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Being a few seconds away from a KOM.
I was slower on my 40 mile round commute on a road bike (Trek 2.3) than I was on my cyclocross/hybrid home build.
It didn't brake as well.
The cadences didn't suit me.
The gearing wasn't low enough for lakeland hills.
It was nervous as hell on very fast descents.
It made me nervous and cocked up all my other riding.
all this stuff about sore backside/neck/hans etc is because a road bike should fit you properly and you need core strength to prop you up not your hands
road bikes are ace - it's a bike innit
It got to the stage where I couldn't see the cultural divide any more. I just wanted to ride more.
Same here. It's just a bike. You pedal and stuff. You go far. It's great fun. A road bike just does it very effectively on the road. Surprisingly.
it's not true that you'll clean your road bike less than your mtb i'm afraid 😉 since i got my lovely new tarmac sport on nov 20th,i have been out on it 4 times.i have cleaned it 4 times (that's about 3 times more in space of a month,than i have cleaned my duster mtb in a year 😯
you will find that the tires will pick up all the crap from the road (salt/grit e.t.c) then deposit it over your rear triangle 🙁
but i love riding my new road bike 😀 apart from dodging potholes e.t.c 😉
He's right; you will clean your road bike more than your MTB because of the salt on the roads and because you will become strangely fussy about keeping it in pristine condition.
I started mountain biking in 1988 and became the world's no 1 fanatic, to the irritation of my family and probably a few friends. After 20 years of it I was starting to get bored with the mud, the filth, the wear and tear and expense and the constant need for maintenance and repairs. I would finish a winter night ride soaked and muddy, washing the bike down in chilly damp clothes, changing in a cold garage then clogging up the shower with mud, having to wash all my kit yet again and then getting moaned at for coming to bed late.
Then one day I was offered a road bike for a silly price and I took the plunge. Won't bore you with the bits in between but now the poor old mountain bike gets used about three times a year, mostly when it's too snowy or icy for the roadie. My resting HR has dropped from 52 to 48 and I've regained thet love for cycling. I'm considerably fitter than I ever was in the 20 years of off roading; in fact I regret not doing it sooner because I'd have done better in the Polaris events that I used to do. There's nothing better than a long ride out into the hills, stopping for a coffee with friends and using the bike to cover big distances with efficiency. I've even bought a crosser, which I took out with the mountain bike club... interestingly it whopped the FS bikes on climbs and did just as well on narrow flat stuff but as you would expect it was rubbish on rocky downhills. Fitted with mudguards it makes a perfect winter trainer as it has discs and it's excellent with a rack and luggage.
And as somebody else posted above, I can't remember the last time I bought any new parts for either of the road bikes yet I ride twice or even three times a week in summer.
When we had foot and mouth I slicked up my bike and found some excellent riding around N.Devon lanes.
Riding any roads here in surrey scares the life out of me. When I see road riders on a busy dual carriage way I think " that's as good as your ride gets".
I love the tradition and etiquette of the TDF. Even though i was told off once when riding off road with some people who do a bit of both. Not knowing how quick they rode and not being very good downhill i sat at the back, then when we went up i was quickest so at the front. It was mentioned that i hadnt done any work earlier on.I bought a road bike rode it once then flogged it.
Why can't the OP put slicked up 29er wheels on his bike (they will fit) and raise his gearing if he just wants more speed.
So, thought i'd write a bit of an update for people who like me are avid MTBers and debating the road side of things.
Out on the MTB in the hills, you're surrounded by fields... you can see for miles.... it's just you and the countryside. Out on the roads, it's me and a few random cars and mile after mile of hedgerows. My vision is the 200m in front of me and the 5 yards either side. There's no real sense of 'alone' in the same way as on a MTB, because it's only a matter of seconds until the next car comes into my hearing/sight.. it could be 5 mins... it could be 10 secs, but you're always expecting it, so you're never really in a little world of your own.
You don't get the excitement of the lack of traction, the lack of adhesion and the sense of the unknown, it's just peddaling along and getting the legs racing and heart rate pounding. The closest i get to exciting is when i find another random biker on the route and then it's a bit of chasing down and competition.
I have plenty of very quiet routes and roads round here... .but currently due to tractors etc some of them are ridiculously muddy and i almost need the MTB on them LOL. But even on the quiet roads there's still a reasonable number of cars etc. Made a little worse by the fact they're usually hooning down these lanes and then seem shocked to see something in front of them that's not a pheasant !!!
Weds spin session and leg weights session was no more exciting.... but in all honesty, it wasn't much LESS exciting either.
The closest i got to the 'right' feelings i want was when i was out in the dark last night. 900Lumen light and quick back-roads... it was nice.. i felt happy.... It was silent... it was quiet...
I won't be selling the Wilier, it's a valued part of my training. However unlike some of the above riders, it's not my 'baby', i got back last night, it had been wet, it had seen dirt.. it was put away and will be dragged out again for the next ride tomorrow... It will possibly get cleaned after that... possibly not. Maybe mine is different as my Wilier was only £600, my Spearfish frame cost more than that... LOL... So my Spearfish is my 'baby'....
Riding any roads here in surrey scares the life out of me. When I see road riders on a busy dual carriage way I think " that's as good as your ride gets".
Huh? Just avoid dual carriageways. I reckon about 0.01% of my riding is on dual carriageway. Surrey has some superb roads.
Also in the 'road bike is not my baby' camp, WGAS if its covered in road crap?! Particularly over winter, an annual clean is sufficient
My surrey road quote refers to all back roads being cut throughs for people who travel far too fast.
Ps I used to be one of them.
My comment is based on the 50,000 or so miles I've done on said roads without issue!
I'm sure I read somewhere that Lance Armstrong rides a road bike. Don't want to be associated with all that business do you?
I'm a recent road bike owner, with 20 years of mtb riding behind me.
If you want one, get one.
As for comments about road riding being boring, these are clearly from wind up merchants and people who have never ridden on the road. In my experience road riding is not boring, it's TIRING, but not boring.
Road riding would be okay except for one thing...drivers.
That's the reason I left
But now wish I'd have done it years ago as I've realised how much fun I've been missing out on.
I love the tradition and etiquette of the TDF. Even though i was told off once when riding off road with some people who do a bit of both. Not knowing how quick they rode and not being very good downhill i sat at the back, then when we went up i was quickest so at the front. It was mentioned that i hadnt done any work earlier on.
Eh? 😕
You don't get the excitement of the lack of traction, the lack of adhesion and the sense of the unknown, it's just peddaling along and getting the legs racing and heart rate pounding. The closest i get to exciting is when i find another random biker on the route and then it's a bit of chasing down and competition.
You don't find any excitement in going down a hill at 50mph with skinny tyres, crap brakes, and wearing only Lycra?
The world is full of naysayers, just think of it this way.
I rather enjoy mine and over the summer tend to ride it a lot more than my MTB's.
1, They improve your fitness no end if you give it a bit.
2, Make you realise just how nice the countryside is.
3, Be secure in your man-ness and get lycra'd up - does not apply if you're a bifter as thats just plain wrong. 😆
Headwind.
Out on the MTB in the hills, you're surrounded by fields... you can see for miles.... it's just you and the countryside. Out on the roads, it's me and a few random cars and mile after mile of hedgerows. My vision is the 200m in front of me and the 5 yards either side. There's no real sense of 'alone' in the same way as on a MTB, because it's only a matter of seconds until the next car comes into my hearing/sight.. it could be 5 mins... it could be 10 secs, but you're always expecting it, so you're never really in a little world of your own.You don't get the excitement of the lack of traction, the lack of adhesion and the sense of the unknown, it's just peddaling along and getting the legs racing and heart rate pounding. The closest i get to exciting is when i find another random biker on the route and then it's a bit of chasing down and competition.
I have plenty of very quiet routes and roads round here... .but currently due to tractors etc some of them are ridiculously muddy and i almost need the MTB on them LOL. But even on the quiet roads there's still a reasonable number of cars etc. Made a little worse by the fact they're usually hooning down these lanes and then seem shocked to see something in front of them that's not a pheasant !!!
Weds spin session and leg weights session was no more exciting.... but in all honesty, it wasn't much LESS exciting either.
The closest i got to the 'right' feelings i want was when i was out in the dark last night. 900Lumen light and quick back-roads... it was nice.. i felt happy.... It was silent... it was quiet...
I won't be selling the Wilier, it's a valued part of my training. However unlike some of the above riders, it's not my 'baby', i got back last night, it had been wet, it had seen dirt.. it was put away and will be dragged out again for the next ride tomorrow... It will possibly get cleaned after that... possibly not. Maybe mine is different as my Wilier was only £600, my Spearfish frame cost more than that... LOL... So my Spearfish is my 'baby'....
Again, you could end up writing some shite like this. A great reason not to get a road bike.
it was nice.. i felt happy.... It was silent... it was quiet...
I mean, what the hell are you on about? What are you training for? GCSE english?
Jesus, its just pedalling a bike for ****s sake. Far to many nob heads trying to make it out to be something that it isnt.
If you dont mind pedalling a bike then you probably wont mind road biking.
I mean, what the hell are you on about? What are you training for? GCSE english?
he didn't use "Zen-like" so maybe change the grade from fail to a D
I'm a nob head because I prefer mtbing?
Have a word with yourself.
weeksy - Member
I'm a nob head because I prefer mtbing?Have a word with yourself.
😀 Sorry.
have both ... i do 🙂
when the trails have turned to slurry get out the road bike and off
you go. it's all riding after all 🙂
Lol no problem fella. I enjoy the exercise side of it, but prefer the solitude of the green hills
has probably been linked to before, but im new so wouldnt know
Since breaking my collar bone in the summer I've done around 1500 road miles compared to probably 150 on a mountainbike. I wouldn't say one was better than the other they are just different. I'm definately fitter for road biking and dont need to clean my bike at all bar lube the chain even in the shittiest weather.
I decided the answer was a rigid, singlespeed 29er.
I just ordered one of these!
[img] 
[/img]
Hopefully now I won't die of boredom, suffocate, disappear up my own arse, wear lycra or die in a horrible way. 🙂
You made the right choice.
But you will disappear up your own arse. 😀
Rigid single speed 29ers will never catch on.
^ I hope not.
[quote=[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/say-some-discouraging-words-about-road-bikes/page/4#post-4517654 ]beefheart[/url]]I decided the answer was a rigid, singlespeed 29er.
I just ordered one of these!
[img] [/img]
Hopefully now I won't die of boredom, suffocate, disappear up my own arse, wear lycra or die in a horrible way.
You do realise you have to grow a bushy beard now don't you? 