[Closed] MTB Roadies....

Me.

And me..

Yes, Specialized Allez Elite (Dirt cheap barley used second hand bargin) though it's the law out here in Oz to have one....

Great for just getting out or low impact fitness riding. Bunch of different ideas etc but it's still riding

+1 🙂

Me too. (fixed and geared)

Me too, riding it more than the mtb at the moment. (£150 second hand Carrera)

[waves]me[/waves]

TdF, Olympics, Tour of Britain... everyone has a road bike arounds about now, shirley... 8)

And me.
I got my first roadbike in 1972, so I could be a roadie mtber.

You too could wear lycra...
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Me. I've more roadbikes than I do MTBs these days.

Me too. More roadie and cx than mtb now, although still race mountain bikes which is the only time I ever seen to ride it.

Road bike gets used the most for racing and as a very good training tool.

I have a GHOST shimano 105 road bike, alu tubes. Have ridden it more in the Alps than in Scotland (home). The last three years did Annecy area Cols - Colombiere, Aravis, Croix de Fry - for a few weeks and have done Ventoux and Alp DhUez etc. Then do MTB and Rock Climb/Via Ferrata. Then this year just MTB not roadie.

I live in a hilly area and enjoy hilly rides, hate flat boring roads and traffic.

If you MTB then the next day Road ride, it feels weird as the bike rolls and you feel a bit vunerable to potholes with skinny tyres.

My Speed record is 57mph down the steep side of the Col De Forclaz at Annecy.

i do.

Me too.

..some actual advice/random ramblings
aluminium is stiff & therefore harsh - advise at least carbon seatpost & carbon forks.
Stuff will last a lot longer as it doesn't get as much grit in it as off road.
if you live near hills (I'm edge of the peak district) then avoid the 53/39 standard chainrings - and go for a compact double (50/34) (roadie cool) or even a triple (effective but roadie heresy)
I can swear by continental GP4000 tyres.
Big cleats (eg Look) really help with power.
Set it up correctly or you may get knee pain.
Light wheels make a big difference (now on Mavic Open Sports)
You will be amazed at how fast you go on skinnies
you tend to go faster longer and uninterrupted then MTB so you will need gels/water earlier.
watch out for them there potholes.
My Cannondale R500 is now looking a bit battered (its done some big rides) but it handles fab, and the brakes are almost as good as the cable discs on my crosser.
All bikes are good
Enjoy 🙂

yup, 3 of them now and looking for a 4th and 5th! There's even more niche posibilities than MTB!

Your bog standard aluminium/105 bike, this is the bike you ride every day

The tourer, this is your new commuter, slack angles, massive fork rake, long stays and eyelets/pegs/braze ons for every concievable add on.

The carbon race bike, this is like your best suit, it costs far more than anything else, gets used far less, and then upgraded in a few years despite it's lack of use.

The steel bike, you probaly bought this after the epiphany that "it's not about the bike" happens. You're convinced that an 853 frame and 105 groupset will be all you need forever more, it'll race, train and tour no bother. This is soon followed by a new carbon bling machine when you realise it is all about the bike and things have moved on. It'll then be relegated to either winter club runs or the turbo, the least favourite of this or the aluminium bike ending on the turbo. The exact same thing will happen when you hit middle age, or retire whichever comes next, except this time it's Ti and Dura ace.

The fixie, the second "it's not about the bike moment"

The track bike (if you live near a track) after you give it a go on the fixie and decide that you need a propper track bike.

And that's before you get into the inevitable cycle of upgrading!

2 roads & 1 MTB

Downspecced my Five for a carbon456 and blasted the remaining cash on making a nicer roadbike.

Havent road the MTB in ages and not really missing it much if at all.

I have my c456 if i ever fancy a dabble again.

I've got two.

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Now fitted with new bars and lime green bar tape, and a better saddle.

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Vintage Trek Madone 5.2 and a Giant TCR here. Plenty of secondhand bargains out there. Just keep on peddling!

With a login like mine I was never going to not have a road bike now was I?

Tho I seem to be the exception to thisisnotaspoon's evolution of the roadie: I have one road bike: A Salsa made from Reynolds 853 steel with a Dura Ace groupset and hand-built wheels. It really does do everything from training to racing to time trialling and I love it to bits.

Me. Got a road bike some time ago. You'll start off trying to look like a MTB rider on a road bike, but soon be wearing strange little hats and arm warmers.

5 road bikes to 2 mtb's. 3 years ago it was the other way round. 90% of my riding (and 100% racing) is road based now.

Yep, I ended up with a Trek Alu frame because the spec of the drivetrain/wheels was so much higher than if i had spent the same on a carbon framed bike. I was limited as to where I could buy it as it was on a ride to work sheme.

Use it most days to get to work and love the sensation of speed, you need to get into a road riding frame of mind and accept if the traffic stops, you don't have to find a way through, just slow down wait and get going again when you can, don't try and maintain the speed all the time at all costs, I did when i first started and it's bloody dangerous! I soon chiled out! Seems to be an MTB mentality not to want to lose the speed you have gained... Could be wrong, could be I'm a little stupid and had to scare myself before I wisened up.

It seems to take a bit more maintenance then the MTB especially when it rains, lots of crap gets dragged onto the road/cyclepaths causing punctures and crud spraying straight onto the chainring, it's especially sandy where I live so that doesn't help.

No upgrades yet but wheels are a constant threat...

Matt

Me too
Specialized Allez plus Moda Stretto
...and don't forget you will be wanting a cross bike soon as well 😀

yes and the other bikes make me feel guilty every time i use it

Me, although technically its a CX bike, it does have skinny road slicks on at the moment. It has persuaded me I want a proper carbon roadbike though.

Yep.

snakebite, you want to try going the other way! I have been riding road bikes/tt bikes for a few years now and having built up 6 or 7 bikes I thought I need them pretty well. Got into mountain biking in the last 6 months and have been staggered by what I didn't know! I've just finished building up a 29er hardtail which took forever because I kept getting the wrong parts that didn't fit!

I've got one and ride it alot
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me, drop barred pompino gets used as a commuter a lot.
got a proper road bike too but only tend to use it for dry (hah!) summer commutes and a few rides per year

3 road - CX/winter road, TT (bodged roadie) and summer road for me!

I have 3 mtb too, so balanced out 🙂

Yup a Fausto Coppi K591 with Mavic Cosmics and Ultegra/105. I ride it wearing my MTB clothes + a camelbak confuses the hell out of the TdF crew who are just beginning to emerge this time of year

Me - and I am terrified of it! Give me 3 chainrings and 2.1" tyres any day!

Just getting back into it after 20 year gap of mainly MTB riding, brand spanking Genesis Equilibrium frame sitting here waiting to be built up 🙂

Compacts V Triples - if you are gonna need the lower gears, then go for a triple as they give you the range of gears without the big jump at the front.

Looking forward to seeing what mph I can get down Kop Hill with drop bars 🙂

Hey BenHouldsworth, how would you feel about having a boring roadies conversation about bike size and saddle height etc?

Yep, 4 MTBs and 2/3 road (one is a CX bike). Use one road bike for commuting and general shitty duties and one road bike for training and nice riding.

Yep I've got two - a Specialized Allez for winter use, which is pretty nasty and a 2004 Madone SL 5.9, which despite being 8 years old is actually still really nice to ride!

Got quite excited about this on BR this morning too:

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750g Madone, mmmm... Ruined it with nasty Italian gears though, a Di2 one would be rather tasty!

is that cabled or electro? loop at back of that farm machinery rear mech looks shite.

3 road bikes.
1 cyclocross bike.
0 mountain bikes and no intention of buying another.
I feel all dirty just looking at this website now.

me they are great - time to find out how unfit you really are! 😉

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is that cabled or electro? loop at back of that farm machinery rear mech looks shite.

Electric. Can't understand why they've put what looks like an 80mm stem on it (don't get me started on the spacers..) and an mtb saddle. Also not sure why the seat tube extends so much - looks like a compromise between a seat mast and a normal seat tube.

Also wondering why they've put 3 little bits of "HTC yellow" on it. Apart from that looks good.

And the way the light catches the wheels, makes them look ridiculously taco'd or something. Weird.

Yip. Me too. Scott Addict R3. Fantastic for when I can't be bothered with having to deal with the mud. Great for riding into the Yorkshire Dales.

Similar to Monksie - 3 road bikes, 0 MTB's since 2008......

Yep, x2. It's all cycling, therefore all good.

2 road bikes, 1 CX bike and 1 track bike.
I've used my MTB twice so far this year...

😳

Me two

I bought a second hand alu /105 Schwinn.
All I need for the road.
Only changed tyres and the seat in a few years.
I like the carbon forks, takes a bit of the sting out of the ride.

I agree with this though ..

"if you live near hills (I'm edge of the peak district) then avoid the 53/39 standard chainrings - and go for a compact double (50/34) (roadie cool) or even a triple (effective but roadie heresy)"

I am going to swap to a compact chainset or easier cassette. I am used to standing up climbing (with a single speed mtb) but I do find I run out of gears and on longer rides and big hills the "racer" gear setup isn't good.

roadie_in_denial, more than happy to.

I had a bike fitting session a few years back at Race Scene in Barnsley so my saddle and stem height/length are based around the measurements they gave me.

I'm 6' 2" and my frame is a 58cm 2006 Specialized Tarmac.

The issue for me was they came out with my 'perfect' frame having a top tube of 565mm and a 120mm stem whereas the Spesh has a super long TT of 583mm so I cut back to a 100mm stem (sacrilige if you follow 'The Rules').

They also recommended a steerer tube length of 200mm upto the base of stem (assumming no spacers) but the tarmac is only 160mm so I had to add 40mm of spacers' again purists would say slam the stem but its made the bike incredibly comfortable.

As for saddle height the precise number escapes me but they used a protractor to measure the angle at my knee when at full extension and moved up and down until it was at 30 degrees (?).

Hope thats of use

Ben

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This is my new road bike,loving it atm lighter faster and stiffer than the boardman it replaced

Yep, had a basic Giant Defy 4 for about a year to go with my 2 MTBs.

Hardly rode it last year, just a few flat commutes 10 miles either way. Recently been out on it more, including some good long climbs and wow my fitness has improved massively. I now make sure to get out once a week on it, the difference in fitness and stamina is unreal

I don't get the adrenalin rush of MTBing but still very enjoyable in a different way

1 x winter road bike
1 x race/summer bike
1 x TT bike
1 x CX bike
1 x MTB

Out of all of them the CX bike is the one most likely to be replaced. I really fancy a Ti CX bike, however, with my living status possibly changing I think cash might become hard to come by to invest so much on a CX bike. The current one cost £450 off eBay, looks pretty nice still and does the job fine - it's not about that though is it? 😆

Used to have a fixie too, aim was for it to be a winter training bike, but then I bought the race bike and the fixie got no use whatsoever. So I sold that, it'd only been ridden twice in 12 months.

2 pages in and no roadie haters have come in with a pointless comment? Is stw changing?

Current lot in a ridable condition.

3 x road bikes. Plastic, winter hack and single speed
1 x cx bike
1 x plastic race mountain bike.

TT bike is on my want list too.

Yup, Langster, Trek OCLV (bit old in the tooth now) Chinarello and a TT bike

Balancing things on the knobbly side of things are an Orange Sub 5, Tinbred, Carbon HT 29er and a GT DHi

Somewhere in the middle is a Tricross.

However, Garmin suggests things aren't quite equal, as this year I've ridden 3377km on a road bike of some sort, and only 313 on an MTB 😳

Cheers, Rich

I have a CAAD8. It's alright, I still miss my Langster a bit though. I get bored on rides over 25 miles so sticking with singlespeed probably would've been better for the fitness which is the only reason I really ride a road bike anyway. When the drivetrain wears out I'll probably just singlespeed it, or maybe sell the frame/fork/wheels on and get something SS specific.

Your bog standard aluminium/105 bike, this is the bike you ride every day

Oi, that's my race bike!

Actually that's my only road bike, I'm never in danger of approaching it's limits.. though something spangly in Ti would go down a treat.

I've got one but I'll admit I'm not super keen on the thing...

It's definately my least favourite bike but it fulfils it's function perfectly well and hence replacing it isn't really on the cards.

I'm an MTBist at heart and always will be... but sometimes you just need to get places quick on tarmac and a Road bike is really the best way to do that.

Hey Ben, thanks for the talk-through of your bike sizing.

I have to confess that at a glance I thought the bike was a 56 which is what first made me wonder about the set up.

From what I've understood from what you've written, the specialized has a long TT length which would mean that going to another size up would have stretched your riding position even more, despite the fact that that would, in turn, have lengthened the steerer tube thus negating the need for the spacers? Out of curiosity, having had a bike fit done, why not go the whole hog and get a custom built road frame?

Oh...and final and most important question...how does it ride?

Road race, road training/winter training bike, fixie, 2 MTB's.
Haven't ridden the road bikes for ages but WILL get back on them one day soon. Ride the fixed all the time!

The new madone brake caliper idea is interesting - although i reckon they will get baked in crap.

Wow, STW never ceases to amaze!

I have gone carbon, straight in, and the geometry apparently is 'aimed at recreational mtb riding wannabe tour riders'. Having sat on the bike and barely able to see the front wheel it seems a bit strange..... my bombers and hub are clearly visible 3 feet in front of me normally!

MM

2 pages in and no roadie haters have come in with a pointless comment? Is stw changing?

More people realizing that it's all biking ,and that mixing it up is a good thing. 🙂

Yeah the next size up is like a gate, I think it had a 610mm TT so was out out the question.

Ride wise I find it perfect; I can't say the shorter stem has made it twitchy in anyway and whereas when I had less spacers because it looked better I was also getting numbness in my hands which has now gone completely.

As for the custom frame, its always on my mind, would be nice and I've nearly done it a few times, but firstly the money isn't there and also the Spesh does the job, has decent kit on it and I can't see a custom frame improving things that dramatically enough to warrant it.

More people realizing that it's all biking ,and that mixing it up is a good thing.

Finally. 😀

1 x XC/AM - Patriot
1 x DH - 222
1 x BMX - Haro 300.3
1 x Road - 'dale CAAD8

All get ridden equally these days..

I'm simply a cyclist...

Had mine since January and loving it. Different experience, less shite all over you and bike for a start. I am still suffering with the standard chainset though, 28T cassette has helped a bit. Guess I need to leg press like Hoy!

Yes me too..

I have a Boardman Team Carbon as a winter bike and a Parlee Z5 as my thrash machine..

And now a new Trek Superfly..

I've got just the one road bike 😳 it's a 2011 Raleigh SP Carbon Comp with 105 and some rather nice RS80 wheels.

Love riding it and if none of my mates are available for an off-road ride I'll head out on that

Electric. Can't understand why they've put what looks like an 80mm stem on it (don't get me started on the spacers..) and an mtb saddle.

Looks like Campag EPS, weird choice, Di2 certainly looks neater, and that's what the team use.

Also not sure why the seat tube extends so much - looks like a compromise between a seat mast and a normal seat tube.

"No cut seatmast" as they've used for years on the Madone and the Top Fuel - lighter and stiffer than a seat mast, but you don't have to adjust your saddle height with a hacksaw!

Also wondering why they've put 3 little bits of "HTC yellow" on it. Apart from that looks good.

Guessing it's yellow and white to signify victories for Contador and Schleck in the yellow and white jerseys in the Tour?

And the way the light catches the wheels, makes them look ridiculously taco'd or something. Weird.

Aero profiling innit.

currently cot a boardman comp & a pompino. working on replacing at least one of them.

thinking of selling my 456 to fund new wheels 😐

If you fancy a budget road bike, have a look at Decathlon's entry-level BTwin Triban 3, quite astonishing value for money. Just bought one for Gti Junior and we showed it to an experienced roadie neighbour who, when challenged to put a value on it reckoned "around £500".

The price? £299.99

6061 alu frame, carbon fork, Shimano 2300 groupset with a triple. I've put some decent tyres on it and it rides beautifully.

Bought a Caad 8 a few months back after 20+ years on mtbs & am really enjoying it. Even since the New Bike Syndrome wore off it gets more use than the mtbs.

Thought I'd need gears so opted for the triple but am already considering my next one & that will be a compact.

And me... Dolan Ares SL and an older converted Raleigh single speed, both living quite happily with my Orange 5

Double post.

Guessing it's yellow and white to signify victories for Contador and Schleck in the yellow and white jerseys in the Tour?

But weren't they both riding tarmacs then?

"No cut seatmast" as they've used for years on the Madone and the Top Fuel - lighter and stiffer than a seat mast, but you don't have to adjust your saddle height with a hacksaw!

Light and stiffer then a seat mast? Hmmm.

I have a Kuota Kharma, had it just over a year now.

Pretty much sole use to riding to & from work as much as I can as a means to get fit, for which it serves it's purpose very well.

Does nothing for me though, it bores me to tears to ride it. Given the choice at a weekend or evening it wouldn't even get a consideration.

Me. An Orbea Aqua that gets ridden way more than my MTB. I like just being able to go from my front door, no faffing around like you get on the MTB.

Sadly, I now think nothing of walking into cafe's /around my office/talking to neighbours, etc. when dress in head to toe lycra.

Light and stiffer then a seat mast? Hmmm.

Meant seat post.

But weren't they both riding tarmacs then?

Contador was on a Trek for Astana in 2009, good point on Schleck though. Perhaps it's just a slightly odd decal choice.

Can we just turn this into a roadbike lovein with pics now please?

Another with more road bikes (two) than MTBs (one).

Entry-level though it is, I keep the Allez as my nice weather road bike as I have an old, skip-saved Townsend for the usual weather days.

Contador was on a Trek for Astana in 2009, good point on Schleck though. Perhaps it's just a slightly odd decal choice.

I thought in 2010 they were all on Specialized. It was only 2011 that the Schlecks switched to Trek with Leopard.