..ok i think i did this question a few weeks ago but no replys…
would training on a road bike get me even fitter ?
i would like to do abit of the old sprinting sessions on a raod bike but i havent got one (lol) either buy a cheap one or borrow one (which i think is pretty impossible as not many people have short 5ft body like me.. 😉
anyway in three months time im doing a 47 mile challenge (gulp)…. just wondering if sprinting via road bike would help anymore…fitness wise… im pretty fit now but long mileage means extra training… 😉

why can’t you do interval training on your mtb? You don’t need a road bike to get fitter. Just rag your mtb with short and long intervals.

gf does a spinning class, that would save getting a bike (and she’s 4ft 10), or try a gym bike and do your ditance

Would training get you fitter? Hmmmm, tough one.

I’d say train on the same bike that you’ll be using for the 47 miles.
Fitness training depends far more on the effort you put in than on the bike you’re riding.

no need to be sarcastic (realman) 😉 ya know what i mean… 😛
wot the heck is spinning (lol) 😉
cant jog either (dodgy ankle) tho fine when i ride a bike ..
dont fancy going to sweaty gym.. 😉
..more riding then i guess.. just quite fancy some road biking tho.. 😉

Here’s a training plan that should do for you

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Putting in the miles on the road will improve your fitness hour per hour more than riding an MTB. IMHO of course.

Agree with geoffj.
Could try getting out with a roadie club. Should be one near you. Most are welcoming of other cyclists…possibly.

Putting in the miles on the road will improve your fitness hour per hour more than riding an MTB. IMHO of course.

Depends on what sort of riding you’re doing on the mtb. If you’re putting in big effort on a mtb it will get you just as fit.

That BikeRadar stuff looks a bit serious for a 47 mile challenge.
When you describe a ride as a challenge, I picture a fun ride where you just want to finish the distance before all the marshals go home, not something where you want to worry about lactate threshold and training at 80% maximum HR.

Geoff, why do you think that ?
I suspect it’s only because roadies tend to keep going non stop at a steady pace and chat while they’re riding, while mountain bikers always stop for a chat at the top and bottom of every hill.
If you can get in the habit of riding off road like a roadie, I don’t think there would be much difference.

i dont stop at the top and bottom of every hill for a chat (my son wont let me)….lol… just keeps on peddling (no stopping)….

If you can get in the habit of riding off road like a roadie, I don’t think there would be much difference.

I agree, the technical bits tend to mean that you slow down, on a road bike you just keep going.

Yeah, I guess it comes down to self discipline and whether you plod along the fire roads to the next bit of singletrack or treat them as sprint intervals.
I suppose the only way to train distance at a steady pace off road would be to do multiple laps of a family route somewhere or out and back along a canal.

sprinting on a road bike isn’t really going to do much for your endurance fitness. lol
riding a road bike for a few hours a week will make you fitter. lol

47miles is a warm up. lol

im pretty fit now

ride on the road and you will be even fitter

The thing about road riding is that you can plan your intervals better and/or find somewhere to maintain even effort easily. Mountain biking tends to involve lots of changes of pace/effort/elevation.

At 5 foot, you shouldn’t have any problems finding a bike suitable. You could even consider something with 650 wheels.

just quite fancy some road biking tho..

Think you’ve more or less answered your own question there! If you can afford a reasonably priced road bike then go for it ~ you can always sell it if you don’t like it.

Road miles will add to your fitness but unless you’re a top level pro there’s no point in doing them if you don’t get some pleasure out of them. IMO. LOL.

I find road riding good for training because it means you can put in a bit more of a constant effort for longer, and is much easier to do from outside your front door!

Don’t have to worry so much about the terrain so can work in intervals and spinning etc.

Wouldn’t bother if I didn’t enjoy it though, if its wet/windy and I still want to ride I tend to go on the mountain bike, road riding is rubbish in bad weather (imo!)

go running, seriously improves your fitness and recovery rate, get yourself up to running for 1 hour – and in between doing that 2 times a week (or 3), do a hill training interval on your bike (road or mtb) max 45min session, and a long ride every two weeks, to about 2 hours – forget distance, have fun with it road or mtb. biggest 2 things. ENJOY and REST!

Just put some road tyres on your mtb and do the miles that way.
Cheap as chips solution.
Turbo training or spin class is the other credit crunch solution, like it or not.
I am riding with a friend who is doing something similar. She is starting from a base possibly a lot lower than you and she managed 21mls of steady, continuous riding the other day. Bits of off road thrown in to a mainly road ride

I’d consider getting a second set of wheels and whacking some slicks on. Then you can get out on the road fairly cheaply and not wear out your knobblies.
I asked at my LBS and ended up with some Spesh wheels (same as on my other halfs Myka Sport (Alex rims with Spesh hubs). Including the rim tape, tubes, tyres, cassette & QRs they cost me £135 or so.

Then just get out and get the miles in. I’m not sure how well sprints will get you fit for a longer distance, but they are quite good for breaking up your training and adding some interest.

I’d say train on the same bike that you’ll be using for the 47 miles.
Fitness training depends far more on the effort you put in than on the bike you’re riding

Thats what I thought, but people kept saying, ‘you’ll get fitter on a road bike’. Can’t see how, It’s gotta be down to effort, not what you ride. Ok, on a road bike you might go farther (further?) but if you expend the same effort for the same time, how can you get fitter?

On a road bike the effort is sustainable for a longer period. See druidh’s comments. My road riding helps my mtb fitness no end.