ducati

Hot damn, you fly.

Flimflam

I only have the one bike, which is a front-fork suspension mountain bike - according to my friends who've ridden it, it's a lot more rigid than others with suspension - but in that respect, I don't have a recent comparison and any extra work is good for me anyway I just don't notice a problem with it. My ride is a "Dyno Victory" that I picked up from a local Canadian Tire store - I was limited with budget, and it's not a total piece of crap (IMO) - it's stood some fair use and abuse up to now.

Rarely I've had to pop up onto the sidewalk and then when the road-lane opens up, and it's safe to do so, I'll jump the bike back onto the roadway - something I'd imagine a road bike wouldn't be ideal for (I usually ride between 16 and 23mph - depending on tiredness/uphills/wind, etc.)

The two things that switch it up from being a ballache (IMO) and a decent ride are:

Definitely switch tyres, get some road treaded tyres on it - knobblies will definitely kill your coasting/freewheel speed and impede your pedal power quite a bit. Oh, and knobblies do create a lot more road noise too if that's a bother for you.

Get barends - definite must have for really cranking it up on hills and just as others have said for a change of position - I often rest on quiet downhills by putting my forearms on the handlebars, and using the bar-ends as bookends for my forearm/elbow (hard for me to describe..) allowing my head and body to get lower and decrease wind resistance.

A creature comfort I've had since commuting on this rig is a cyclocomputer. I use this for several reasons, mainly to track mileage so I have some sort of appreciation for my fitness/training, but also just because I love to see how fast I'm going. I use the TRIP functions on my commutes and definitely keep a rough record in my head, so's to keep on pace or to know if I'm improving, etc.

The key to riding / commuting is getting on a bike and riding, the rest will come to you as you develop your riding style - you'll just know what else will make it comfortable/enjoyable.

Good luck!

Flimflam

Forgot to mention, I use the 'top' (3rd) front gear exclusively on the road - It's a 3-front 7-back deal and I'm too inexperienced to be able to tell you what RPM I get, but unless I'm doing over 30mph, it's not been an issue and my tyres are 1.75s, no idea on the brand but I got a great deal on them at my LtoworkBS - even the store employee was surprised at the price, cost me $12.99 CAD each. I was planning on getting QR rims for a nice switchout for the knobblies, but honestly due to possible theft and not really using the knobblies at all (not needed them yet, I don't trail ride much) I'm not bothering yet.

HardyWeinberg

Over my 6-7 mile one way commute, mtn bike (red) and 'flatbar roadbike' (blue) are about equally fast. Probably faster from stoplight-to-stoplight on blue bike, but no big difference. Red bike front susp has 60 mm travel, I gather more recent ones might bounce more. I am still interested in putting a rigid fork on, but that's been backburnered by a couple other upcoming claims on the budget.

Red bike has been FAR more reliable than blue bike was off the rack (crappy wheels that could not hold true + mini-v brakes a very bad mix). I've had shifting issues w/ blue bike too. Red (mtn) bike has really been pretty much bulletproof, day-in-day-out, rain/shine, potholes you name it.

Top gear on mtn bike (44/11) is not as high as on blue bike (50/11) but in practice I don't get much higher than 50/15 on that anyway which is about the same as 44/11. Red is heavier than blue, but loaded weights are pretty comparable. I suspect aerodynamic effects of luggage swamp any effect of weight difference on actual speed/handling. In my own case, the mtn bike has a bigger frame (longer) and is less twitchy for handling. Blue bike is squished enough I can't ride it hands-free for instance.

All that said, I have commute 8X the miles, give or take, on the blue bike than the red so the red one has only had 1/8 the opportunity to **** out on me that the blue one has.

Oh yes, mtn bike susp fork has no eyelets, so I used copper wire to tie down fender stays to the dropout area of the fenders. I'm surprised how well they've stayed attached, and haven't really abraded the paint on the fork at all yet.

chocula

Could you post a photo? I'm considering doing something similar with an onld Schwinn Mesa Runner.

cyccommute 

I look forward to the 'shortcuts' Road bike is faster but the mountain bike is way more fun especially if you can smoke some pavement pounder on the trails that run parallel to the bike path. And I keep the knobbies on the mountain bike all year long...I hate changing tires

caloso

I've got an older Specialized Hard Rock. All rigid, inverted tread tires, rack, panniers. Looks like hell but runs very well. Probably the only thing I'll do to modify it is to replace the flat bar with randoneuring drops.

Alrocket

I've not only commuted 5 days a week for 2 years on my Trek 4300 MTB, but I've also done 3 tours too! (2 were fully loaded and 1 was supported).

The only change I made was the tyres - I put on Continential Sports Contacts 26x.1.25s - for sweet riding on asphalt. Didn't even remove the (crappy) stock suspension fork.

godspiral

I really like the mtb with slick tires for commuting (I ride road bike all the time). Its 35lbs though. Very comfortable. Cheap (so theft proof). If 15 mph is fast enough, then MTB is fine for any distance. Brakes and handling is what makes mtb a good pick.

TRUMPHENT

I commute 22 miles roundtrip every day on my cheap full suspension bike. I have added a Schwalbe 2.0 Marathon tire on the rear, a cheap 1.75in Walmart tire on the front. Trek handle bars, Promax front disc brake, Ascent seatpost pannier rack and Crank Bros Mallet Se pedals.

I have ridden it every work day for the past 10 months. It works for me! When I get a flat, the tires are especially easy to remove to replace the innertube. The Titec Hellbent seatpost gives me height and distance from the handlebars. I had a roadie draft me for couple of miles once.

Since this is my only bike and I don't know any better, I can say yes, you can commute that distance on an mtb.

One day, I will buy or build a 29'er for the job of commuting. Allout speed is not my first concern. Big tire benefits on the commute are definitely worth considering .

jk__74

+1 on the mix of MTB and road commuters

I switch off between an alum road bike and my 7 yr old Rockhopper MTB. The Rockhopper is now outfitted with Freddy fenders, 1.25" slicks, a rack and lights, and is shaping up to be my wet, fall ride. My road bike is pampered and saved for perfect weather days (pretty much all summer up until now).

I was curious about weight and after weighing the two bikes, they are only about a 2-3 pound difference. Gear-wise and seating position-wise I can crank harder/faster on the road bike, but I still peak in the 20mph range on my MTB - in my opinion the tires make a huge difference. The only thing I would change is to swap out the shock fork for a ridgid fork (maybe a Kona Project 2).

Topher_Aus

I'm not sure if that's impressive or crazy - I would have thought you'd waste a lot of energy riding on the road on a cheap full suspension bike. Those things way a ton as well.

Alrocket

I've been thinking about a Project 2 as well. The only concern is lack of braze-ons for front rack

JSChance

I'll try to get a picture taken this weekend. I rode my other bike (a 1978 Schwinn LeTour based frankenbike) to work today, so I don't have it here in the office. Overall I'm really pleased with the performance of the old High Sierra set up as it is. I rode in Chicago's LATE Ride again and on one of the dark streets I hit the bottom half of a broken bottle. I thought for sure I'd flat, but the SERFAs kept on rolling.

tuolumne

I did a 16 mile commute on a mtb with nobbies for quite a while. I just switched to a road bike about 6 weeks back. This shaved off about 10 minutes (2 mph) as most of my ride is on country roads. However, I do miss the mtb greatly once I get into the city. It just felt more secure for hopping curbs, taking shortcuts etc. Also, it was much more comforable on my wrists with the very poor urban potholed roads. I plan to commute through the winter for the first time...we'll see how that goes. I'll probably be back on the mtb when it snows.

RomSpaceKnight

I've been riding a bike to work for 20 years, road and mountain. Personally I like my mtb. The upright riding position gives better visibility and is generally more comfortable. The skinny tires on roadies are susceptable to pinch flats. Jumping curbs and such is easier on a mtb. A fork sucks up potholes better.

jk__74

I had a lack of braze-ons on my existing RockShok (and wanted to mount 'real' fenders) so I followed the advice of others in the forum on using 'p-clamps' - a couple of those from the electrical aisle at the hardware store plus a few misc stainless steel bolts/washers/locknuts and pow! - instant braze-on.

DSC02235-1.JPG

TRUMPHENT

"I'm not sure if that's impressive or crazy - I would have thought you'd waste a lot of energy riding on the road on a cheap full suspension bike. Those things way a ton as well."

Yes, my bike is very heavy. I have never put it on a scale but I know it is overweight. I had a roadie draft me for couple miles one morning. I view it as the most comprehensive and longlived exercise program I have ever adhered to.

With the clipless pedals, I have learned to spin. It's only in the lower gears that I can sense pogoing or porpoising. I don't think I am wasting a single btu of energy. I am currently in the best physical condition of my 53 years.

My fairer gender coworkers, usually much younger and much more overweight than me, ogle me. This is true.

I agree that there are far better bikes suited for commuting than mine. I have done the miles that convince me that my bike is more than up to the task and it has carried me along with it.

ryanparrish

If I ever get the funds together for my new MTB project I would like to get full metal fenders for it in black is there such thing?

SimonEd

I started out on a commute the same distance as you (17KM each way) I started on a Norco with 1.9" tyres on it and the really nasty chainset that came with it. Over time it evolved to have Avid Disk breaks on the front (A necessity IMHO for city commuting) and a Tiagra chain set with Michelin Transworld City tyres. My average crusing speed was 27-30KM/Hr (about 20mph) The slick tyres will go up to 90 psi and this will be the cheapest perfromance increase you can get. Our office move a little later and added a couple of miles to the commute, but I still got there in under an hour and this is in Tokyo!

Go for it, you will get into work feeling like a million bucks and come the weekend you can pig out all you want and not have a moments guilt

aking469

I also use an MTB. Diamondback Response, bone stock save fenders, rack, lights, trekking bars, clyclometer, mirror, reflective tape, etc. Love the suspension forks....best thing for old tired hands. It is a hardtail so I have a suspension post, probably going to a thudbuster soon.... Adjusted the shifting until it was really smooth...new brake pads....really stops. I went from a hybrid to a recumbent to an MTB....the MTB seems to be the best choice... Oh, yeah Kenda quests on the rims (over inflated to 70psi w/Mr. Tuffy inserts). Geeez, not much like a DB Response anymore...hahahaha.

stringbreaker

I ride a specialized expedition hybrid 7.4 mi one way to work, its got suspension forks and seat but I changed the tires that came on it to 1 1/4 wide while not quite slicks but pretty close it made a big difference. I'm thinking I'll change back to the tires that came on it this winter they are 1 3/4 with pretty hefty tread. I guess what I'm saying is that for me the hybrid is a good choice