I live in Birmingham UK. I need a bike to travel to regular hospital appointments, the pub, supermarket shops, and occasional work commute (mostly WFH).
Always used to use an old hybrid or road bike with rack/guards. But. Out roads are pothole-riven death strips, and the few cycle tracks we have are often rough as hell.
I never wanted the added weight of suspension. But I got sick of the constant jarring impacts from just pootling around. So I decided to try a hardtail 29er.
It's a Boardman MHT8.9. I found it on FB marketplace for £250. Got a mate to add the rack (thanks Fabio from Biclas B12). Took off the Vittoria Barzo MTB tyres and put these Michelin slicks on. The sks mudguards took a bit of bodging. But 40 cable ties later, and they're solid. The handlebar was a nightmare…much too wide. Scared of clipping cars, unaero, uncomfortable. So I added those ergotec urban swept back bars, and it's a revelation. Transformative.
I like it. It's comfortable. Fast enough, and feels like it can roll over absolutely anything. Like a springy tank.
It needs a prop-stand desperately. I got one of the chainstay clamp ones, but the tube is square so it didn't work. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
I'm also considering a bigger chainring for better top speed.
Anyway. It probably cost me about £350-400 all in, and I find it a pretty decent city hack-bike.
by New-Location-8592
1 Comment
Nice! Looks great! I’m on a similar mission. Are those 50mm tyres? I’m having difficulty finding a rack and mudguards that will fit over my 700×50 tyres. Could you tell me what rack and mudguards you used? (Although I guess the mudguards took some bodging!)
And then there’s the suspension seat-post dilemma. Ha