MTB interferring?

andrewthomas197

Hello,

I was wondering if the MTB ridding I am doing is helping or hindering my road training?

I try my best to mix it up but have been doing a bit more mountain than road lately.

Thanks in advance.

kajjal

I do both and tend to mainly do mountain biking in the summer and road in the winter.

I find the road biking helps with controlled power and endurance on the mountain bike but not sure about the other way round.

ddraver

Depends what you re goal is.

It won't be actively hindering your road riding but on te other hand if your MTBing involves slowly riding around a Trail centre and only smashing it on the downhill singletrack then an indoor interval session would be better training probably. If you re riding the MTB as hard as the roadie for the same time then no difference. If you re riding both for fun then who cares, just get out in the sun

simon_masterson

What road training are you doing?

imposter2.0

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19648324#p19648324]Simon Masterson[/url] wrote:

What road training are you doing?

and what for?

andrewthomas197

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19648329#p19648329]Imposter[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19648324#p19648324]Simon Masterson[/url] wrote:

What road training are you doing?

and what for?

Mainly roller sessions in the weekday evenings (45-60 minutes) and then one longer road rides on the weekend. The weather has not been great with us to be honest hence the rollers and the tendancy to go out on the mountain bike.

As far as the mountain bike os concerned, I normally ride a 10 mile loop with 60% single track up hill and I do try and go hard up the climbs.

Mainly training for Sportives, nothing major this year. Spent most of the year trying to shed some weight and managed to loose 5 stone, so back down to a proper cycling weight now 10st 12lbs, so the main objective is to try and maintain that weight and train for some bigger stuff next year.

Thanks for the comments.

dilatory

Some of the fastest road guys I know are also shit hot XC guys.

andrewjoseph

do some longer mtb rides. explore new places, find dead ends and have to cycle back up. mtb makes me a better roadie. ;-)

ddraver

Yeah, just get out and ride then. I think the only thing to be wary of is that a lot of UK MTBing is focussed toward fun so there is a lot of slow riding up hills then having an energy bar at the top. Then following the ride with a massive slice of cake with a hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream...which is not actually that conducive to loosing weight (a fact I now all too well ). So just be aware that you need to keep the effort up on MTB rides.

merkin

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19648494#p19648494]andrewthomas197[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19648329#p19648329]Imposter[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19648324#p19648324]Simon Masterson[/url] wrote:

What road training are you doing?

and what for?

Mainly roller sessions in the weekday evenings (45-60 minutes) and then one longer road rides on the weekend. The weather has not been great with us to be honest hence the rollers and the tendancy to go out on the mountain bike.

As far as the mountain bike os concerned, I normally ride a 10 mile loop with 60% single track up hill and I do try and go hard up the climbs.

Mainly training for Sportives, nothing major this year. Spent most of the year trying to shed some weight and managed to loose 5 stone, so back down to a proper cycling weight now 10st 12lbs, so the main objective is to try and maintain that weight and train for some bigger stuff next year.

Thanks for the comments.

5 stone weight loss is pretty impressive. Good effort.

ben@31

In some places, the longest climbs are up MTB trails. They can offer a lot of hill climbing in a short space without going out for hours on end.
The fitness can cross over, I've got much fitter from road cycling and do quite well getting up the trails. Sometimes I see young pups who just do downhill walk their mtb's up (probably not helped by their downhill bikes literally weighing twice as much as a road bike).

debeli

There will be no interference or loss through training on another kind of bicycle.

It is still a bicycle.

I have bicycles with various geometries and ride them on differing terrain (and sometimes exactly the same terrain).

I have bullhorns, drops, flats, all sorts. And cranks from 167.5 through 170 to 175. They are all just bicycles.

By riding one, you are improving your riding on another. I find that slippery climbs on an MTB help with a smooth pedalling action. If I'm too 'choppy' on the pedals, the rear tyre slips and it's all gone. MTBs also seem to help with learning to absorb bumps and ripples when descending at speed.

If you are out there making your muscles work and breathing hard and balancing and trying to be smooth and consistent, then it all helps.

If you are riding your MTB junked up on horse or smoking Moroccan reefer cigarettes, then the crossover benefits will be limited.

I hope I have helped. If I have not it is your fault, not mine.

ben@31

I've certainly found MTB requires a lot more bike handling, with balance and the bike moving around underneath you. I'm not sat straight and level for long.