I guess since I ride a pretty big road frame, but that's OK with me. I'm thinking I could make a low-discount Rivendell Long/Low or Bridgestone XO -- that kind of thing. I.e., use slicks and fenders around town, and wide knobbies for offroad stuff. Drop bars and a nice set of pannier racks, with some cool old Campy racing parts thrown in for good measure. I know nothing about frame geometry, so before I do this I am just wondering if this is a bad idea. -- davidd86 |
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#2
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"davidd86" wrote:
I have an old rigid/rigid late-80s Italian MTB. The frame looks to be in really good nick, but the components are pretty clapped out. I was thinking of making it into a 26" "rough stuff" touring/ road/commuter bike with some hand-me-downs from my race bike and I guess a few new bits and pieces. It will look kind of wierd I guess since I ride a pretty big road frame, but that's OK with me. I'm thinking I could make a low-discount Rivendell Long/Low (ITYM All-Rounder or Atlantis) or Bridgestone XO -- that kind of thing. I.e., use slicks and fenders around town, and wide knobbies for offroad stuff. Drop bars and a nice set of pannier racks, with some cool old Campy racing parts thrown in for good measure. I know nothing about frame geometry, so before I do this I am just wondering if this is a bad idea. Not a bad idea at all. I have two such bikes (a 1992 Stumpjumper, and a 1994 Kona Kilauea), and I find them robust, comfortable, agile, practical, and a lot of fun to ride. Getting the bars high enough and close enough can be a problem. MTBs of the vintage you're discussing had shorter top tubes relative to seat tube size than modern MTBs, but pre-suspension-corrected forks and short head tubes can make the front end quite low - probably 3 or 4 inches below the height of a road bike of similar top tube length. A long quill stem (e.g. a Nitto Technomic) can help, but can be unpleasantly flexible. I was lucky to find a used Sycip threadless fork with lowrider bosses that was a good match for my Stumpjumper. Gear and brake controls can require some thought, but present no insurmountable problems. This page discusses the conversion of a Stumpjumper, including the fitting of S&S frame couplings: http://briandesousa.com/bicycling/tech/convert.htm Here's a Ritchey with a long quill stem: http://www.oldmountainbikes.com/cgi-....cgi?bike=1873 And here's a beautiful WTB Phoenix - not a conversion per se, but it might provide some inspiration: http://homepage.mac.com/halaburt/bic...toAlbum20.html Good luck. James Thomson |
#3
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davidd86 wrote in message ...
I have an old rigid/rigid late-80s Italian MTB. The frame looks to be in really good nick, but the components are pretty clapped out. I was thinking of making it into a 26" "rough stuff" touring/road/commuter bike with some hand-me-downs from my race bike and I guess a few new bits and pieces. It will look kind of wierd I guess since I ride a pretty big road frame, but that's OK with me. I'm thinking I could make a low-discount Rivendell Long/Low or Bridgestone XO -- that kind of thing. I.e., use slicks and fenders around town, and wide knobbies for offroad stuff. Drop bars and a nice set of pannier racks, with some cool old Campy racing parts thrown in for good measure. I know nothing about frame geometry, so before I do this I am just wondering if this is a bad idea. A bike project is never a bad idea it is just more time consuming and more expensive that you originally thought!! |
#4
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davidd86 wrote:
I have an old rigid/rigid late-80s Italian MTB. The frame looks to be in really good nick, but the components are pretty clapped out. I was thinking of making it into a 26" "rough stuff" touring/road/commuter bike with some hand-me-downs from my race bike and I guess a few new bits and pieces. It will look kind of wierd I guess since I ride a pretty big road frame, but that's OK with me. I'm thinking I could make a low-discount Rivendell Long/Low or Bridgestone XO -- that kind of thing. I.e., use slicks and fenders around town, and wide knobbies for offroad stuff. Drop bars and a nice set of pannier racks, with some cool old Campy racing parts thrown in for good measure. I know nothing about frame geometry, so before I do this I am just wondering if this is a bad idea. It seems that somewhere around the late '80s, some MTBs switched from a really relaxed geometry to a shorter, tighter geometry. I had an 80's vintage Schwinn MTB with the front wheel so far out it might have come from Orange County Choppers. I also had an early 90's Bridgestone MTB that had a geometry more like a road bike. Your converted bike will work just fine, although you're certain to have a few hiccups like matching the brakes to appropriate levers. The handling (as always) depends on the geometry. If you liked the bike's handling off-road, you'll probably like it on the road. -- Dave dvt at psu dot edu |
#5
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Well, I did it over the weekend. Seems to work well. The only problem I ran into was minor: I learned that the chainstays on a MTB are wider than they are on a road bike, so as to accommodate the fat tires. The crankset I used was a hand-me-down Campy Chorus 53/39 from my race machine. It did not fit on with the standard Campy 111 BB -- the chainrings were rubbing on the chainstay. So I went back to the store and it seems there's also a 115.5 Campy BB -- tried that and all was well. I suppose it throws the chainline off slightly but it shifts very well just the same. The Q factor goes up I guess but you can't tell. The interesting thing about it is, I rigged it up with my old 12/23 Campy 8-speed setup for the race bike. When I pulled out my calculator, I was delighted to see that on a 26" bike, this is exactly like using a 13/26 on a 700c bike -- which is right on the money for what you want on a commuter, etc. The double chainring should be OK. For the stem, casting an eye around my boxes of old bike parts, the only thing I could think of to get the bars up there was to use an old Giant adjustable stem. Unfortunately it was threadless so I ended up spending $38 for a new rigid threadless fork and $21 for a threadless headset. But that clearly solved the problem -- I set it up exactly the same as my race bike but with the bars 2cm raised, plus I used short-drop bars instead of the super deep ones on the race bike. Seems to ride just fine. I wouldn't say the handling's as sharp as the race bike. Not bad though. It probably looks silly for a 6'-2" guy to be riding on little MTB wheels, but I'll get over it. I will put up a picture at some point; it really came out to be pretty snazzy, and even more fun is that it is about 95% old road bike parts. I basically had to buy bar tape, cables, pay to have my old MTB rims laced to my road hubs, get some narrower tires, I scored a used Schmidt generator hub, and the one thing I sprang for new was a front Nitto rack. Everything else was made by mongrelizing stuff that was laying around. dvt Wrote: davidd86 wrote: I have an old rigid/rigid late-80s Italian MTB. The frame looks to be in really good nick, but the components are pretty clapped out. I was thinking of making it into a 26" "rough stuff" touring/road/commuter bike with some hand-me-downs from my race bike and I guess a few new bits and pieces. It will look kind of wierd I guess since I ride a pretty big road frame, but that's OK with me. I'm thinking I could make a low-discount Rivendell Long/Low or Bridgestone XO -- that kind of thing. I.e., use slicks and fenders around town, and wide knobbies for offroad stuff. Drop bars and a nice set of pannier racks, with some cool old Campy racing parts thrown in for good measure. I know nothing about frame geometry, so before I do this I am just wondering if this is a bad idea. It seems that somewhere around the late '80s, some MTBs switched from a really relaxed geometry to a shorter, tighter geometry. I had an 80's vintage Schwinn MTB with the front wheel so far out it might have come from Orange County Choppers. I also had an early 90's Bridgestone MTB that had a geometry more like a road bike. Your converted bike will work just fine, although you're certain to have a few hiccups like matching the brakes to appropriate levers. The handling (as always) depends on the geometry. If you liked the bike's handling off-road, you'll probably like it on the road. -- Dave dvt at psu dot edu -- davidd86 |
#6
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davidd86 wrote:
Well, I did it over the weekend. Seems to work well. Congrats on the conversion. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. The only problem I ran into was minor: I learned that the chainstays on a MTB are wider than they are on a road bike, so as to accommodate the fat tires. The crankset I used was a hand-me-down Campy Chorus 53/39 from my race machine. It did not fit on with the standard Campy 111 BB -- the chainrings were rubbing on the chainstay. So I went back to the store and it seems there's also a 115.5 Campy BB -- tried that and all was well. I suppose it throws the chainline off slightly but it shifts very well just the same. The Q factor goes up I guess but you can't tell. One other possible solution is to use the MTB crank with the inner ring removed. You might be able to use a narrower BB and still clear the chainstays. You'll end up with lower gears, natch. I basically had to buy bar tape, cables, pay to have my old MTB rims laced to my road hubs, get some narrower tires, I scored a used Schmidt generator hub, and the one thing I sprang for new was a front Nitto rack. Everything else was made by mongrelizing stuff that was laying around. Why did you relace the wheels? Why couldn't you use the old MTB hubs? If we're talking Shimano MTB and Shimano road hubs, you should be able to slip a 12-23 on the MTB hub. But since you mention Campy cranks/BB, maybe you're using Campy in the back as well... -- Dave dvt at psu dot edu |
#7
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Dave, my old MTB hubs were pretty manky, coupled with being really cheap and really ugly and I had a really svelte Campa 8-speed rear along with a Schmidt dyno front, so I just had the wheels re-laced. The rear spacing on this frame was ~132mm so it could've gone either way without too much heartburn. (You're right though; on my race bike I've had good luck with a Shimano wheel with Campy-width spacers between the cogs ... certainly workable.) Things are fine with the cranks ... they feel pretty much like any others ... I don't think I'd want to put an MTB crankset on there as I reckon the gearing would be too low. I suspect this will mostly be used for fairly fast road riding or paths ... nothing too far removed from civilization ... One thing that pleasantly shocked me was how easy it is to set up the standard Shimano canti brakes. They just go right on there and are very cleverly designed. dvt Wrote: davidd86 wrote: Well, I did it over the weekend. Seems to work well. Congrats on the conversion. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. The only problem I ran into was minor: I learned that the chainstays on a MTB are wider than they are on a road bike, so as to accommodate the fat tires. The crankset I used was a hand-me-down Campy Chorus 53/39 from my race machine. It did not fit on with the standard Campy 111 BB -- the chainrings were rubbing on the chainstay. So I went back to the store and it seems there's also a 115.5 Campy BB -- tried that and all was well. I suppose it throws the chainline off slightly but it shifts very well just the same. The Q factor goes up I guess but you can't tell. One other possible solution is to use the MTB crank with the inner ring removed. You might be able to use a narrower BB and still clear the chainstays. You'll end up with lower gears, natch. I basically had to buy bar tape, cables, pay to have my old MTB rims laced to my road hubs, get some narrower tires, I scored a used Schmidt generator hub, and the one thing I sprang for new was a front Nitto rack. Everything else was made by mongrelizing stuff that was laying around. Why did you relace the wheels? Why couldn't you use the old MTB hubs? If we're talking Shimano MTB and Shimano road hubs, you should be able to slip a 12-23 on the MTB hub. But since you mention Campy cranks/BB, maybe you're using Campy in the back as well... -- Dave dvt at psu dot edu -- davidd86 |
#8
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
In article , davidd86 wrote: I have an old rigid/rigid late-80s Italian MTB. The frame looks to be in really good nick, but the components are pretty clapped out. I was thinking of making it into a 26" "rough stuff" touring/road/commuter bike with some hand-me-downs from my race bike and I guess a few new bits and pieces. It will look kind of wierd I guess since I ride a pretty big road frame, but that's OK with me. I'm thinking I could make a low-discount Rivendell Long/Low or Bridgestone XO -- that kind of thing. I.e., use slicks and fenders around town, and wide knobbies for offroad stuff. Drop bars and a nice set of pannier racks, with some cool old Campy racing parts thrown in for good measure. I know nothing about frame geometry, so before I do this I am just wondering if this is a bad idea. _ It's a great idea if you got the parts and time. I built a bike like this for fire road touring, but I ended up riding it a lot more than just on dirt roads. There's nothing like big fat slicks for enjoying life on a bicycle... _ BTW, for others that might try this. If you want to stick with a threaded headset, I recommend getting a Nitto DirtDrop stem[1]. If even that's not high enough, Soma made a quill to threadless stem adapter that sticks up at least 6 inchs above the headset. The part number is Q-82. _ Booker C. Bense [1]- http://rivendellbicycles.com/webalog...ape/16007.html -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBQbdfoWTWTAjn5N/lAQEVkwP9FNY9/PWmsdNX02A+kXaSKNpAcyKHUz1b sK/6LKoguz6xur4MzvuC2dj/QfQQBV0i0K+CVMQvwF6Y0E4u7BNXWLsbkwlvv8Dd 52K3f3Vr0+JW0CeekivXely0A5Ljb9KaFdjr7lGlYWiQ9jX5aa EMIQ3aYJzAHJUU YO/aasKk/nA= =FXFV -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- |
#9
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Indeed, I took it out today for a loooooong ride and I love this bike. Much heavier than my race bike but I don't race any more so who cares. I am a bit surprised that they don't really sell bikes like this -- it's just so practical and bombproof, but quick too. I would post a picture of it but I'm not sure how to do that ... I don't have a web site. Booker C. Bense Wrote: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- In article , davidd86 wrote: I have an old rigid/rigid late-80s Italian MTB. The frame looks to be in really good nick, but the components are pretty clapped out. I was thinking of making it into a 26" "rough stuff" touring/road/commuter bike with some hand-me-downs from my race bike and I guess a few new bits and pieces. It will look kind of wierd I guess since I ride a pretty big road frame, but that's OK with me. I'm thinking I could make a low-discount Rivendell Long/Low or Bridgestone XO -- that kind of thing. I.e., use slicks and fenders around town, and wide knobbies for offroad stuff. Drop bars and a nice set of pannier racks, with some cool old Campy racing parts thrown in for good measure. I know nothing about frame geometry, so before I do this I am just wondering if this is a bad idea. _ It's a great idea if you got the parts and time. I built a bike like this for fire road touring, but I ended up riding it a lot more than just on dirt roads. There's nothing like big fat slicks for enjoying life on a bicycle... _ BTW, for others that might try this. If you want to stick with a threaded headset, I recommend getting a Nitto DirtDrop stem[1]. If even that's not high enough, Soma made a quill to threadless stem adapter that sticks up at least 6 inchs above the headset. The part number is Q-82. _ Booker C. Bense [1]- http://rivendellbicycles.com/webalog...ape/16007.html -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBQbdfoWTWTAjn5N/lAQEVkwP9FNY9/PWmsdNX02A+kXaSKNpAcyKHUz1b sK/6LKoguz6xur4MzvuC2dj/QfQQBV0i0K+CVMQvwF6Y0E4u7BNXWLsbkwlvv8Dd 52K3f3Vr0+JW0CeekivXely0A5Ljb9KaFdjr7lGlYWiQ9jX5aa EMIQ3aYJzAHJUU YO/aasKk/nA= =FXFV -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- davidd86 |
#10
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Scratch that, I figured it out: here's a pictu [image: http://www.home.earthlink.net/~dduqu...s22%20002.JPG] -- davidd86 |
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