Mountain vs Road Biking - Page 2 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

03-10-2005, 08:17 PM

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 23:58:26 GMT, "Chris" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>I'd like to hear from those of you who had to make the choice of whether to
>get a road or mountain bike. I'm going to purchase one or the other. I
>would guess it would be a while before I could afford the other.
>
>I live in Florida and there are a good number of mountain biking trails
>within an hours drive. But it's still at least 45 mins to get to any
>trailhead. For road bikes I can be on the road in 1 minute but I don't know
>if riding bikes on florida's roadways is a good idea.

Where are ya and what do the roads one minute away really look like? I'm within
10 miles of GREAT cycling roads, but getting to any of them means 5 - 10 miles
of the worst road to ride on you can imagine in the USA.

Have you done any off-road riding. You can't do that on a road bike. You can
ride a mountain bike on the roads. Mark's suggestion of a cross bike's worth
considering, especially since we don't have much in the way of rocky, gnarly
trails. It's a bit of a bitch over some of the root and sand single track, but
you can fly on the double track.

Ron

03-10-2005, 10:38 PM

I am a road biker always have been and always will be.

I have thought a bit about this

My son races cyclocross....10th at Nationals.

For me, road is all I know. I have nothing against MTB I just don't know.

the idea of a mountain bike with slicks, well that sucks

that is not a way to get on with things
-Bart

10 @14.3

"RonSonic" <ronsonic@tampabay.rr.com> wrote in message
news

sa2319s5k54a0fvofcf6nsr1o66ccsagq@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 23:58:26 GMT, "Chris" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote:
>
>>I'd like to hear from those of you who had to make the choice of whether
>>to
>>get a road or mountain bike. I'm going to purchase one or the other. I
>>would guess it would be a while before I could afford the other.
>>
>>I live in Florida and there are a good number of mountain biking trails
>>within an hours drive. But it's still at least 45 mins to get to any
>>trailhead. For road bikes I can be on the road in 1 minute but I don't
>>know
>>if riding bikes on florida's roadways is a good idea.
>
> Where are ya and what do the roads one minute away really look like? I'm
> within
> 10 miles of GREAT cycling roads, but getting to any of them means 5 - 10
> miles
> of the worst road to ride on you can imagine in the USA.
>
> Have you done any off-road riding. You can't do that on a road bike. You
> can
> ride a mountain bike on the roads. Mark's suggestion of a cross bike's
> worth
> considering, especially since we don't have much in the way of rocky,
> gnarly
> trails. It's a bit of a bitch over some of the root and sand single track,
> but
> you can fly on the double track.
>
> Ron

03-11-2005, 12:09 AM

Thu, 10 Mar 2005 23:38:35 -0800, <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>,
"Bartow W. Riggs" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:

>
>For me, road is all I know. I have nothing against MTB I just don't know.
>
>the idea of a mountain bike with slicks, well that sucks
>
>that is not a way to get on with things

Me too. Fat tires were for kids bikes. Even skinny clinchers were
marginally acceptable. I got out of cycling in1986 while MTB were
making advances. In 2000, I bought a fat tire bike and ride it with
slicks. It's proved itself a useful, comfortable and reliable mount on
chuck-holed city streets and not much slower than my resurrected road
bikes.

Over 70 km in a day, the road bikes rule. Otherwise, excepting the 15
pounds, there's not that much difference besides comfort. Of course, I
still ride the heavy bike, light, because that's the way I learned.
--
zk

03-11-2005, 05:31 AM

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 00:21:33 +0000, Ken wrote:
> "Chris" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in
> news:Ca5Yd.163202$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].c om:
>> I live in Florida and there are a good number of mountain biking trails
>> within an hours drive. But it's still at least 45 mins to get to any
>> trailhead.
>
> I have a mountain bike and a road bike. I have pretty much abandoned the
> mountain bike since the nearest nice trails are a 30 minute drive away.
> I can ride my road bike out the front door and find nice roads immediately.
> Eliminating the 1 hour (round trip) commute gives me 1 hour of more fun.

If you have both enjoy both. If your looking to get a new bike try
looking into a cyclecross bike. Looks like a road bike (drops) but
built like a MTB. This is not a hybrid.

--
Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] (Text only)
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03-11-2005, 05:42 AM

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 21:33:15 -0600, di wrote:

> You can always ride a mountain bike on any road, unless you want to ride
> with a group that likes to ride fast,

This tends to be true but you can build up slicks and if you're strong
you can deal with it. The issue of lack of hand positions will come up
on long rides.

> however you cannot ride a road bike
> on any mountain bike trail regardless of the riding conditions.

Huh? You've never ridden with me. When I was growing up we didn't have
MTB (oh poor me ;-). We rode what we had, while road bikes don't
handle sand well I can ride them on most other terrain. I lead rides
where we don't get off the bike just because the road ends. :-) Though
falling down may be acceptable for getting off the bike. ;-)

--
Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
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03-11-2005, 05:53 AM

Chris wrote:
> I'd like to hear from those of you who had to make the choice of
whether to
> get a road or mountain bike. I'm going to purchase one or the other.
I
> would guess it would be a while before I could afford the other.
>
> I live in Florida and there are a good number of mountain biking
trails
> within an hours drive. But it's still at least 45 mins to get to any

> trailhead. For road bikes I can be on the road in 1 minute but I
don't know
> if riding bikes on florida's roadways is a good idea.
>
> Thanks in Advance
>
> George

George, Chris, whatever your name is...

In the days when I was relegated to just one bike, my choice was to get
the best bike I could for off-roading which would still accomodate my
street riding. I bought a used full-suspension bike and a spare set of
wheels upon which I mounted slicks. I could switch between road mode
and off-road mode in less than ten minutes, although looking back, I
didn't make the switch very often. I still have that bike today, but it
spends more time in the shed than on the dirt.

Once I had space for a second bike, I rescued a late 70's / early 80's
baby-blue Schwinn road bike. Even after a full tear-down, repaint,
replace parts and rebuild, I spent less than $100 on this bike. It was
still a friction-shifting monster, but it handled commuting and weekend
road rides with aplomb.

For me, If I could only pick one again, I would get a touring bike (I'm
still aching to get a nice tourer) or, as Mark suggests, a cyclocross
bike. But the mountain bike with slicks was perfectly functional for
commuting duty for several years. Even now I ride a no-suspension MTB
with slicks and fenders on my commute when the weather is bad.

But the choice really depends on whether your primary goal is bombing
down the local trails or tearing up the roads. Many people find it much
easier to ride the roads since they lie just outside your door. Many
bikes will do both jobs with varying degrees of success. You will just
have to take an honest look at what you are willing to do to go for a
ride.

-Buck

03-11-2005, 06:09 AM

"Neil Cherry" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> This tends to be true but you can build up slicks and if you're strong
> you can deal with it. The issue of lack of hand positions will come up
> on long rides.
>
> Huh? You've never ridden with me. When I was growing up we didn't have
> MTB (oh poor me ;-). We rode what we had, while road bikes don't
> handle sand well I can ride them on most other terrain. I lead rides
> where we don't get off the bike just because the road ends. :-) Though
> falling down may be acceptable for getting off the bike. ;-)

There are mountain bike tires that work almost as well as slicks on payment
and will also work quite well off road in most conditions, tires like
Hutchinson Pythons, Continental Traffic, and others with a tight thread
pattern or a center rib. My preference is the Hutchinson Pythons, although
they wear out quickly when used on pavement, Conti Traffic tires are very
heavy.

My reference to road bikes being used off-road was not intended to be dirt
roads, it was trails with sand, mud, roots, rocks, deep tracks, logs, and
all the other stuff you would expect to encounter on most mountain bike
trails. You may be able to get your road bike around the trail but it
doubtful if you would be considered riding it.

03-11-2005, 11:26 AM

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 09:09:38 -0600, di wrote:
>
> "Neil Cherry" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
> news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...

>> Huh? You've never ridden with me. When I was growing up we didn't have
>> MTB (oh poor me ;-).

> My reference to road bikes being used off-road was not intended to be dirt
> roads, it was trails with sand, mud, roots, rocks, deep tracks, logs, and
> all the other stuff you would expect to encounter on most mountain bike
> trails. You may be able to get your road bike around the trail but it
> doubtful if you would be considered riding it.

Actually as a kid we rode on some really nasty stuff and yes we rode
whatever we had. One of our favorites was the Schwinn Cruisers. You
get one of those and you had a tank and the tires were great for sand
and mud. Wasn't much good for climbing but they were fun. I only had
my 10 speed. Sand would almost bring me to a halt. The tall tires were
great in mud and some of the puddles we ran through. And we knew how
to cross logs on what we had. After a while the logs would be nothing
more than wood chips.

Today I'd opt for a cyclecross bike. I still have my Schwinn Paramount
hard tail but a bike that can do both would be very useful where I
live.

BTW, if you don't need to be hosed down after riding a MTB (or
cyclecross) it was a boring ride. :-)

--
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03-11-2005, 12:01 PM

Chris wrote:
> I'd like to hear from those of you who had to make the choice of
whether to
> get a road or mountain bike. I'm going to purchase one or the other.
I
> would guess it would be a while before I could afford the other.
>
> I live in Florida and there are a good number of mountain biking
trails
> within an hours drive. But it's still at least 45 mins to get to any

> trailhead. For road bikes I can be on the road in 1 minute but I
don't know
> if riding bikes on florida's roadways is a good idea.
>
> Thanks in Advance
>
> George

George (or Chris) -- if you need to drive 45 mins to a trailhead,
consider how often you will have the opportunity to do that. I'd love
to mountain bike every day -- but I too live about 1 hour from the
closest real trail. Accordingly, my MTB hangs in the garage. Now, if
that was my only bike, I would happily ride it everywhere, but I happen
to be fortunate enough to also have a nice road bike -- which I ride
every day (pretty much). But, I'm also fortunate enough to live on a
rail-trail -- so I don't have to contend with the abject idiots that
clog Florida's roads.

So... if you live in an overly-elderly area, an overly-redneck area, or
an overly-developed area, I would say to be very careful on the road.

So... I guess the big question is -- where in Florida??

03-11-2005, 06:30 PM

Neil Cherry wrote:

> ...
> BTW, if you don't need to be hosed down after riding a MTB (or
> cyclecross) it was a boring ride. :-)

I am going to tell Mikey V that you are causing soil erosion! He will
sic one of his trained mountain lions on you, and you will end up as cat
food!

In all seriousness, many MTB trails should not be ridden when wet, as
excessive damage to the trail often occurs. However, you are supposed to
donate some blood when you ride off-road, otherwise you are not trying
hard enough.

--
Tom Sherman - Earth