MTBers who've joined the dark side, unite!

135

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  • clanton
    clanton Posts: 1,289
    Been on the "dark side" for 2 years now and do about 50/50 mtb vs road - but the peak has stayed! I prefer it on, keeps the sun and rain out of the eyes and I don't find it interferes with visibility.
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    I've ditched the camelback but then i never liked it any way, i hate things on my back.

    i have the baggies but then with out having a massive seatpost bag i like having space for wallet/phone etc.

    being comfortable with riding slowly and or trackstanding seems to have been a useful skill on the clubrun less need to clip out as i'm fine, while every one else is going click fiddle clack.

    and when hunting steeper hills the fact that front wheel going light or what not isn't a issue, i'll run out of legs long before that becomes a issue.
  • Chris Swansea
    Chris Swansea Posts: 78
    Imagine if Lance had a Gravity Dropper seatpost and 140mm of travel for his 'cross field' excursions in the TdF. he could actually gain a bit of time.
    Trying my best to do 300 miles a month on and off road.
  • hopper1
    hopper1 Posts: 4,389
    strodey wrote:
    All my mates still ride MTBs and so I go out alone. I daren't join a road club for fear of being dropped after 2 miles, I have no idea if I'm fast\fit or not compared to others!

    I'm the same but can't help but think a bit of draughting and i'd keep up easy!

    You'd probably be quite surprised how easy a club run actually is. If you ride at the back of the bunch the effort is considerably less than that of the front runners. Plus riding at the back, you get to learn the signals and riding etiquette, without upsetting anyone!
    Give it a try...

    Paul
    Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!
  • Slow Downcp
    Slow Downcp Posts: 3,041
    spursn17 wrote:
    I have now joined the 'dark side'.

    Does this mean I now have to ignore other riders whilst out cycling? :lol:

    Not all riders - just people on MTB's :wink: :twisted:
    Carlsberg don't make cycle clothing, but if they did it would probably still not be as good as Assos
  • tobh
    tobh Posts: 103
    Yep. Me too. I love my road bike (Cannondale Synapse) much more than my mtb (Rockhopper) now.

    Until very recently I've been doing my road biking on my own. But then a couple of my MTB buddies acquired road bikes (from the backs of garages and upgraded a bit ) and we've been riding in a group (of just 4 of us) and it is just great. The speed you get in a group. The drafting and over taking on a flat at 31 mph - wicked. Last Monday night we were still out at 2230 riding thru the country lanes in the dark with our MTB head lamps on and as we plunged down the lanes into the dark it was as exciting as riding singletrack..

    This morning I was out on my road bike, tomorrow morning and then Saturday for a long one all on the road. My MTB ? that will wait till the 19th when I'm doing Mud, Sweat & Gears in Danbury. I wish I was doing a sportive though.

    (lyrca - I wear still wear baggies).
  • adydow
    adydow Posts: 92
    I'm a MTB'er who is also considering joining the Dark Side depending on how much my spare mountain bike gets on ebay. I think I will get use to the Roadie before I even consider shaving my legs, although wearing lycra is a secret fetish for all mtbers. :lol:
    Of course its about the bike! Although having the legs helps.
  • cheehee
    cheehee Posts: 427
    Surf-Matt wrote:
    I can't see myself ever going lycra only. The baggies are perfectly comfy.

    I nearly ventured out in lycra shorts yesterday, I got to the front door and bottled it :lol: *

    So I removed to banana and two plums and slipped my baggies over the top as usual....................maybe soon my lycra clad schlong will be unvailed to the general public.

    *I was going out on the bike BTW - I don't want you all thinking I was walking down to the shops in Lycra shorts.
  • neil_sheehan2000
    neil_sheehan2000 Posts: 529
    Gosh darnit, now I'm going to have to get some SPDs! The stupid toeclip things I've got are just rubbish- no actual grip at all; I don't know if it's my MTB pedalling style or what but the upstroke pretty much alludes me- are you just supposed to keep your feet flat but hoike the pedals up or what? I suppose I could do the straps up so tight that my feet can't move out of them but that seems somewhat suicidal.

    Anyway, you obviously can't ride a road bike with flats and skate shoes (though I bet I could go faster than I could with the stupid pedals I've got now), so spuds it is.

    Quick question though- the cheapest shoes I've found (that come with reasonable reviews) are made by Shimano, but the cheapest pedals (that come with reasonable reviews) are made by Look. Are they compatible? I seem to remember from my formative years that Look pedals were sort of special...
    Meta
  • dean85
    dean85 Posts: 87
    i were converted a week or 2 ago when i went on trip to italy with some friends, and climbed the monte grappa, i were the only person from our little excursion wearing Flat pedals and V12's on a full carbon wilier Izaord lol, got used to wearing the lycra, opened up a whole difference level of riding and more respect towards the roadies of this world. i purchased a wilier and love it. still love me Wolf ridge, but the road riding has been another level of fitness
  • guilliano
    guilliano Posts: 5,495
    Also a converted MTBer, and loving every second of it. I bought a lovely Defy Advanced a few months ago and have recently bought a new set of wheels as my MTBer bulk made the Mavic Aksium wheels flex visibly when out of the saddle on climbs. I am now the proud owner of a set om Easton EA90 SL wheels which will get a damn good work out next week (week off work). I also bought a pair of Carbon soled Shimano R132 shoes and can't believe the difference they make to acceleration from junctions!

    Have sold my full suss MTB, but will build up my old Gary Fisher Marlin frame again so I have a fun MTB for winter
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/guilliano/
  • mhuk
    mhuk Posts: 327
    Up til now I'd only done a couple of short runs on mine as I built it from scratch and wasn't happy with a few bits. Today I went for a 40 minute ride to see if the new stem would help my riding position.

    2 1/2hrs later I think I can say the new stem has helped a lot :) although I need to sort the cleat position out as my knees are killing :(
    Scott Scale
  • softlad
    softlad Posts: 3,513
    neil_sheehan2000 wrote:
    Quick question though- the cheapest shoes I've found (that come with reasonable reviews) are made by Shimano, but the cheapest pedals (that come with reasonable reviews) are made by Look. Are they compatible? I seem to remember from my formative years that Look pedals were sort of special...

    Most pukka road shoes (including Shimano) will have a standard three-bolt fitting to take either Look or Time cleats...
  • bice
    bice Posts: 772
    neil_sheehan2000 wrote:
    Gosh darnit, now I'm going to have to get some SPDs! The stupid toeclip things I've got are just rubbish- no actual grip at all; I don't know if it's my MTB pedalling style or what but the upstroke pretty much alludes me- are you just supposed to keep your feet flat but hoike the pedals up or what? I suppose I could do the straps up so tight that my feet can't move out of them but that seems somewhat suicidal..

    Road bikes are sold with useless soft plastic toe clips - the worst of all, as you say. But proper, firm plastic toe clips can be very useful. I use them everyday commuting in London. They are not as good as SPDs, which I use for longer rides, but much handier and simpler for daily use.
  • soveda
    soveda Posts: 306
    neil_sheehan2000 wrote:
    Gosh darnit, now I'm going to have to get some SPDs! The stupid toeclip things I've got are just rubbish- no actual grip at all; I don't know if it's my MTB pedalling style or what but the upstroke pretty much alludes me- are you just supposed to keep your feet flat but hoike the pedals up or what? I suppose I could do the straps up so tight that my feet can't move out of them but that seems somewhat suicidal.

    Yep, that's exactly what you have to do!
  • jaffajim0
    jaffajim0 Posts: 18
    pickled wrote:
    I have a peak on my helmet and still have the spoke protector on. (dunno how to take it off....)
    Is that why everyone is laughing at me? :wink:
    What is a spoke protector? I have just bought my 1st road bike which has reflectors which cover about 1/4 of the wheel!!! They are coming off but I don't see anything else that looks out of place.
  • Surf-Matt
    Surf-Matt Posts: 5,952
    Jaffa - the plastic "ring" between the cassette (rear cogs) and the spokes/hub.
  • jaffajim0
    jaffajim0 Posts: 18
    Thanks surf-matt. I don't have one on my bike......thankfully as I can see the one on my son's bike and it looks a bit involved to take off. Must learn a bit of bike maintenance.
  • Surf-Matt
    Surf-Matt Posts: 5,952
    Jaffa - I snapped mine of by hand.

    Just shout "GRRRR" as you do it - makes it easier.

    Left my MTB ones on - they seem to be a bit more useful.
  • pickled
    pickled Posts: 439
    Yep, mine snapped off quite easily. Started it with a pair of scissors then it broke fairly easy.
    It also weighed 30g, so I'm a bit faster now...
  • screebs
    screebs Posts: 178
    pickled wrote:
    Yep, mine snapped off quite easily. Started it with a pair of scissors then it broke fairly easy.
    It also weighed 30g, so I'm a bit faster now...

    lol - you have obviously adapted easily to the roadie mindset! 30 grams! - that's coming off as it's slowing me down! :lol:
    Me struggling up Mont Ventoux for the first time! Done it 3 times since (each way up) without stopping. This seems like a lifetime ago! http://img208.imageshack.us/i/snapshot2 ... 45552.tif/
  • Chris Swansea
    Chris Swansea Posts: 78
    That's the good thing about MTBing, you can loose 4lbs off you bike weight by washing it.
    Trying my best to do 300 miles a month on and off road.
  • pickled
    pickled Posts: 439
    I should weigh the bell and the two reflectors that came off too! :D
  • lastwords
    lastwords Posts: 304
    just been out today and done 24miles i tell you since gettin a road bike and doing a fare bit of riding on it i cant believe how rubbish the road surfaces are in places.

    All that road tax i pay for my land rover where does it go?
  • mhuk
    mhuk Posts: 327
    Any MTBers with road bikes who use SPD on both help appreciated here :)
    Scott Scale
  • neil_sheehan2000
    neil_sheehan2000 Posts: 529
    soveda wrote:
    neil_sheehan2000 wrote:
    Gosh darnit, now I'm going to have to get some SPDs! The stupid toeclip things I've got are just rubbish- no actual grip at all; I don't know if it's my MTB pedalling style or what but the upstroke pretty much alludes me- are you just supposed to keep your feet flat but hoike the pedals up or what? I suppose I could do the straps up so tight that my feet can't move out of them but that seems somewhat suicidal.

    Yep, that's exactly what you have to do!

    And you boys call that pedalling, do you? ;)
    Meta
  • soveda
    soveda Posts: 306
    neil_sheehan2000 wrote:
    soveda wrote:
    neil_sheehan2000 wrote:
    Gosh darnit, now I'm going to have to get some SPDs! The stupid toeclip things I've got are just rubbish- no actual grip at all; I don't know if it's my MTB pedalling style or what but the upstroke pretty much alludes me- are you just supposed to keep your feet flat but hoike the pedals up or what? I suppose I could do the straps up so tight that my feet can't move out of them but that seems somewhat suicidal.

    Yep, that's exactly what you have to do!


    And you boys call that pedalling, do you? ;)

    My response was to the "do you need to crank straps so tight your foot can't move" part. You're not pedalling properly unless you are spinning at 100rpm :P
  • neil_sheehan2000
    neil_sheehan2000 Posts: 529
    soveda wrote:
    My response was to the "do you need to crank straps so tight your foot can't move" part. You're not pedalling properly unless you are spinning at 100rpm :P

    That's pretty much my motto on the MTB! (I've only got a double up front)

    Anyway, to continue the saga, can anyone advise as to what types of pedal I want? I suspect that I've been using the term SPD to generically mean 'those mental clipless pedals that you can't get your feet into/out of and make you fall over at traffic lights' when I'm beginning to suspect that they refer to a very particular type of mental clipless pedal that you can't get your feet into/out of and make you fall over at traffic lights (a sort of Tannoy/ public address system type mistake, if you will).

    I'm noticing that SPDs (i.e. clipless mountain bike pedals made by Shimano) are a bit different from these road varieties, and my dad reckons that MTB shoes are a lot easier to walk in that road shoes with big bits of metal sticking out the bottom (because MTB shoes have the cleats in a recess, no?). And now I'm very confused. Do I want road or MTB pedals? Is there a difference? Will road shoes be compatible with MTB pedals? And lastly, why is this all so bleeding complicated?

    Ta.
    Meta
  • mhuk
    mhuk Posts: 327
    If you use SPD on your mountain bike it makes it easier to have SPD on your road bike in that you only need one pair of shoes and one system to get used to. They don't take long to get used to :)

    Otherwise there are lots of road clipless systems - have a browse through: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... nts/pedals or search for "Pedals" in the road section e.g. Look, Time, Speedplay. SPD-SL.
    Scott Scale
  • cedargreen
    cedargreen Posts: 189
    Hi, even as a roadie I can't claim to be an expert on all this but here goes....

    SPD I think stands for 'Shimano Pedal Dynamic' or something like that.

    There are basically 2 versions SPD and SPD-SL.

    SPD-SL is aimed at road bikes and is similar in design to the original 'Look' clip in pedals. The cleats are quite big, which supposedly spreads the load and reduces pressure on the foot on long rides- the downside is that the cleats are not really designed to walk in.

    SPD is the more common system on mountain bikes but there's no reason you can't use it on a road bike (many people do) and the smaller cleats make walking easier.

    When it comes to shoes I tend to stick with Shimano for reasons of comfort, but whatever brand you go for check their compatability- not all shoes will fit all cleats/ pedal systems.

    I've got SPD on my commuter road bike and SPD-SL on my 'best' road bike so I need 2 pairs of shoes. There's not much between the systems, both function well but if I had to choose I would go for SPD-SL, and choose cleats with 'float' which allow a bit of movement.

    Hope this helps

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