chickenskin

This is the big question. For me the roads in the winter and definately the mountains in the summer. They are a lot more testing than Roads!! The debate is now OPEN........

The Weak Link

Ice cream? Or cake?

Chocolate? Or vanilla?

Blondes? Or brunettes?

Cervelo? Or Merkcycks?

De gustibus non disputantum.

mr handy

Ice cream? Or cake? = Both.

Chocolate? Or vanilla? = neapolitan.

Blondes? Or brunettes? = Red Heads!

Cervelo? Or Merkcycks? = priceless

rollin

Both

supersport

You're in the ROAD forum. The answer should be obvious. Okay?

trek1

+1

I always did road riding growing up but after a 15 year absense it was mountain biking that brought be back to the sport and the road. Now I love both for different reasons, as long as I am riding somewhere I am loving it!

Tequila Joe

Both w/ a little CX mixed in the pot.

Bakemono

Mountain. IMO, its safer than road riding and its a lot more challenging because you have to deal with all kinds of different surfaces.
I also think that mountain bikes are a lot more comfortable to ride because they have a more upright riding position.

Duke of Kent

How is mountain biking more demanding???

And the correct answer to this question is neither. 40k points race.

Or, as soon as I'm a 2, 100k crits. Respek.

nostromo

Ferrari or Jeep?

I do both. Road riding near my home weeknights and weekend mornings, MTBing on weekends where I can drive out to a park or ravine with a buddy and we hit trails of all types for 2-3 hours each time out. They are both demanding, only in different ways. I would not say one or the other is easier.

My road bike demands a certain type of technical awareness and I love eating up ribbons of road at high speeds. I love it's precision, smoothness and quietness and it's ability (with me as the engine) to get up to good speeds in a very short distance.

Mountain biking requires you to be sharp because there are so many things that can pop up on a trail, especially if you're going pretty fast, you need lightning quick reflexes and make quick decisions on whether to attempt that 2 story steep drop or do something else. And I've taken some hard spills on my MTB (yesterday for example when my front tire hit a rock that was the same colour as the dirt around it). My road bike fries my legs, my MTB rides beat up my whole body, but more my upper body from all the out of seat excursions and tossing the heavy bike around things.

But both are fun. Last year I had to make a decision; I wanted one good bike because that's all I could afford. So I was fitted for a road bike and am totally enjoying it. This year I'm shopping around for a decent hardtail MTB and may get one in the next few weeks as my cheap Dept. store MTB I bought last year is not holding up so well, but it got me hooked on MTB riding so it done it's job well.

johnny99

I think mountain biking is more demanding per hour. After a couple of hours going up and down rocky trails, my body is pretty beat up. Maybe road crits are like that, too, but I don't do crits. I've heard that most pro mountain bikers spend most of their training hours on road bikes because they can spend more hours per day on a road bike and thus get better endurance training.

Personally, I ride my road bike much more than my mountain bike mostly because I have to haul my mountain bike in my car for 30-60 to get to the nearest good trails. I have good cycling roads right outside my front door.

v1k1ng1001

I used to be a mountain biker that dabbled in roadieness. 10 years later the opposite is true.

I like that I can just drop the road bike outside my door and go for a ride without much hassle. No driving to trailheads or washing your bike after every ride. You're not constantly replacing expensive components.

Don't get me wrong, off-road is fun, but I'd ride a hell of a lot less if it were my only option.

MTBLover

I do both (in spite of my nic). I think MTB is as demanding as you want make it, just like road riding is. You can choose to go on highly technical trails, just like you can choose nasty, long grades on the road.

Bakemono

For one, the fat tires of a mountain bike have more rolling resistance than the skinny tires of a road bike.
For two, trail riding requires more skill because you have to recognize and adapt to changing trail conditions. A trail can range from anything to hardpack dirt to grass to soft sand.
Dirt is for riding, pavement is for getting there.

rubic

Do both. But don't forget to run and swim.

Az B

I disagree. While the consequences of a crash are more likely to be fatal on the road because of cars, the actual likliehood of a crash is far lower than it is for mountain bikes. In the last couple of months, 3 of the guys I MTB with have had crashes serious enough to require hospitals, stitches, casts, and a lot of downtime. One of them had to be airlifted out of Tsali in a helicopter.

None of my road riding friends have had anything more than a chain tatoo in years. I haven't had a road bike crash since 1973, and I was riding on the wrong side of the road for that one. Oh wait, I did get a little road rash on the way to a bar in 1982. The chicks at the bar got all nurturing and caring when they saw the blood running down my leg. It didn't stop from drinking and riding home later.

But I digress... mountain biking is far dangerouser.

Az

ILUVUK

they're both fun. although these days i'm all about the road riding and my MTB is currently only being used by a friend.

mikeE46

+1
They are different and I love both

merlinextraligh

You got it backwards. Better to ride MTB in the winter. Slower speeds = less wind chill.

Road in the summer, higher speeds = less bugs, and more cooling.

msu2001la

Ditto on the danger comment.

I've crashed far more times while trail riding than I ever have on the road. Sure, you don't have cars to contend with on singletracks, but you have ruts, trees, rocks, twisting trails, etc.

Not that I'd let the "danger" aspect stop me from doing either though...

mirona

Track

Sirrobinofcoxly

Both. For the same reason that I don't eat Pizza every day.

bbattle

It all depends upon the terrain and how you ride. I rarely come home from a mountain biking ride without knees scraped up, elbows bleeding, dirt everywhere. The trails here are very tough. Plus, I don't know what I'm doing.

spdrcr5

I enjoy them both. But MTB is far more dangerous, at least for me it is. I had a really bad MTB crash back in 2004; 4 broken ribs, torn pectoral muscle and injured shoulder. A year later I crashed again and this time put a serious dent into my helmet (2nd helmet in 2 years MTBing!). On the road in the last 3+ years... not a single problem/issue other than some grease on my leg and dirty hands from changing a few flats.

Now that my bike is about to be shipped to Tahoe, I'll be riding my MTB a few days/week to stay in shape before tackling the mountains of Tahoe.

Just enjoy them both for what they are. To me neither is any better or worse than the other. They are both enjoyable in their own context. Just get out and ride!