How much quicker is a road bike

[ecsrobin]

So currently I commute on my 29er full suspension giant anthem with front and rear suspension locked out. I know it's obviously not the right tool for the job but it's a bike and it's all I have at present whilst I save up for something more specific.

However today browsing my records on strava I notice on average each segment I'm 10mph slower than the KOM on their road bikes now clearly they are likely to be a cycling God unlike me but it got me thinking how much quicker would the right bike get me?

[scottri]

My average speed went up about 2-3mph from a hard tail to Road bike.

[okgo]

scottri said:

My average speed went up about 2-3mph from a hard tail to Road bike.

I would say that sounds about right over a half decent MTB.

[superkartracer]

12 mph

[samj2014]

Having a proper road bike does make a big difference, not only to your pace, but the distance you can ride. It's also much more pleasant, as you don't feel like you're on the wrong tool for the job.

[ecsrobin]

scottri said:

My average speed went up about 2-3mph from a hard tail to Road bike.

That's quite a difference when we're talking average speed. Makes me want to invest sooner rather than later but need to keep saving.

I love mountain biking but I'm certainly getting more interetsed in the benefit of road cycling just the thought of being able to commute quicker and if I only have an hour it's quite simple to clip in and go. Mountain biking it's load up drive unload and go then repeat.

So is there much difference in speed between a road bike and a time trial bike?

[okgo]

ecsrobin said:

That's quite a difference when we're talking average speed. Makes me want to invest sooner rather than later but need to keep saving.

I love mountain biking but I'm certainly getting more interetsed in the benefit of road cycling just the thought of being able to commute quicker and if I only have an hour it's quite simple to clip in and go. Mountain biking it's load up drive unload and go then repeat.

So is there much difference in speed between a road bike and a time trial bike?

Probably another 2-3 mph again I would say assuming you can get into a half decent position.

[Marcellus]

Cruising speed on my MTB with everything locked out is 12/13mph.... Where as on the roadie it's 17/20mph.

[ecsrobin]

Marcellus said:

Cruising speed on my MTB with everything locked out is 12/13mph.... Where as on the roadie it's 17/20mph.

Wow that's quite a step up. I'm averaging 12-14moh fully locked out. Obviously I know I need a more suitable tool for the job so if I could be getting close to 20mph average on a road bike I'd be extremely happy.

So a TT bike is a lot about getting in an aero position?

[okgo]

ecsrobin said:

Wow that's quite a step up. I'm averaging 12-14moh fully locked out. Obviously I know I need a more suitable tool for the job so if I could be getting close to 20mph average on a road bike I'd be extremely happy.

So a TT bike is a lot about getting in an aero position?

Despite marketing, its not really the flat frame etc that makes all that much difference, its the fact it slams you down out of the wind

But I know some people who have awful positions that are likely worse than mine on a road bike despite them having TT bikes.

[bakerstreet]

Do bear in mind that you will loose a bit of comfort. the 29er will be smoother over rough road surfaces than a road bike would be.

On the flip side your will certainly get more speed and better agility too

[leyorkie]

Are you riding on off road tyres?
Change to narrower road specific tyres will make things better.
Imagine that you are driving a Land Rover with Knobbly tyres. Great off road but crap on Tarmac
Only a short term fix but not expensive and easy to change.

[samj2014]

TT bike puts you in a much more aggressive aero position, and I wouldn't bother unless you planned on racing TT. A boggo road bike will do fine.

[chr15b]

I don't feel much quicker on my roadbike to my mountain on 25mm tyres tbh

Mountain bike is definitely more comfortable!!!

[jamiebae]

ecsrobin said:

Marcellus said:

Cruising speed on my MTB with everything locked out is 12/13mph.... Where as on the roadie it's 17/20mph.

Wow that's quite a step up. I'm averaging 12-14moh fully locked out. Obviously I know I need a more suitable tool for the job so if I could be getting close to 20mph average on a road bike I'd be extremely happy.

So a TT bike is a lot about getting in an aero position?

On my heavy steel hub-geared roadie I can average 25-28kph on a flat ride in jeans and a shirt on the way to the office without putting in any significant effort, the same route on a 7kg carbon bike in full kit and it's more like 32kph (KOM is 50 or so as it's a common club TT route).

Even a fairly basic road bike will save you 5kg and a ton of rolling resistance from a full suspension MTB so the difference will be night and day.

[BoRED S2upid]

You don't need to spend a lot to dip your toe in the water there are some decent road bikes for not a lot if money to get you started you will notice a big difference even on an entry level road bike.

[nagsheadwarrior]

On my cheap winter and wet weather hybrid I average about 13-14 mph, on my equally cheap summer road bike it's 17 - 18

[ecsrobin]

leyorkie said:

Are you riding on off road tyres?
Change to narrower road specific tyres will make things better.
Imagine that you are driving a Land Rover with Knobbly tyres. Great off road but crap on Tarmac
Only a short term fix but not expensive and easy to change.

Running 2.25" racing Ralph's so certainly the wrong tyre of choice but then I can't be arsed swapping tyres ones ever a week to go off road. But do understand that a more road specific tyre would be better.

I only mention the TT bike as if it's only for the commute which is fairly short and relatively smooth apart from probably one small section. Although realistically I'd want a cyclocross bike I think.

The problem is I'm quite a bike snob so if rather save up £1k to buy a half decent bike than compromise and continued upgrading on a few hundred pound bike.

[jamiebae]

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-technique-claris-2...

£350 until tomorrow evening, great first road bike, and usable out of the box without needing to tinker or upgrade. It'll get you started and you can decide if you actually enjoy it, then you can give some more consideration to the type of bike you really want.

[Pvapour]

I ride my very dated, very heavy DH bike on the road with knobblys and its bloody hard work, can't wait to get a road bike this summer to feel the difference between those two!

did 25km on road with it the other day and coped reasonably well so should be turBO charged!