Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

A Biking Change of Pace

08.08.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

Last week, my road bike was out of commission while my cassette woes were being attended to. That left me without a ride on Sunday morning, which is my main ride of the week. What to do?

Aha! Hanging in the garage, seldom used, is a 10-year-old mountain bike. My wife gave it to me for a birthday present, and I never really took to it. At one point, I thought I might turn it into a utility bike and use it for running errands and such. It’s gotten vary limited use in that regard, although I have mounted a rear rack to it and put on skinnier slick tires to replace the knobbies.

The Trek 4900 hardtail.
The Trek 4900 hardtail.

I decided I’d give it a try. I hadn’t really ridden the thing on the roads for a couple of years. I pumped up the tires and hopped on.

Nothing adventurous — I just wanted to get some time in the saddle. I rode a mish-mash of neighborhood routes, and covered 14.5 miles in a little over an hour.

So how was it? Better than I remembered, actually. Oh, there are things I still don’t like about it: My hands hurt after a relatively short while because there isn’t the variety of hand positions that I have on my road bike. However, that also might be a fit issue. I never took advantage of the simple fitting the bike shop does, because back when I got the bike, I didn’t know anything about biking, and didn’t think being fitted to the bike was all that important.

I’m also not crazy about the front suspension. Obviously, if I used the bike as intended — off road — they would be most welcome. But riding on suburban streets, they’re completely unnecessary. I just can’t get used to the diving sensation that occurs when I make a stop.

On the plus side, it’s a good workout. I worked harder than I would, and at a slower speed,  than I would to ride the road bike the same distance. When it was over, I felt really good.

So, I think I might be taking it out again. I doubt I’ll ever get into mountain biking in a serious way, but as a change of pace, it’s worthwhile. Close by, we have some nice county parks with bike trails. Nothing technical, but the steed would be in a more appropriate environment when it rides there. I might have to break out the knobbies again.

I imagine many, if not most, Bike Noob readers have mountain bikes of their own. How much do you ride them compared to your road bikes? Do they serve as fill-in duty like mine, do you run errands in them, or do you bash round singletrack? Let me know.

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Categories // Bikes Tags // mountain bike

Comments

  1. RamonH says

    August 8, 2013 at 8:46 pm

    I have the entry MTB that I started with. That was supposed to be a commuter bike. Nowadays, my spare road bike fulfills that role 🙂

    Reply
  2. johnt says

    August 9, 2013 at 5:27 am

    I like my 29er cause I can ride it anywhere. I putz around different trails around Bauerle Ranch or behind the Alamo draft house and do Ladybird Lake hike and bike trail. Just grab my helmet and go as opposed to all the gear and prep that goes with the road bike.

    Reply
  3. Midland says

    August 9, 2013 at 10:55 am

    I grew up a BMXer, so have always had that bike to ride. I fall in the category of “old enough to know better” when I ride skateparks on the BMX. But, the kids asking how old I am is always funny.

    Reply
  4. kuoirad says

    August 9, 2013 at 3:45 pm

    I have a vague recollection that you should be able to “lock” the fork so it doesn’t have any travel….not 100% certain about that, though.

    Reply
    • Bike Noob says

      August 9, 2013 at 7:33 pm

      Well, that’s news to me. I’ll have to look into it.

      Reply
    • Lombard says

      December 2, 2013 at 2:48 pm

      That depends on the fork. Some you can lock, some you can’t.

      Reply
  5. bezron says

    August 11, 2013 at 5:21 am

    I use a GT MTB for my daily commuter. It’s a mid-level racer, so the frame is a bit lighter and it has special nobbies on it to reduce roll resistance. I am looking for a new road bike, but that will be for touring and fitness rides that need speed. I prefer the MTB because of the ride position and because I can jump from road, to trail, to sidewalk as needed depending on the traffic and conditions. I’ve also hit construction unexpectedly more than once, so it’s useful there.

    For your other issues: I don’t think that model of Trek comes with a manual susension lockout, but you should be able to take it to your LBS or to a Trek store and they will show you how to do it. Downside is that you can’t turn it back on if you decide to jump on a trail on a whim, you’ll have to plan for trails. Honestly, though, you probably don’t need it unless you are doing serious downhills with lots of debris. For the hands, put bar ends on to increase positions. I actually pulled my grips off and wrapped the bar and ends in grip tape to increase comfort.

    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Get Email Updates

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 257 other subscribers

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partners

Recent Posts

  • Getting Back on the Bike: Road Cycling Tips for Older Cyclists
  • Are BCAAs and EAAs Good for Cycling?
  • How to Fix Numb Toes When Cycling
  • How to Find and Vet a Bike Club
  • Celebrate Pearl Izumi with Big Savings in the Memorial Day Sale

Categories

  • Accessories
  • Bike fit
  • Bikes
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • clubs
  • Cold weather
  • Community
  • Commuting
  • Components
  • crash
  • cycling
  • Equipment
  • Favorite rides
  • fitness
  • food
  • guest post
  • Heat
  • Injury
  • logs
  • Maintenance
  • Mental
  • Nutrition
  • Odds 'n ends
  • People
  • Poll
  • Racing
  • Records & stats
  • Review
  • Rides
  • running
  • Safety
  • soreness
  • Specialized
  • Technique
  • Technology
  • Tips
  • tires
  • training
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • May 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • March 2022
  • October 2020
  • November 2018
  • May 2018
  • September 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008

Copyright © 2026 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Go to mobile version
%d