Mountain bike on the road? U mad bro?

SimonAH

Took newly purchased GT Avalanche into the office today - even though not an appropriate commuting weapon you do have to ride a new toy, right?

A few weeks of this and I'd have thighs like beer kegs.... Even with 75psi in the tyres (maximum they are rated for) what rolling resistance! What weight! What an un-aero position! How noisy!

....yet every second bike I see on the roads is an MTB, many full suspension......

DrLex

And not forgetting the gearing, which will have you spinning like a dervish.

mudcovered

SimonAH wrote:

Took newly purchased GT Avalanche into the office today - even though not an appropriate commuting weapon you do have to ride a new toy, right?

I used to ride my Trek Top Fuel on tarmac when it was the only bike I had in working order. At least I had the excuse of some off-road riding in my commute. I do sometimes miss the extra comfort on the offroad sections now I use the CX bike most of the time. I don't really notice the position change that much apart from the bar width of the MTB being so much wider but then the Top Fuel is a very race oriented bike with a fairly stretched riding position.

And yes you do have to ride a new toy at least once.

I wouldn't want to ride most of the FS MTB's I pass on the roads.

Mike

navt

I dunno. I swapped out my knobblies for slicks on my Whyte and do alternate between the two bikes. OK, I max out on the gearing, but otherwise why not? Great workout.

meanredspider

I've been running MTBs on studded ice tyres through all three of the last winters (except for my brief detour into CXers). They are slow and hard work (and Ice Spikers suitably noisy) and, perversely, I think the gearing tends to mitigate other fitness gains I might have had as it's all too easy to drop a cog when it's getting difficult.

Ben6899

Some of the bikes I see folk commuting on in London... I'm not about to be a bike snob, but my God; no wonder it's seen as a real chore and isn't persevered with in many cases.

mudcow007

i commuted on one of these for year



granted it took me about 4 weeks to get into work

i was down with the kids then.....now im just another lycra scoundrel

UndercoverElephant

Now, my new MTB is a rocket. It eats trails for breakfast and the people I can't live with around the trails are those with vastly superior technique, there are plenty of those. It is a very fast MTB, of that I'm quite sure.

On the road, it's slow and tiring and in the slightest headwind I'm cursing the lack of drops. Still, it's way better on the road than my road bike would be round Glentress.

supersonic

Some MTBs are pretty swift though, especially more XC derived ones.

As for gearing, many 26 inch tyres come up bigger than 700c, so pushing a 44/11 combo at 100rpm has you happily in the 35mph area. I can comfortably average 20mph on my MTB, but then again it only weighs 20lbs and has a 600mm top tube ;-)

notsoblue

I've spotted quite a few people on the commute who have clearly used Cycle2Work to buy £1k downhill bikes. As they're spinning wildly and bouncing around, I'm always so tempted to suggest that they at least lock out their suspension.

As for knobblies... they do purr when you hit 20mph.

veronese68

I often pass a bloke on a chrome full suss BSO with clip on tri bars fitted. WTF???
My Marin isn't too bad as a compromise. It has Schwalbe Marathon Cross fitted which are not too knobbly and no suspension. It's really good on dusty paths, and has claimed the (very) occasional roadie scalp on tarmac.

Pufftmw

I tend to "cruise" at about 20mph on my Gary Fisher with road tyres, which is about 1-2mph slower than the Ghost overall but also seem to only use 1 gear most of the time. Bit harder work too but it needs a good service as its getting on now. Weights about 25lb

Pufftmw

notsoblue wrote:

I've spotted quite a few people on the commute who have clearly used Cycle2Work to buy £1k downhill bikes. As they're spinning wildly and bouncing around, I'm always so tempted to suggest that they at least lock out their suspension.

Said that to a bloke I passed the other day struggling up Byward St towards Tower Hill - bobbing around on his new £2k+ MTB with dropper post!

roger_merriman

My MTB is older a hardtail, but with gearing from 17in to 106in it's not got a lack of range! 17in will get you up any tarmac road with out much bother and get you past 40mph.

with the massive tyres it's a slow slog, though potholes etc are not a worry!

supersonic

A lot of road bike advantages only come into play when you get above a certain speed, especially aerodynamics. Above a certain PSI the rolling resistance gains are very small.

Of course for a given budget the road bike will almost always be lighter.

rick_chasey

supersonic wrote:

A lot of road bike advantages only come into play when you get above a certain speed, especially aerodynamics. Above a certain PSI the rolling resistance gains are very small.

Of course for a given budget the road bike will almost always be lighter.

We ALL obviously commute at speeds when road bike advantages come into play .

suzyb

I passed a guy last week on a full suss BSO who bounced on every pedal stroke because of his rear suspension. He looked like he was kinda struggling as well which made me wonder just how much extra effort he had to put in simply because he had unlocked rear suspension when it wasn't needed.

supersonic

It is unfortunate that the £100 shiny full suspenshite bike hooks people in.

notsoblue

supersonic wrote:

A lot of road bike advantages only come into play when you get above a certain speed, especially aerodynamics. Above a certain PSI the rolling resistance gains are very small.

Nah, I disagree. 20mph is a comfortable cruising speed on the flat when I'm on my PX. When I'm on a hybrid or an MTB it requires a bit more effort to sustain that speed. Road bike geometry and weight make it really easy to ride faster.

veronese68

My son rode the Frankenbike to school last Monday. His mates all thought it was rubbish and were drooling over the full suss BSOs. The Frankenbike has a Kinesis frame and some XT bits hanging off it. It is remarkably light considering it was built up so cheap. Good to know the look had the desired effect. He knows it's a decent bike and understands the advantages of it looking rough.

supersonic

It's about 15-20mph for many riders when the aero drag really starts to rise - so that sorta fits in with what you are saying! My MTB is long and low though, but granted fatter tyres really do take their toll when you push on past 30mph.

Interesting info here:

http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Science- ... resistance

roger_merriman

supersonic wrote:

It's about 15-20mph for many riders when the aero drag really starts to rise - so that sorta fits in with what you are saying! My MTB is long and low though, but granted fatter tyres really do take their toll when you push on past 30mph.

Interesting info here:

http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Science- ... resistance

for myself it's the tyres that make the big difference not helped by the type of tyres i'm using namely these http://www.intensetyres.com/itdh-sp-225.html

which are slow to degrees one can't begin to imagine! they are also amazing if you get them somewhere they can shine.

which is why i've left them on inspite of clear disadvantages in other ways.

notsoblue

supersonic wrote:

It's about 15-20mph for many riders when the aero drag really starts to rise - so that sorta fits in with what you are saying! My MTB is long and low though, but granted fatter tyres really do take their toll when you push on past 30mph.

Interesting info here:

http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Science- ... resistance

That graph on that page is interesting, but the only variable that they're changing is rider aerodynamism (is that a word?). I always figured that at commuting speeds it had more to do with the biomechanical benefits of a road position. I find it easier to spin at a decent cadence on my road bike. Indeed, if I'm trying to ride fast on my hybrid I lean forward so I can put more power down rather than to make myself more aerodynamic.

SimonAH

roger merriman wrote:

supersonic wrote:

It's about 15-20mph for many riders when the aero drag really starts to rise - so that sorta fits in with what you are saying! My MTB is long and low though, but granted fatter tyres really do take their toll when you push on past 30mph.

Interesting info here:

http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Science- ... resistance

for myself it's the tyres that make the big difference not helped by the type of tyres i'm using namely these http://www.intensetyres.com/itdh-sp-225.html

Very similar tread pattern to the wagon wheel kenda tyres on the GT. Sounds like you're in an army truck as you whine along on the tarmac!


which are slow to degrees one can't begin to imagine! they are also amazing if you get them somewhere they can shine.

which is why i've left them on inspite of clear disadvantages in other ways.

supersonic

Yep, that's true, the position makes a difference besides aero, hence why I think I can maintain a higher speed more easily on my zaskars, which are reknowned for being long, low and steep and allows a better pedalling efficiency and I believe air intake.

Many hybrids I see though, especially the town and country type are the worst of all worlds, only useful if you want a summers day plod down the riverside!

I like the versatility of my MTB as it allows me to go offroad. I often ride tarmac to the trails, but the bike is easily tough enough to handle drops of several feet, boulders and so on, then back on the road for the cruise home! A CX bike is just doesn't handle as well off road for me.

reformedfatty

I'm entirely too lazy to ride my MTBs in to work. Since getting a road bike I cant stand backpacks for commuting (mtb a camelbak is ok), and putting a rack on a mtb, even an old hack just seems sacrilege.

rolf_f

Last time I cycled in to work on my MTB (with studded Marathon Winters) it took 34:28. Next time I cycled in I was on my Ribble Gran Fondo. That took 32:07.

My old Dawes took me 33:19 today.

It's not (much) about the bike! Mind you, the MTB does feel relatively clunky.....

SimonAH

There really isn't a lot in those times is there Rolf? Maybe perception plays a bigger part than one would think.

gtvlusso

Single speed surly 1 x 1 MTB with a 1.9:1 Ratio + 2.7 Maxxis Minion tyres = Very slow, yet spinny commute!

Very comfortable though.....

Only use if I have to!

davis

I believe that my Giant Anthem X2 (a thing of great virtue and beauty) is about as fast as my Pompetamine Alfine 11 (erm...). Nokia Sports Tracker doesn't entirely disprove me, either.

Next time I'm in the office I think I'm going to take the MTB; must be able to find a trail or two on the way back!

London_Falcon

Picked up my new CycleToWork scheme financed MTB on Friday and rode it home. About 15% slower but not unbearable.