[older guy]

Has anybody tried using disc brake 700c wheels/tires on a mountainbike? I've seen some 700c disc wheels (Mavic Speedcity) on an online store. I think it is doable but I wonder how it will affect the handling. The reason I am toying with the idea is I have a disc Ti frame and a line on a Ti fork, all I need are the wheelsets. Should be cheaper than buying a road frame and gruppo.
Any thoughts?

 

[jabpn]

as long as..

the frame accepts the tires you should be ok. Watch for rubbing at the seat stays and chainstains for the rear and at the fork for the front. Using disk brakes is what makes this possible. Also steering will be slightly affected but not much. Also look at Specialized which makes a regular 26" size road tire call the all condition pro. Fit's most rims.

 

[shiggy]

A 700x23 tire is barely larger diameter than a 26x2.2 tire. Plenty of clearance in most frames/forks. The slight handling difference will be because of reduced tire weight. It will make less difference than using 26x1.0 tires which also lower the BB height and change the trail of the front end.

 

[Trevor!]

I have a 700C disk wheelset. No worries at all if you put it on your MTB. No need to change the rear mech or anything.

I am going to sell mine - have no need for it.

 

[damion]

You will spin out the gears.

The 44-11 or whatever will not be able to keep up. Beyond that, you may have issues with the caliper alignment when swapping wheels.

 

[bikerboy]

It should work fine even with mountain bike gearing. As Shiggy mentioned, the wheels with a narrow tire will fit just fine. I have a Kona Dew Deluxe hybrid with 32c tires and tried them out just for grins on my full suspension. The front wheel fit with no issues. The rear wheel rubbed, but barely. I would be willing to be there are other bikes out there that would have fit my tires.

As for gearing, I disagree with damion. The 44-11 top gear is not going to work the best, but its alright. I have an old Trek road frame that I converted into a hybrid. I am running mountain cranks and the only time I spin out is going downhill at 30mph or faster. Most people I know can't spin that fast for prolonged periods of time on flat ground, so that shouldn't be a big deal.

By the way, I know you aren't running rim brakes, but those Mavic Speedcity wheels allow you to do so with the adapters that relocate the brake mounts.

 

[SpinWheelz]

Totally possible. That's an old Trek 950 mountain bike frame and fork. It's perfectly roadworthy right now. The picture shows the bike with 700x23c tires and a 46x18 gear combo. This past weekend, I replaced those skinny tires with larger WTB Slickasaurus 700x32c tires and upped the gearing to 44x16.

Love it, love it, love it.

 

[shiggy]

The 44-11 or whatever will not be able to keep up...

Not a problem unless you spinout @ 70-80 rpm.

 

[shiggy]

Totally possible. That's an old Trek 950 mountain bike frame and fork. It's perfectly roadworthy right now. The picture shows the bike with 700x23c tires and a 46x18 gear combo. This past weekend, I replaced those skinny tires with larger WTB Slickasaurus 700x32c tires and upped the gearing to 44x16.

Love it, love it, love it.

Nice bike Spin.

A note to others: the fork is a "non-suspension corrected" model. You will not be able to use the road brake on most current mtb forks.

 

[Trevor!]

Not a problem unless you spinout @ 70-80 rpm.

You do on DHs and on rolling sections (In my experience).

I found the whole 700C experiance on a MTB not really worth it at all. A road bike was a better investment, even though it cost a bit more.

 

[shiggy]

You do on DHs and on rolling sections (In my experience).

I found the whole 700C experiance on a MTB not really worth it at all. A road bike was a better investment, even though it cost a bit more.

I used a road bike for years with the same high gear. Really not an issue. You coast on the steep downs hills after you spin out (which for me is around 170 rpm).

 

[SpinWheelz]

Nice bike Spin.

A note to others: the fork is a "non-suspension corrected" model. You will not be able to use the road brake on most current mtb forks.

Cheers, Shiggy. Thanks for noting the non-suspension corrected fork bit. Didn't even think of mentioning that. The brakes are probably noteworthy as well. These are long reach brakes that I used. Standard reach brakes would not work at all with this setup.

This has been a very lucky frameset, I think. I've been very lucky to be able to find several magic gear combos that work well for the road. And now I've been able to make road bits and pieces work as well.

 

[Trevor!]

I used a road bike for years with the same high gear. Really not an issue. You coast on the steep downs hills after you spin out (which for me is around 170 rpm).

Ahh OK!

 

[Bikinfoolferlife]

Spin, really like your bike. Looks super clean.

 

[LyNx]

I did it sort of, 'cept I went with 27" wheels and tyres. Got a Specialized RockHopper Sport from my cousin and started doing some road on it with 1.5" semi-slicks, but the gearing was a bit too low when riding w/ the roadies so I decided I wanted to try to get some higher gearing without spending any money - Got the 27" off my old Schwinn and it had on some 1 1/8" tyres, refit the brakes off the Scwhinn onto the RockHopper (had to do a bit of drilling on the fork since it didn't have a complete through hole, only 1 side had the hole and use a bracket to mount the rear between the stays) but it has worked and rides very nice giving me a bit higher gearing - has a 46/34/24 crankset and 13-34 7spd cassette (but I've limited the derailer from going up to that dumb a$$ "Mega Gear" of Shimano's so it's really a 13-25 6spd). It isn't the lightest, but if I'm training why use a super light bike anyhow