Anyone ride MTB and Road?

Gav888

Just a question about bike fit...

On the road bike I feel like I am working my quads only when riding, whenever I ride uphill or push on a bit I can feel it in my quads esp in the low part of the leg above the knee.

But as im now getting into mountain bking I notice that my quads don't ache at all even after a few hours hard riding, I don't even feel like im using them but my hamstrings / glutes ache a lot esp after the ride when im resting.

Is this normal for a MTB vs Road setup or is one of the bikes not setup properly?

supersonic

This could be because you are much more dynamic on an mtb as you shift your weight (and the bike) around, while road is more focused on set muscle groups.

turnerjohn

I find with trail / xc riding I move around far more using far more / different muscles then on the road bikes. It the nature of off roading...you dont often get a constant cadence or position due to the trail....well unless you ride canal paths all the time :shock:

bike set up can play some part of it...I like my mtb set up like my bike bike i.e. higher saddle then bars, long leg length etc...with a wider bar obviously !

Stevo_666

I do MTB and commuting which is just like roadie but with more traffic lights. What you posted doesn't sound too far off the mark, probably for the reasons already given. But on the bright side, road riding builds up your leg strength and aerobic capacity so the MTB'ing is more fun and you can do it for longer without getting whacked out.

robdaykin

yep, just above the knee.

The only explanation I can think of is that on a road bike my lowest gear is 30-26, on the mountain bike it's something like 22-34, so I can spin up hills on the mountain bike that I'm straining to grind up on a racer.

[Edit] Just remembered...

A couple of years back I was fitted for my road bike, and the guy concentrated a lot on the 'engine room' or getting my glutes involved in pedalling, instead of all quads and hamstrings. It may be that on the mountain bike you're setup is right, but on the road bike you need to change position a little to get your glutes involved. Knocked 2 minutes off a 4 mile commute immediately. I forgot 'cause after doing a climbing session today, my quads were burning, and they're the ones that hurt at the top of that hill.

Gav888

Cheers for the advise guys, I will see how things go as mountain biking is still fairly new to me so it maybe my body getting used to the different riding style, but I had read somewhere once that you should use your glutes more when riding which makes me think the road bike needs tweaking

cooldad

The only pain you should be worrying about is the pain you feel when you stack it.

armymankin

i ride my mtb everywhere. commute on road alot and ride to work too.
i have riden on mates road bike for a while before as i was think to get a road bike too... um... it gave me back pain and the riding position is not as relaxed. and you really need to scan the road for any tinny little bump or pot holes.

whereas in mtb, i got used to just roll over stuff. so jumping on a road bike was difficult for me. therefore the idea of the road bike is gone for now.

BG2000

Gav888 wrote:

you should use your glutes more when riding which makes me think the road bike needs tweaking

hmmm, I wouldn't read into that too much, and if you've not had problems with using your road bike, I'd leave it alone. Talking about 'using your glutes' more makes it sound like an American excercise DVD !

If your position on the bike is correct, you'll use whatever muscles you need. If your hamstrings hurt after riding the MTB, make sure your saddle isn't too high, although it's probably because you're turning higher gears while climbing in the saddle, and pushing your heels down (nothing wrong with that...)

The measurements you must get right are saddle height and the fore-aft position of the saddle above the bottom bracket. You can try to get your road bike and MTB similar, but the MTB will often have a slacker seat angle, so this might not be possible. It's also tricky to have the saddle heights the same, as you need it a bit lower on an MTB, though this is one very good reason to get a 'dropper seatpost, i.e. so that you can get the saddle at the correct max height for smoother sections.

But try and get them as similar as possible. All my 7 bikes have exactly the same saddle height and I've never had problems in many years of racing. I can't guarantee it's the correct height but at least it's consistent, and that helps prevent injury.

Try concentrating on spinning gears on the MTB too - many people seem to grind their gears. As everyone says, MTB riding style is very different so you can't expect the same muscle groups to get worked.

SpiCan

Slacker seat tube angle should be ok, as the seat needs to be back a bit as you are more upright on the bike.
I look at it as a time trial position in reverse, body (in time trial) is tilted forward to get low, so the seat has to go forward to keep the peddling angles right. More upright on the mountain bike, saddle back. I try to keep my hip angle the same.
I also have two mountain bikes, a hard tail Cannondale more X Country and a Stumpjumper full suspension. X Country is more like a my road bike position but you have to really quick on the technical down hill bits (the suicide bits) or end up going over the bars. Race whippet stuff, witch I am not.
My club are helping to get me setup for the enduro stuff, basically shifting weight back, short stem more upright, this gets my legs on the climbing. As does the slight bob from the suspension.
Long down hills standing hurt to but with the Stumpy I can sit a bit rather than getting trashed by the Caffeine rear end.
Just keep riding ignore the pain

Gav888

The road bike position feels perfectly fine even on long rides. It was riding the MTB back from a hack round the forest for a few hours on Sunday that got me thinking about the legs muscles used, but it all sounds ok