SentinelAeon

Hello,


I am trying to build my dream bike. It is a mountain bike look with thin tires. I will use it to drive around city, i am trying to drive as fast as possible, but city has many bad roads, i need to stay safe and comfortable. I had back operation years back so i will take this into account. To make simpler i will write what i want from my bike and then ask questions. Right now i have cheap suspension seatpost. Its not working well. If i set it to soft, it lowers when i sit on it. If i set it to hard, it doesnt work at all and remains still. I need something better.


What i want:

- mountain bike with thin tires, i just love how it looks

- i want as much speed as possible but tires need to handle rough road without losing traction

- i need suspension for the road bumps to protect my back


Questions:

1) Suspension: Should i go for rear suspension bike (adds lots of weight which is bad) or for some higher price suspension seatpost ?

2) Tires: For rear tire i want something thin and fast, no tread in the middle, little tread on sides for stability. For front tire i need something with no tread on middle and medium tread on sides for stability. I want tires to be as fast as possible.


Pictures:


1) What i want my bike to look like:








2) My current cheap seat suspension is not working well





3) Would this suspension work better or should i just get both front and rear suspension bike ?

fietsbob

I use a Cane Creek thudbuster LT on another bike with less seat post extended length available, I have their ST..

hokiefyd 

My dad has a few Bodyfloat seatposts (now called Kinekt). They're fantastic. Satori Animaris is very similar, for a much lower price.

hybridbkrdr

Cane Creek Thudbuster LT 2 Seatpost

https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=8414;menu=1000,2,110;mid=0;pgc=0;page=36

Cane Creek Thudbuster ST Seatpost

https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=8415;menu=1000,2,110;mid=0;pgc=0;page=21

I've built a couple of bikes. I got a frame from Randombikeparts and wheels from Rosebikes. The prices from both even with shipping to Canada was still good.

hybridbkrdr

I found some Suntour suspension seatposts on eBay. By the way, do you have an idea which wheel size you're going to go for? 26er, 27.5er or 29er? Would your back benefit from fat tires? Also, you can check out the tire/rim size compatibility chart on sheldonbrown.com. You may have to choose a hybrid type of wheel to run smaller tires.

Also, beware of the various standards. You can have a frame which takes either 9mm QR or the new thru-axle tech. And mountain bike frames can take either a straight steerer or tapered fork.

Then you have to check the size of the seatpost and front derailleur clamp size.

EDIT: Oddly enough, even though I've seen the tires you've described in the past, the only one I can find right now is the Vittoria Terreno Dry TNT G+ Cyclocross/Gravel

SentinelAeon

Thank you for your replies,

Right now i have 26" wheels, i will go for 27.5", 29" or something around that. As for seatpost, i think my budget will be about 50€ or maybe a little more.

hybridbkrdr

This is under 50 Euros: Suntour SP12-NCX https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/...-medium-211480

I was looking at tires for myself and here's what I found (similar to what you want): Kenda Kross Plus SRC Police K847 tire,
Vee Rubber VRB0200

(As for me, I found the ones I found cool are: Michelin Cross Max, Panaracer Tour, Goodyear Transit Tour, and possibly Specialized Hemisphere, although that one may be a bit hard to install. I know the Michelin are easy to install on a Rhyno Lite rim.)

If you're in Europe, there's this frame here: MSC BIKES MERCURY

https://www.probikeshop.com/en/gb/ms...17/134640.html

So, this frame takes 27.5" wheels and recommended fork travel of 80 to 100mm with a tapered fork. Here's the Manitou Markhor 27.5" 100m travel with tapered fork:
https://www.bike24.com/p2251394.html

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/.../rp-prod161569

Manitou M30


https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/...-remote-839028

This frame takes 9mm QR wheels so... Deore disc wheelset

https://www.rosebikes.com/rose-mtb-wheelset-rodi-blackrock-disc-shimano-deore-525-disc-2668535?product_shape=black




https://www.bike24.com/p2262209.html


And the above is a Shimano Deore groupset. Just make sure the fork is also 9mm QR.

hybridbkrdr

I just found a tire that fits your definition:WTB ByWay Road Plus TCS Folding Tire - 47-584


https://www.bike24.com/p2230174.html

Schwalbe rim strips

https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content...gc=0;orderby=2

allen key skewers

https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content...gc=0;orderby=2

WTB Rocket Sport saddle

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/.../rp-prod125919

HT PA12 Nano pedals

https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content...ge=3;orderby=2

Oury grips


https://www.probikeshop.com/en/gb/ou...ips/68027.html


Procraft 91 rear kickstand

https://www.bike24.com/p2126090.html?q=+kickstand

hybridbkrdr

Wow, check out this frame for 66 Euro from bike-discount.de https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/...-n-blue-837217
I shows 1-1/8" fork so you may be able to use say a Rockshox 30 Silver or Suntour XCR.

HerrKaLeun

Bad roads - you want wider tires and large wheel, maybe even a 29+

They roll easy if the tread is not aggressive for offroad.

Suspension adds cost, weight, maintenance and pedal inefficiency depending on how well it is designed.

hybridbkrdr

Yeah, I built a mountain bike with a Rockshox XC30 fork (to have a modest cost, or else I would have bought Manitou forks). Thinking about it later, I would have bought a rigid suspension-corrected fork. (By the way, the Suntour XCR is seen as almost comparable to Rockshox, but I could find more parts for Rockshox on eBay than Suntour.) One of the reasons I started another thread on hybrids with larger tires if often enough, if a lot of hybrids are built around 32c tires, then the frame clearance probably won't allow for way fatter tires. But I'd prefer the frame geometry of a hybrid so... (don't know why the industry has largely overlooked this). Also, it's easier to find full length fenders for hybrids.

There are some cheap Alivio components on eBay. But there's also a cheap Alivio crankset on bike-components.de if I remember correctly. The WTB Rocket Sport (130mm model) I linked up there is real nice (at least for me). I think it's partly due to the shape of it since I have a saddle from Norco with the same material density though it doesn't feel the same overall.

hybridbkrdr

I don't want to bombard someone else's thread about random comments on bicycles. But, since I completed a mountain bike and flat-bar road bike piece by piece, I sometimes wonder whether I should just sell both and buy the Devinci Cartier 650b hybrid. It already comes standard with fenders anyway. Although it only has 1.75" tires, I once took off real quick on my mountain bike which has 26x1.75" Schwalbe Range Cruiser tires while I was on grass. I'd rather have another type of tire though because the Schwalbe was so tight I had to go to a bike shop to get them installed. I don't want to have to go to a bike shop every time I have a puncture. I tried installing the Michelin Cross Max 40c tires on 700c Rhyno Lite rims (intended for my drop-bar touring bike project which is still in boxes) and the slid on and off nicely. I haven't tried the Panacer Tour tires I mentioned previously but I'm thinking about buying them for my mountain bike. (Just want something different than Michelin just to try another brand. Haha.)


I find 630mm handlebars to be the right width. My mountain bike has 700mm bars and they feel a bit wide for regular city riding. I also used 30mm rise handlebars for both my winter bike and flat-bar road bike.


The 26 inch wheels on my mountain bike feel a bit small for me even though I'm only 5'8". And sometimes I feel a bit tall riding on my 700c flat-bar road bike. So I think 650b is a reasonable compromise.


I originally had Sunlite grips I bought from Niagaracycle (now changed to thebikeshop or whatever) for my mountain bike. When I switched to Ritchey Comp Trail grips I found them a bit too long. The Sunlite grips also seemed to absorb road vibrations better. And the thickness of the Ritchey Comp Trail makes me feel like the brake levers are a bit farther. Despite this, I'm tempted to buy Oury grips because they're also thick but shorter than the Ritchey Comp Trail. Although the Oury grips are more expensive and are described as "sticky". The Sunlite grips which were the cheapest I could find, I find are actually still a great alternative.


I bought a Canadian Tire bike for winter biking and switched the grip shifters for Shimano Altus shifters that are paired with Shimano Tourney derailleurs. On my flat-bar road bike, I have R400 series shifters (equivalent to Tiagra/Deore) and R400 front derailleur and Deore LX rear derailleur. The Altus shifters shift almost the exact same way as the more expensive shifters/derailleurs. So, if you find much better prices on Alivio than Deore, I'd be tempted to go with Alivio since by the time the Alivio parts wear out, you may want to change groupsets anyway. Although I read once someone questioned customers over time about the differences between Alivio and Deore. Deore apparently lasts longer, doesn't need to be adjusted as often and can perform better in difficult circumstances (I suppose that means like shifting when pedaling fast). As far as building is concerned, Altus, Acera and Alivio are sometimes about the same price. That's why I'd choose Alivio for a build. But for a complete hybrid, I'd be satisified with Altus believe it or not. I'm a commuter, not a racer.


For a stem, I'd probably go with 110mm since I find the 120mm length I chose for my flat-bar road bike is a tad long. I like the semi-aggressive position to go faster if I'm in a rush.


Believe it or not, Evanscycle has a 650b hybrid frameset although it's a tad expensive and it would take me a while to find the fenders I'd want for that. One thing I find almost confusing though. This year Louis Garneau actually switched the M1 29er hybrid to 650b wheels. While Giant eliminated its ATX Lite 650b mountain bike (with rigid fork). In England, they have the Raleigh Strada 650b hybrid. But, here in North America we have the Devinci Cartier, Raleigh Redux and Louis Garneau M1 in 650b. The Louis Garneau M1 doesn't have a chainguard while the Raleigh Redux doesn't have fenders. Since the Devinci Cartier comes with fenders and chainguard, I'd pick that one. It's also used for their electric bikes which means the bike could tolerate fast speeds if needed (even though, yeah I understand you can go fast with most bikes, just saying the frame/wheels are probably designed for it). Also, I'd choose the Altus model instead of the Alivio model because I'd prefer mechanical disc brakes. I don't want to learn how to bleed brakes for hydraulic disc brakes.