New Commuter Bike - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Lazarus · 05-11-2008, 09:05 PM

Brother was cleaning out his shed and came across an old GT Outpost circa 1998. This would make a much better commuter then my current Road Bike so I went ahead and took it.

Here's the before.

So for the last 2 days I've been working on it replacing parts from my bike parts that I've accumulated over the years. Things done:

New cables
700cc rims instead of 26" with 28C tires
Reworked the brakes to accommodate the taller tires.
7 speed rear 11-19 cassett
New chain
New Seat
Swapped over the e-bike hub kit.
Clipless pedals
Newer rear derailer

This will make a much more comfortable ride and is stiffer then the road bike so low speed control is much better then before and the ride is much smoother with the wider tires. It also has eyelets so I can put fenders and more racks if needed. I took it on a 13 mile trip today and it felt good. I've removed the front derailer and an just running it as a 42 tooth machine.

Finished product: Just need to add fenders.

SVOboy · 05-11-2008, 09:10 PM

Better commuter than a road bike!? I'm shocked.

Nice ride!

MetroMPG · 05-11-2008, 09:17 PM

Hey! That's my mountain bike frame!

Mine's a '97 Karakoram.

Is that one as small as it looks??

igo · 05-11-2008, 11:03 PM

Looks good. I was wondering about the wheels. So, you fit road bike wheels on a mountain bike? Did you run into any problems with the brakes?

I did know that it was possible to do that.

Lazarus · 05-11-2008, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVOboy

Better commuter than a road bike!? I'm shocked.

I have a lot of saddle time on both and not to start a which is better debate because it depends on the commute and road conditions but...
Yes better commuter. My road bike is set up to go fast. The Hybrid you sit a littler taller for better visiblity in traffic and for me an upright postion is more maneuverable in traffic. If has flat bars and you can add racks, lights, fenders and run wider tires(less flats and more comfortable ride on crappy roads).

In my experience the difference in speed between a MTB and a road bike is about 2 mph with slicks on a 26 inch rim for a normal commute. So on a 20 mile ride you're looking at 6-10 minutes. I don't know how much of a hit if any on 700cc wheels it will take. That's what I mean by more comfortable commute.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Hey! That's my mountain bike frame! Mine's a '97 Karakoram.

Is that one as small as it looks??

Sure looks like it. I ride a pretty small frame. It's probably a 17" or so. I'm 5'8" and ride a 16-17 depending on manufacture or 52cm on a road bike standard frame or 48cm on a compact frame.

Quote:

Originally Posted by igo

Looks good. I was wondering about the wheels. So, you fit road bike wheels on a mountain bike? Did you run into any problems with the brakes?

Yes the brakes had to be moved up about an inch to make rim contact. They were the old canti-lever(sp) brakes. There was a hole at the top of each arm that work nicely to retofit them. I'm going to digg through my stuff some more and see if I can find some V-Brakes/side pulls that I can make work. The canti-levers put out minimum stopping power for a bike that is weighted down with this much stuff.