Originally Posted by
Korina
I do love my converted "Rockflopper"(lol!). What distinguishes an all rounder? I'm guessing drop bars and wide tires (I'll never go back); road gearing or mtb?
I think of an all rounder as a bike that can handle different types of road surfaces. The gearing and tire selection for vintage MTBs make them suitable for all kinds of road surfaces (OK they're not great on gnarly single track or snow/sand). One downside are, as you point out, the flat bars are kind of uncomfortable for a long day in the saddle. A drop bar conversion can fix that. There are also "alt" bars that help. A trekking bar is a cheap conversion since the MTB brake levers and shifters will work and it provides a lot of really nice hand positions. This is my 1992 Trek 950 kitted out with trekking bars and 26 x 1.75 inch tires:
