Mtb or road biking?

Roboleeds

I've been biking now for about 3 years,I started with road biking and after getting my fitness to a reasonable standard entered a few sportives and totally enjoyed them.i decided last winter to get a mtb to keep up my fitness during the cold months and became totally hooked,selling my carbon Trek and buying a 29 er Giant in its place.I have since spent a fortune in up-grades (namely Sram XX 1).i have now reached a point where I am think that giving up road biking was a mistake and am now longing to get back out on the road.My quandary is should I concentrate on one discipline,and if so,which one.just wondered if anyone else out there has had this predicament,thoughts please.

oxoman

Do both. MTB to build up strength and road to build up stamina. I do both and enjoy it. I am looking to do the Evans rideit next year at cannock doing both the off road on the saturday and the road sportive on the sunday for punishment.

Roboleeds

Yeh think you might have a good point there,spent this week on my road bike and noticed straight away how my climbing had improved after doing mtb for the last year.I was up the Chase last week and could not believe how many bikers were about,might have a bash myself next year.

Kajjal

If you have the money and time do both. They give you a very different work out. MTB is more bike handling skills and power based where as road biking is smoother more controlled riding just below the point where you blow up.

Nice to have the choice.

Monty Dog

I have road bikes, CX bikes and MTBs - if you want to get stronger and fitter, ride road. If you want to develop good bike handling skills, ride CX. If you want to have fun with your mates, ride MTB ;-)

Mikey41

I'm doing both now, though mostly Road. The MTB is just easier to get on with for a casual ride with my brother and his little one, and I'm doing some bridleway riding with it too.

andrewjoseph

both, I've come from mtb to road. my mtb has been in bits for 3 weeks, first few rides and I feel beaten black and blue and I've got the bruises to prove it. road riding for most of the summer has made me soft.

but then I love getting out on the road after days of bad weather and riding in mud and being wet all the time.

markhewitt1978

I think sometimes people get too hung up on the likes of if it's MTB or it's Road or whatever. If you can afford it then of course you should have both types of bikes and do both types of riding on a regular basis! It's all cycling after all, what's not to like

I've been road biking all summer, but my friend who has a MTB has just declared that it's now too cold for cycling and will be too cold until next Spring at the earliest, so I'm thinking it's a shame for that bike to be sitting there doing nothing

mpatts

I do both, you can MTB in worse weather, and I don't mind when it's dark. Plus, it's good to mix it up a bit.

Kajjal

I tend to do mountain biking from early spring until about this time of year depending on the weather and road riding the rest of the time.

markhewitt1978

Kajjal wrote:

I tend to do mountain biking from early spring until about this time of year depending on the weather and road riding the rest of the time.

You do mountain biking in the summer and road riding in the winter? The opposite of the usual then!

Monty Dog

Because you rarely reach the speed on an MTB as road, then when it's really cold I find it's better to ride offroad, particularly on more sheltered trails and therefore don't suffer the effects of windchill. 5 hour road rides on exposed roads when it's near-freezing is a tough proposition whereas a 5 hour offroad ride is far more tolerable - on the MTB you tend to stop more frequently which allows fingers and toes to warm-up. Likewise, when there's snow and ice on the roads, I'd rather be riding the trails/backroads with studded tyres than being mown-down by a numbtie driver on black ice or contemplating sitting on a turbo.
A couple of winters ago, we had a foot of snow overnight so my mate and I headed south offroad towards the North Downs. As we crossed a minor road there was a 4x4 in a ditch and a police car - the Surrey policeman suggested it was too dangerous to be on bikes - he didn't realise we had studded tyres. We just laughed and headed off up the bridleway...

markhewitt1978

A couple of friends of mine fit winter tyres to their cars; so have fun in the depths of winter driving up to mountain roads which are thick with snow and otherwise impassable. I'm hoping they'll get stuck sometime

ddraver

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Kajjal wrote:

I tend to do mountain biking from early spring until about this time of year depending on the weather and road riding the rest of the time.

You do mountain biking in the summer and road riding in the winter? The opposite of the usual then!

what's usual?

Ride both all year round. Not sure why anyone thinks the two are mutually exclusive!

markhewitt1978

ddraver wrote:

what's usual?

Usual is road riding in summer and MTB in the winter, often because there's more tyre options in MTB's.

ddraver

I think you need to go to a trail centre in August Mark.....

Again, why are the two mutually exclusive?

markhewitt1978

ddraver wrote:

I think you need to go to a trail centre in August Mark.....

hehe, my point is that MTB is a year round thing, whereas roadies are scared of the winter

ednino

I do both as much as possible but when its cold & wet i'd rather leave the road bike on the turbo.

I think more mountain bikers should spend some time on road bikes. Then maybe they wouldn't have to stop after each section of single track or climb :roll:

ednino

markhewitt1978 wrote:

ddraver wrote:

I think you need to go to a trail centre in August Mark.....

roadies are scared of the winter

Mainly because my Ultegra brakes don't work in the wet

and also because the speed road bikes move at. You get alot colder on a road bike because your doing 20mph compared to half that on the mountain bike trail

ddraver

ednino wrote:

I do both as much as possible but when its cold & wet i'd rather leave the road bike on the turbo.

I think more mountain bikers should spend some time on road bikes. Then maybe they wouldn't have to stop after each section of single track or climb :roll:

Kajjal

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Kajjal wrote:

I tend to do mountain biking from early spring until about this time of year depending on the weather and road riding the rest of the time.

You do mountain biking in the summer and road riding in the winter? The opposite of the usual then!

I used to MTB all year round but got fed up of continually cleaning the bike in the wetter months. As soon as the clay trails near us turn to sludge I just go on my road bike now. Until then I use both but mainly the mountain bike , as I am not wasting the dry fast trails

handful

+ 1 for both all year round. I started MTBing first and then got into road riding mainly for the stamina benefits as already stated. For me MTB is much more "fun" but also has resulted in some nasty injuries, probably because I'm not very good at it! Road is generally more social as I have a lot more mates into road riding. Very different sports despite them both being cycling, can't believe how weird the full sus feels after a lay off for a few weeks. For me the biggest difference is that on the MTB it's all about maximising the downhills and on the road bike it's maximising the uphills! The after ride "glow" is pretty much the same on each, maybe with more of a feeling of relief when I get home from MTB ride in one piece!

daniel_b

I am relieved to see that plenty of people enjoy and go out on road bikes and mountain bikes.

That always used to be one of my pet hates, and something I could never get my head around, the environment both areas sometimes create where trying or enjoying the other discipline is 'going over to the dark side' and that you can only do one - utter nonsense! They are both bikes, if you still like them both, and have the cash, time and money then fill your boots.
*This is categorically not a rant at the op, just a rant in general :-)

The other bonus is that you get to buy loads more kit too!

And as has been mentioned, I think they complement each other nicely in terms of fitness.

And relax......

tapscrew

If you enjoy both-do both! Its all about enjoying yourself, ride, ride, ride!!

drummer_boy

I have been riding my MTB for around 3 years seriously now, after getting back into biking.

I recently borrowed a road bike off a friend, and really enjoy the feeling of all the power going into the tarmac!!

So I got one for myself! I use the XC bike for commuting in Winter, and the MTB for summer, as in summer I ride cross country too and from work, but in winter it's far too dark.

philwint

Both

It would be like trying to decide between a full on roast dinner and a fabulous curry. Both excellent, both food. But I couldn't be without either.

I do kind of disagree with MTB as a winter thing though. It's massively muddy round here already, so the last few weeks I have been avoiding the post ride ritual of trying to find my bike in the midst of the roughly bike shaped mud sculpture.... and gone out on the road bike instead

Mikey41

I have found a decent trail centre makes good winter riding without the bike (and you) getting excessively muddy. I rode 7 Stanes Newcastleton yesterday and it was wet, loads of fallen leaves and pine needles, puddles etc.. but I was surprised how little the bike picked up. It all just rinsed off at the end.

It was a great ride too