The difference between MTB and road bike...

[lyricalgangster]

Hi all

Yesterday I rode approx. 16km on my new bike, a Giant Defy carbon road bike, having ridden MTB's for last 20 years or so, the most recent being my Specialized Stumpjumper full suspension jobbie, which I still have, and still love.

It's my first road bike since I was a youngster, so I wasn't sure what to expect...

First impressions:

Initially seems less 'stable' - I am guessing this is due to the obviously narrower handlebars;

Seems harder to 'give it some' i.e. give it everything to accelerate from a standstill;

Obviously a lot less 'comfortable' - less give, less 'floaty' over small bumps;

Definitely quicker - oh my...

Definitely less effort needed for same output - finished my route far quicker, but less tired;

The biggest thing for me was the actual difference between the two bikes and the way one cycles - I didn't expect it to be so different - cycling is cycling after all!!

I intend getting more miles on the Giant these next few weeks, and I hope it becomes more natural!

Any body else feel the same?

PS Strava is quite addictive... (I have found)

John

[Herman Toothrot]

Road bikes are harder to fall off.

Been doing a lot more road than MTB recently, today MTB went out now I have cut and bashed left knee, cut and bashed right ankle & right thigh, grazed right forearm, sore right wrist, blood blisters on tips of 2 fingers, skin off two knuckles, a very sore neck, a lump on my forehead, a bitten tongue and chipped tooth plus a load of small bruises on my back, sides and arms.

[anonymous-user]

I believe you may be feeling a difference in stability due to 'trail'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_and_motorcyc...

Road bikes will almost always have a shorter trail than a mountain bike.

I think it's possibly harder to fall off a mountain bike due to the longer trail. That's if you cycled with both of them on the road and didn't bash into stuff off-road.

[lufbramatt]

The harder to sprint from a standstill I think is down to the amount of force you need to transmit through your upper body and arms to the narrower handlebars (less leverage to counteract the force on the pedals). But once you get used to it the traffic light GP can be quite entertaining, you can sprint from a standstill to 30+mph quicker than a lot of cars, I do enjoy having little sprints against scooters too Remember to hold the drops not the hoods

Edited by lufbramatt on Thursday 23 July 12:14

[upsidedownmark]

Yup, much less 'locked in' - far less tyre, trail and far lighter. You'll get used to it, then the MTB will feel like a boat

You may feel less effective sprinting for now, but as you get used to it, you'll find you can punch out much harder and faster. Opposite to matt I always sprint on the hoods find the drops too twitchy, but YMMV - more aero on drops.

[Daveyraveygravey]

Sprinting from a standstill is probably gearing - MTBs have much higher (or is it lower, can never get it right?!) gearing to enable you to climb steeper hills on sketchy surfaces. 1st gear on an MTB will probably see your legs turn more revs than the wheels.

As for falling off, I'm not convinced! Off road, you are more likely to try risky things, like big jumps, or turning and braking hard on loose surfaces. You're more likely to find stuff to catch you unawares too. Having said that, I've had four big crashes already this year, and whacked my right knee every time. 3 on the road, one off. Two were on ice, one was one of those bloody ruts you get on a track and you think you can just ride out of it but the front wheel bites into the vertical dirt and throws you on the deck. The biggy was on the Dartmoor Classic, and it still hasn't quite healed over 4 weeks later. Scared the crap out of me.



I still enjoy both road and off road riding, but I seem to do a lot more road riding these days. I find it very hard to express what I love about it, speed yes, but what else is it?

[loudlashadjuster]

Similar story, just got my first proper road bike since my 20s and am loving it so far. I was getting mightily POed being unable to significantly improve my on-road speed as family etc. puts fairly hard limits on the time I can spend improving fitness.

I would say the opposite to you though, I find it much easier to 'spin up' and get going. The feeling of stiffness and 'connectedness' just means it sets off like a scalded cat compared to the MTB.

Compared to even reasonable discs, rim brakes seem crap though!

I did some quick checks on exactly how much faster I was on the Genesis compared to my Hardrock.

http://www.juux.com/blog/road-vs-mtb-bikes-how-muc...

I'm looking forward to smashing some of my times on my common segments, maybe even bagging a few on-road KOMs

[WestyCarl]

Only ever MTB'd but thinking of a road bike. Anyone got any idea of how much faster a road bike will be?

On my MTB (road route) I can average about 16mph without killing myself, wonder what that would be on a roadie

[loudlashadjuster]

WestyCarl said:

Only ever MTB'd but thinking of a road bike. Anyone got any idea of how much faster a road bike will be?

See my post

[prand]

WestyCarl said:

Only ever MTB'd but thinking of a road bike. Anyone got any idea of how much faster a road bike will be?

On my MTB (road route) I can average about 16mph without killing myself, wonder what that would be on a roadie

my experience was an immediate 5mph-ish improvement to cruising on my flat commute at the time - so from 16-17 mph to 21-22mph on the road bike. Higher speeds came later as my "speed endurance" improved and on the road bike I was able to go faster for longer.

[daddy cool]

Herman Toothrot said:

Road bikes are harder to fall off.

Been doing a lot more road than MTB recently, today MTB went out now I have cut and bashed left knee, cut and bashed right ankle & right thigh, grazed right forearm, sore right wrist, blood blisters on tips of 2 fingers, skin off two knuckles, a very sore neck, a lump on my forehead, a bitten tongue and chipped tooth plus a load of small bruises on my back, sides and arms.

Ooof - sorry to hear that old boy. Just checked Strava - i see you were at BPW.
Well, if you will insist on this uncouth downhill type of riding...

[vtecyo]

You have to wear lycra, you have to pedal up hills, you have to hunch over like Quasimodo, and you have to cycle on the road where morons in cars will ruin your life.

Never seen the appeal personally.

[blugnu]

prand said:

my experience was an immediate 5mph-ish improvement to cruising on my flat commute at the time - so from 16-17 mph to 21-22mph on the road bike. Higher speeds came later as my "speed endurance" improved and on the road bike I was able to go faster for longer.

How much of that are you putting down to the aero position and (I presume) lack of suspension, and how much to weight saving and geometry?

I commute on an early 90s rigid MTB fitted with slicks and drop bars. With guards, rack, lights and lock it's probably over 16kg all in, but the bike underneath all that is c.13kg if I recall. How much faster do you think I'd be if I finished restoring my old Peugeot road bike?

[anonymous-user]

Daveyraveygravey said:

As for falling off, I'm not convinced! Off road, you are more likely to try risky things, like big jumps, or turning and braking hard on loose surfaces. You're more likely to find stuff to catch you unawares too.

I've had some huge crashes on mountain bikes at way higher speeds than I've fallen off on the road, but the ones on road are worse. I had a fall on the road at 10mph where my knee took the brunt of the fall. 10 weeks later and the scar tissue is still purple and I can't feel much in it. That same crash on an MTB would've been almost forgettable!

[spiritof'76]

Daveyraveygravey said:

I still enjoy both road and off road riding, but I seem to do a lot more road riding these days. I find it very hard to express what I love about it, speed yes, but what else is it?

Endorphins maybe ? 2015 has been the worst year of my life and at times i've been really low but i find if i get in from work and go out and mash the pedals for an hour on my regular 18 mile route i feel a lot better for the evening until the cycle starts again the next day !........ i think it's this hit of endorphins effecting my mood for the better that keeps me going out and loving it for it

[Devil2575]

WestyCarl said:

Only ever MTB'd but thinking of a road bike. Anyone got any idea of how much faster a road bike will be?

On my MTB (road route) I can average about 16mph without killing myself, wonder what that would be on a roadie

A lot! On a reasonably flat route and wind permitting you should be able to average 20+ mph on a road bike if you can do 16 on your MTB.

There are a few factors though, such as what kind of tyres you have on your MTB. Tyre are what makes a biggest difference when you're talking about those kinds of speeds IMHO. On descents the more efficient shape of the Road bike will make a big difference to your max speeds though.

I started off with a hybrid that had 40mm off road tyres on it. Just fitting 35 mm road tyres made a big difference but when I got a proper road bike with 25 mm tyres my speed jumped up again. If you're on an MTB with proper knobbly tyres you will notice a massive difference.

[Devil2575]

vtecyo said:

You have to wear lycra, you have to pedal up hills, you have to hunch over like Quasimodo, and you have to cycle on the road where morons in cars will ruin your life.

Never seen the appeal personally.

Pedalling up hills is a proper challenge and makes you fitter. You don't have to wear lycra but it's actually quite comfortable and aerodynamic. You do get morons in cars on the road but in my experience mountain bikers are far more likely to injur themselves (sometimes very seriously) than someone on a road bike is to be hit by a car.

[Devil2575]

blugnu said:

prand said:

my experience was an immediate 5mph-ish improvement to cruising on my flat commute at the time - so from 16-17 mph to 21-22mph on the road bike. Higher speeds came later as my "speed endurance" improved and on the road bike I was able to go faster for longer.

How much of that are you putting down to the aero position and (I presume) lack of suspension, and how much to weight saving and geometry?

I commute on an early 90s rigid MTB fitted with slicks and drop bars. With guards, rack, lights and lock it's probably over 16kg all in, but the bike underneath all that is c.13kg if I recall. How much faster do you think I'd be if I finished restoring my old Peugeot road bike?

It's tyres that make the bigest difference.

Weight is important on climbs but on the flat once you get up to speed I don't think it makes a massive difference. Geometry helps once you get to higher speeds with wind resistance but most of that is down to drop bars.

In short you will see a difference but it won't be massive IMHO. The biggest factor i've found is fitness. At my peak fitness over the summer in 2014 I was faster on my hybrid with road tyres than I was on my road bike in winter/spring when my fitness levels were a lot lower. However now I'm fitter than I was in 2014 and I am noticable faster on the road bike.

[Daveyraveygravey]

vtecyo said:

You have to wear lycra, you have to pedal up hills, you have to hunch over like Quasimodo, and you have to cycle on the road where morons in cars will ruin your life.

Never seen the appeal personally.

Your loss! You get morons away from the road too...

[Kell]

Devil2575 said:

blugnu said:

prand said:

my experience was an immediate 5mph-ish improvement to cruising on my flat commute at the time - so from 16-17 mph to 21-22mph on the road bike. Higher speeds came later as my "speed endurance" improved and on the road bike I was able to go faster for longer.

How much of that are you putting down to the aero position and (I presume) lack of suspension, and how much to weight saving and geometry?

I commute on an early 90s rigid MTB fitted with slicks and drop bars. With guards, rack, lights and lock it's probably over 16kg all in, but the bike underneath all that is c.13kg if I recall. How much faster do you think I'd be if I finished restoring my old Peugeot road bike?

It's tyres that make the bigest difference.

Weight is important on climbs but on the flat once you get up to speed I don't think it makes a massive difference. Geometry helps once you get to higher speeds with wind resistance but most of that is down to drop bars.

In short you will see a difference but it won't be massive IMHO. The biggest factor i've found is fitness. At my peak fitness over the summer in 2014 I was faster on my hybrid with road tyres than I was on my road bike in winter/spring when my fitness levels were a lot lower. However now I'm fitter than I was in 2014 and I am noticable faster on the road bike.

It's a combination of a lot of things really. But the biggest thing you have to overcome on a bike is air resistance. The more aero-dynamic position you ride in probably makes the most difference, then all the little things together add up. Tyres, tyre pressure and contact patch (the smaller, the faster), the whole bike being narrower and more aerodynamic, the bike being stiffer (normally), weight is probably the smallest influence on the flat. Though, in my experience, it makes the biggest difference on the hills.

I'm about 16 stone and normally find myself in the top 30% of all riders (not just the fat, old ones) on Strava segments until it comes to the hills. Any 'proper' climbs, I'm in the bottom 10%.

I've not got a great road bike, but then I didn't have a great commuter bike before that. I'd say a comfortable speed on the flat for my different types of bikes are:

Road bike: 22/23mph
MTB style (with slicks): 18/19mph
Brompton: 16/17mph

Obviously a ride average will be less because of stops and in fact, in London, my average speeds for each of those on my usual commute is pretty similar.

But each bike is progressively more upright, so I'm presenting a far bigger area to have to force through the air. And when you have a large frontal area like me, it's harder still.