I got back into biking last summer as a form of exercise after a heart attack. I picked up a mountain bike so that I could ride anywhere. I rode pretty much everyday until it started getting cold and when I could as the winter went on. The Mtn bike is a '13 Giant 29er. I have since picked up a 2000 model road bike 700c tires thinking I would want to try some rides with a local club and not wanting to get dropped on my slow mtn bike. Well running the same 11 mile course on each bike my average speed on the road bike is only slightly faster than the mtn bike. So is it me or something with the bike? Yesterday I road the 11 miles with an average speed of 12.7 mph on the mtn bike and today on the road bike my average speed was 12.8 mph. Am I doing something wrong?

I think the bike will make more difference as you get faster. At 12mph aerodynamics don't play much of a part.

I have had road bikes since the mid 1960's. So when I returned to cycling [again] after retiring I naturally bought a road bike. Last fall I found and bought a used mountain bike. I thought it might be handy to extend my cycling season into winter. I can't say my experiment was a complete success.... but I did get in a few more miles and well as a bit of fun with the Mtn bike.

I also found average speeds weren't exceedingly different. The mountain bike has about 15 pounds on my primary road bike.... so the big hill near my home should take a few seconds longer to climb. But descending the hill seems pretty much the same. The lighter wheels and tires on the road bike accelerate much faster than does the big chunky tires and heavy wheels on my mountain bike. So the road bike saves a few seconds at every stop-start.

But since I didn't try any L O N G rides on the mountain bike (or any real hilly areas)... my average speeds aren't too different.

While I have no delusions of setting any speed records I would have thought I should be able to beat myself on the same stretch of road on the two bikes. Maybe my sample track isn't long enough to yield a good comparison between the two.

Too many variables but at 13 mph it's probably the engine unless one bike is more horribly set up than the other.

Hmmmm...you probably aren't doing anything "wrong". As Gatorfreak said, some of the road bike advantages come more into play at higher speeds (aerodynamics, rolling resistance). If you have relatively low profile tires on the MTB, and aren't driving either bike hard, similar is reasonable.

I'd guess though, that there's more of a difference over longer periods - a road bike is more efficient (more aero, lower rolling resistance, lighter), so you can stick with your higher average speed longer.

Cheers

Ride 6 days out of 7 and you'll be doing 15mph before you know it.

OP, I share your history of myocardial infarction. Before my heart attack more than 15 years ago I routinely averaged 20 miles in one hour and logged on a few occasions 50 miles in less than 2.5 hours. Since then I have never bested 16.5 mph over 20 miles and normally average about 15.5 mph for that distance.

Certainly there is unresolved heart damage and scar tissue. My ejection fraction is not awful, but at 45% is below normal for a fit athlete. Not surprisingly I take a beta blocker daily. It is difficult to get my heart rate above 115 bpm. Normally I top out around 120 bpm. At 65 years old I should be riding comfortably at 85% of (220-65) or 132, but that is really difficult for me, most likely due to the beta blocker I think.

These two factors, the heart damage and the beta blocker are surely responsible for the decline in my cycling performance. My race ready road bikes at 13.5 and 14.2 lb weight don't provide any help to me to regain my prior form. I am simply stuck in this reduced performance rut.

So if you ask me, it is the engine, not the bike that is causing your problem. In case you are wondering, I was cycling quite strongly when the MI struck. In fact I was drafting a gorgeous young woman at the time. Trust me, it is hard to keep grinning with an elephant sitting on your chest!

Keep trying. You may see some improvement. Just don't think you can turn back the clock on a heart attack.

Was my morning ritual last year before winter set in. 11 miles every morning before work.

It definitely takes time. I started riding this past summer and was going 10-12 mph. After a winter of riding on a trainer I've been outdoors and when I'm not waiting at traffic crossings my speed was at 17-19 this Saturday on my hybrid. I have an r600 from 1995 and I've only taken it out twice since I got it and was maybe 2-3 mph over what I do on my giant hybrid. Silly question, but are you tracking your cadence and specific gears on each bike? Maybe something there is accounting for the similar speeds?

Thanks rpenmanparker, if you are gonna draft ya might as well have a view to go with it! I wasn't riding at the time of my MI or any other exercise for that matter. The bike has been good for me since I enjoy it and will get out and do it. I don't have to drive 30 min. to the gym I can just walk out of the house and go. Guess I'll just keep on pushing and see just how far I can make the number climb. I usually ride alone so I race myself. I win every time i beat yesterdays time!

I've just stared tracking cadence on the road bike hubcyclist but I haven't been tracking it for specific gears. I don't have a sensor on the mtn bike so I have no idea where I am on it. I can run an average 16 or 17 mph on the trainer for an hour, but those hills really slow ya down. Going up, not so much on the way down em. My trainer cadence is mid 60's but that drops in the hills on the road to the mid 50's.

After about a year of cycling - utility and just riding around trying to get stronger - I got a bike computer and was faced with the fact that my speeds were 12 or 13 mph. It gradually improved, with a hybrid it improved a bit more, but I think that absent a deliberate training program it's simply a matter of time and slow improvements. It's normal, nothing to worry about.

If average speed increase is your goal, then a cadence in the 60s, for most folks, is too low. I suggest getting into a habit of maintaining a cadence of, at least, 75rpm, seated. You'll likely see your speed increase and your knees will thank you for it.

At 12-13 mph, aero isn't making a difference. The upright position of a mountain bike does play into speed as you get faster. I commuted on both. On a long 25-27 mile one way commute, the road bike was almost 4 mph quicker (think I figured out 3.6 mph over the year)

https://www.bikeradar.com/us/news/art...ardtail-22736/

Just keep spinning and forget the rest.