Road bike v MTB

chrism_scotland

I was all set to order a mountain bike on my work Cyclescheme, mainly thinking that living in Edinburgh I may go to Glentress, however I'm probably going to use it on the road most if not all the time, especially as I could well be moving to London shortly, so ive noticed some decent looking road bikes like the Specialized Allez that I guess would be much better on road than a mtb, just wonderong what a road bike is capable of, how much quicker are they?

prj45

I rode an MTB for a while (slick tyres).

There's a long straight road near my home, I recall I used to not enjoy riding along it, but now on the bike with skinny tyres (flat barred road bike basically) I look forward to zipping along it.

cjcp

Road bike would be quicker. If you get stopped by traffic lights for the first few miles, though, mtbs can catch up to an extent. But the effort I have to put into my commute when on a mtb compared to my road bike is sooooooooooooo much more.

nich

Also see the topic on flat bars vs drop bars as it's relevant

I did use to ride a mtb with slick tyres. It was pretty quick but the geometry was perfect for me which probably helped.

Radioactiveman

Road bike is much better on the road, the clue is in the name. If you may be going to london why not get a singlespeed/fixie like the cool gang ?

wgwarburton

chrism_scotland wrote:

I was all set to order a mountain bike on my work Cyclescheme, mainly thinking that living in Edinburgh I may go to Glentress,

You can hire an appropriate bike at Glentress, I believe.

however I'm probably going to use it on the road most if not all the time, especially as I could well be moving to London shortly, so ive noticed some decent looking road bikes like the Specialized Allez that I guess would be much better on road than a mtb, just wonderong what a road bike is capable of, how much quicker are they?

Get a road bike. Maybe not a full-on racer but something more practical, which can take mudguards and a rack, if you want them. Go talk to Edinburgh Bicycle about what you want to use it for (ie not what you think you want, but what you want to do with it- commuting, road riding etc) and see what they advise, then come back here and we'll confuse you all over again!!!!

Cheers,
W.

The Rookie

I've just swapped from a mountain bike on slicks to a flat barred hybrid, bult for waht I want, still on 26" slicks, but difference in weight and reduiced inertia make the new bike so much easier to ride I'm using a gear higher on most my climbs and its still not as hard work.

I would suggest a road bike, either with drops or flats at your preferance, even though I'm on flats my bars are still about 4-5" below the saddle.

Simon

SmellTheGlove

I occasionally ride my MTB to work on days when I take the scenic route home. But for the road I find it a poor compromise because I'm usually in one position; MTB geometry is great if your route demands constant shifting around the cockpit, when every change in position adds to the workout.
At the risk of over-generalizing I reckon there are better bikes for dealing with flat-out tarmac than an MTB.

Splottboy

I've used both. Road is great for speed, but if it rains I feel a bit more confident on twisty descents on Mtb tyres - treaded or semi slicks.

If its nice going home, I hit some easyish trails too just for the skill factor.

rolf_f

The Beginner wrote:

....... but difference in weight and reduiced inertia make the new bike so much easier to ride I'm using a gear higher on most my climbs and its still not as hard work.

So not as effective training then

supersonic

How far is your commute?

lost_in_thought

supersonic wrote:

How far is your commute?

If it's on-road, it's always too far for an MTB! :P

The Rookie

My neighbour used to commute on a full DH Norco, 8" travel jobby, but then his commute was 1.5 miles.......

Simon

rf6

If your commute isn't too long, and you really will go off road, then an MTB with a choice of tyres is your best bet.

If you're only gonna have the odd day here and there off road, and / or the commute is a fair way, then a road bike is definitely the way forward. Then all you have to do is choose one..... :?

EDIT... you can rent a bike for the odd off road days!

MrChuck

lost_in_thought wrote:

supersonic wrote:

How far is your commute?

If it's on-road, it's always too far for an MTB! :P

+1, MTBs suck on the road.
But it's not because of the flat bars...

soy_sauce

i don't have a road bike so i am not gonna say MTB is better but i remember when i was applying for the C2W scheme, i was also asking the same question 2 years ago.

for Aberdeen, I def made the right choice of choosing MTB, because of the potholes and also the options to hop-onto the pavement and so on if i have to due to rush hour traffics.

also because they have lower gears which mean easier to climb hills with.

EDITED: also you can go for a CX bike.

lost_in_thought

MrChuck wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

supersonic wrote:

How far is your commute?

If it's on-road, it's always too far for an MTB! :P

+1, MTBs suck on the road.
But it's not just because of the flat bars...

Fixed that for you...

UndercoverElephant

soy_sauce wrote:

i don't have a road bike so i am not gonna say MTB is better but i remember when i was applying for the C2W scheme, i was also asking the same question 2 years ago.

for Aberdeen, I def made the right choice of choosing MTB, because of the potholes and also the options to hop-onto the pavement and so on if i have to due to rush hour traffics.

also because they have lower gears which mean easier to climb hills with.

EDITED: also you can go for a CX bike.

Absolutely, and the ideal city car is a Land Rover.

lost_in_thought

UndercoverElephant wrote:

soy_sauce wrote:

i don't have a road bike so i am not gonna say MTB is better but i remember when i was applying for the C2W scheme, i was also asking the same question 2 years ago.

for Aberdeen, I def made the right choice of choosing MTB, because of the potholes and also the options to hop-onto the pavement and so on if i have to due to rush hour traffics.

also because they have lower gears which mean easier to climb hills with.

EDITED: also you can go for a CX bike.

Absolutely, and the ideal city car is a Land Rover.

+1 - have you ever tried hopping a Lambo onto a pavement?

supersonic

My MTB is sub 20lbs. It flies with big slicks.

Radioactiveman

Have you had a look at the cotic roadrat alfine?

£850 flat bar with alfine. Sturdy steel construction maybe just the thing you are looking for?

http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/bikes/roadrat/alfine/

chrism_scotland

Radioactiveman wrote:

Have you had a look at the cotic roadrat alfine?

£850 flat bar with alfine. Sturdy steel construction maybe just the thing you are looking for?

http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/bikes/roadrat/alfine/

That looks nice actually the disc brake version could well fulfill my needs, although £900+ seems a bit steep compared to the £850 for a Giant XTC 1 Mountain bike!!

How well could something like the Alfine Cope with pot holes and cobbles?

The Rookie

The hub gears are very durable and basically maintenance free, they'll probably cope better than any Derailleur.

Also the Alfine can be shifted stationary, so no more having to preselect gears approaching a junction just in case you have to stop!

Simon

seataltea

Routes and gradients are a factor in this decision.

My Boardman HT Pro on Race Kings is not quite as fast as my Hybrid on level roads or the newly tarmaced towpath but when I get to the inclines it is faster thanks to the gearing.

chrism_scotland

Cheers guys, I will need to take a think, I had thought the streets of Edinburgh would be better suited to a mountain bike with its cobbles, potholes and some steep hills, however the more I think about it the more I've been thinking a road bike would be better.

I think that something like the Roadrat would also be better from a fitness perspective as I'd like to cycle for fitness as well as just commutting, and I'm sure that it would more than handle cyclepaths and towpaths for example, and you guys are right in saying I can hire an MTB if I want to go to Glentress or I could even build myself a fairly cheap MTB rather than buying new!

Acelliott

Landrover defender with road tyre still has no place on the road
I had a mountain bike with road tires and I put a raod frount set on it 40,52 chain set and 172 cranks but it was no road bike and I would not go back for anything

if you have friends with both then take them for a good ride, starting with the road bike

chrism_scotland

Cheers again guys sadly I haven't got the chance to try a more road oriented bike but I have used a Giant XTC on the road before and thought it was ok, although I wasn't on city streets at that point!
The Cotic Roadrat looks very nice although I would have liked to see it before ordering if possible.

londonbairn

I've went from a MTB to a road frame with a flat bar to a proper road bike on my commute, road bike wins by a country mile. I couldn't even bear going on my commute on anything less, when my Wilier is out of action I would rather take one of my carbon bikes than getting the MTB or flat bar out

chrism_scotland

Has anyone here got the Cotic Roadrat? And could comment on it?

chrism_scotland

Well I took a look today at some more bikes, still very tempted by the XTC 1 had a nice ride on an XTC 2 today and was very impressed with it,

Was in Edinburgh Cycle Coop and didn't really like the ride position on the Spec Allez just a bit too low down for me, I did however see a nice range of hybrid/commuter bikes and was very struck by the Cannondale Badboy and the Giant Seek 0, both of which had lovely looking slick tyres and certainly looked like MTB style feel and ride but much more suited to the road with the rigid fork and slick tyres, I guess they would also take a luggage rack or panniers for taking stuff to and from work.

Another potential thought I had was to get the XTC 1/2 and then get a rigid fork for it from somewhere so that I could protect the Rockshox Fork and only have it on the bike if I'm going to be using it offroad over a more extended period,

supersonic

Exotic sell carbon MTB forks for about 95 quid.