Are MTB'rs more mechanically astute than Roadies?

YeehaaMcgee

diy wrote:

I employed a qualified plumber the other day who didn't actually know the best way to solder a pipe. (torch on the pipe not the fitting).

Oh dear god, no!
Having said that, I've come across a hell of a lot of sparkies who can't solder for toffee.
At least they're partly defensible in that they may only rarely need to solder something though, but a plumber, well, soldering's bread and butter I'd have thought.

ddraver

blablablacksheep wrote:

Personally i think things are more likely to go wrong with MTB bikes than Road bikes as you putting the bike through its paces a lot more and given the vibrations going through the bike things tend to go wrong more offen, this means MTB bikers tend to have to deal with more problems and workshop related issues than roadies whos bikes tend to last a lot longer without work needed to them.

This, I think...

Plus people that go naturla MTBing are aware that if something breaks they could be in serious trouble whereas the most common advice for the "what to take on the road" question in the roadie section is a mobile phone to call for the missus! That said at trail centres there are probably an awful lot of similar people (probably on Orange 5's) who would nt know their way around a multi tool!

A lot of people over here raise eybrows about howe much stuff I have with me, and how some of it is (like a proper rain jacket not just a paper thin race cape, or a small chain tool and a spare link), but then they re never more that 30 secs walk from the road here wheras I cut my MTB teeth in deepest darkest North Wales where there was ample potnetial for things to go somewhat wrong!

IShaggy

Any decent roadie on the L2B will be off at the front at the crack of dawn so that they can ride there and back again ready for a late lunch. So I doubt the roadies that you find in the mix are particularly serious or experienced.

As I have a foot in both camps - started out as a roadie, but now also dabble in the MTB dark arts - I can tell you that any decent roadie or MTB'er aims to be self-sufficient. So on a typical road session I carry 2 spare tubes, CO2 canister and pump, mini hand-pump, muti-tool with chain tool, quick-chain-link, tyre lever, puncture repair patches - and probably a gillet and arm warmers stashed in my back pockets. I've only had to be rescued once which was when my derailleur got pulled into my spokes and got smashed. But knowing what I know now if it happens again I'll be able to limp home on a temporary fix.

As for technical know-how, there is more to maintain on a MTB so more opportunity for MTB'ers to get to know their way around a bike. But as above, anyone who's been around bikes for a few years - road or MTB - will probably know pretty much all there is to know. Let's face it - it's hardly rocket science.

diy

Happened to me once. I converted to single speed and carried on.

YeehaaMcgee

diy wrote:

Happened to me once. I converted to single speed and carried on.

Me too. Except by bypassing the rear mech on my full suss, it turned it into a hardtail, basically.
So I was temporarily riding a singlespeed hardtail.
I still have nightmares.