better get the knobblies on!

[Fraster]

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/news/article/mountain...

[RobDickinson]

I dont know what I'm doing wrong then. MTB, check, knoblies, check, slow as a tortoise, check..

[Fraster]

Me too...there must be something we're missing....?.....

[GravelBen]

[Jem Thompson]

I used to ride with the roadies along the East Coast Bays in Auckland on my mountain bike. It was bloody hard work I tell you, not so bad on very steep hills, but on long gradual climbs they had a massive advantage. And going downhill I had follow very very close, while pedaling very fast in order to stay with the group. But it was great training though, I probably worked 20-30% more than doing the same ride on my road bike (eventually I realised that I needed a proper road bike).

[jamieheasman]

Years ago when I were young I did the London-to-Brighton for charity. It was just a bit of fun and I was horribly hung-over from a friends stag do the night before, but being on a (then) flash Canondale mountain bike made the old competitive spirit come to the fore. I had no trouble keeping up with everyone on the flats and overtook a lot going up hill but ironically it was the down-hill stretches where I couldn't compete. The gearing on my mountain bike was just too short so I couldn't even peddle coming down the other side of Ditchlin (sp?) Beacon. I didn't let a single Mountain bike overtake me for the whole 60+ miles though and surprised myself with the time I did it in (I seem to remember working out that I was averaging 15mph).

I got stopped by the old bill for speeding in Richmond Park once - there was a great downhill stretch from the Richmond gate on the way to the Priory Road exit where I could get some air over a slip road - fantastic fun. The copper stepped out from behind a tree and gave me a ten minute lecture! The speed limit was 30mph then, it's now 20mph I believe.

If I road to the end of my road now I'd probably spew!

[Jem Thompson]

A year or so ago a friend and I found a rather large hill. On my road bike I hit 77kmh (resedetial area, so speed limit was 50), while rapidly gaining on a car. I pulled up maybe three metres from its rear (car travelling 50), and my friend who was following was convinced I was going to crash.

[GravelBen]

Used to crack 80 pretty regularly on the MTB on the way home from work downside was having to ride up the same hill in the mornings...