[dru]

I'm going to horrify the roadies this spring. I joined a local club that is heavily into road riding so I can gain some much needed speed, but I don't own a road bike.

I'm not buying one either, at least this year.

Since I'm building a new 26er frame, I almost don't need my 29er for off road so I'm turning it into a roadie abomination.

My Salsa El Mariachi is already 'unique' due to its ponderous Alfine hub, and is now equipped with a very short, very steep stem and.....

old steel road bars......

gasp... because they are 7/8th inch diameter so I can run my XTR brakes and the Alfine shifter.

15/16th road bars don't work.....

and I slapped on 700x32 road tires.

I'm just waiting for my 16 tooth rear sprocket so I can get the right gearing.

I better hope I'm halfway fast when I bring out the beast because I'm sure the roadie crowd will not approve.....

Drew

 

[D3DO]

PICS!!! PICS!! PICS!!
I applaud your effort to O-ffend and undermine our roadie brotherine!
ALLEZ, I shout, ALLEZ!!

 

[Bunyan]

That's awesome. Let's see some pics. :thumbsup:

I seem to recall someone on the forum posted up a picture of his RIP 9 (the beefy '10 version) with 700x32 tires. That baby sure looked fast. :eekster:

I have to admit though, I too placed a 700x32 tire on a spare rear wheel to run on a trainer on my full squish and it looks something out of place. Gotta say it works well on the trainer though and it gets the job done.

I'd love to hear how it works out with your 29er. Good luck with the club and don't let them tallk you into wearing them tight shorts!

 

[PanFry]

I am sure it will be cool but all I heard in that was "I am building a new 26er frame".

I am overwhelmed with sadness...

Just kiddin'. Sort of...

PF

P.S.> Here is my old EL MAR as a Super Duper Monster Cross:

 

[finch2]

they'll be laughing when they see you coming, but you'll get the last laugh as you take that shotcut over the verge with a wheelie and bunny hop.

he he I like your style

 

[MagicCarpet]

MTB calipers and road levers?

If so, I'd be hanging out at the back of the pack until you get used to that. Otherwise I think it looks great.

 

[glovemtb]

:thumbsup:

 

[skunkty14]

Panfry, toptube pad!? Really?

 

[JeroenK]

Try to navigate the group to long cobble sections and you'll be fine

 

[Schultz29]

Your local roadie group had better be slow and you had better be fast if this is gonna work. I showed up at our local Tuesday road ride this past season hoping to keep up on my CX bike. The ride is filled with Cats 1-5. I had sold my old road bike to pay for the CX bike so, now the CX bie is my road steed. I found out quickly how slow the CX bike is to accelerate or sprint on the streets. The longer wheelbase and extra weight felt solid but sprints were very labored. Although many of these complaints could be traced back to my current poor fitness level. Maybe a few years ago, I could have been a bit more successful but there is no doubt that a road bike accels on the road and a mtn bike is best for the trail.

If you're ditching your 29'er for a 26'er then what benefit will you get from riding your 29'er on the road? Oh yeah, and you will annoy some of the roadies and many of them will do their best to blow you off the back. I'd keep a low profile and try to hang off the back and be there at the end. Good Luck!

 

[jacques_anquetil]

dru that is a cool, economical idea to help bolster your fitness level.

but, your gearing is going to seriously limit your top speed if you want to ride with the roadie group. you going to need at least a minimum of the equivalent of a 48x11 (126 gear inches) if you want to keep up on the fast flat or downhill sections otherwise you will be spun out like a turbo hampster wheel. 50t would be better. road riding is much more about small, incremental changes in speed and staying in just the right RPM range. hopefully the gear jumps of the alfine hub is small. big gearing jumps make you spin too fast or two slow for the group.

 

[olapiquena]

My money is on the C or, maybe optimistic, B group.

Having ridden and raced for a long long time, I was shocked to realize that my true fitness level really wasn't where it needed to be to ride with the local A road group (that said, the local A group is pretty nuts). Similarly, true fast road group rides required certain bike handling skills and understandings that mountain biking never really gave me. After a year of hard road rides and significantly faster mtb epics I can say that I *might* give A level rides another shot.

That said, find out if you can hang with any of the groups. Can you average their speed over the routes they ride? What do they bring sprints to? Can you swing that, in a controlled fashion, on your mountain bike?

Have fun on that beast and try not to hurt yourself (seriously).

 

[Manicmtbr]

Your local roadie group had better be slow and you had better be fast if this is gonna work. I showed up at our local Tuesday road ride this past season hoping to keep up on my CX bike. The ride is filled with Cats 1-5. I had sold my old road bike to pay for the CX bike so, now the CX bie is my road steed. I found out quickly how slow the CX bike is to accelerate or sprint on the streets. The longer wheelbase and extra weight felt solid but sprints were very labored. Although many of these complaints could be traced back to my current poor fitness level. Maybe a few years ago, I could have been a bit more successful but there is no doubt that a road bike accels on the road and a mtn bike is best for the trail.

If you're ditching your 29'er for a 26'er then what benefit will you get from riding your 29'er on the road? Oh yeah, and you will annoy some of the roadies and many of them will do their best to blow you off the back. I'd keep a low profile and try to hang off the back and be there at the end. Good Luck!

Agreed. Cool idea, but it will be really hard to keep up with a group of riders on dedicated road bikes.

 

[CommuterBoy]

Very curious on your bar/lever set-up for my next commuter build. I had to go with mechanical discs on my drop bars because I couldn't get the hayes levers to cooperate. Now running mechanical discs with time trial levers on bullhorns. Pics please...

 

[partyboj]

Why not put 700c wheels on your 26" and use your 29" for offroad :thumbsup:

 

[strat819]

A+ for effort!

... you're probably headed for some (involentary) solo rides (you'll be dropped in no time... if that's what your roadie crew wants... it will depend more on them than you).

 

[dru]

I'll post some pics in a few days after I get some bar tape and put everything back together. I had stripped the El Mar. down to the frame for a rebuild. As it sits now it has wheels, bars, stem and seat in place....

As for my speed, I'm under no illusions. The club, WCC, has some very fast riders. There are 4 different rides based on ability. I'm hoping to make the second fastest one. If I can stay with them I'd be happy.

The gearing will be close to road bike. Running 38x16 my lowest gear will give 10 mph at 100 rpm, and top gear will give 31 mph.

A road bike running 52/38 with a 12/25 cassette will be ~ 3mph faster on top and a pinch faster in granny at 100 rpm cadence.

The problem with the Alfine is the big jumps between gears, which can be ~3 or 4 mph difference at 100 rpm, compared to the very tight spacing of a road bike.

drew

 

[dru]

Commuter boy, the steel road bars are 7/8th" (.875) so any mountain levers should fit. Both of my carbon bars are a fair bit undersized at .85~6 inches so I had to open the clamps on my XTRs a bit back to the .875 of my steel road bars to get them to fit. I wiggled the lever all the way around the bends till I got to the flats on top.

I have a digital caliper and have accurate readings to go by, which helps. My three 7/8 mountain bars are of various ages and only one is actually .875"

If you tried this with decent road bars you'll find they are 15/16th or .9375 and no mountain stuff will fit.

Drew

 

[dru]

I love my 29er, this is somewhat of an experiment. It all started way back when.....

a friend wanted to do a century with me....

he on a road bike, and I on my 26er...

that wasn't sitting good with me so I cocked up this idea instead

Drew

 

[dru]

Yeah, the crowd might be mean, we'll see. I know some of them so that might help, or maybe not.

I'm certainly going to need to practice up on drafting......

Drew