stapfam

1990 and I started cycling. If you knew the area round here you would have taken the same route as me and gone mountain biking. 6 miles away and we have the South Downs- a long chalk ridge that runs across the South of England and the South Downs Way is a recognised trail that starts near me and goes for 100 miles. Bridleways all the way (So bikes can also ride it) and all offroad. Plenty of hills although the highest single climb is 850 ft. I spent every weekend up on those hills and attempted the South down Way in one day 11 times and only failed twice.

But after my last failure in 2006- https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ns-Way-failure

I decided it was time to slow down a bit and got a road bike. Year later and got another couple and I was hooked. The majority of my riding is now done on the road and the only time I get go offroad is when the weather is too bad for road riding. Roads flooded -Ice or Snow and out comes that old Bianchi Grizzly and I find out what I am missing.

Well it is just coming up to the time when I will not be able to road ride as often as I should so The MTB has just had its annual service. Just hope those hills have got shorter. They won't get any less steep but My legs just don't want to be grinding away for a mile up the 15% slopes any longer.

So any other MTBers taken the easy route and gone road recently?

jdon

I have been back and forth. In the seventies and eighties were all road, nineties primarily MTB and a mixture since. I like both but as my friend and former coach says, I am a natural roadie. That was his polite way of saying I lacked the technical skills to be a really good MTBer.

That said, I am entered in the BC Bike Race next year which is a challenging 7 day MTB stage race.

Retro Grouch 

I used to go mountain biking with a group of guys every Saturday morning. I quit the group when I got chewed out by my SON (Now there's a reversal of rolls.) after going over the bars and breaking my collarbone for the second time in 6 months.

I've had my mountain bike out a few times since then but by then I had lost my fitness, mountain bike skills and courage. Around a year and a half ago, I disassembled my mountain bike. I've still got the frame but it's likely to be recycled either as an art object or as scrap aluminum.

hikeandbike

I really enjoy both.

woodway

4000+ road miles (mostly work commuting), 800+ MTB miles year to date. I like them both. Actually I like MTB more and wish I could get that ratio tilted in the other direction a bit.

John E

I ride at least as much for transportation as for recreation, and I simply cannot get from point A to point B offroad, with some delightful exceptions. As a total klutz, I do very non-technical mountain biking, such as on fire roads.

cleon

Was all mtn bike from 92-96, now all road.

Red Rider

I tried it at the recommendation of c_gallagh's co-worker, who lost significant poundage and gained impressive fitness via mtb.

I hated it.

I hated falling over clipped in. I hated the weeds whacking my legs. I hated the steepness of the hills that made me walk my bike up them. I hated getting dirty, I hated dismounting so frequently to get over fences, creeks, etc.

So I put slicks on it and outrode my BFF on her fancy '05 Trek OCLV every chance I could.

She's now a CAT 3, I'm still a CAT 4, and neither of us mtb.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

trackhub

Tried it, not for me. Not too much else to say there. My LBS tells me that mountain bike sales have been way down for several years now. Hybrid sales are doing much better.

I don't think it was ever as big in the northeast as it is in the west anyway. Of course, I could be wrong.

stapfam

I can relate to this completely. It is a different aspect of cycling and other than Racing- I don't think anything is harder. You are on a bike that is 10lbs heavier- The hills are rough soil- or scree- or mud or just plain slippery. A lot more energy is expended going up a mile long 15% offroad trail than any equivalent road and on top of that the offroad is not a gradual climb- some bits are steep. Even on the flat bits you have grass that grabs hold of the tyres and holds you back. The downhills though are where the real difference comes in. There are rocks- loose soil and ruts that mentally make you want to slow down but the best way to tackle them is to speed up for the obstacles. Higher speed gives you more stability so as soon as you slow down to a "Sensible" speed- you are in danger of falling over----Suddenly. And those weeds---Get a bramble growing out of the undergrowth that you catch between the fingers and watch the Blood flow.

So I can completely sympathise with those of you that do not like getting muddy with mountain biking. We have plenty of rain in the UK and this pic was taken on the "Flat" route out to the hills. This is a Multi use track for tractors and Forestry vehicles so does get churned up a bit- as you can see.



EDIT- Just in case I gave the wrong impression here- I love mountain biking. It's just that it now hurts. The hills are getting steeper and longer and I don't bounce aswell as I used to. Last couple of falls and I went "Thud". But I do occasionally get out on the hills but with only when there are some New to off road riders with the group. Then I don't get the feeling that the rest are always waiting for me.

BluesDawg

I guess I'm a temporary ex mountain biker. Several of my good riding buds went to check out a great new trail about an hour's drive away today. I passed on the trip and did a road ride with some other folks. With plans for so many century rides in the next couple of months, I just don't feel like risking getting banged up by a MTB fall. But the urge will hit me and I'll hit the trails again before very long.

ftwelder

I started in BMX, went to MTB, then MTB downhill then a bit of trials, more BMX and MTB and a bit of road, back to MTB downhill and BMX then trials and downhill and now only road. Hey, 40 years is a long time!

Allegheny Jet

I got my mtb last fall and have really enjoyed the trails and different set of skills needed to ride the mtb. Many of my riding buddies have morphed over to mtb's also so I don't think that "ex" will be associated with my mtb riding for a while. I've done 4 mtb TT's and am building up the courage to do a mtb race soon. I did a cyclo cross race today that was dry and rooty and used my 29'er as my race bike. My butt and hands owe me big time.

BarnSwallow

I hope to soon be an "ex". I plan to get a road bike next month, which will be the first road bike I've ridden since the mid 80's. I like my mountain bike, and I like that I don't have to worry about cars, but I've come to realize my favorite times on my mtb are when I'm going really fast down a smooth trail or on a paved road on my way somewhere. I want to try asphalt, plus I'm so uncoordinated I feel like I'm taking a real chance lately of having a nasty crash. I can't help but go as fast as possible and I think my speed, though not that fast, will really cause problems when I smack into a tree. I almost lost it at least three times yesterday. That's why I got disc brakes on the last bike I bought. What with all the roots, rocks, sand, and slopes I'm not as confident as I used to be. Come on road bike! I want fast and smooth.

gear

I think I'm done, will still do unpaved flat trails but my MBT is going to my nephew soon so I can justify another road bike.

missjean

I almost was ready to give up mountain biking last year for a couple of reasons.
First - my husband stopped riding in the woods and took up road biking, so if I wanted to ride with him, I had to ride road.
Second - I just couldn't seem to keep up anymore when I went on group rides. I use to ride at the tail end of the fast pack, but last year I found myself at the tail end of the slow pack and couldn't figure out why. Then, early this spring, I had some blood work done and it turned out I had anemia. I took iron pills, ate a lot of spinach, raisins, & red meat and, woohoo! I'm back in the woods loving it. :-) (See the did you ride today thread.)

Allegheny Jet

Good for you!!!

Wogster

I tried it, found out there is a simple rule in outdoor activity...

When your <25 you bounce
When your 25-39 you bounce .... back
When your 40 and over, you break.....

Had a nasty MTB accident in 2007, decided that roads were much safer, put slicks on the MTB and never looked back, sort of half returned to it this year though, been doing some riding on dirt and gravel roads and find that a nice compromise. If I can get some extra funds I want to put a compact or a triple on the road bike, this winter, because a 52/42 crank & a 6 speed rear end makes the hills around here a sufferfest, and I have not been road riding anywhere near as much as I would like..... Been getting lots of use out of the MTB though, put some semi slick tires on it, and getting lots of use out of it. Another month and the road bike goes on the trainer for the winter, just not sure yet, where I am going to set it up this year.....

JonathanGennick 

I am not usually here in this forum, but this thread title caught my eye. I hope I never have to be an "ex". Perhaps that day will come, but I sure hope it's a long way off.

I have over the past few years developed an appreciation for road riding. That's more in the way of expanding my repertoire and having options for a change of pace from the very few offroad options in my county.

Last year, at age 48, I built up a park bike and began practicing the jump at the local skate park. I rebuilt that bike even better this year, at age 49. I'm not really a good jumper--I'm still a bit overweight--but I can get the bike off the ground and land it again. The practice at the park has fed back into my mountain-biking in a good way.

I am frustratingly mindful that as we get older, our bodies betray us. I take due care while riding to stay within my limits. I've been working to expand those limits though, not to shrink them.

stapfam

2006 and aged 59 and I started to ease out of Offroading. Luckily where I live there are plenty of XC routes that providing you can do the hills- Are great for a Ride. Never been one for technical riding but plenty of singletrack in the forest- Just the same as the XC except trees cover the trail. But last trip out on the MTB and we had an old rider return to the area and we loaned him a bike and took him out. Now this lad is 35- and fit. Still rides up in the North of England offroad but as he put it- "Real" offroading is hard.

To be honest- If I Had to get fit for a road ride- I would be out training on the Hills on the MTB. Mountain biking is hard- but different. Luckily the group I ride with still follow the rules we set up years ago. Get to the top of a hill and wait for the rest- get to a junction in the trail and wait for the rest- Get to a downhill and wait for Doug (Me) to go first. Saves him knocking you off your bike as he comes past you. Fast downhill is a skill I learnt years ago- It is the only chance I have of catching the other riders.

dguest

My basic history is a lot shorter in time. I started riding on a regular basis in 2008, I started out on a Target Schwinn mountain Bike. I live in a rural area and rode that bike on short 5 mile trips on the gravel roads, and did some 15 mile rides on a dirt MUP in the area. Within 2 short months I bought a Specialized Crosstrail and rode it the same places. The fall of that year my wife and I rode a 40 mile charity ride on the roads with the Crosstrails and decided we needed road bikes. We ride the road 90 percent of the time but still take the Crosstrails out when we take camping trips on the New River Trail and the Virginia Creeker trail.

bjjoondo 

ME, in the mid-80's I was racing MTB's in NORBA Novice races with my son, he was pretty fast on his 20 in. Ross and LOL, I was SLOW on my Raleigh Mt. Crested Butte, (ridged) but a friend and I always had a bet, "first one to hit the brakes on a down hill bought dinner", I was pretty insane on the downhills (couldn't afford to buy dinner, LOL!). In 2009 I bought a new hardtail MTB and was sure I was ready to fly up and down mountains again! Alas, I found that the trails seemed mean and dangerous at 55, they were soooooo easy at 25. Sold the MTB and went road. don't think I'll find my way back to the trail, kinda sad.


My son Steven and I after a NORBA race in Fort Collins, CO. 1985

stonefree

Never even saw a mtb until 2000. Didn't even know they existed, so I bought a new one then, for the local hike and bike trails which were very rough then and had some inclines, but not much. Since I was over 50 then, just rode it everywhere like it was a hybrid.

Now it seems like that's what at least half the bikers here use. Bought another one recently that was a good upgrade, but I still prefer and ride a road bike about half the time.

The biggest road problem here are the paving joints that eventually become 1-2" offsets and there are millions of them everywhere. So unless you want your teeth rattled constantly, it's nice to have a front suspension.