Touring - Mtn Bike or Road bike ????

Do you use a mtnbike or a road bike to tour, and why ?

I have toured for years on a mtn bike and always seem to find people who swear by road bikes.

I find the upright position more comfortable, the ride smoother, the low gears a blessing and the ability to hit the trails after dinner a nice change, I also would think that the fatter tires would help provide stability. Oh ya (knock on wood) there is also less risk of a flat with a mtn bike.

Let the debate begin.

I've always toured on hybrids. Despite the industry's disdain for "cross," or "comfort" bikes, they offer the best compromise... upright mtn. bike geometry combined with larger wheels and longer legged road bike gearing. Some are even coming equipped with suspension forks, and believe me, that can really help on a thousand mile spin. A high-end hybrid can have as nice a component group as a good roadbike, and one can easily add mudguards, pannier racks, whatever.

A hybrid will be faster than a mtn. bike on pavement, and much more sure footed than a road bike on dirt. Think two-wheeled Jeep Cherokee, and you get the general idea.

I do run city tires on my hybrids... 700x32 or 700x35 smoothies... at that width, they look a bit like miniature motorcycle tires, with their inverted treads.

I guess the choice between different machines, depends on the the type of touring, who you would ride with and your personal preference. If you are touring alone, it depends on the kind of riding you enjoy. Some supported tours are aimed at specific cycling disciplines. If it is mainly a road tour, you will find most people using road bikes and a cross or mountain bike may offer a disadvantage towards maintaining the group pace. Again, some tours focus on mountain biking, while others focus on cross biking.

Personally, I'm a roadie and still enjoy the competitive part of cycling. I therefore enjoy riding a road bike, which offers me the best competitive advantage, with riders of the same kind. Each minute on the bike, therefore becomes part of my training programme and I select my touring accordingly.

Snowplug.
http://www.exclusive-cycling.com

This may be controversial, but I don't see why you would ever want a Mountain Bike for touring.

a) Gears - hey there's no restiction on ratios for road bikes

b) Tyres - With a good properly inflated tyre (eg Continental Super touring) you shouldn't have any puncture problems on the roads, plus what about that rolling resistance on a long tour?

c) Riding position. More variety on the road bike means less aches and pains, plus 200kms into the wind on a mountain bike??

Just gleaned from my experience. I use all sorts of bikes by the way.

Mike,
I was using a mountain bike for commuting 20 miles roundtrip 4X/wk. The frame was too small for me. I bought a good fitting hybrid and was amazed at how much easier it pedalled. Mine seems to be more on the road end of the hybrid compromises. I did get front suspension and a suspension seat post because I have seen trails smoother than some of the streets I have to ride on. But I plan to do some road trips soon.
I figure people can ride whatever they are comfortable on. If I were going to ride the streets/roads on a mountain bike, I would at least put narrower, smoother tires for road riding and swap to knobbies only for trails. Besides just being more comfortable, I think part of the easier riding was the reduction in resistance from the knobby tires to the street tires. Not to mention the near silence of the tires on the road.
FWIW,
Raymond

Having not ridden a roadie much when I went touring, I toured on my mountain bike, and I had no problems whatsoever, plus like you I like to hit the trails occasionally - I ran Continental Town & Countrys, which at 70psi have comparable rolling resistance to a touring road tyre, plus being bigger they are marginally more comfortable. Plus the Town & Countrys are suitable offroad - they have a recessed tread which works quite well, or you can carry knobbys if you want.

However since getting back I've done a lot more road miles and I like the extra positions that the drop bars offer. If you were going to tour on a roadie I'd suggest getting a touring frame though - a more relaxed position plus once you get some weight on the bike it's nice to have cantilever or V-Brakes.

Simple solution - get a mountain bike with drop bars (a la cyclocross). It's a bit odd looking but it works remarkably well.

And I still swear by Conti Town & Country tyres.

Vanders, Australia

have owned both, but since i am a hiker/backpacker, i like to tour in like places. Touring is not speed to me but enjoying your self. So i opt for the mt. bike. conti, town&country defeate the porpouse because of their hugh weight that is felt on climbs, which we have a lot on n.c.. So i opt for a short tread tirs like the bontrager st. 2 works well on and off road,--- ps. no mt. bike tire can even approach the low rolling resistance of a good light 700 c. happy trails----Steve33