Mountain or City Bike

[RLB2444]

Thank you for sharing! I just got back from the Trek dealer. They don't have the new RAIL models yet but they encouraged me to get the feel of a mountain bike. I sat on a FUEL model and was impressed by the suspension system. Another feature that I liked was the ease of lowering the seat to dismount. On the fly it can be raised as well. I am easily impressed because I am in learning mode. As it was set up on the floor it was a bit "bouncy" but he assured me that it could be tuned to the suspension level that I was comfortable with. I was shocked to find that the new Allant models do not have a front fork suspension system. Perhaps one can be installed. I am also suspicious of the gear ratios of the mtn. bike vs street bike. Lot to learn before jump. Thank you!

I am an avid mountain biker and ebike commuter. My ebike is a full rigid city bike (Izip Moda) with 2.4 tires, which serves my purposes quite well. I would not personally consider a mt bike for city riding just because you are introducing unnecessary weight and complications that are likely not needed. Bare in mind that the suspension and pivot points will require additional maintenance and add considerable cost. I would look at a rigid city bike with front fork and suspension post vs a mt bike, but your results may vary.

 

[RLB2444]

I find comments like your encouraging. I have lived in Chicago so I am familiar with the roads that you describe. This is exactly what I am trying to address for the city where I live now. The only suspension that is on my current bike is a seat post suspension that I installed and a Brooks 67 saddle with three heavy duty springs. OK but still does smooth the ride. Thank you for your comments.

Bob

I find riding a full suspension emtb quite enjoyable in the city. When I ride with our son in Chicago, we can encounter uneven manhole covers, bad patches, potholes, and speed bumps. No issue if dropping off a curb either. Sections of our rail trail is a smoother ride than some neighborhood streets in Chicago. I use Schwalbe Super Moto X tires. They work well in the city at around 45psi. When I switch to single track, I drop them to 20psi. We're not allowed on the single trail when it's muddy, so the tread pattern has little to do with the ride in the woods.

 

[RLB2444]

Thank you David for the input.

Typically all paved roads or greenways. I have installed a suspension post and use a Brooks 67 saddle. I also replaced the tires that came on my +1 due to flats that occurred.

I looked at the Trek Fuel 8 bike today. I was impressed but it needs a lot of adjustments and set up to calm down the suspension system for street use....I think! I would like to see a Trek RAIL 9.7 before I make up my mind. It will be awhile before one is available to see. The new Trek Allant is impressive as well but does not have a suspension system.

Like you I love the Gates carbon belt.

Thanks for sharing.

Bob

RLB - where do you ride your bike? On paved road or gravel road/trails? If on paved, then I'm surprised you need suspension, especially with a LaFree. Those big tires give a world of comfort on paved.

If you ride gravel, then absolutely you could do with suspension front and rear. I love my local gravel roads, but my LaFree is only marginally better than my 30 year old hybrid when it comes to washboard and bumpy gravel roads. The one thing it doesn't do is slide on loose gravel (which is scary), and so it's my go-to bike for natural roads and trails right now.

I'm already looking for a full suspension mountain ebike for those natural roads, but it needs to be a carbon belt with IGH like the LaFree, so my choices at the moment are limited to very high end $$$$ bikes. I'm happy to wait until the market brings out what I want for less then a 6 months worth mortgage payment.

In the meantime I'll stick mostly to the paved roads with my sweet E+1, with side trips on the gravel roads now and then.

 

[vincent]

I get the impression a lot of people that think full suspension is not needed for city bikes must live in a city where the roads are better than some of us

Where I live some of the paved roads are so bad they would be better of dirt so they could be graded

For roughness of ride I would say 65-70% of my paved riding is as rough as the dirt forest roads I am on I other parts of the state

The exception to that would be the paved multi use path the loop in tucson, it is relatively new and in pretty good shape

I would like to hear more actual experiences of people that ride fs on areas with lousy paved roads and their comparison of fs vs front suspension with bodyfloat/Thudbuster

I have a softail fs bike coming in the next month plus have several hardtails with bodyfloats, so hopefully will be able to add to this conversation in a couple of months

The r&m bikes look awesome for this but also are heavy and expensive

 

[sl_duck]

Some random thoughts:
-Rear suspension will greatly limit or complicate the kind of fenders, rack and luggage you can carry back there. Riese & Muller is one of the few builders I know of that has rear suspension with a great rear rack.
-A city bike will have a lower bottom bracket than a mountain bike, so will be easier to get a foot down at stops when the seat is at the correct height.
-Even moderate sized tires (1.8 or greater) can be run at 30psi as long as you are attentive enough not to slam into potholes and curbs. Bigger tires can be run even lower. This makes a big difference in ride smoothness.
-work on your technique over larger bumps. Stand on the pedals and take the weight off your butt over rough sections. A bit like "posting" on a horse, I imagine. It's second nature to mountain bikers, but I see a lot of people just plow over stuff with all their weight on the seat.

I ride a converted full suspension mountain bike for commuting. I used it mostly because it was what I had on hand, but I will say it's nice to have the suspension. It took a lot of fiddling to get it set up for commuting though (like fenders that actually keep water from shooting ahead and then back in my face). The shock and forks also need to be serviced more often than they used to, simply because it gets way more mileage as an e-commuter than it did as a mountain bike.

 

[RLB2444]

SL_duck.....thank you.

The Trek that I sat on today confirmed what I felt was the right path to take. However, I understand now why it would be necessary to fine tune the suspension of a mountain bike for the streets, as you stated. When you say that you converted a full suspension mountain bike for commuting did you use the OEM parts or did you replace any part of the suspension. Were you able to adjust the existing suspensions to meet your needs?

Thank you,

Bob

Some random thoughts:
-Rear suspension will greatly limit or complicate the kind of fenders, rack and luggage you can carry back there. Riese & Muller is one of the few builders I know of that has rear suspension with a great rear rack.
-A city bike will have a lower bottom bracket than a mountain bike, so will be easier to get a foot down at stops when the seat is at the correct height.
-Even moderate sized tires (1.8 or greater) can be run at 30psi as long as you are attentive enough not to slam into potholes and curbs. Bigger tires can be run even lower. This makes a big difference in ride smoothness.
-work on your technique over larger bumps. Stand on the pedals and take the weight off your butt over rough sections. A bit like "posting" on a horse, I imagine. It's second nature to mountain bikers, but I see a lot of people just plow over stuff with all their weight on the seat.

I ride a converted full suspension mountain bike for commuting. I used it mostly because it was what I had on hand, but I will say it's nice to have the suspension. It took a lot of fiddling to get it set up for commuting though (like fenders that actually keep water from shooting ahead and then back in my face). The shock and forks also need to be serviced more often than they used to, simply because it gets way more mileage as an e-commuter than it did as a mountain bike.

 

[sl_duck]

You will not have to replace any part of the suspension. Modern shocks and forks like on a Trek Fuel are air springs, so you only need a $30 shock pump to adjust the pressure (and therefore spring rate). Everything else (rebound damping, lockout) is adjustable with the knobs. The bike shop can set you up with the initial settings and you can fine tune from there if you wish.

 

[rich c]

Some random thoughts:
-Rear suspension will greatly limit or complicate the kind of fenders, rack and luggage you can carry back there. Riese & Muller is one of the few builders I know of that has rear suspension with a great rear rack.
-A city bike will have a lower bottom bracket than a mountain bike, so will be easier to get a foot down at stops when the seat is at the correct height.

I ride a Haibike XDURO Full Seven S RX. With a medium frame, my feet can be flat on the ground at a stop. No issues with bottom bracket height.
I have a Thule rack and it has a wonderful mount for full suspension. I have the racks for panniers, but never used them. I just carry a rack bag. I also use the back half only on a Topeka Defender mudguard. I don't ride in the rain a lot, but the Thule rack does a pretty decent job of keeping water off my back.

 

[FlatSix911]

I ride a Riese & Muller Homage which is more of a city or touring bike that has a full (front and rear) suspension. It is a low step through frame, great if your ability to swing your leg up and over the saddle is diminishing. The suspension is tuned to provide a more sure footed ride on uneven road surfaces to allow for longer more comfortable rides. The front fork is ebike specific with a 100mm travel, far to short for a proper mountain bike. The full suspension keeps the tires on the road making for shorter stopping distances and more sure footed cornering. My bike is a class 3 28mph version and has the optional second battery as well as a belt driven Rohloff hub. It came with SKS polycarbonate fenders which I replaced with custom wood fender made in Bend, Oregon. I also added the Kinekt seat post to help with high frequency flaws in the road surfaces. It is a great all around bike. The only down side is that it is quite pricey. something that fades in memory over time and overshadowed by the sheer fun and quality of the riding experience.

View attachment 39449

Nice ride... love the wood fenders!

 

[sl_duck]

I ride a Haibike XDURO Full Seven S RX. With a medium frame, my feet can be flat on the ground at a stop. No issues with bottom bracket height.
I have a Thule rack and it has a wonderful mount for full suspension. I have the racks for panniers, but never used them. I just carry a rack bag. I also use the back half only on a Topeka Defender mudguard. I don't ride in the rain a lot, but the Thule rack does a pretty decent job of keeping water off my back.

If you can flat-foot both feet while seated, what is your leg extension like when pedalling?
The Thule rack is one solution I might have to try. I cringe at adding all that unsprung weight to the rear though. It's bad enough with my hub motor back there. Right now I use a Klikfix basket on the front which is very convenient but carrying anything over 10lbs makes for sluggish steering. A beam rack is another option I might be forced to try.

 

[AHicks]

I was wondering about the same thing (proper leg extension).

 

[Alaskan]

I have proper leg extension on my Delight Mountain and have my feet flat on the ground when stopped. However it requires that I use the dropper seat post to accomplish this. I can think of no other way this can be done.

 

[rich c]

If you can flat-foot both feet while seated, what is your leg extension like when pedalling?
The Thule rack is one solution I might have to try. I cringe at adding all that unsprung weight to the rear though. It's bad enough with my hub motor back there. Right now I use a Klikfix basket on the front which is very convenient but carrying anything over 10lbs makes for sluggish steering. A beam rack is another option I might be forced to try.

Sorry to mislead. My reference was about stand over height. I can't stay seated and be flat-footed. The Thule Pack and Pedal Tour Rack weighs 2.42 pounds, and has a 25 pound capacity.

 

[Alaskan]

Sorry to mislead. My reference was about stand over height. I can't stay seated and be flat-footed. The Thule Pack and Pedal Tour Rack weighs 2.42 pounds, and has a 25 pound capacity.

Of course! I stand corrected. Just getting off the saddle is another way it can be done.

 

[Feliz]

I agree with the above comments that a mountain bike may not be a good commuter but a mountain bike can be a real hoot to ride in the city, those are two different things. I ride my FS mountain bike in the city, on paths and trails, and of course I use it for mountain biking, I feel comfortable and safe riding a MB anywhere. I also have a commuter and a fat tire bike.....they're all fun.

 

[Alaskan]

One way to use a mountain bike as a usefull commuter is to put slightly smaller, durable pavement capable tires (like a Super Moto X) on the bike making room for fenders that can be taken off easily when summer comes back around. Add a kickstand a rear view mirror and good integrated front and rear lights and you have a comfy around town cruiser. I did this on my Delight Mountain. The Delight has a dropper post and an optional frame integrated rear rack not an option on many mountain bikes. Adding a handlebar bag, a frame bag and a saddle bag could give you the ability to schlep stuff around.