Originally Posted by Industrial
How tight and slow can you turn? How many ways can you turn? Can you ride backwards? Can you ride on 1 wheel? Can you squeeze your bike through a 1.5 ft gap at speed? How about 1 ft? How high can you bunny hop over obstacles? How fast can you stop in any condition? After your stopped how long before you have to set a foot down(track stand)?
Road bikes are fast and efficient but maneuverable[edit: compared to mountain bikes, hybrids, bmx bikes]...nope.
That is utter rubbish. I can do anything you stated on my road bike and I have the advantage of narrower handlebars so I can squeeze through areas you could not. The only thing I haven't tried is riding backwards...not sure what you could possibly mean by that actually or how that would translate into normal everyday riding. I'm not great at track standing but I know many roadies who can track stand easily on their road bikes.
I guess if your goal is to slide down a stair railing sideways or ride on a skateboard ramp then a road bike is probably not the best instrument but for typical everyday riding a road bike is very maneuverable and an excellent tool for the job.
I guarantee you that I can take turns at a greater speed on my road bike than you could on a mtb or BMX bike.