Road bike vs MTB?

Mattcee

I currently own a Giant Anthem short travel, cross country type full suspension MTB which is relatively light for its type/price (just over 11.5kg) and I tend to do a lot of road work as well as hardpack and tracks through woods but nothing extreme. To go any lighter is going to cost a lot for little gain.

My question is, would a road bike be able to handle the off road stuff and probably more importantly, how much faster would the road bike be compared to my mtb bike. Is there a huge difference on tarmac between mtb and road bikes.

What I'm prob getting at is - is it worthwhile me investing a road bike (whilst keeping the mtb) as I'll be able to go faster and longer on a road bike over a heavier mtb?

redbikejohn

I was a firm mtb user but wanted to give riding to work a go so bought a giant defy on eBay.
It took some getting used to. Switched out the rear cassette as it was over geared and that made a big difference. When I first started using it it felt very strange, sore back, twitchy and generally very weird. However it klicked and when I jumped on the giant mtb again I was shocked just how slow it felt, and how heavy. Power going up a hill was eaten up by the suspension (don't have a lockout on mine) . Not used the mtb much this year. I now have a 2015 defy 2 and its great. Quite a bit more comfy compared to my old 2009 as there is flex in the seatpost. I'd buy a cheap defy on eBay and have a bike for both. And no a road bike off-road is crap as you feel every ripple over 2mm high!

markhewitt1978

Consider cyclocross bikes which are designed for off road but still light and good for road use.

bendertherobot

Get a CX or one of the new fangled adventure bikes. Can they hack it?

See here:


https://youtu.be/4pes5RhkacY

roger_merriman

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19654454#p19654454]Mattcee[/url] wrote:

I currently own a Giant Anthem short travel, cross country type full suspension MTB which is relatively light for its type/price (just over 11.5kg) and I tend to do a lot of road work as well as hardpack and tracks through woods but nothing extreme. To go any lighter is going to cost a lot for little gain.

My question is, would a road bike be able to handle the off road stuff and probably more importantly, how much faster would the road bike be compared to my mtb bike. Is there a huge difference on tarmac between mtb and road bikes.

What I'm prob getting at is - is it worthwhile me investing a road bike (whilst keeping the mtb) as I'll be able to go faster and longer on a road bike over a heavier mtb?

what tyres are you running at moment? racer tyres make a huge difference.

This said from what you've described a CX would be a better fit.

I have a Trance and a CX bike. the CX is a hoot much like the MTB's I grew up with, and is fast on the road, easily quick enough to keep up with roadies.

don't get me wrong rooty/rocky decents or deep mud etc and while the CX can do it, the MTB can do it with ease and at speed.

noodleman

GT Grade sounds right up your street.

Mattcee

I'm using Racing Ralphs which are pretty light and quick tyres and with the short travel + lockout I have, whilst the cyclocross does sound good, I must just get a dedicated road bike and use it for just that and I kind of getting the urge to do more road only.

Its a bit of a ballache driving to my local route for a mix of offroad/onroad everytime so the money I'd save on fuel would probably balance itself out if I were to buy a Giant Defy 3 over time.

Decisions, decisions... and conving the missus!!

fwgx

I agree, it sounds like you want a cyclocross bike like a Cannondale CAADX. I got mine the other day (my other bike is a road bike) and it's not significantly slower on the roads, but is more comfortable over potholes and could handle some offroading if needed.

keef66

I had a light steel rigid MTB to which I fitted the narrowest slick tyres the wheels would take. Felt fast on the road until I bought a road bike.

The biggest issues with the MTB for road riding were the gearing (too low and with big jumps between sprockets) and the position / bar width (not at all aero, limited hand positions)

Road bike was a lot lighter too!

If you do go for a road bike you might want to choose one that takes 28mm tyres if you want to do a bit of gravel type riding

IShaggy

Riding a MTB on tarmac is like running in wellington boots. You can still run pretty fast but when you change into your trainers you feel a lot more sprightly and efficient. It's difficult to quantify how much quicker a road bike is compared to a MTB - there's too many factors to take into account, such as position, tyre choice, terrain, etc. I remember when I got my 1st road bike, having been riding my MTB on the road for a while, and getting passed like I was standing still by roadies. I thought I'd be as fast as them, but was very disappointed as I was only a little faster - maybe 2/3 mph. I realized then that it's all about the rider and not about the bike (I was just starting out so didn't have many miles in my legs). But having said that, you can't beat the feeling of riding a stiff light road bike. Punching up hills with no loss of power, and throwing it round corners with way more grip than should be possible with skinny bald tyres.

Mattcee

After weighing up things I've decided to get a road bike - and use it for just that and the MTB for my usual trails as its good fun and works me hard.
Giant Defy 0 collected today but not ridden it yet

kajjal

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19658117#p19658117]Mattcee[/url] wrote:

After weighing up things I've decided to get a road bike - and use it for just that and the MTB for my usual trails as its good fun and works me hard.
Giant Defy 0 collected today but not ridden it yet

Thats what i did and use the road bike more in the winter. Once setup correctly road bikes are much faster on road, especially up hill.

Schoie81

Sounds like you've already made the decision and taken the plunge (I have a Defy - I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine!) but to give some idea of relative speeds of MTB v road bike on tarmac - I rode up a hill (1mile long at average 5%) last night on my MTB and it took 9mins 18seconds - the slowest I've ever done it on my road bike was 6mins 33seconds - so about 30% slower on the MTB. It felt it too!! :shock:

Mattcee

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19658896#p19658896]Schoie81[/url] wrote:

Sounds like you've already made the decision and taken the plunge (I have a Defy - I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine!) but to give some idea of relative speeds of MTB v road bike on tarmac - I rode up a hill (1mile long at average 5%) last night on my MTB and it took 9mins 18seconds - the slowest I've ever done it on my road bike was 6mins 33seconds - so about 30% slower on the MTB. It felt it too!! :shock:

Wow!
I do like speed on my mtb and looking forward to trying out the new road bike just to see how fast it can go