oz25

I love to mt. bike, but after a nasty accident last summer and probably for convenience, I'm going to transition to road biking (although I won't ever give up the mt. bike completely). It seems like a lot of people are transitioning from mtb to road and I'm wondering what is your story?

johnny99

I used to MTB pretty regularly. I got tired of driving 30 to 60 minutes to the nearest interesting trailheads. Now I just ride my road bike out the front door. There are pleanty of interesting roads nearby.

Snicklefritz

My brother made the switch from mountain to road last year. He had been heavy into mtb biking, going all over utah, colorado, etc.. Now he lives in NYC and doesn't have easy access to that sort of thing anymore.

Domino Plus Red

i made the switch, i'll still ride my mountain bike some, but for now i've got the need, "The Need For Speed"

ViperZ

I was a roadie since the 70's, and then did both when MTB became popular. Today I still do both, as I love Single track, technical trail riding, off roading and Road Biking.

I like variety

LowCel 

I do both and wouldn't have it any other way. I find that training on a road bike is the best training for mountain bike racing. I also find that mountain biking is the best training there is for those quick road accelerartions and sprints.

cycle17

My intial reason for converting to a roadie was the same.

I MTB'ed for over ten years before taking up road biking two years ago. Now I road bike about 90% of the time and MTB about 10% of the time. Also, as the OP stated, I would ineveitably take at least one or more bad falls a year on the MTB and would walk around limping or picking dirt out of my leg or arm for the next two weeks. I find road biking to be "easier" on my body. I've only taken one fall on my road bike, and that was a freak accident that happened right outside my apartment last September. I still like to MTB, but now it's just a nice "change-up" to road cycling and beacuse I don't MTB all the time, I'm a little more reserved on the MTB, so I don't take any spills on the trail.

There's nothing like pegging your heart rate monitor on a steep road climb and then blasting down the other side at 50 mph hoping you don't hit a squirrel that's darting across the road!!

oz25

In general, do most of you find road biking to be "safer" than mountain biking? My wife and I are both getting road bikes this week, but are both a little apprehensive about the relative safety. Last summer was particularly bad for roadies as it seemed like every week there was another report in the paper about the death of a road biker.

johnny99

Was a bicyclist killed in your city every week last year? Or someone died somewhere in the world? If you're talking about just in your local area, then that is way above average.

With mountain biking, you can control your risk a lot by your choice of speed and terrain. Road cyclists can too to some extent, but a lot of folks are getting hit from behind by distracted drivers these days. Defensive cycling is more important now than ever.

VosBike

I started on the MTB but am gradually roading more and more, the racing is (contrary to popular opinion) more exciting to me.

On safety, I find i get a lot of small and almost inconsequential injuries on the MTB, but i rarely hear of MTBers dying. Cars are a lot more dangerous than anything on the trails, however, don't let that dissuade you from starting road biking. You could die on the road, you could die on the trails, or you could die on your coach.

oz25

Actually I think it was only three or four during a 5/6 week period (one of whom I knew). I'm sure it was just a rash of "bad luck" but it seemed excessive. I don't want to come across as a "Nervous Nelly." That isn't my nature at all, but I do like to be aware. Are there specific tips for defensive riding? You seem a little blind with the cars coming behind you and in many places (without much shoulder) you don't have many options if the driver makes a mistake.

johnny99

Wear brightly colored clothing.
Use lights (especially a tail light) on cloudy days or in a dark forest.
Ride in a straight line (do not weave in and out of parked cars).
Use the center of the lane (after looking back) when you approach intersections.
Always stop at stop signs and red lights.
Check parked cars on your right and driveways on both sides of the street for moving cars, even when you have the right of way.
Listen for cars approaching from the back and from the sides.
Use a mirror.

Read this: https://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/

bransom

Same here. I still enjoy MTB, and there are some great trails around here, but I just can't beat the ease of blasting off from my driveway. No need to load up the rack, then the bikes, then drive to the trail, etc.

roadfix

For the last several years:

road biking: 95%
mountain biking: 5%

Fivetenfrank

I started road biking because I want to do some multi-sport events. I now do the majority of my weekday riding on the road bike and weekend only riding on an MTB.

I find that I am great mountain biker and a horrible road racer. MTB riding doesnt prepare one for the hard constant efforts of crit racing, which I have done twice this season miserably.

On a MTB I am great climber - on a road bike I get dropped like a stone.

But, this being my first year of road riding, I am in much better shape now then I was this same time last year just riding the MTB.

rachmiel99

Casual rider who only owns one bike . . . switched from MTB to Specialized Sirrus ("road-hybrid?") . . . but I was shocked by how smooth it felt to switch to a good road bike . . .

I thought it would be scary . . . MTB tires are wider and softer, etc . . . but without the buzzing knobby tires, riding is a total pleasure . . .

Enjoy . . .

DigitalRJH

Ditto

I'd classify myself as a roadie for the past 4 years, whereas 5 years ago I was almost purely MTB.

I still MTB, just not as much....you still can't beat barreling down a beautiful stretch of singletrack in the woods.

R900

Mountain biked for about 10 years, but it tapered off, moving to Indiana. marriage, house, kids, etc... Last year we bought a tandem, and I liked how smooth it was, so new road bikes followed as well as another tandem. I use to think roadies were nuts (lycra, just out riding - no trails and adventures, etc...), but now I really enjoy the road bike. Pushing to go faster and longer. Being able to ride right from our home, and biking with my wife (usually on the tandem). I still have my MTB, but haven't been on a serious singletrack for years.

John

bbattle

When I ride my mtb. it's on some rocky trails on the side of a mountain and so I usually scrape up my legs and crash at least once but I'm travelling at 10-15mph. I also don't do any of the really crazy stuff you see on the videos at the LBS.

On the road bike I'm flying down descents at over 40-45mph and the slightest wrong move means I'm either dead or I'll wish I was.

My wife believes the road cycling to be safer because I don't come home with blood all over me and another busted helmet.

Road cycling has definitely made me a faster mt. biker which has gotten me into some trouble on a single track on top of Monte Sano. The track isn't steep but it's very twisty and the trees are very close; dodge one tree, hit another, made a 90 deg. turn, and off you go. I try to go as fast as possible and usually end up crashing. But it's fun.

big john

I rode motorcycles off-road for 10 years and started riding road bikes to help my fitness. I switched to mtb almost exclusively for a few years. Now I almost always ride the road bike. I'm in a club and there is always someone cool to ride with. Never have to ride alone if I don't want to. Oh, worst crash ever was on the road bike on the stupid bike path. Be careful out there.

oz25

[QUOTE]Same here. I still enjoy MTB, and there are some great trails around here, but I just can't beat the ease of blasting off from my driveway. No need to load up the rack, then the bikes, then drive to the trail, etc.[QUOTE]

Thank you to all who responded. As many of you also noted, I always looked at roadies as a little odd. I mean c'mon lycra and all that worry over grams? But I can't ignore the convenience of not having to load up the rack.

I appreciate all of the advise on safety. The death of my acquaintence last summer shook me up a bit. Especially given the amount of expertise he brought to the sport, but as one responder said, I could die on the couch as well.

WD_40

I was an MTBer first, then I lost my license and had to ride my MTB to work. After a month of that, I decided I liked riding on the streets and decided to get a road bike. The rest, as they say, is history.

I still ride mountain, but pretty much just for the adrenaline. I wear ridiculous amounts of armor and consider it a boring ride if I don't fly over the handlebars at least once.

Bike Lover

Well, technically I am not a road biker yet. I've been cruising around this site and some others to determine what I want to do and how much I want to spend etc. I find this research fairly fun and who knows when I'll actually pull the trigger on something.

Anyway, my reason for looking more into road biking is the convenience, as mentioned, of hopping on the bike and riding from my doorstep. No more loading up the bike to hit the trail. I live close to a nice winding road and want to take advantage of it.

Avalanche325

I started out as a MTBer. I do love getting out away from everything. When I moved to Miami, it was 30-40 minutes to the nearest trails. So I started riding on the road. I would really enjoy the times when I worked with a roadie or two out on Key Biscayne. I had lived in Pasadena and had seen the LARGE group that rides at the Rose Bowl and thought that it looked like a blast. As luck would have it, my job took me back to Pasadena. I got a road bike. I really haven't done much mountain biking since. I enjoy group rides a lot. I also like centuries.

I think road riding does have more risk of a fatality then MTB. Of course if you are a downhiller, maybe not. But MTB has a lot more minor injuries. For off road, if you don't fall off you are not riding hard enough.

On the other hand, I lost 20lbs after I got the road bike. So the road is better for fitness, at least for me.

johnny99

I agree that road cycling is much better for your fitness. I would be pretty beat up after a 2 hour MTB ride, but road riding is much less stressful and 6-8 hour rides are no problem. More hours on the bike = more exercise.