Road Biking... How is it working out for you?

mcp73

I took the road bike plunge a couple of months ago. I've been commuting for a few years on a hybrid and have been Mountain biking for a year or so (I'm lucky enough to live on the outskirts of the Peak District). My overall fitness was good, due to the commute everyday and one or two MTB marathons each week but I'd always yearned to ride longer distances at greater speed. After purchasing a secondhand, custom built bike and swapping one of the front rings (to provide much needed lower gear ratios) I've loved every ride out on the roads - it's exhilarating and I love the sense of exploration and freedom gained from simply meandering down unknown lanes.
I still MTB and have the daily bike commute, but nothing quite beats throwing the lycra on, pushing the road bike out of the front door and disappearing for a few hours.

jawooga

cwm wrote:

.as an ex 16stoner i now easily hold my weight at 11 1/2st

Good going mate. That is very inspirational. I am 12 3/4st and could do with getting down to about 11 1/2st which I think I'll achieve easily with the commute I have recently started.

Interested to know how many people would pay £1k - £2k to permanently drop from 16st to 11 1/2st - I bet there's a lot of unhappy overweight people out there who'd readily pay more. (not commenting specifically on you fella not knowing you, but in general that degree of weight loss...)

In addition to the "cost of gym" comments from people, I'd also point out the intensity of exercise (hills etc) that isn't always achieved in a gym.

jus71n

Tried MTB 2 years back but didnt get the bug, Bought a Kona phd last year and started to get into it a little more.

This year have well and truly got the bug, New carbon Ribble and I'm out whenever I get the chance, commute as well lost 7lbs (11st 12lb now) but feel so much fitter. Gets frustrating for me sometimes because my improvement isn't as fast as I would like it to be, but i'm loving it.

Im sure your getting the jist of how money consuming this hobby can be, its addictive upgrades to excisting bikes... new bikes...... new kit its endless (as long as your funds are! )

Going out with a local club next week so will get to sample some of the sports social aspects, can't wait


.

Wacky Racer

I recently made the move from MTB to road, because I have moved to an area of the country that offers superb road riding and less for the MTB. I spent £!K on the bike, and quite a bit more on shoes, pedals, new lid, cages, bottles, clothes, new pumps, saddle bag, the list goes on. I think alot of people don't realise you can spend almost as much on extras as you can on the bike. My Mrs thinks it's all a bit pricy, but she doesn't mind, and I use the bike 3 evenings during the week and at least one day at the weekend, depending on the weather and commitments.

I can't think of any negatives, except the weather, but mainly I am able to get out without a problem. My primary aim is to improve my skills and stamina on climbs, and increase my speed, and it's good fun at the same time. I have noticed a few people out riding who live in the same village as me, and I am considering setting up a cycling club so we can do some group riding.

Scrappaman

Thanks again for everyone's replies and encouragement. I picked my bike up yesterday and have been out both last night and today and it's absolutely great fun.

I'm a little nervy riding on the road given that I'm not at all used to it, and I'm much more aware of how uneven and bumpy the roads are in Kent, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. So fast, so easy to push the power though... why have I been using the car for so long?

andrewjoseph

welloilbeefoct wrote:

...

I've been to Afan etc plenty of times and agree 100%. Trouble is I live in Luton and, even if I give it everything, the local trails require about 20% of the effort in comparison. I couldn't ride 40miles offroad around here without doing laps which is boring to say the least.

My apologies, I tend to forget not everyone lives a 25 minute ride from a welsh trail centre.

niblue

I still regard myself as far more of a mountain biker than a road rider, however I do enjoy the roadie stuff and have seem very clear fitness improvements since getting back into road riding again at the start of the year. In particular my average speed on the road bike has improved by 2-3 mph and my endurance is better to the extent that I don't find 50+ mile rides a problem now.

One particular benefit is that my wife never really got into mountain biking (despite me building her a nice little On-One Inbred) but has taken much more to road riding.

cwm

jawooga wrote:

cwm wrote:

.as an ex 16stoner i now easily hold my weight at 11 1/2st

Good going mate. That is very inspirational. I am 12 3/4st and could do with getting down to about 11 1/2st which I think I'll achieve easily with the commute I have recently started.

Interested to know how many people would pay £1k - £2k to permanently drop from 16st to 11 1/2st - I bet there's a lot of unhappy overweight people out there who'd readily pay more. (not commenting specifically on you fella not knowing you, but in general that degree of weight loss...)

In addition to the "cost of gym" comments from people, I'd also point out the intensity of exercise (hills etc) that isn't always achieved in a gym.

you should have seen me when i hit 10 stone :shock:

but then again,i could hide behind a single sunflower so you couldnt lol.

was a total life change effort,

EAT MORE WEIGH LESS

niblue

andrewjoseph wrote:

I'm slightly baffled by several mtb'ers comments on how hard road riding is compared to mtb'ing. I find the road bike much easier to ride, yes i can go faster and further in less time, but for a proper workout I go on a long mtb ride.

I use a Garmin 305 on all my road and MTB rides so have HR data for them all. What I find is that my HR usually peaks higher on MTB rides but my average HR is a lot higher on road rides - e.g. on MTB loops I'll typically average in the low 140's, but on a fast road bike ride it'll be closer to 160.

The main issue for many people is the difference in gearing when climbing - on a MTB it's easy to sit and spin up just about any climb, with a low gear of 22:32 being typical, but on a road bike it's much harder with the 34:25 that's typical on entry level road bikes.

andrewjoseph

niblue wrote:

...

The main issue for many people is the difference in gearing when climbing - on a MTB it's easy to sit and spin up just about any climb, with a low gear of 22:32 being typical, but on a road bike it's much harder with the 34:25 that's typical on entry level road bikes.

That's a good point. road gearing is one of the reasons why i changed my boardman comp gearing to a 27t cassette and a 36t inner ring. grinding up steep valley roads was killing my feet.

since building our road/touring bikes, I've put mtb cassette and chainset on it. essential for fully loaded touring, still fast enough for sportives and long day rides. the only time i spin out is on long descents at over 65kph.

shuttie92

I only just turned 19 and I'm a student

Hierotochan

Just as an update:

after many comments from the other half about "the bike takes up too much room"
"get off eBay!" & "do you really need that?", I could tell that she was just jealous.

We picked her up a Trek Lexa S at about 8 tonight,
she was so excited that she demanded we cycle home (about 10 miles).
Anyone on the A10 must have had a giggle,
watching her pedal in the granny ring in full office clothes!

I predict more carbon & lots of debt in our future...

shuttie92

Hierotochan wrote:

Just as an update:

after many comments from the other half about "the bike takes up too much room"
"get off eBay!" & "do you really need that?", I could tell that she was just jealous.

We picked her up a Trek Lexa S at about 8 tonight,
she was so excited that she demanded we cycle home (about 10 miles).
Anyone on the A10 must have had a giggle,
watching her pedal in the granny ring in full office clothes!

I predict more carbon & lots of debt in our future...

hero