Mountain bikers

Stuey01

MTB'er originally, now MTB, road, commute s'all good

really want a bmx, but my gf would kill me if I got another bike (four in our one bed flat is pushing it for space already)

Surf-Matt

I "commute" (actually work from home but do a 12.5ish miler before work) on both an MTB and a road bike on different routes so do all three.

Been MTBing for years but only recently got a road bike - do both for fun, have done a race or two and have no interest in being an excruciatingly pedantic know it all that considers anyone who rides less than 50 miles in one go to be lame. I also don't have any Assos kit and do not intend to get any.

I find the MTBers on here much more laid back than the roadies who do a great job of "outing" any newbies they deem not hardcore enough. The Commuters seem to be a mix of the two - some chilled, some a complete PITA.

Don't whatever you do mention a bike breaking and causing a nasty injury - all hell breaks loose...

Aidy

Some people do feel the need to troll a perfectly innocent thread. :roll:

Surf-Matt

Please point out the trolling element?

Come on, I'm waiting.

Bikerbaboon

Surf-Matt wrote:

Please point out the trolling element?

Come on, I'm waiting.

Matt just leave it please.

also sorry for missing that suzyb was north of the border as up there you are alot more sensible about bikes.

OldSkoolKona

MTB'er originally, back in the '90s (my old steed from then is now my commuter, hence the name). Have had several different commutes over the years, as I've moved with work, the best down in Dorset which was 90% off road).

Since moving to London though, 90% of my cycling is my commuting which is all on road, so I took the plunge and got a road bike and have really enjoyed it as a complement to the off road. I do still love off road, particularly the stress free nature of it, not having to shoulder check every 10 yards. At the end of the day its all cycling, so who cares what title you put against it.

I hang out in the commuting bit of the forum, as its one of the few places where tags of roadie/mtber etc don't matter, we're all just doing what we love :-) Its been great to see so many newbies come along and ask for advice, and not be shot down for not knowing their down tube from their top tube (and then theres the head tube :shock: )

There has been a real change in cycling over the past 10 years, moving away from it being something that you had to be able to recite gear ratio charts before you could let out on the roads, to being more mainstream, and I really love that.

Kiblams

OldSkoolKona wrote:

I hang out in the commuting bit of the forum, as its one of the few places where tags of roadie/mtber etc don't matter, we're all just doing what we love :-)

+1. Also because I ride more on roads/cycle routes these days due to the commute than I do at the weekends in the woods (this will likely change as the days get longer )

I am appreciative to both the MTB and commuting section of this forum, the first for their advice and guidance in getting back on a bike after 10 years off and in the maintaining/building of my first bike, and the latter for your advice and guidance in getting to work comfortably and in one peice

And i guess we can all thank the roadies for the 'girls in lycra shorts' thread

il_principe

Bikerbaboon wrote:

Surf-Matt wrote:

Please point out the trolling element?

Come on, I'm waiting.

Matt just leave it please.

+1

rjsterry

I did once take my road bike of the time (1980s fairly cheap 10speed, single pivot calipers, you know the sort of thing) down the Taff Trail from Castell Coch heading north - a pretty steeply descending dirt track with tree roots. Kind of the opposite of riding your MTB on the road I think. Quite an interesting experience. If it's got two wheels and no engine...

Gazzaputt

Used to be a MTBr for many years but now a road rider. Is a pain having to drive everywhere to ride your bike.

I define being a road rider by having 2 road bikes neither of which are commuters one is winter one is summer and both get ridden to work.

I see riding to work as training not commuting. I only buy road gear nothing I buy do I think about commuting.

Then again I ride to and from work so should I be classed as a commuter?

Surf-Matt

I find you can actually ride an MTB on the road to and from places. They can take it - they are well 'ard. They can even do kerbs and drains and stuff.


***waits for a tirade of moans and bleats from the angst ridden commuters***

Kiblams

Surf-Matt wrote:

I find you can actually ride an MTB on the road to and from places. They can take it - they are well 'ard. They can even do kerbs and drains and stuff.


***waits for a tirade of moans and bleats from the angst ridden commuters***

Admit it now Matt, that was intentionally being a troll! :roll:

SmellTheGlove

Set myself a few targets, buy some buzzy new gear now and again, arrive at my destination with a smile on my face in any conditions - I think it's more about these things than tribes or cliques.

PedalPedant

Surf-Matt wrote:

They can even do kerbs and drains and stuff.

I don't need a bike than can do kerbs, I leave the pavement riding to the little kiddies

PP

Surf-Matt

PedalPedant wrote:

Surf-Matt wrote:

They can even do kerbs and drains and stuff.

I don't need a bike than can do kerbs, I leave the pavement riding to the little kiddies

PP

So you also magically float over potholes and drain covers too?

When on my MTB I just ride OVER everything. When on my road bike, I have to avoid almost anything remotely "bumpy." I love the speed of the road bike but to suggest an MTB can't be ridden on a road is a tad silly.

hells

I started off as purely riding HT mountain bikes both for commuting and for mtbing. I like getting all mucky and scaring myself off road. I then moved to London and decided to get a road bike seeing as mountain biking is impossible without a car or a train journey here. I thought the road bike would be boring compared to mountain biking. How very wrong I was! I love my road bike I am definitly more of a roadie now. I love the speed, the thrill of chasing down other roadies, descending at ridiculous speeds, hammering up climbs, the competitive surge I feel running through my veins when I see another cyclist, the socialising of group rides, the team work in racing. I have now also got a cx bike which has taken over commuting duties becuase it can take a rack. this is my msot versatile bike and is used daily. It was great in the snow and sometimes I take if for a muddy play in epping forest. Epping forest is boring on a mountain bike. I will hopefully do a cx race this year. I hate the cantilever brakes though and its hard for a short person like me to find a small enough cx bike. I wore full lycra as a mtber, i love it, people who don't like it are jsut jealous that they havent got the body for it :P

I read and occasionally post in all three forums. I liek the commuting adn cake stop ones the best. I find in general road cycling is much more sociable and more about teamwork than mountain biking. I find roadies are more friendly and accepting than mountain bikers and that commuters and roadies dont really care what you ride so long as you ride andhave no problems with other forms of cycling. whereas alot of mountain bikers seem to think that anyone who dosnt mountain bike, dons lycra and has skinny wheels is a loser. But you also have great mountain bikers who are extremly friendly and helpful and will help you if your fixing your bike at the trail side or hurt yourself.

Surf-Matt

Interesting reading hells but can I make a small suggestion?

For the good of our eyes please use spaced paragraphs.

Mountainboy2465

I started off doing triathlon.

Started MTB'ing as I was rubbish on the uphill sections, after a season of racing offroad had my best ever season racing tri.

Then got into road racing & time trialling when I came back to the UK.

I class myself as a cyclist, I want as many bikes as possible, of as many different types as I can. I really do not understand the inter-discipline snobbery.

hells

he he sorry matt ;-p

Levi_501

I am a MTB commuter and a XC MTBer in the evenings and weekends, mainly at Swinley Forest and Surrey HIlls.

I must confess, I quite like commuting on a MTB.

Mountainboy2465

Surf-Matt wrote:

So you also magically float over potholes and drain covers too?

When on my MTB I just ride OVER everything. When on my road bike, I have to avoid almost anything remotely "bumpy." I love the speed of the road bike but to suggest an MTB can't be ridden on a road is a tad silly.

But that has nothing to do with the type of bike and everything to do with the size of tyre surely?

When I commuted on an MTB I fitted 1.5" slicks, now I have a dedicated commuter I ride on 37mm slicks - effectively the same volume. Their ability to take the potholes is the same.

Of course a full suss MTB would ride even better over the rough stuff but the additional weight would not be worth it over the full commute.

An MTB can be ridden on road but it is not as efficient as a road bike, as you obviously realise. A road bike 'can' be ridden offroad, it just wouldn't be your first choice would it? I am not an MTB'er, or a roadie, or a commuter - just a person who has several different bikes for several different moods.

As for mentioning a bike 'breaking and all hell breaking loose'... sheesh... I tried to leave it on that one but you had to bring it up again. Think about what you told us - pedalling hard uphill, therefore pulling up on the bars - that would not, could not, cause the bars to collapse forwards because of a failure of the tube. The physics isn't right - the pull in an upward direction could only really cause the bars/stem to fail if the folding mechanism wasn't locked properly? Of course I could be wrong, but going from what you have told us I dunno!

itboffin

I had a good reply for this but deleted it, it was for the best really :roll:

Surf-Matt

I have to admit, I'm still convinced my road bike (2010 Allez with RS10s) will break on any sort of bump or drain cover. Makes rural riding "interesting" with all the bumpy roads!

cjw

Gazzaputt wrote:

Used to be a MTBr for many years but now a road rider. Is a pain having to drive everywhere to ride your bike.

Similar reason here. Yes of course you can ride MTB on the road. When I moved from next to a great little MTB (3 Miles down the road) to where nearest route is now 15 miles most of the time the MTB was on the road - hence why I started thinkng to get a roadie.

On the road bike I can now pop out the front door, do 50 - 100 mile ride and back at home on the weekends rather than load up car, drive to decent MTB route (good ones from me are about 2 hours drive away) do couple hours ride and then back in the car - will still do that from time to time though later in year

Oh, Matt, road bikes are a hell of a lot stronger than you think if you consider a drain cover will break them.

roger_merriman

Surf-Matt wrote:

I have to admit, I'm still convinced my road bike (2010 Allez with RS10s) will break on any sort of bump or drain cover. Makes rural riding "interesting" with all the bumpy roads!

it really shouldn't unless your a very heavy rider, either weight or style.

on the whole urban roads are more tricky namely because very deep potholes etc are hidden by traffic.

bails87

roger merriman wrote:

Surf-Matt wrote:

I have to admit, I'm still convinced my road bike (2010 Allez with RS10s) will break on any sort of bump or drain cover. Makes rural riding "interesting" with all the bumpy roads!

it really shouldn't unless your a very heavy rider, either weight or style.

Or it's a carbon bike and you go out in the rain of course.

Surf-Matt

roger merriman wrote:

Surf-Matt wrote:

I have to admit, I'm still convinced my road bike (2010 Allez with RS10s) will break on any sort of bump or drain cover. Makes rural riding "interesting" with all the bumpy roads!

it really shouldn't unless your a very heavy rider, either weight or style.

on the whole urban roads are more tricky namely because very deep potholes etc are hidden by traffic.

Only 11.5-12ish stone (which might be heavy for a roadie?!) and I have realised they can take a lot more stick than I realised. In fact it bunny hops quite well too! Just looks sooo fragile compared to my MTB (which is a lightweight XC racer so not the burliest of MTBs). There's a section just out of Truro which reminds me of an Alpine pass - totally smooth, long descent, no potholes or drains and you can hammer it. Always fun. Totally different mentality riding on a road bike - really enjoy how different it is to MTBing despite both being the same mode of transport.

il_principe

I dunno why people insist on assuming that road bikes are fragile. I think if they can handle the Paris–Roubaix, or the sort of power generated by the likes of Thor, then they can handle the exertions of rank amateurs like ourselves, even the base models.

cee

Il Principe wrote:

I dunno why people insist on assuming that road bikes are fragile. I think if they can handle the Paris–Roubaix, or the sort of power generated by the likes of Thor, then they can handle the exertions of rank amateurs like ourselves, even the base models.

in fairness II P.....the same is true of the mountain bikes too....

folks are always saying...is this bike strong enough for this track....i need a stronger bike etc etc...

then you see the Pro XC guys powering very light bikes on trails which are more difficult than a lot of people actually ride (in reality....of course in their heads, many are hardcore to the power extreme or h^e as i will now start calling it..)

roger_merriman

Surf-Matt wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

Surf-Matt wrote:

I have to admit, I'm still convinced my road bike (2010 Allez with RS10s) will break on any sort of bump or drain cover. Makes rural riding "interesting" with all the bumpy roads!

it really shouldn't unless your a very heavy rider, either weight or style.

on the whole urban roads are more tricky namely because very deep potholes etc are hidden by traffic.

Only 11.5-12ish stone (which might be heavy for a roadie?!) and I have realised they can take a lot more stick than I realised. In fact it bunny hops quite well too! Just looks sooo fragile compared to my MTB (which is a lightweight XC racer so not the burliest of MTBs). There's a section just out of Truro which reminds me of an Alpine pass - totally smooth, long descent, no potholes or drains and you can hammer it. Always fun. Totally different mentality riding on a road bike - really enjoy how different it is to MTBing despite both being the same mode of transport.

i'm 13/14 stone I run 23mm at 100psi no problems with pinch flats/snake bites.

I probably count as old school bearing in mind I predate V brakes, suspension etc. your hack is younger than the bikes I used, one of which after years of abuse in the beacons is now living it's dotage as a childcarrier in the mendips with my sister.