Hi,

I have recently converted my hardtail mtb into a more road going machine via: rigid forks, clip in pedals and skinnier tyres.

The next issue is gearing… I’m spinning out in top gear. I’m after some advice on how to best remedy this for not a lot of money. Should I look to get a road block on the back? Will this even work and will I require a new mech/shifter?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Orange by VeeeDubStar, on Flickr

I changed the big ring on mine for a 48 tooth and the middle 36 tooth. Works well with standard cassette but i will change to a road cassette in the near future for better road ratios. Cheap 48 tooth ring is about £14 from CRC.

Cheers – will look at getting a 48T initially and see how I get on with that. Can’t go wrong for 14 quid!

I’m spinning out in top gear…Should I look to get a road block on the back?

most mtb cassettes have 11 smallest cog, most road have 12, going for road cassette will not give you a higher gear just a closer range. Look for a bigger chainring.
Rings bigger than 44 used to be thin on the ground, >48 pretty rare, a road crank may work out similar price.
And biger wheels with narrower tyres would help, narrower bars, longer stem, strip off the unneeded stuff, fit mudguards, add lightness…etc

careful or your cheap conversion may end up costing as much as a 2nd hand road bike (and still not be as fast as the road bike)

<edit> I stand corrected 48T <£10 (in my defence haven’t bought/used an mtb big ring in quite a while)

As D0nk says. Basically sell it and buy a hybrid or a road bike.

They’re nicer to ride on the road (+bikepaths etc) and faster and lighter.

Should I look to get a road block on the back?

Nope – as D0NK says, that won’t make any difference. You’d need something larger up front. Bigger wheels make a difference too obviously.

Or just buy a cheap road/town/commuter bike.

If budget is an issue then try Recyke Y’Bike up in Byker:
http://www.recyke-y-bike.org/buy/

As D0nk says. Basically sell it and buy a hybrid or a road bike.

woah woah woah, it would have to be a dire situation before I recommended selling a bike, he just needs an additional bike 8)

I ran a commuterised kona mtb for a couple years, when I finally made the switch and got a road/hybrid/cx thing it was just a much nicer, easier ride.

Spinning out in top gear on the flat with 44t front and most likely 12t on the cassette?

I don’t want to appear feeble to the STW cycling gods, but I run a very similar set up and only have a spinning out problem on quite steep hills.

I swapped my 12t cog for an 11t, but that was as much as I could be bothered to do for the minimal gains.

I ended up getting an old Campag crank and chainring, running 57t up front right now, and don’t spin out anymore. 🙂

Thanks for the information everyone. Not much point in getting a road block then by the looks of it.

Think I’m gonna order that 48T ring and not spend any more spondooliks…

Am nee cycling god that’s for damn sure, but love ganning geet fast whenever there’s a doonhill stretch! You can pick up a canny pace along Scotswood Road out of Newcastle.

Thanks for the Recyke Y’Bike link GrahamS. I’ve never been up there before.

No worries nick. By the way if you’re looking for folk to ride with in the area then there is a Facebook group:
https://facebook.com/groups/necycling/

You can pick up 46 / 48t big rings pretty easily.
Perhaps worth getting a set of 700c disc wheels if you want to. Depends how much you want to spend really.

Are you sure the 700c wheel would fit, clearance on the front fork looks limited 😉

In my experience, the problem with road chainsets is they are designed for narrower chainstays so the small ring if too big say a 39 will hit the wider chainstay of an MTB. However a compact chainset would probably be ok – but offers nothing over changing the rings if you can get them for the right BCD (I used to run an old rockhopper as a commuter with drop bars)

I am a big fan of pedals that have a cage on one side and clipless on the other for commuting so they can be used with normal shoes easily.

I would also put on mudguards and a rack.

Mudguards are a must, SKS do some that clear 2.4″ tyres.

As for the crankset, I found using a BB with a longer spindle worked for me, running a 122mm BB spindle which gives a good enough chainline.

700c wheels will fit in a 26″ mtb frame no problem, the outer diameter is virtually the same.

Are you sure you can just fit a 48 outer?

I’m not sure the front mech will deal with 22-32-48, think you might need a 26 and 36 to go with the 48.

I’m finding a 44/11 a big enough gear with the mudguards on the bike. Anything above 35Km/h and the drag really starts to take it’s toll. I only use my HT commuter in the really crap weather and then use the road bike when it’s fine.

I’d add reflective tape. You can get it in a lot of colors including black so as to not look ridiculous in daylight.

And add at least 4 Gopro cameras so that you can post video of all of the idiots that you see and near misses that you have! 😉

I don’t want to appear feeble to the STW cycling gods, but I run a very similar set up and only have a spinning out problem on quite steep hills.

I swapped my 12t cog for an 11t, but that was as much as I could be bothered to do for the minimal gains.
How fast is spinning out?
http://www.machars.net/bikecalc.htm
Pop the numbers in here, see your desired top speed, pick your cadence and then pick some rings based on how fast your legs go round.

For Ref 50×11 vs 42×11 is 5mph difference for the same sized wheels

If thats not enough there is always the “double up” idea