What am I?

♠ChumBucket♠

Hi all

First post & would just like to confirm I'm in the right section before I ask any more questions etc being a newbie & all that.

Started cycling (after 18 year break) back in April & bought an entry level mountain bike ( Ridgeback MX6 ). However, I've discovered that I much prefer riding the roads & so this is all I do now!

So, I ride a MB on the road, am I best off here?

Best regards

andy46

Firstly, welcome to the forum.

We all have to start somewhere and if your doing all of your riding on the roads then it won't be long till your trading your bike in for a road bike and embracing the lycra.

The main thing is enjoying what you do.

Defyand

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

♠ChumBucket♠

Defyand wrote:

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

I have a 5 year old daughter who loves it.

♠ChumBucket♠

andy46 wrote:

Firstly, welcome to the forum.

We all have to start somewhere and if your doing all of your riding on the roads then it won't be long till your trading your bike in for a road bike and embracing the lycra.

The main thing is enjoying what you do.

Thanks

Yeah, I'm really enjoying it & I can see me having a road bike maybe next year!

After only 2 weeks I put semi-slick tyres on it & just recently I have made some alterations which have had a dramatic effect on my riding (might start a separate topic for those).

Lycra? now that's a thought!

simon_masterson

Are you asking if your mountain bike is ideal for road riding?

If so, the answer is 'no', as it's not optimised for it, but that doesn't mean that you can't do some road cycling on it. It's still a bike.

However, it is entirely true that MTBs have bigger, more chunky tyres than you would generally want or need on a road bike (which cause adverse rolling resistance), aren't necessarily as light as road bikes, don't have drop handlebars, and aren't designed for the style of riding that is road cycling. Etc. If you try comparing an MTB or hybrid with a bike with the above features, you will notice the difference.

And it's not like you have to spend a lot of money. I'm quite unlike many around here; I'm a fan of steel bikes. You could get an excellent old racing bike for very little money that could still be going for decades to come (which is more than can be said for a cheap modern alloy bike), but you could also go for an entry level road bike. There are many to choose from, and modern bike fittings are very good. You should at least end up with a bike that fits you. (as well as a non-custom bike can, anyway)

♠ChumBucket♠

Simon Masterson wrote:

Are you asking if your mountain bike is ideal for road riding?

If so, the answer is 'no', as it's not optimised for it, but that doesn't mean that you can't do some road cycling on it. It's still a bike.

However, it is entirely true that MTBs have bigger, more chunky tyres than you would generally want or need on a road bike (which cause adverse rolling resistance), aren't necessarily as light as road bikes, don't have drop handlebars, and aren't designed for the style of riding that is road cycling. Etc. If you try comparing an MTB or hybrid with a bike with the above features, you will notice the difference.

And it's not like you have to spend a lot of money. I'm quite unlike many around here; I'm a fan of steel bikes. You could get an excellent old racing bike for very little money that could still be going for decades to come (which is more than can be said for a cheap modern alloy bike), but you could also go for an entry level road bike. There are many to choose from, and modern bike fittings are very good. You should at least end up with a bike that fits you. (as well as a non-custom bike can, anyway)

Thanks for the info.

No, I realise the MB is not optimised for road riding. I used to ride a MB when I was younger (I'm just about to hit 40) & so naturally veered back to this when deciding to get back into cycling. My main goal was to increase my fitness & shed a bit of timber. I also used to compete in motocross when I was younger too, so I kind of have an off-road background. However, I've taken to it with more enthusiasm than I anticipated & my main interest/enjoyment is road riding- I live in the rural Scottish borders & can ride 25 miles yet count on one hand the cars I come into contact with!

Being new to all this, I just wanted to make sure I was going to be posting any questions I have in the right place.

ineedalager

You may have already done this but slick tyres like Continetal sport contacts will help in your using your MTB for the road only or if you still want the odd off road jaunt Schwalbe Land cruisers have a continuous strip on tread around the centre and make for faster rolling on the road. I used the Schwalbes on my MTB as my 27 loop I used to do on the MTB most of it I was on the roads or cycle paths to get to my off road bit!

♠ChumBucket♠

ineedalager wrote:

You may have already done this but slick tyres like Continetal sport contacts will help in your using your MTB for the road only or if you still want the odd off road jaunt Schwalbe Land cruisers have a continuous strip on tread around the centre and make for faster rolling on the road. I used the Schwalbes on my MTB as my 27 loop I used to do on the MTB most of it I was on the roads or cycle paths to get to my off road bit!

Hi

Thanks

Yes, I bought some continental tyres after two weeks, they are slick apart from small knobbly bits right on the edges. What a difference they made!! :shock: Can't recall their name but they are also puncture resistant- only had one puncture in 3 months, prior to that I had about 4 in two weeks with the original tyres.