|   Calling any SS and FS riders | Rookie
Jan 17, 2004 8:31 AM | | I'm a casual rder who is interested in getting my two young sons into biking. To get started I made some purchase this summer/fall (via ebay) to get each of us a decent mtb and BMX (SS MTB 4 me). My mtb is a K2 Evo 4.0 with XT components and my SS is a converted Cdale beast of east with XT/XTR level components and road tires.
My question is this:
After riding the SS the FS feels like it has flat tires and is tied to a piano. While the ride is amazingly plush it always feels like I'm going up hill. While I can make a casual 10 mile ride on the SS with no problem and 2 mile ride at the same speed on the FS gets me winded (sad but true). Can the weight, tires and loss due to the drive train make that much difference or would you guess that there is a problem with the FS. It makes no noises but just dragggggggs.
Any help would be great.
I've posted this same question on a K2 forum so it will be interesting to compare the response. |
| re: Calling any SS and FS riders | Tsunamike
Jan 17, 2004 8:45 AM | | Possibly. Check the wheel bearings first. Lift the bike up one end at a time and spin the wheel...it should spin freely for around a minute or two easily. If it stops quickly you may have wheel bearing problems. Make sure the brakes don't rub forcing the slow movement too. After that check your bottom bracket. Pull the chain off of the front gear and spin them...they, too, should rotate freely until you stop them. If you have bearing problems any local bike shop should be able to fix you up in a snap. If all else fails (or rather doesn't) you may just have one helluva' boat anchor for a gearie. I time my commute to work. I am consistently faster on my SS with semi-slicks than my gearie (MTB) with 2.5" tires...DUH. So it may just be resistance from the tires as well. You say you run road tires on the SS? On my roadie I commute the distance in roughly 2/3 the time as on my MTB. IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE. Good luck, Mike |
| I agree; probably your tires. | aka brad
Jan 18, 2004 9:21 AM | | Road tires spin MUCH easier the off road knobbies. There is even a difference in off road tires. Back when I road a gearie I easily gained a gear when I switched from VelociRaptors to Pythons. Even with semi-slicks there is more rolling resistance than road tires. I have a tandem than came with Conti semi-slicks (the knobbies on the edges were frightening at high speeds on the road). I switched them out with some Kenda MTB road slicks and it was a big improvement.
1G1G, Brad |
| re: Calling any SS and FS riders | Rookie
Jan 18, 2004 9:33 AM | | Thanks. This sounds like some good advice. I will check all this and if I have any doubts I will swing by my LBS and have it checked. |
| Sounds like something is wrong with the FS | Brandon
Jan 17, 2004 10:56 PM | | I actually find long distances easier on my FS but it is a very efficient XC design.
I'm not familiar with the K2 but is your suspension setup right? If it's bobbing up and down a lot when you ride it that can make a big difference in efficiency. |
| |
