[Closed] pro's and con's of being a roadie

Is it just me that read's this thread and see's two sides?

a) people who don't go on club runs and find road bikes boring and dull and dangerous.

b) people who do go on club runs and find road bikes great for fitness, social, and lovely trafic free roads with cake at the end.

(and C, people who've not tried them and/or don't look good in lycra)

And don't forget people who are a bit too keen to fit everything into a category in their mind.

Con - it hurts and can be expensive if you hit some diesel when leant over going around a corner.

Pros - excuse for another bike, lovely quiet country lanes, speed, extra fitness, fun.

You look like a nob in lycra

But what sort of an argument is that? Many sports have gear that would look odd out of context. I suppose it partly depends on your own self confidence and, indeed, what sort of shape you are in but I'll happily wonder about a village sans bike if we stop at one for a break.

Mountain biking as a passtime is about clattering over roots and rocks, it's an exercise in machine control and bravery. Pedalling is a necessity, not a reason.

Road riding is about pedalling.

There's no reason why enjoying mountain biking would mean you enjoy road cycling.

Pros and cons probably depend partly on where you live. For me some big pros are not having to travel to get to decent riding, much less faff getting ready and sorting yourself out/cleaning up when you get back, and parts last for years rather than months.

There's no reason why enjoying mountain biking would mean you enjoy road cycling.

There's something in this, but if you just like bikes and riding you can't go wrong. I reckon most people have access to plenty of roads where cars are much less of an issue than you might think too.

i disagree with some of the comments on here, for me the only con for a road bike is the inability to veer off onto any trail i see at the roadside.

Mountain biking as a passtime is about clattering over roots and rocks, it's an exercise in machine control and bravery. Pedalling is a necessity, not a reason.

Road riding is about pedalling.

Rubbish! Road biking is about learning to trust your bike and then wringing every last mph out of it. It's about that lovely ripping sound from grippy tyres on dry tarmac as you clip apexes on the limit and exit grinning from ear to ear.

It's about that feeling of total silence you feel at the bottom of a 55mph descent, where your skin tingles and you can feel tears on your temples that have been forced out of your eyes by the speed.

It's about drawing MASSIVE orange loops on Strava maps... It's about crossing several counties on nothing more than a bottle of water, a cappuccino and a slice of coffee-and-walnut cake.

It's about jumping from wheel-to-wheel as you cut through the chaingang like a hot knife through butter. It's about waiting for a car to pass and then attacking in its slipstream and pretending you're Fabian Cancellara leaping off the front on the Col d'Aubisque.

I quite like it...

Road riding is about pedalling.

And handling and bottle.

And the consequences can be a lot higher if you get it wrong.

from my own perspective (i got my first real road bike in november)i really love my road bike.

as i live in wiltshire the trails around me are chalk/clay so they can get very gloopy in wet weather.

getting the road bike means i can start to explore some of the country lanes around me (that wouldn't be as much fun on my duster).also you will go faster on the bike (for same amount of energy put through pedals).

one thing though i have found that i have cleaned my road bike nearly every time i have ridden it (the road bike will pick up the crap from the road).

in all though i love my new bike,and love the options it brings me about exploring where i live.

oh and my brakes are pretty good actually (but i'm not a fast rider 😉

Pros - Its proper cycling, anything else is just a poor imitation. Bikes are lovely.

Cons - There are not enough hrs in the day to do all the rides i want, work gets in the way.

I dunno haven't been doing much cycling for a while but..

Pros - Fast, low/no maintenance

Cons - Just incredibly dull - maybe because I largely ride alone?

As for the Lycra self deprecation, I think some mountainbikers are more hung up on lycra than the general public. Some moutain bikers will look at a roadie and just see the lycra while I think normal spod will see "just a cyclist".

The amount of fitness you achieve is not dependent on the bike you buy, it is dependent on how you use it.

this is true - it bugs me that people assert that road bikes get you fitter - it depends on how you ride the bike.

You can pedal relentlessly on an XC oriented bike round an XC route and it won't be much different than pedaling relentlessly on the road. You thighs will burn in the same manner, etc. It may even be harder.

Saw a roadie at Peaslake a few months ago - had come down from north london - his face and helmet straps had lots of white marks on from the salt of his sweat.

I used to do 70+ mile a weekend XC on the mountain bike and had the same sweat marks on my helmet straps.

The biggest difference between the bikes, it seems to me, is for climbing.

A road bike entices you more to climb out of the saddle, whereas it is less natural even on a fully rigid hard tail.

I find climbing out of the saddle at a reasonable cadence very beneficial for my legs and so session training on some hills on a road bike works a little better than going round an XC loop on the mtb, especially if it is claggy and difficult to keep pace/cadence up.

I borrowed a croix de fer the last few days and that is also better for getting up out of the saddle so I am swapping my hard tail for one, for short interval loops round the local common in preference to running.

So my stable will be the crosser for interval blasts round the local common or the 30 mile loop from my door or maybe taking to the new super-smooth trails at Swinley, the equilibrium for more endurance focused 50-100/ miles rides round the Surrey Hills when the ground is claggy, and the Flux for XC and singletrack rides when the ground is a bit firmer, as I have done enough riding through thick mud.

The Flux is my favorite by far though, and is pretty good for climbing out of the saddle as well. When I take the road bike out I am constantly looking for trails either side of the road and wishing I was on the Flux.

pretending you're Fabian Cancellara leaping off the front on the Col d'Aubisque

The mind can sometimes wander at moments like that Rusty! 😀

I was one of the Schlecks last night.

Planned session was 5 x 6 mins on a flat route in Z5b so 177+ for me. Not matter how hard I tried I couldn't get higher than threshold so after 4 sets of horrible frustration I gave up!

chakaping - Member

Road riding is about pedalling.

And handling and bottle.

If your road riding is about bottle, you shouldn't be doing it on the bloody road.

If you're new to road cycling it's well worth trying to hook up with a local club - you'll discover all the best quiet lanes and ace cafes for mid-ride cake.

Oh, and Lancashire is fantastic for road riding - you barely see a car in the forest of Bowland. Try climbing over the Cross of Greet and on to Slaidburn for a cafe stop.

For me...

Pros: Two hours free time is two hours riding. Getting to build twice as many bikes. Improved fitness. Meeting new folks. I get a lot of thinking done on my road bike, it clears the mind.

Cons: Double the cost. Double the bikes.

Pros:

Easier to get into a rhythm on the road and just pedal, distance and time will pass quickly and you'll be pleased at how far you can ride and some of the speeds you'll hit....on warm days it is a joy.

Cons:

I got a road bike to keep me fit over winter, havent used it.
Riding at 20-40mph in mid january is freezing, stick you head out of your car window at 30mph and keep it there for a couple of hours....not fun.

I've been using a nice warm gym and the rowing machines this winter.

Riding at 20-40mph in mid january is freezing

Never really found that a problem. If anything I'm usually too warm. Decent super roubaix bibs help along with good jacket/ base layers and a buff. Nice and toasty. 🙂

Pros: It's cycling
Cons: You're kidding, right? I've been cycling various bikes for nearly 40 years and haven't found any cycling cons yet.

By the way, what exactly is the definition of "roadie"? I'm never quite sure what it means on STW. Is it guys like this?

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I've just taken out a trial subscription to a new roadie mag called Cyclist, it's like an uber-cool road version of STW with not much advertising and some superb photos. It sort of encompasses why I road ride.

Here: http://cyclistmag.co.uk/view-an-issue/

Riding at 20-40mph in mid january is freezing, stick you head out of your car window at 30mph and keep it there for a couple of hours....not fun

Buy better clothes.

Pros: Everything
Cons: Nothing

Pros - Fast, low/no maintenance

Cons - Just incredibly dull

+1

Pros - Good exercise

Cons - Top to toe lycra and shaving your legs.

Pros - you may get fitter and it adds variety. Good when the clag gets too much, a feeling of speed is great in the winter.

Cons - As much as I like road riding and love a good downhill on road, it can be boring compared to MTB. Enough hours on road outside of the Alps, Wales or somewhere equally stunning can become a chore, but I can happily spend much longer on a mountain bike even on simple trails.
I also don't like group rides on road unless roads are very quiet, too much car-related stress, off-road is much more fun and sociable.

Cons - Top to toe lycra and shaving your legs.

Lycra is the right tool for the job, and leg shaving is optional.

love a good downhill on road

Call me perverted, but I'm actualy dissapointed when I get to the top of a hill on a road bike.

Pro's: Loads

Con's: Everyone loses their imagination and do the same rides week in week out. Suggest doing something different and everyone stands around looking at each other blankly.
I end up riding on my own a lot.

Pros for me are much improved fitness, ability to ride straight from the door (I live 35 miles away from the nearest good trails), relatively low maintenance and it feels awesome after any period of time on the mtb. Also useful if my car is unavailable - can still get around quickly.

The main con is that it can be a bit boring, my longest ride on it has been a 50 miler, I was sick of it by the 35-40 mile mark. Thus I've only done a ride that long once, my usuals are quick 10-25 milers depending on weather and how much time I have. Also you will gain a new found hatred for headwinds, especially if you ride on fairly exposed roads like those I use!

Pro: Some people enjoy it
Con: Some people don't

Pro: being a roadie is awesome!
Con: (Well more of a "this really annoys me") Cars that are still on their outward arc of overtaking you when they have already passed you.

There are some real quiet roads out there though.

Dull?

I remember when I road rode I used to fall into a rythm-like trance. Is that the right descriptive?

A sort of day dream.

I'd probably still ride road if I didn't live in East Anglia, an area devoid of hills and scenery

On the fens then? There's bits of Suffolk that I've taken climbing mates to by bike where they have remarked on the view (these are people who frequent the less travelled bits of the Alps in summer). One of these views is on my commuting schedule. The hills aren't big but there's lots of them to get on with.

here's a pro - you don't have to stick the mountain bike in the back of the car or slog for miles with fat tyres on tarmac to get to some muddy trails; you roll down the drive and you are off - and when you get back you are done

and if you say that it's dull then you need to lift your head and look all around you and take it all in - or get some big ringing going on and brutalise yourself 😀

Pro - (Lack of) FAFF!

Cons - It's not mountain biking. But what is? Apart from mountain biking.

How can it be dull?

Bike nasty?
Wrong area?

edhornby - Member
here's a pro - you don't have to stick the mountain bike in the back of the car or slog for miles with fat tyres on tarmac to get to some muddy trails; you roll down the drive and you are off - and when you get back you are done

I live 1 min from trails, ok, they're only XC and Ridgeway type stuff, but it's still in the hills.

Out on the roads i see loads of roadies, they're head down, balls out, just holding the pace... not looking round, not admiring the scenery, not taking in the solitude.. basically they're just on a spin bike, but outside.. "hedge.....hedge....car.....hedge".. ooooh downhill through the hedges....ooooh lovely.. pothole.... hedge.. hedge....

I just don't get it.

It's ok, you're allowed not to get it.

Some people like it, and others are not fit enough. It's ok.

stevewhyte - Member
It's ok, you're allowed not to get it.

Some people like it, and others are not fit enough. It's ok.

Agree 100%

The only pro for me was the lack of faff & rideability from the front door.

There was never a choice between the road & mountain bike.

I guess it got me out riding (commute) when otherwise I wouldn't have, so it did great things for my overall fitness, but that's not because it was a road bike, it was just more riding. I did nearly 10,000km in 18 months.

Otherwise I found it soul destroyingly boring, even when going hell for leather.

After 15 years an mtb'er I bought my first road bike about 6 months ago and love it.

Pro's: It's cycling.
Con's:..... nope, can't think of any.

As for the lycra haters; have you seen yourselves in baggies loose tops et all? Seriously, skinny legs sticking out of Eric Morcambe shorts is not a good look. I wear lycra on road or mtb and always have done, and my legs are not shaved, nor for public consumption, so remain covered all year round.

Pros: Right roads i.e the hilly country in France it can be a nirvana like experience in man machine connection.

Cons: Coming out to your partner and freinds