[Closed] Ditching the MTB for full time roading

Whatever makes you happy but I reckon you'll get more joy out of 2 bikes than 1.

Must be somewhere more local than 45m drive away?

Its about 25 mins drive but 10 mins fannying on at either end.

How many posts on here about people switching to road?! Any how many from roadies switching to off road?

I've got that Giant and love it.

There were some 2011 spec'd versions going super cheap.

What you saying Damo - once they've had tarmac they never go back?

Similar situation to you mate. I now don't ride my MTB "that" much because it lives at my parents in Nottingham, and I live in London. I just don't have room for 3 bikes down here, plus the MTBing isn't great down here...

I do still love MTBing though! Makes getting out on the MTB even better when I do. I'll still be doing the main 24hr races as well, which will be good!

My advise would be to sell the 5, and maybe get a cheap SS Inbred or something, so you still get to ride off road!

Actually I had 2 mtbs, bought 2 road bikes, now thinking about another mtb.

What you saying Damo - once they've had tarmac they never go back?

Seems to be the case...

I jumped the other way, don't burn your bridges and keep both bikes. I still flirt with the darkside but getting muddy is so much fun!

Heathen! I think you should be banned from here! :p

Dont' be selling your MTB I think you may well regret it. Myself and mr MC have been doing more road riding just for that very reason, however there is NO WAY I woudl get rid of my MTB as going out on that once every 3 months still makes me grin like a complete loon and child which is something I don't get from road riding, both very different disciplines and use them in different ways. As suggested if you need the cash still get a cheaper MTB.

M_C - I reckon there should be a DT road jaunt at some point... just don't tell Trimix!

I've pretty much given up mtb'ing for the road now.Can't remember the last time I rode it anywhere else than my local loop as a 'recovery' spin.I have bought a more grrr mtb than my ss scandal 29er to mess about on for fun but it'll get used only when I'm not in training mode.
I've got a giant TCR Sl isp.It's pretty special tbh.Was worried it was going to be a race day only bike but I've put in 500k in the last 10 days on it's more comfortable than my Kenesis!! (it's definately not for pootling around on though).

Keep the MTB for the summer, you'll feel different on dry and dusty trails (do they ever get dry and dusty?).

Rorschach - its ok dont worry - i dont pootle anywhere

I've gone from mtb to road and back to mtb with occasional road touring. Mtbing is just inherently more fun IMO. Road riding becomes about going faster and longer all the time rather than just getting out and going for a good ride for the sheer fun of it.

Edit: Rorsach's post above makes my point perfectly!

I havent ridden my mtb much at all recently. Living in a new flat with no outside storage space means a muddy bike is a bit of a hassle. I gave it to my mate to use, I may never ask for it back.

I did buy a new road frame though, gone is the light carbon fibre thing. The new one is steel with a slack headangle (to remind me of the good old days)

I've ridden my MTB twice this year - once in the snow and once on amazingly dry trails. Road and track makes up most of my riding - just done a crit race tonight, I'm track riding tomorrow. I still like MTB but road is just easier. Far less faffing, less cleaning of the bike and kit required.

I live within a few minutes ride of some great trails on the edge of the Peak District though and I'm loathe to get rid of the MTB cos once summer comes (will it ever?) and the trails dry out, it's great for a blast in the evenings.

Hmmmm, I suspect your roadie choice will be a good move for you, but you will miss mtb's, you will, but you can always come back, it's not illegal to swap/change y'know.
Variety and all that.
Some roadies are actually quite nice people too ..

I go back and forth at least once a year, presently I'm keen on the road stuff, first run in with a carist twunt and I'll be back on the mtb.

This time last year, I was advised to give up mtb (apparently I'm crap at DH and apparently your body doesn't ever really "toughen up" to hitting trees).

I started a thread on here about it I think.

I've not done any serious MTB since that accident last year, focussing on giving my upper body some rest from impact and getting out and enjoying other hobbies that had fallen by the wayside due to constantly being away on the bikes.

Putting the bikes in the shed for a year has given me a completely fresh outlook on riding. There was a time over the winter when I was glad that I wasn't out getting cold and wet on the bikes (instead i was getting cold and wet climbing), but now that the decent weather has started coming in, I'm absolutely BUZZING about getting back on the bikes. Every time I'm out in the hills I'm planning routes and visualising nailing sections, just like I used to.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that maybe you don't have to "ditch" mtb completely. As others have pointed out, get a cheaper hardtail and wait for that day when you feel like tearing up some forest trails. It might not be for a while, but at least when it does, you'll be able to jump on your bike and go. It doesn't need to be all or nothing.

Road riding sucks balls though 😉

I just mix it up on the same bike. I always have fast summer tyres on bike and just ride out from home on the road to the trails, do the trails and then home. Both the Mendips and Ashton Court are within a 45-60 minute range of home for me which helps.

Yes Yes TSY .. Trimix will have a fit!

I'd rather kill myself.

Don't get sucked into thinking you have to have an state of the art expensive bike to do road!

I won my first race (always the bridesmaid!) last year on my 16 year old raleigh dyna-tec titanium! Although I had updated most of the parts since then!

Keep the MTB and upgrade gradually.

Wow ..you mean like ..just 1 bike ...................how odd..... 😐

Boo!!
You'll miss the fat tyres,mud and those midges too much 😉 !

After years of obsessing about mtb I'm doing much more road these days. But when I do ride the mtb I still love it.
I would break the Five up and swap as much as you can to a hardtail so you can still mtb when you want to. Use what you've made from the sale to buy a nicer road.
I find road makes me fitter and stronger for the mtb but handling skills from mtb help you go faster on the road so riding both can make both more enjoyable...

Current road bike isnt bad - mostly ultegra, Ksyrium elites, just built on a heavy bianchi Via nirone frame. I may just buy the TCR Adv frameset and not SL but move stuff over and keep the five. If later in year im still not using it sell five then.

Keep bianchi frame to use in the winter with my training wheels on.

It's a bit like dumping an exciting nympho totty for a predictable, straight laced kinda wifey type.
If you have both you'll never get bored....

It's a bit like dumping an exciting nympho totty for a predictable, straight laced kinda wifey type.
If you have both you'll never get bored....

Im suprised you get time to ride any of your bikes!

keep the mtb, i ride mtb less now i have a road bike but enjoy the mtb riding i do a lot more than when it was every weekend, it became a bit of a chore especially in the winter clag, now i just wait till it's dry/cold in the winter for mtb. being a lot fitter (from road riding) means mtb is more enjoyable too.

Sell your orange( no big loss lol ) free up some cash, get a good hardtail 1000 poudish and use the rest on a roadbike simples

Sell your orange( no big loss lol ) free up some cash, get a good hardtail 1000 poudish and use the rest on a roadbike simples

I concur

I can ride to work on road or off road. One of those options makes me feel great no matter what the weather or the conditions one of them is tedious.

Actually went the other way myself for really the same reasons as you, the best riding from my door is off road and I found myself taking my road bike off road more and more. I didn't actually ditch the road bike I just bent it riding off road too much.

What did you ride over winter through the snow and dark nights?
I think I was the only one in our club to be able to train all winter because I had my mountainbike.
Though I do only have a very cheap old hard tail now. That said I use it for a midweek night ride, to ease off tired legs and xc racing.

What;s reasonable success in road racing? selling up and putting it all into an SL is a big step.
I'd down grade the MTB.
Move good parts onto a new frame.
Use remaining cash to turn the current road bike into a trainer.

Ladders winning a road race outright makes you the Bride not the bridesmaid.

I can see the attraction of road.
2nd hand bikes are worth a lot less than their really worth.
You'd lose alot of dough selling it.
I'd keep the 5 and slowly save to upgrade the roadie.
Downgrading to a cheaper mtb is never good - you won't like it after being used to a quality bike.

Hugor I think I agree. It would kill me riding a lesser MTB when I do actually want to.

When I think about it I probably won't make much selling say the frame and picking up a hardtail frame I'd probably only pocket 400-500 max from that.

The more I think about it going all out for an SL full bike at 3.5k is a bit mad. Even 2.5k SL frame only is eye watering. The standard TCR Adv 2 would be same spec(less wheels) as me just getting a frame and moving road parts over. That would be about 1400 option then keep old frame for winter build.

Sell the MTB in late September. It wont lose anything/more. Enjoy the Summer on your mountain and road bike and enjoy Autumn/Winter on your road bike. Revisit in Spring 2013.

Made the switch back in 1999. Got rid of an Orange clockwork, 'dale tandem. Made sense at the time as i started to compete and enjoy training with our local Tri club. Training was easier, no need to drive to the start of any rides, easier bike maintenance, attained a greater fitness by far than i had ever done on the MTB.

Lasted about 6 years before I just became bored with it all and didnt ride for a few years.

Last year bought an Orange R8 pro and a Saracen Tufftrax for my lad and regained my love for the dirt.. Have the road bikes hanging up collecting dust in the garage,... I plan to get back to the road, but not at the expense of the MTBing. Its probably because that i throw myself at anything i do with such a blinkered focus, to the detriment of everything else, and find myself feeling stale and wanting something different. Gotta mix it up a bit to really appreciate both IME.

I was in a similar situation to you a couple of years ago. I joined a club to help improve fitness and they were predominately road based.

At the time I was riding an aluminium Bianchi 1885 but wanted to upgrade to carbon. Thought about selling my mountain bikes for the same reason to fund the new bike but in the end I decided against it.

Two years later I still mainly ride road but I now also race mountain bikes. The road bike still takes precedence over the mountain bike but it's nice to have it there for when the trails are dusty and warm.

So glad I didn't sell it. In fact since then I have bought a carbon race bike. 😀

I'm lucky to live 40mins from the Peaks with a decent/enjoyable drive there/back for 50% of the journey which makes it worthwhile. If I had to drive say 1hr+ every weekend over to Wales or the Lakes though I'd honestly sack it off. Occasional- definitely worth it but I can't see the point in driving upto 2hours+ just to ride a trail centre every weekend. The hassle v enjoyment factor is lost especially when you have kids. You don't see them during the week and then at the weekend your away from them.

I hardly touch the mtb now. I get more satisfaction from road biking and tbh less trips to A&E.

I won't sell my mtb though. makes a good coat hangar on the turbo trainer.

I haven't ridden my MTB yet this year, but I wouldn't consider selling it. I generally ride the road, but once in a while you get an urge or an invitation to get out on the trails and it would be a shame to not be able to go.

It probably wouldn't pay to sell the mtb so just let it gather dust until you're in the mood again

Sick puppy.

😯 😆

Exactly the same here a few years ago!
I had kids found MTbing just took up too much time so got a road bike. Truth be told I love road biking, an hours road biking can be a good 20 mile ride if you give it a bit of batter batter but an hour for mountain biking and I can still be looking for my camelbak at the end of it.
If you can try everything you can to keep the MTB too though. I kept mine, bought another since too, and now as my kids are a bit older do a fair bit of both. Even bought a cross bike now which is great as I can do a bit of both on it.
I went from road biking a bit to triathlon to time trialling, I love them all...well maybe not triathlon so much!

MTBtfu

As said, sell the Orange and build/buy. Your daughter will grow up and need less time, don't let a short term change in lifestyle affect something I imagine you enjoy a fair bit.

That seems a long/expensive/inconvenient way to go to get a ride in, is there really nothing closer? Also, does night riding help you get more in?

I still pine for some big mountain riding, so won't ditch my MTBs, but this last few months have been about the road bike. The road bike allows me to get a lot more out of a spare hour or two than the MTB. I've also seen a lot more fantastic and new countryside on my road bike than I could manage on my MTB without having a significant car journey first. Something to bear in mind is that my road bike cost £250 nearly 12 years ago; it's definitely a better value sport if you can resist the bling.

It does pain me to know there's a substantial amount of money hung on my bike rack doing very little though.

I bought a road bike last year. I tried. I really did. I thought to myself that there must be something in it. Surely not all roadies are utterly humourless, joyless automatons dressed as burst black puddings? Surely?

Dear God! The shear yawn-inducing, spirit-crushing, mind-numbing tedium of it?! The only remotely interesting bit is when some nob in a beemer or a white van actively tries to kill you. And that's not much of a recommendation, is it?

It was quickly sold to fund another hardtail which is approximately 657,987,962,532 times more interesting and fun 😀

But if that's what floats yer boat... see ya. Have fun. Oh... sorry... that's not really the point, is it?

I've always found selling bikes that you bought new not to be worth it. I might get £500 for any of mine, but they are worth a lot to me even if I don't ride them a lot currently. Would cost a lot more than their resale value to replace them with anything comparable. They are there when I need them.

I dunno around Calderdale - just (brief) descending down roads on your mountain bike is fun. I can easily see why a full road descent at speed would be hugely enjoyable.

I got a road bike 3 years ago to train for a triathlon, about a year later sold my Trek Fuel frame, and built up a very nice 456. sold it 6 months later having ridden it once, or maybe twice. I'm a fully fledged roadie now, 250km a week, love it.

BUT, recently I have been thinking about an MTB race bike, maybe a boardman on C2W, just to see how fast I'd be after 3 years without an MTB.

The way I look at it, I'll always have diffeent bikes, and be into different types of riding at different times, if you do go all roadie, and decide you don't like it, it's easy enough to go back to MTB

Have fun. Oh... sorry... that's not really the point, is it?

When road riding stops being fun I'll do something else. It's not for everyone I'm sure, but I guess a lot of it is down to the roads you get to ride on. I ride on quiet, relatively traffic-free, lanes in beautiful countryside. I often see fewer people on my road rides than on an average MTB weekend ride in the Derwent Valley.

Sell the filling cabinet frame, then buy 1 MTB and 1 road carbon frame from those nice fellas in china through eBay. Job done! I am about 90% road to MTB now due to family commitments and time restraints but it's worth keeping for that 10%.

I ride predominantly road now, mostly due to injury (broken scaphoid made me buy a road bike (well, CX) in the first place and now my shoulder injury means I'm riding a lot of road) but also becuase my riding mates either don't ride any more or have become "gnarly to the power of rad" DHers and I'm really more of an xc mincer, without the fitness!

I made a concious decision and sold my Patriot and 456 and bought an Orange p7, built it up as a do it all bike and spent more money on road bike bits.

I still love mountain biking, but it has become something I do from time to time rather than the road bike which I ride every day pretty much.

Its all riding and I enjoy all, but I'm riding more road at the moment. Perversly, before dislocated my shoulder I was riding a lot more mtb, and was covering good distances 2 or 3 times a week.

[i]Has anyone made the jump permanently? Have you regretted it?[/i]

Why do people feel the need to post this sort of stuff? You're only riding a different bike, its not likley to be life changing and bring a life full of regrets.

It might be if you're a bloke, over the age of 30 and decide suddenly that bright lycra is a good idea. Lets be brutally honest here. Its only one step removed from a leotard 😆

Its all good. Once on holiday in Ibiza I borrowed someones old bicycle and went for a leisurely ride. It wasn't gnarly or fast, just relaxed and fun 🙂

....and no binners I wasn't on dance biscuits or hoovering Sherbet at the time 😆

Did you have your Speedos on though?

Must be the season for it as my last mtb is currently on ebay. I do have the mtb that I got for my 21st birthday but that is kept for sentimental reasons. I haven't put a leg over an mtb since september but have done loads of commuting and road miles (for me). I still have a cx bike for mixed riding but mtbing involves driving somehwere which is riding time used up.

If I was a 'shower' I'd wear Speedo's EVERYWHERE.

So the answers no.

Only nonces ride only road...

I laugh everytime I see a roadie, they take themselves far too seriously...

I'm in a similar situation but won't get rid of the mtb, but I do always consider getting rid of the full sus. Live about 45 minutes drive away from the nearest good trails which are Woburn, I try to get there on my days off depending on the weather. I enjoy road biking but it's nothing compared to a good mtb ride.

Kind of see road riding as fitness rather than fun, though there's something great about gliding through country roads on a still summers day. But as I ride DH/FR I don't get the same adrenaline rush from road riding, and so I'll probably be getting a bmx soon to make use of the great skateparks and dj spots we have around here..

Ditching the MTB for full time roading

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