Riding a Hardtail on Roads

Out of interest - those of you riding a HT on roads: what gearing are you using …

i am still v torn between a gravel and HT ATM - the HT i’ve found is is 30 upfront and 11-50 in back — but think i would need to go up to 34/36/38 … wondering what those of you using HT on roads are running?

thank you! :slight_smile:

I’m running a 34F and 11-42 rear. The big downside (IMHO) is that with the small front chainring the gearing gaps are relatively larger. I’m often between gears and have to choose between increased effort to lift my cadence, or maintain a lower speed and effort and my preferred cadence.

I’m in the camp of not really understanding the appeal of gravel bikes or curly bar mountain bikes, but I do think if you want to travel long distances or if speed is a really critical component you need a bigger front chain ring.

I might get/possibly should have gotten a 38T or similar front ring given my HT is almost exclusively for commuting and Trainer at Work riding. I just didn’t want to have it be unusable off road for me as a relatively high cadence rider :man_shrugging:.

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I own a Scott Spark full suspension MTB and a Scott Addict RC20. I commute year round and prefer to use the MTB for commuting, the speed lost on the road is pretty insignificant considering you’re not racing anyone. If I want to go for really long distance rides on the road, I’ll take the roadie. But less than 50kms the MTB is fine with the added bonus I can take it off road if I want. The 34 tooth front ring with 10-50 Eagle does spin out on descents a lot easier than the roadies big 52 tooth.
I really enjoy practising wheelies and manuals on the way to work too.

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32 chain ring, 10-50 eagle.

I have logged thousands of kilometers with my mountain bike on the road. If all you are after are watts, this is a good solution. But you should keep a few things in mind: it is definitely less fun, because you are using the wrong tool for the job. After a while, I did compromise my mountain biking position in favor of being more aero (flipped the stem and slammed it).

On gravel I think a hardtail is definitely an option. You’ll feel quite comfortable, and there are gravel bikes (think steel frame) that are heavier than reasonably nice hardtails.

But if you are doing this because you are afraid of crashing, that won’t solve it. Knobbly tires can have less traction in corners on tarmac (depends on the tire, and there may be a transition). On tarmac a road bike or drop bar bike will still handle better. Plus, you can go slow on a road bike, too.

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A 30t chainring with 11-50 isn’t the right gearing for the road, or even gravel, in my opinion. If using 1x, you’d want something like a 36 or 38 chainring, but not all frames can take that. Alternatively, a double chainring is a good option for a MTB that’s also ridden on the road a lot, but again many modern frames don’t have the cable routing for a front mech anymore.

I commute on my very old MTB, which I have changed from 3x8 to 1x10. The largest chainring I could fit was a 32t. I spend all my time in the 3-4 smallest gears. I don’t think I’ve ever touched the other half of the cassette whilst riding on the roads. Off road, the 32 seems ok.

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I think this is a great post. It also kind of leads back to one of my earlier suggestions, a hybrid flat-bar bike.

The specs and overall level of these is usually lower and doesn’t go as high as you see in hardtails or gravel bikes, but it’s possible one of these might work. The highest spec Trek option below is a 42t 1x and 11-51 which might be a good option. Short travel fork and decent tire sizes too. Needs a tire upgrade to go tubeless, but the wheels are ready.

I can try to find some other brand options if this seems like a possible direction to follow.

ETA:

ETA2: I just remembered the Salsa flat bar Journeyman model. Super capable drivetrain with decent tire options at a great price.
https://salsacycles.com/bikes/journeyman/2019_journeyman_flat_bar_sora_700

Which also leads to the Diverge Evo that I mentioned before as well.

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About 15 years ago I used to own a Sirrus with a triple chainset to commute to work. Fitted 23mm tyres to it and turned over the stem. It was an absolute blast. Shame I sold it!

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Man I kinda get you - I feel that way sometimes too! Im a climber and love love climbing but HATE descents!! I often go up a local HC and cat 1 climb and shit myself going 80kmh+ downhill!!!

BUT

I don’t think a hard tail is going to solve your problem in fact I think you need to right tool for the job (mostly tarmac) and thats going to be (for me) a 1x system (so you dont have any initiative to pedal at high speeds) - STEEL - gravel bike.

In the UK I’d get a Genesis Croix De Fer - Perhaps look at other brands like Surly or All City

OR
Leal Wilcox had a cool specialized epic w/ drop bars and fat fat slicks!!

But really drop bars are your friends for stabilility and just having multiple hand positions. And once you get your confidence back (i’m sure you will) you can always throw some fast wheels on em!

Hope you find your mojo back!

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  • Why is that?

thanks - so much good info here!

Stability might not be the right word - but having more hand positions are very useful depending on the situation - this doesn’t really hold true on more gnarly terrain but I don’t think that’s the kinda riding Sandilandscycles is interested in. Also, drop bars climb on tarmac better as you can shift your weight forward.

But my bias opinion - I’m most likely wrong

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Yeah, in the simple comparison with “stability” in mind, I see a wider bar being better. As such, a typical flat bar bike is around 720mm or wider. Most road bikes in Alex’s size are around 420mm wide. With the simple goal of having max control on the bike via the bars, wider is better.

Knowing his reservation about his accident with a very unintentional lane change from wind gusts, a wide bar is a key benefit in combating it. It’s not the whole picture, but if that was the only criteria of concern, wide flat bar is king in that situation.

I agree on the general benefits of drop bars for positions and weight distribution. But adding some bar extensions to the MTB can accomplish at least some of the aspects gained in a drop bar, while still keeping the wide stance for steering control.

Lots of ways to look at it all and makes choosing so hard… right, Alex? :stuck_out_tongue:

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What size tires? A 32 would be fine on a 29" wheeled bike. Bigger would be better, but past 34 and I wouldn’t want to use it as an MTB anymore. That is with an XTR 10-51 cassette. If you are on 26" wheels then of course you will find 32x11 to be too low for the road.

Chad you’re a golden resource - ! its so very hard to work it out when sadly no shops will allow test rides to get a feel …

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Another thing to consider is most MTBs have a slacker head tube angle, which will generally make a bike more stable at speed and descending. Its why DH bikes have like 65° head tube angles.

I honestly can’t think of many situations where a road bike handles better than an MTB.

Easy handling, big soft forgiving tires, comfortable on your body…if you don’t mind going a little slower I don’t see a a downside. 2x gearing would be nice and…it’s available.

Joe

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Ah, now you made me realise that I was wrong - my very old MTB (which is of course a 26") actually has a 38t chainring. But that is still too small.
However my 29" XC bike has a 32t chainring, and I don’t think I touch the top half of the cassette on the road, so I think a larger chainring (or a double) would be better for that.

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