How much better?

Mich

Hello people, This is probably a really stupid question in your eyes but i have to ask!

How much better is a road bike? What makes them good on the road? Can you really go much faster than you would on a mountain bike on the road?

Sorry if that seems silly, But i just don't no wether or not to get one....

paulbox

My 23m commute on a hardtail mountain bike with slick tyres took 1h25m, on my road bike it takes 1h10m.

What are you planning on using it for?

danowat

Much better, lighter/more aerodynamic/better geometry, yes

Mich

I'll be using it for getting to and from work, The route there is 11miles through the countryside, The route back is 9.5 through the towns.

It takes me 35-40mins to get there (11miles)
40-50mins to get back (9.5)

Now if a decent road bike will help me lower these times, Which is what i really want, then i'll think long and hard about getting one.

All this on my hardtail mountain bike with swallow mountaineer tyres

ColinJ

And if you still have knobblies on the MTB - the difference between that and a slick-tyred road bike is huge!

I rode 16 miles to a bike shop on my MTB to order my road bike and then 16 miles back. That's 32 miles and it tired me about as much as 100 miles on the road bike does.

paulbox

Mich wrote:

I'll be using it for getting to and from work, The route there is 11miles through the countryside, The route back is 9.5 through the towns.

It takes me 35-40mins to get there (11miles)
40-50mins to get back (9.5)

You will definitely see your times come down on a road bike, however, have you looked in to off road routes? I'd much rather be using bridle/tow (/foot :shock: ) paths than busy roads if I could.

Also, why do you ride home through the town if it takes longer?

Mich

Well on the way to work i eventualy get onto a bridlepath on the way back i cut down onto the canal and use the tow path before getting onto the road.
I use the town route to go back home cause at the moment it absolutly kills me going back through the countryside route, Took me 1hour 30mins the last time i did it

i was thinking of buying two new wheels and putting slick road tyres on them and just swapping the wheels about as i need them, But i do like the idea of having a proper road bike as well to be honest, i just don't want to be wasting money

shm_uk

Road vs. Mountain

Better?
Depends on your criteria.
I prefer my MTB to a Road bike. Because I just do.

Faster?
Depends on your fitness & the effort you put in.
Depends how stop-start or hilly your commute is.
(Depends if there's a #!$*%!!! headwind)

Lighter?
Probably, but not necessarily
If you're a heavy person a lighter bike won't really matter


As an example of all the above, my 11.5 mile commute:

It's a pretty much flat route so the only hinderances to speed are traffic lights (only 5 sets) and headwind!

I ride my hardtail MTB. It's not especially light. It has 160mm travel Fox 36 forks.
Probably weighs around 12-13 kg. I weigh 85kg.

The only concessions for commuting is 1.95" semi-slick tyres & 48T chainring.

I can do the journey in 35-40 minutes if I catch all green lights and there's minimal headwind.

It makes no difference to me if I could get to work 2 minutes quicker on a road bike.

I regularly overtake people on road or hybrid bikes (but I do have a habit of treating my commute as some kind of personal time trial...)

At the end of the day, the biggest factor is how fit you are & how 'hard' you choose to ride.


If your commute only takes 35-40 mins there & 40-50 mins back, doing it on a road bike may save you a few minutes each morning, and maybe 5+ minutes going home ... is it really worth forking out on another bike just for that?

I'd try your plan to use slick MTB tyres first. This'll make a big difference. And maybe fit a bigger chainring.

danowat

If you can average about 20mph on an 11.5 mile commute, on an MTB, then I take my hat off to you.

But you'd still be faster on a road bike

paulbox

Mich wrote:

Well on the way to work i eventualy get onto a bridlepath on the way back i cut down onto the canal and use the tow path before getting onto the road.
I use the town route to go back home cause at the moment it absolutly kills me going back through the countryside route, Took me 1hour 30mins the last time i did it

You're losing me, you said that the countryside, 11m route, takes 35-40min's... :?

Mich wrote:

i was thinking of buying two new wheels and putting slick road tyres on them and just swapping the wheels about as i need them, But i do like the idea of having a proper road bike as well to be honest, i just don't want to be wasting money

The trouble you might face is having a new cassette on the new rear wheel might cause your chain to jump which will mean a new chain and cassette on your original wheel.

How about tapping up your local bike shops to try out some demo bikes? Specialized & Giants own shops will definitely let you borrow their demo's for a few days.

Mich

Paul, That route is on the way to work, Theres a nice long straight that is more downhill than anything so i can build up the speed, But on the way back it takes alot longer to get up that hill.

paulbox

An extra 45 mins? That must be one hell of a hill!

Blag a demo bike for a couple of days, then you'll know for sure whether you want one or not.

AndyF16

Unless it's over very muddy fields or in the snow, I really can't be arsed with my MTB since 'going roadie' last September - it just seems so laborious and sluggish now on road even with the Spesh Hemispheres I fitted

On a road bike you'll actually feel that you're getting somewhere and not simply slogging away with very little progress to show for it IMO

iainvr46

I put slick road tyres on my MTB and it made a huge difference, even done a sprint triathlon on it. It's a cheap effective fix.

Anonymous

iainvr46 wrote:

I put slick road tyres on my MTB and it made a huge difference, even done a sprint triathlon on it. It's a cheap effective fix.

^^This.

rolf_f

shm_uk wrote:

Road vs. Mountain

Better?
Depends on your criteria.
I prefer my MTB to a Road bike. Because I just do.

Faster?
Depends on your fitness & the effort you put in.
Depends how stop-start or hilly your commute is.
(Depends if there's a #!$*%!!! headwind)

Lighter?
Probably, but not necessarily
If you're a heavy person a lighter bike won't really matter

If your commute only takes 35-40 mins there & 40-50 mins back, doing it on a road bike may save you a few minutes each morning, and maybe 5+ minutes going home ... is it really worth forking out on another bike just for that?

Better? Horses for courses. My MTB is better off road than my road bikes, my road bikes are better on road. Nothing more to say on that!

Faster? Definitely. A decent road bike is lighter than any equivalent mountain bike. It has lighter wheels and narrower tyres and bigger wheels. It's faster. Nothing more to say on that.....

Lighter? Almost certainly. Unless you have a carbon, no suspension mtb, the chances are it will be a lot heavier than most road bikes. Maybe not twice as heavy - but a lot heavier. And irrespective of your weight, weight on the bike does matter.

So yes, even a £500 road bike will make your commute more fun because it will feel so much more responsive.

In my case, I'm probably saving at least 20 minutes, maybe 25 on a 24 mile hilly commute on my Road bike compared to my slick shod MTB. Slicks do make a difference but they don't turn an MTB into nearly a road bike.