Caught up with a friend that I skate with occasionally today and found out he’s gotten quite serious on his road bike and heads out at 5am every Saturday and Sunday morning.
Kids sport commitments make a mtb ride on weekends difficult, but I could manage a dawn road ride.
I’m not prepared to go full roadie though.
Group does around 40-50km at an average of 27kmh. Is that doable on a modified mtb? I avg around 23kmh on my commuter bike with 2.2” knobbies and a fairly upright position (although for 30km not 40-50).
If I drop the bars a bit and switch to some skinnier slicks, is that likely going to make enough of a difference?
The alternative is to go a flat bar roadie and stick some pvc pipe on the forks and frame so it doesn’t look so skinny.
I concur with the rest, look for a cheap roadie or flat bar. The gearing will be better suited and the lighter weight, skinnier tyres will make a huge difference. You do alright to average 23 on your commuter but averaging 27 will be tough on a MTB.
I’m not fit, so take this with a grain of salt. I did a charity ride in Adelaide 2 years running. First time I used a carbon hardtail XC bike with 2.5” slicks and rode 86km in 4hr 40. Following year I returned with a $700 roadie and travelled 106km in 4hr30. Felt much healthier after the second year too.
Bite the bullet and get a roadie.
