thatguy

i wish i had a mountain bike

nelson249

I mostly road ride but have friends that do both with equal enthusiasm. I don't figure I have much to be snobbish about riding a 20 year old road machine. Besides some of those guys on MTBs are blindingly fast even with knobbies and my ego couldn't take the pounding if I threw down the gauntlet. A friend of mine likes to hunt snob road riders on his souped up old MTB. I prefer not to be the target. Likely the cold shoulder you got was riding on the sidewalk unnecessarily. I see some of the younger MTB set around here do a lot of sidewalk shuffling and scaring little old ladies. That I do not like. Wouldn't care if they were riding new Pinarellos, it would still annoy me.

Paulus

I would guesstimate that around here about 70-90% of road bikers would also be MTBers (certainly every one I've ever spoken to). We have lots of good XC and DH MTB tracks so you'd be a fool to pass up on them.

rapidcarbon

I guess your friend only do XC, and at Sea Otter XC races = no big logs, no jumps, no rock gardens.

By the way, if you are stronger than your friend (I assume based on your post) then I guess you could win first place in the Nationals

desmo13

Me too. (well, I have this old bianchi from highschool) Wondering if I should forget about an upgraded roadbike and get mtn bike.

Tequila Joe

I don't believe that so few people do not ride both road and mountain. I find tha mountain biking improves my power but road riding improve my endurance.

In general;
- Mountain bikers are cool because its all about the ride and having fun. There is nothing better than rippin' some sweet single track, hitting some nice drop offs, making technical climbs and descents that often exceed 45 degrees.
- Roadies are cool because it is all about the speed. Its fun too to work as a team, taking your pull, drafting and dropping weaker riders. I love to ride for hours no stop and cover so much disctance.

I'm not a roadie or mountain biker. I'm a cyclist that enjoys road, mountain and commuting.

Basscycle

I think that there's a pretty big difference in the fitness requirements of the two sports. MTB involves a lot of climbing where road riding involves a lot of spinning. After doing mtb for a while, hopping on the road was a real shock, I wasn't used the spinning and I became tired pretty quickly. The hills were ok but it did take a few weeks to get used to the high cadence over a long period of time.

botto 

most mtn bikers seem to have the gear, but lack an engine.

the rare serious mountain biker = strong road bikers who's bike handling skills are impressive off road, but overrated on road, although better than most tri-atheletes .

A-1

I ride mountain, road, and bmx, each helps with a different thing. BMX and mountain definetly help out with bike control. For road mountain, definetly helps, because the climbs involved are made harder by loose ground, stumps, roots, and rocks. The same goes for the ride back down the hill. BMX is often overlooked and underrated, but it's excelent for gaining bike control. Squeezing tight spaces, balancing on a 4'' aluminum peg while sliding down a rail, manualing a handrail or ledge, spinning, ect., all take amazing amounts of bike control, not to mention upper and mid body strength, which you don't really gain from riding a roadbike. When it comes down to it, it's all biking, and it's all fun, so I don't see why there should be any hate.
/drunken rant

filtersweep

I have been in countless road races and recently purchased a mtn bike. I find mtn biking brings be a little closer to nature, and it better suited for when the weather is less than perfect. Also, I find myself obsessing how to get from point A to point B using as little road as possible (have found an almost entirely off-road commute to work). Still, I love road biking.

Mtn biking seems to require more technical skill... and compared to the ONE mtn bike race that I rode, road racing requires a bit more tactics, though less tech skills. 86km off road is equall to twice the distance on pavement! That race was much more difficult than I imagined.

I would much rather WATCH road racing the mtn bike racing.

Most mtn bikers tend to be more practical than road bikers.

climbo

how about a pointless thread folks !! Most of us are BIKE riders, not just one or the other.... "my mate's a roadie and cleans up National MTB events and he's not even as fast as me", "most MTBers lack the engine" what a load of anecdotal &#$*. Look at Evans, Landis, Rasmussen etc.. all ex- MTBers. The climbing and power you have to use in a MTB is huge. These guys all rode Euro road races as well as MTB'ed at World Cup level. You cannot make simple comparisons of one against the other meaningfully.

cyclezealot

My reason for biking is touring. Seems many a Mtn biker do the same old trails over and over. My road bike gets me places. Plus, I see so many mtn bikes on road surfaces. Nothing against mtn bikers as people. Just find their rides redundant.

A-1

To play the devils advocate, and by that, I mean be a dick just because, a MTBer could say the same thing about a road ride, I know the head mechanic at my local shop does. IMO, even if a MTB rider just rides the same trail over and over, it's never really the same, because things change much more on mountain trails than they do on roads/paved trails. And to Filtersweep, are you sure you don't have the distances mixed up, a 15 mile mountain ride always seems like a 30 mile road ride to my legs. Mile for mile, I believe mountain takes much more endurance and effort, but I guess that sort of depends on things such as tire width/tread pattern/air pressure, your riding conditions, and the biggest blessing and curse of the MTB, and perhaps the most important factor, suspension length.
P.S. This sounded like a really intelligent post when I was typing it, so sorry if it was filled with typos, misused words, all that stuff.

botto 

if it's so pointless, then why did you bother to reply to it?

fwiw i should clarify my statement vis-à-vis 'engine'

Should read:

ymmv

climbo

Who says I can't post on a pointless thread? Maybe I added some sanity to it. How stupid it is to take some anecdotal report that MTN bikers are not strong, and then post it here as facts. Please go ahead with it amongst yourselves...

PS. A1, I agree !

botto 

ahhhh... i see. you're one of those well balanced Australians. you've got a chip on each shoulder

climbo

well let's just jump in without anything to back up the facts shall we.

Make a point on the topic and I'll take it for what its worth, just because I don't agree with you doesn't give me any number of chips.

"....most mtn bikers that I have known seem to have the gear, but lack an engine. In 16 years of serious riding I have only met and ridden with one self-professed mtn biker who was strong - and this guy was super strong. the rest were rec riders...."

OK. well that's cleared it all up now.

norskagent

I ride road, fixed, and mtn. All for fun but to me slightly suffering by pushing the pace is fun. Fixed makes an awesome commute/city bike. Mtn. gets me out of traffic and into the woods, works skillz, works upper body. Road bike for scenic long distance and the occasional trip to N.C. mtns.

LowCel 

Well I race mountain bikes so I guess that must mean that I am a weak / slow roadie. Good to know.

fmw

I think mountain biking is harder than road cycling. It's a kick but really difficult.

bbattle

+1 get off the sidewalk.


I normally ride my mtb.(Fuel 80) when I'm riding with my wife or my new riding partner, my 10yr. old granddaughter(I just bought her a Giant MTX 225 and put better, thinner tires on it). Don't notice that other riders are snobby.

EJ123

When I was 12-15 I would always be on the road going everywhere. Now I try to stay off of it. I'll either hold up traffic or cause an accident.

LowCel 

Just keep in mind that in most areas riding on the sidewalk is illegal. Not only that it is more dangerous for both you and pedestrians than riding on the road.

C Law

Try staying towards the right shoulder.

Re: MTB vs Road thing. All roadies should get an MTB and get out on some trails once a week. Same with the MTB'er getting out on the road for a group ride.

If for nothing else than the reason to get another bike.

(Y(L|S+

Some 15+ years ago I was heavily into road biking and did 150+ miles per week (@ 20+ mph). I was in the best shape of my life (did other sports too). Then I switched over to MTB'ing and took many of the skills and fitness with me. My friends were amazed at how I could spin up a climb that others were hammering out of the saddle or carrying their bike up. Road biking taught me pedalling efficiency. On the flip side, MTB'ing taught me how to hammer out of the saddle, which really improved my sprinting as well as climbing. It also gave me confidence in my bike handling skills as there was definite improvement there.

Also, from what I have experienced, and generally speaking, MTB'ing is all about interval training. You hammer for a while, for instance when you climb, and then you coast or pedal easier down the back side or on the flats, then repeat 200 times on the trail. That is excellent aerobic training so I don't buy the criticizm that MTB'ers have no endurance. You also use many more muscles in many more different ways on an MTB. I primarily road bike now but do on occasion take my MTB out on the trail. It's just a pain to cart my MTB out to a decent trail rather than just hop on the roadie and ride.

I took some time off and did neither for a while but now I'm road biking again. To me, I love them both, but road biking is more akin to a Zen-like experience as you move your thoughts inward as you concentrate on cadence, heartrate, breathing, positions, etc. While in MTB'ing, your attention is focused outward as you survey the surroundings so you can safely and quickly navigate the trail. They are different, but they compliment each other well. If some people on both sides can get over their preconceived notions on the other, they will find that they can become a complete cyclist if they do both. Just ask Floyd and Rassmussen.

Just my 2 cents....