Changing from MB to Road Biking

Jan the man

Hi folks a quick question. I have recently started road cycling, before then I used to ride exclusively on a mountain bike, though mostly on the road.

My rides consisted of around 2-3 hours on the MB on the weekend with 2 rides of 1 hour at maxium ability during the week. I am, 22, 183cm and hover at around 68kg.

My question is what level should I expect to be on the road? I am currently training on my own, therefore not really sure of my fitness level. The only indication I have is that when I went on holiday last year (I was still exclusively MB) I went on a ride (on a MB on the road) with a group of roadies, pretty fit (it was around Tuscany)...Their pace was very good and very hard on the flats but on the Hills out of the group of 12 I was always in the lead group of 2 or 3 and within my limit.

Does this mean I should be able to climb well on the 'road' bike, what are the major differences between climbing on MB and Road Bike?
How can I improve and adjust to riding quicker on the flat?

Thanks

shockedsoshocked

Major difference I found was the gearing. My MTB had a megarange/tiny tiny granny cog where as my road bike didn't. The first couple of weeks I had to take a route that avoided the hills I usually climb to build some extra strength in my legs and adapt to the bigger (I think) road bike gears. Probably won't be a problem if you like climbing out of the saddle, but if you like staying sat down it might be tougher for a few weeks.

Hope that helps.

__________________________________
"The tyranny of distance, didn't stop the cavaliers, so why should it stop me?" - Split Enz

Smeggers

Biggest thing i found was that road biking is more of a steady sustained effort. Whereas MTB's are short sharp shocks in terms of heart rate.

I prefer the former

<font size="1">Hickory Dickory Dock,
A baby elephant ran up the clock,
The clock is being repaired</font id="size1">

andyBcp

I would suggest going along to your local cycling club evening time trial, which is normally 10 miles, and see what time you can do. It will give you a start point to watch your improvement progress.
You can normally enter these events on the line, without even being a club member.

http://www.teamvelosportif.co.uk

Unknown

you'll be a lot fitter than you expect, although may have trouble getting used to the long road rides, dont those handle bars feel thin!?

MTB'ing is a lot harder than most roadies will give it credit for, you only have to look at the number pro mtb riders that go to the road, as opposed tothe road riders that turn to mtb racing (and usually get creamed - LA once described the tdf as three weeks of pain, but a NORBA mtb race was 2 1/2 hours of painful hell).

As a rough guide 2 hours hard mtbing would equate to 3-4 hours fast on the road.

andyBcp

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by bigdawg</i>

you'll be a lot fitter than you expect, although may have trouble getting used to the long road rides, dont those handle bars feel thin!?

MTB'ing is a lot harder than most roadies will give it credit for, you only have to look at the number pro mtb riders that go to the road, as opposed tothe road riders that turn to mtb racing (and usually get creamed - LA once described the tdf as three weeks of pain, but a NORBA mtb race was 2 1/2 hours of painful hell).

As a rough guide 2 hours hard mtbing would equate to 3-4 hours fast on the road.


<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

It is difficult to draw comparisons as to one discipline of cycle sport being 'harder' than another. There was an article a couple of years back when to pro-MTBers entered the 3-peaks cyclo-X event, and only finished mid-field, but this doesn't mean that MTBing is easier than cyclo-X.

http://www.teamvelosportif.co.uk

Unknown

good point..

I was just basing my experiences of roadies turning up at (albeit national) mtb races, and thinking they'd 'kick butt', but ending up towards the back of the pack...

Always wanted to try a decent cx race, but not really any round here...

Tom Butcher

I think Gilberto Simoni won an Italian national mtb championship the other year didn't he - not bad for a roadie!

---

Warning about well known bike shop removed at request of moderators.

Jan the man

Thanks guys. I rode in a group the other day...its strange, definately the gearing thats getting me and I feel like I'm 'wasting' too much energy on the flats.

As a tip how do you roadies climb. Do you go down on the bars and power, sit upright hands on the tops, with an open stance, or out of the saddle most of the time? Which is the most efficient do you reckon?

Unknown

personally (and Ime the annoying one that'll come up the outsdie of you and start chatting while youre struggling for breath..[:D])

Get comfy, loose grip on the hoods or the top of the bars, choose your gear early (no changing mid hill) and stay seated. As soon as you stand up your cadence and speed usually drops (unless you're sprinting) - rhythm is key and remember to pedal up too!

Tom Butcher

Yes it does depend on the sort of climb and whether you are in a group or not. A short power climb in a race or a fast group very often I'll stand up, as do most people, and sprint up it otherwise you find yourself off the back. Longer climbs I'll do as BD says and sit up a bit, maybe on the tops or the hoods and try and find a rhythm - sometimes standing for short periods just uses the muscles differently and gives a bit of recovery.

If you were climbing with some fit riders with you on a MTB then you should find yourself doing even better with a lighter bike - I still work in lbs but 68kg sounds pretty skinny so if you can keep up on the flat you should fly up the hills.

---

Warning about well known bike shop removed at request of moderators.

Jan the man

Yep I weigh about 148lb.
- I guess I just need to put in the miles to adjust to riding at a different pace on the flats!