Why did you switch from Mtn to Road, or vice versa?
 

For people who switched over from Mountain biking to road, what were your reasons?

For people who do both, which do you prefer?

For those who switched from road, to mountain, why are you reading this? :D

I'm just curious because I don't really have the chance to mtn bike.

Actually I ride both, but spent more hours on the MTB. It's just a matter of the terrain/paths I ride on. Dirty, dusty, gravelly...Arizona

Ahhh. I will be spending a couple weeks in Bullhead City, AZ in a few days. Wish I had a mtn bike for the trip!

Most of my cycling is, and always has been, road cycling. I have had a mtn bike since 1999, but I don't ride it very much. I used one for commuting and snowbiking for a few years ... it can be nice to ride something different now and then.

I've been a roadie since childhood and my '72 Mirage. No switching :D

I rode my mtb exclusively for years, mainly off road almost every weekend. Then I was in a car accident and I screwed up my lower back, off roading was not an option. eventually as I healed I started riding the paved mup near my house.

soon after that I replaced my knobbies with slicks for a smoother, quieter ride. By the time I was fully healed (2-3 years) It was obvious that skinnier tires and no suspension would be more efficient for the riding I was doing. which led me buy my first roadie, an 05 lemond tourmalet, and then my carbon dream.
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My first ever bike was a little kid's bike with training wheels. My next bike was a mountain bike. Up until recently I had ridden mountain bikes exclusively. Back where I used to live in Australia I used to live in the country and had easy access to off road trails.

Then when I moved to Thailand I intended to buy a mountain bike. They are after all cheaper. But then I started to think, there are no mountains in Bangkok. At best I would have to load my bike into the car for a few hours of driving to get to anywhere that I could truely use a mountain bike.

So I bought a road bike instead. I have come to realise that a road bike is a far better fit for Bangkok roads.

Started with classic, city bicycles (single speeds).
Then got first MTB. I love sand, grass, off road, jumping, mountain downhill paths etc.
After I turned 30, most of my mates stoped riding on weekends. So 99% of my ride was commuting, or visiting friends and relatives via bike.
So I sold MTB and got a nice hybrid. I can still do 99% of MTB roads (when it's dry though), but paved roads are much quicker, nicer.

After several years, since i LOVE speed, I was tempted to get a racing motorcycle, instead of the current sport-tourer. That's too dangerous in public roads, no race tracks near home. But... a race BICYCLE?! Yeees. So I assembled a nice road bike, found a small veteran club (mostly 30+ ex racers) and LOVE it. It's my first ever bicycle without fenders, racks etc - just for fun and sport. And it's great.

I ride 98% road and always have. I do have a mountain bike, but it seldom gets used. I find it very boring being out on the trails alone, and it's not very safe in case of a crash or injury. I ride alone so road riding lets me interact with others who share my same interest. I ride my mountain bike maybe twice a year, and probably not more than 2 hours total.

Mountain biking is great - flowing on single track is an incredible feeling. That said - access to great trails is not easy and you have drive to get there. Since my wife and I had a baby, she no longer rides - which makes mountain biking less enjoyable for me. I started road cycling for fitness and learned to love the speed and rhythm of it.

I am slowly switching from mountain to road. I stared with a GF hard tail in 2009 and then got into racing mountain bikes. The thing is, it is expensive to maintain a mountain bike. I have had an entire drivetrain go in in 500 miles whereas a road drivetrain can last 5000. Also, when the trails are muddy you can't ride. So I started training more on the road and this year I did my first road race. Had fun and made all the innocent cat 5 mistakes (pulling, early sprinting etc).

I don't know that I will switch to road racing as it is a sprinters sport (well at least the local crits are), but I am certainly going to ride road more.

I ride both. I prefer mountain biking on gloomy days and road biking on sunny days.

Ride both, helps keep me entertained. Also the workout on the MTb helps with road handling skills and power.

I used to be an avid downhill MTBer, but I am way too small for those bikes, ahah (5 3, 120lbs). I had a hard time handling them so I switched to cross country. I fell in love with this type of riding, I still love it. I don't have anyone to ride with, and a terrible sense of direction, so I have decided to give it a break and try road bikes. I have always had mountain bikes, since the time I was 10 (my father is a crazy MTBer), but I have always felt drawn to the ability to ride FAST and on paved roads. I guess I like it all, I am converting an old Univega rigid into a utility bike as well!

I only ever owned MTBs from the time I was 14 until a few years ago. I hadn't ridden in years prior to getting my road bike a few months ago. The reason I wanted to get back into cycling was as an alternative to going to the gym every day for a workout.

I knew I would be riding almost exclusively on the road so I had no desire to buy a MTB. I was looking at hybrids for a bit but after reading how they are essentially all of the worst things about MTBs and road bikes, I decided I was going to jump right into a drop bar road bike.

I knew I made the right decision when I picked it up for the first time and it felt like half the weight of any MTB I've ridden. My family and friends who all ride MTBs and hybrids laughed at the idea of me wearing lycra and riding a road bike. They're no longer laughing since they've all but given up riding with me as I am substantially faster than them and my average ride is 20-30 miles on the road vs. their 8 mile rides on the local MUP.

Now I've got more than a few people I know who would've never considered a road bike thinking about upgrading.

I still have my Mountain Bike, but keep it at the cottage. Switched to being a roadie just because it's so much freakin' easier in Toronto. There are so few trails around me, and I don't like wasting time driving up to a trail north of the city when I can just jump on my bike and ride anywhere I feel like.

If I was still living on the west coast like I did as a teenager, I'd probably still be all over mountain biking. I still have good memories of fast fire roads and sweet singletrack around southern BC and Van. Island. Oh nostalgia.

I started in BMX bikes (in the 70's) then road bikes (in the 80's) before getting my first MTB in 85 (Peugot Orient Express), stopped riding for a while, then got another MTB in 95 and rode for a while before stopping again in late 90's. I just recently (2 years ago) bought a new road bike and ride it as much as I can. I switched to the road because I can roll out of my garage and go anywhere I want to go for a ride. With the MTB there was always the whole production of loading all the crap up in the car and schlepping it out to wherever, then back again. I realized that the reason I kept falling out of the MTB riding was the amount of a time suck it always ended up being.

I ride road bikes, because I can do that from my front door. The mountains involve a drive. I'll probably get a mountain bike, though.

My MTB is my "don't give a crap bike". Filthy dirty, and always ready to rock. Don't have to worry about tyre pressure as often either.
Multiple uses I guess without worrying about damage.

+1 MTBs are great for just enjoying the damn ride and grabbing a beer post-damage.

Both. 90% MTN 10% Road in the Winter. 90% Road 10% MTN in the Summer. Both have their advantages, both are fun. Certainly compliment each other well and allow you "change it up" when you not particularly excited about either one.

On the other hand, road bikes are great for just enjoying the ride, too.

Started on a Varsity Jr. when I was 12 years old, long before there were mountain bikes or even BMX, but living adjacent to the canyons in San Diego the road bike got a lot of off-road use too. As BMX bikes and parts hit the market I started building and riding BMX bikes because they held up to more brutal use than the road bikes, when mountain bikes and parts became available I started building and riding mountain bikes because they allowed much higher speeds off-road.

Today I have three road bikes (2 geared and 1 FG) and four mountain bikes (2 geared, 1 SS 29er, 1 urban) and I probably spend as much time riding on either type. Mountain biking, whether off-road or urban, is more about freedom and overcoming challenges to me, and I would equate with high-spirited fun. Road biking is more about consistancy and is more cerebral to me, and I equate it more as spiritual. Either way though, I would never give up one for the other.

Won't see any disagreement from me on that one :)