Road bike vs Mountain Bike

Wavy

Hi Guys,

New to this cycling malarky! Wanting to use it to get fit and loose some serious weight.

Currently 6ft 4" and 21 stone, so a fair few stones to shift.

I have a Rockrider 29er Big RR @ the moment, and whilst its good in the local woods and down the single track, I feel that its missing some harder gears for the road and is also probably a lot heavier than it needs to be. I'm sure the 2.2" mountain king tyres also do not help. lol

Would I noticed the difference in weight / power / final drive speeds from an entry level road bike compared to my mountain bike, and would I miss the granny ring for the big hill climbs?
Also, would any 'normal' road bike be OK for somebody of my weight / build?

Cheers

nammynake

Spin faster - you might prefer grinding but unless you are spinning at over 100 rpm your gearing will be fine.

If you want to lose weight then what's wrong with a heavy bike with draggy tyres? Keep riding what you've got and push through the pain. A road bike will be noticeably easier to ride fast but that could be counter productive if you're wanting to shift lots of weight.

cyclingspenny

nammynake wrote:

Spin faster - you might prefer grinding but unless you are spinning at over 100 rpm your gearing will be fine.

If you want to lose weight then what's wrong with a heavy bike with draggy tyres? Keep riding what you've got and push through the pain. A road bike will be noticeably easier to ride fast but that could be counter productive if you're wanting to shift lots of weight.

What He Said :-)

Just keep doing what your doing to lose the weight and look at a road bike further down the line

♠ChumBucket♠

Wavy wrote:

Hi Guys,

New to this cycling malarky! Wanting to use it to get fit and loose some serious weight.

Currently 6ft 4" and 21 stone, so a fair few stones to shift.

I have a Rockrider 29er Big RR @ the moment, and whilst its good in the local woods and down the single track, I feel that its missing some harder gears for the road and is also probably a lot heavier than it needs to be. I'm sure the 2.2" mountain king tyres also do not help. lol

Would I noticed the difference in weight / power / final drive speeds from an entry level road bike compared to my mountain bike, and would I miss the granny ring for the big hill climbs?
Also, would any 'normal' road bike be OK for somebody of my weight / build?

Cheers

Just fit some slick or semi-slick road tyres to your current bike. The difference between off road tyres & road tyres on your current bike is much bigger than the difference between that & a proper road bike. You'll be amazed at your MTB on the road with proper tyres on it!!

napoleond

Just keep what you have. How about setting yourself a target weight and a big reward at the end like a Road Bike and new clothes. Have Micro rewards such as, say, slick tyres when you've lost a stone.
Remember though, 80% of weight loss is down to nutrition IMO.

markhewitt1978

Friend of mine used to ride a Trek DS (not quite a MTB but not far off) he changed to a road bike; it made him about half a mph faster if that.

It depends what you want. To get somewhere faster with less effort or to keep up with people then get a road bike. For a good workout stick with MTB.

mcnultycop

NapoleonD wrote:

Just keep what you have. How about setting yourself a target weight and a big reward at the end like a Road Bike and new clothes. Have Micro rewards such as, say, slick tyres when you've lost a stone.
Remember though, 80% of weight loss is down to nutrition IMO.

This is incredibly sensible advice.

bigflangesmallsprocket

According to http://www.bikecalc.com/cadence_at_speed in typical top gear for a budget mtb (42/13, using your 29er tyres) to hit 20mph, you'd be averaging just 72 revs per min at 20mph (assuming you can go that fast on your mtb); using the 15t sprocket instead, you'd be pedaling at 83 rpm, which is getting nearer the speed you should be spinning at. You might actually slow down just a little while learning, but, if you learn to spin a bit faster by taking it easier and concentrating on technique then you'll still have some extra gears to play with.

wishitwasallflat

I started at 22stone plus with a hybrid about 5 years ago and must have lost a couple of stones before I got a Road bike - The road bike felt way faster, lighter but crucially it felt much much nicer to ride so I rode more and wanted to ride more and lost more weight on it than the hybrid. You will notice an even bigger difference coming of an MTB. I would recommend a Specialized as they give and stick buy a life time frame warranty for the original owner and have no weight limits on frames - gives you peace of mind at our weight.

PS - Very proud of being down to 17.5 stone now but still working to lose another 1.5-2 before target.

PPS - Nutrition is of course at the bottom of it all - basically you've got to put less calories in than you use or the body won't burn the fat - it's more complex of course in the details but riding loads is how I did it without too much pain on the diet side.

Anonymous

If your goal is just to lose weight and you are happy to ride around on the roads on the mountain bike then just keep at it and do not eat too much.

Its no good saying an mtb is harder to ride on the road so you will lose more weight.
You may as well say tie a bag of cement to the frame and dress in bin bags :roll:

I would say that if you find riding the mtb on the road does not inspire you to keep up the exercise then either stick to the tracks or get a road/hybrid bike so that your exercise regime is more enjoyable.

Personally I would try running rather than (or as well as) cycling anyway.
One of the ladies that got booted off that Biggest Loser Wins TV program was told by her coach to run.
When she came back on in the final she had lost more weight than the winner.

simon_masterson

Carbonator wrote:

Its no good saying an mtb is harder to ride on the road so you will lose more weight.
You may as well say tie a bag of cement to the frame and dress in bin bags :roll:

This - this argument comes up all the time, as does the suggestion that you'll get a significantly better workout on your 8-9kg winter bike than on your 7kg bike (the weight of a couple of bottles and a multitool isn't going to make much difference; try riding up hills with panniers of bricks). Anyone serious about doing things this way would do better to set brakes to rub, and perhaps opt for really inefficient gearing. Poor positioning on the bike, and a nice aerodynamic waxed cotton rain cape might be a good idea as well.

HellsCyclist

Sod it, get that road bike! You know you want one so you might aswell get one regardless of weight issue. I have a road bike and a MTB. 2 totally different types of riding and a road bike is much better to ride around on the road.

bikes`n`guns

Who joins the Bike Radar forum, and calls themself Bike Radar ?? whats that about ??

Anyway, to the OP

Regardless of what bike you ride,, well done for getting stuck in and making the affort to change your life. Good luck bud 8)

Wavy

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I think I will stick to the MTB for now, as advised, and maybe just put some road tyres on it when I get down a stone or two - then go from there regarding the bike.

Cheers

larkim

Just for some objectivity on speed, I have the same Big RR 29er MTB, which I bought last year. With standard tyres on, on a standard 14.5 mile route I ride, I rode at 13.7mph. Two weeks later with road tyres on the same bike I averaged 14.7mph. This year, after not riding for about 6 months, I did the same route last night on a Triban 3 road bike at 15.7mph.

I might be a bit fitter this year than last (mainly through running), though this was my first ride so my quads are feeling it today, so I think they make a fair-ish comparison of the relative step ups from MTB to MTB / slicks to Road bike (entry level!)

But as others have said, if your objective is to use energy, rather than cover a set distance, making it harder for yourself with a MTB on the road just means if you do a hard 1 hour workout on the bike you'll just cover less distance than you would do on a roadie. I tend to ride out and bike routes, so if I want to do an hour's ride, I just ride for 30 minutes, and then turn around; if I did it on my MTB I just wouldn't get as far.

The one advantage of going on the roads is that you can find stretches where you can put in a constant, linear effort (more or less) which is more akin to running.

Matt

slowbike

wishitwasallflat wrote:

I started at 22stone plus with a hybrid about 5 years ago and must have lost a couple of stones before I got a Road bike - The road bike felt way faster, lighter but crucially it felt much much nicer to ride so I rode more and wanted to ride more and lost more weight on it than the hybrid. You will notice an even bigger difference coming of an MTB. I would recommend a Specialized as they give and stick buy a life time frame warranty for the original owner and have no weight limits on frames - gives you peace of mind at our weight.

PS - Very proud of being down to 17.5 stone now but still working to lose another 1.5-2 before target.

PPS - Nutrition is of course at the bottom of it all - basically you've got to put less calories in than you use or the body won't burn the fat - it's more complex of course in the details but riding loads is how I did it without too much pain on the diet side.

+1 to this post ... someone who knows what it's like ...

Of course, the best way to loose weight is to eat nothing and work hard - but in reality that won't happen unless you're forced to.
A new road bike would be nice, but why don't you set it up as a goal once you've reached a target - doesn't have to be just weight loss - could be time over a set course. It's all about motivation.
Personally I'd probably look at getting some slick tyres first - these will make a big difference to your ride on the road. Hopefully you can maintain motivation to do the exercise - as mentioned - micro goals can be handy for that.
Last winter I used a "cash bonus" as motivation for commuting in the dark/wet ... it wasn't much, but allowed me to build up a little cash for some nice things that I may not have purchased otherwise (only works if you can be stubborn with yourself on cash! - or have a partner that can help!).

On the subject of weight being all about what you eat - well, to an extent - but it's also to do with metabolism* - if your metabolism is low then you won't burn calories as much anyway - so you need a way to boost your metabolism too and exercise is one good method.
* I know ppl who eat less than 1/2 of what I do and have done for decades, but they are overweight ... and yes, they eat primarily healthy foods.

Carlyrox

Hi Wavy,

Have you considered joining Strava, a great way to monitor your achievements and provides you with realistic goals, though you will need a device with GPS, (I sometimes us my iPhone). It really motivates you to put in the time whether cycling or running.
The system is easy to use and allows you to follow others who may ride the same routes that you do.
A further feature is that you can input a number of bikes, (I have it set up for my three) either road or mountain and interchange the data fields between them. The app is free though again you can upgrade for a small fee.
Check it out.

Regards.

Keith.

kajjal

Strava is a very useful tool to measure progress and performance. The only way to really lose weight is to eat less. I got up to 50 miles on my road bike but my weight stayed about the same. A slight drop in the amount and improvement in the quality of food I eat and I lost half a stone quite quickly. Also now go faster on the bike without 7lbs / 3.5kg slowing me down.

Initialised

22 on the granny ring and 34 on the back is great when I'm climbing and slipping back up to the trail head through the North East's finest mud, but on the road more than 1:1 (e.g. 28:28 on a triple or 30:30 on a compact) isn't really needed. But when you hit a nice long straight downhill on the road you'll soon run out of gears when you're running a 42T big ring.

Can you commute by bike? This is probably the best way to get the miles in without thinking to hard about it and the weight will fly off once you are riding daily. Once you're committed to the commute figure out what changes you can make to the bike to make you faster, gearing, tyres etc... then once you can't get that bike any faster (I got stuck at around 48mph downhill and 25mph on the flat on a rigid) get your self a road bike.

Good luck with it. I was an 18 stone gamer, now I mostly play Strava and weigh 13 stone. But I lost most of that riding a hybridised rigid MTB before I upgraded to a road bike.

bigflangesmallsprocket

My own comment wasn't to dissuade the OP from getting a road-bike, as such, just in reference to how useable his gearing is for current use and aims.

I've had slicks on an mtb, it didn't make a big difference to speed, but control was another matter entirely. On the fast cornering was a bit of an experience, I could sense the pull of those nobblies, as I leaned over and imagined those little blobs of rubber stretching sideways in the wet beyond their designed use, and then giving way and me taking a slide; the opposite effect of those nobblies digging into the mud to give extra grip. You could go inbetweenie and get some trekking/hybrid tyres which would still be good for lighter offroad use. My Subway Ltd Disc model came with trekking tyres, plenty of onroad grip but still good for mild off-road use, though I did have trouble trying to dig in on softer stuff compared to my mate on his fat nobblies

Spending more time on the mtb for the moment will give you time to save up for bigger spendies on getting a better road-bike and accessories (a bike ALWAYS costs more than you think it will :roll: ) when you do make the plunge, plus you'll have learned more and be making a better informed choice.

EDIT: I totally agree with the comments about heavier bikes making you fitter being a load of cobblers. Even Cycling + got in on this act in an article some time ago, talking a load of rubbish, with a thread on the subject following on in this forum. I made the suggestion in that thread that if you ride to a specific effort, then the weight of the bike is immaterial, that you'd get the same training effect just by gearing up on your summer bike. Any 'training effect' gained by using a heavier bike is just cos you were otherwise too lazy to put in that effort on your other bike, or having a hack bike with guards available just means you're more likely to ride when it's wet.

g00se

I'd say, carry on as you are. when you're getting a big disheartened or bored, get slicks for the MTB. Then, if you're loosing interest later, get the road bike.

The best tools I've found for weight loss and riding (other than smaller plates and the bike) is a mix of myfitnesspal smartphone app and strava (smartphone or gps device). Myfitnesspal is a geeky way of monitoring calories and strava both monitors performance and can be used to reallocate calories from exercise (rough estimate though). You can't link strava direct to myfitnesspal yet (though I expect it'll happen soon with the new API) but you can with the alternatives like mapmyride and endemondo.

DesB3rd

I'd stick with the MTB, if only because I'd be terrified putting 20+st on road wheels/tires...

I commute on my old rigid MTB, with slick tires (maybe it's the psychological difference of no zz-zz-zz from the tires but to me they seem the rolls *hugely* better than knobblies) and a lower bar position it's nigh-on as quick as my road bikes, or it would be if I wasn't riding along with a raincoat flapping behind. My ride's flat but a reasonably brisk tail-wind will have the 42/13 setup spinning out...

Anonymous

DesB3rd wrote:

I'd stick with the MTB, if only because I'd be terrified putting 20+st on road wheels/tires...

Strong road wheels are strong enough. How much weight do you think is on tandems?
Cyclocross versions of some road wheels are no different apart from double sealed hubs yet I guess its assumed they take more of a beating.

OP will hopefully drop weight soon anyway.
Worrying about wheel strength should not be a factor in whether or not to get a road bike.

Just get the bike (with strong enough wheels for your 'unwanted' weight) when you are ready for it, abuse the wheels, lose the weight, and get some better wheels as a reward when you are lighter ;-)

When you get to where you want to be, hang the old wheels on the wall next to an old pair of jeans as a reminder of your past self.

fat_cat

I'd stick to the Mountain bike for now.

As others have said, stock road wheels will struggle to cope with your weight at the moment, so you'll probably have to fork out for some stronger wheels.

Keep up the riding this year, and eat sensibly (this is more important than exercise)'. Then at this time next year buy yourself a road bike if you've achieved your weight loss target.

Good luck!

SlipSpace

On my old Trek it had a 28/38/48T chainring setup. It was the ratio that came with the bike. You'll need to check clearance and move the front mech probably but that would certainly give you some more legs, Suntour do them.

On a usual 42T big ring I spin out occasionally, with the 48T I currently simply cannot generate enough power to use the smallest cog. I can chase a lot of the roadies though :-D

Anonymous

harryvu wrote:

Friend of mine used to ride a Trek DS (not quite a MTB but not far off) he changed to a road bike; it made him about half a mph faster if that.

It depends what you want. To get somewhere faster with less effort or to keep up with people then get a road bike. For a good workout stick with MTB.
____
My bike: http://bit.ly/1bUufPS, http://bit.ly/1cuDsv3, http://bit.ly/1gob95G, http://bit.ly/1eSEBko , http://bit.ly/1epamNj

I think you are missing the point.
Riding an MTB on the road is not much fun IMO and you are you have to consider motivation.
I would have thought a good workout would be to enjoy riding a road bike hard, rather than finding it hard to ride an MTB full stop.

How does your friend feel about riding his road bike? You only told us he was fractionally faster :roll:
If getting a road bike only resulted in half a mile an hour increase then would getting a Raleigh Chopper or Pashley have only made him half a mile an hour slower?

Weight loss is about having a real 'want to' (not just like to) attitude + hard work (physical and mental).
Personally I would make the hard work as easy as possible so that it does not stop you wanting to lose weight.

ai_1

If you'll be doing your riding on the road, ditch the nobbly tyres and get some slicks. It'll be instantly more comfortable, faster and just more fun to ride. If you find the MTB comfortable and enjoy riding it don't bother with a road bike for now. Depending on where you're carrying weight you may not find a road bike comfortable. If you've a fair bit around the middle you might find a low road bike position means your thighs hit your gut when pedaling. I was about 98kg (16st) when I started riding and found this an issue in the drops although I was okay on the hoods.

The type of bike you ride has no impact on weight loss except if it encourages you to ride more often, at a higher effort or for longer. In my opinion road tyres will make a MTB much more satisfying on the road and a road bike is better again. Both will probably encourage you to do more and keep it from becoming a chore. Sustainable weight loss and general fitness is about finding something you don't dread doing and even better, something you love doing. If you don't like it, you won't keep it up. Will power is over-rated. It only works in the short term. So ignore anyone telling you to stick with what you have if you don't like it.

With regards running - I don't think it's anywhere near as good as cycling for improving cardio-fitness and getting your metabolism moving if you're fairly heavy. It's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to run with a good posture and technique when you're heavy. Bad running posture and technique makes you much more likely to injure yourself and you'll end up with bad running habits. I think it's a better idea to cycle and/or walk initially (hill walking's good if you've got trails nearby). If you want to run, I think you're better to wait until you've lost some weight and got good cardio-fitness first. I don't think it's agreat idea to take training or weight loss tips from reality TV shows. They have very different priorities, motivations and support systems to most of us. Weight lost and fitness gained slowly and sustainably is worth much more than any short term extreme regime.
I hope the above doesn't come off as patronising, you probably know all or most of this already!

Best of luck whichever way you go and whatever you do, make sure you get some satisfaction and enjoyment from it.

dannyjames8

That calc is really cool, Id say Mountain Bike

samsbike

markhewitt1978 wrote:

Friend of mine used to ride a Trek DS (not quite a MTB but not far off) he changed to a road bike; it made him about half a mph faster if that.

It depends what you want. To get somewhere faster with less effort or to keep up with people then get a road bike. For a good workout stick with MTB.

+1 I am not substantially quicker on road bike, but its just easier to get to and from work and the road bike is more fun.

However, in these crappy conditions I prefer the safety of disc brakes so use the mtb. I have also now got mudguards for the mtb which makes it better.

Ringpeace

Bikes`n`guns wrote:

Who joins the Bike Radar forum, and calls themself Bike Radar ?? whats that about ??

)

Eh? Bikes n guns??

Who joins Bike Radar and uses guns in their username? There needs to be a clampdown on stupid usernames and user profile pics!

hairy_boy

Regarding a good MTB tyre for all round use including on-road I would highly recommend the Continental traffic in a 1.9 inch wide size.

Very puncture resistant - good for off roading apart from gloopy mud and rolls very, very well on-road - I have done coast to coasts (mainly on-road) and also odd trips to Dalby forest - all on the same tyre:

£13.99 each here: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/cont ... tAodbloAxg