Probably more energy expended on road since your average mtber tends to get off and walk up hills and around technical trail features

Speed?

Assuming similar times, road by a country mile.
An average paced road ride is a much better work out* than an MTB bimble.
*based on average heart rate

Def road

..roadies are hard as nails .......mtb'ers are mincers

too many variables not disclosed. oh and 80k is what 3hours and 30k 2hours. so not really comparable anyway.

If I ride 4 hours on the road, according to my hrm, I burn about the same number of calories as I do if I ride my mountain bike for the same length of time.

As for speed, terrain and distance, it's irrelevant. It's about the work you choose to put in.

80K on my road bike & I'd be asleep with boredom. 30K on the MTB in't Dales & I'd be more smiley & more knackered.
I 'once heard' that on average (?) five miles on road equalled one mile offroad. Too many variations to make any true judgement IMO.

I did a 12 mile hike a bike on Friday , I reckon I felt th e equivalent of a 80 mile steady road ride.

Never had a road bike but always wondered how 20 miles off road equates to on road miles.

depends on power output,

its all relative really.

for example

MTB 44.60km 1628kj 2:07 NP 266 watts Hr 155

Road 91.56km 2129 3:04 Np 235 watts hr 142

have full data via TP i can post the links to

Strange I've ridden with 2 roadies who average 50 mile road rides they came out for a mtb ride and could not believe how hard it was in comparison... suppose it all depends how hard you push yourself.

I'd be surprised if your power output on an mtb is higher than that on a road bike.

Strange I've ridden with 2 roadies who average 50 mile road rides they came out for a mtb ride and could not believe how hard it was in comparison... suppose it all depends how hard you push yourself.

my take on this, road is constant effort, MTB is more like intervals, the way you ride is different. I find the constant accelerating on the mtb more tiring then tempo on the road.

It really depends. Roadies have higher cadence and remain seated for most if not all of the ride. Mountain bikers use different muscle groups as the cadence is lower, plus the amount of standing required entails a different pedalling technique.

Good road biking fitness is an advantage however.

avg watts on a mtb is normally lower due to not pedaling on single track etc,

that why you use normalized power of road, as avg isn't very useful

Really? I'd say the lower gears on an mtb meant the cadence was pretty much the same, maybe a little higher on a mtb.

I tend to climb out of the saddle more on my road bike than I do on my mtb.

PJM1974 - Member
It really depends. Roadies have higher cadence and remain seated for most if not all of the ride. Mountain bikers use different muscle groups as the cadence is lower, plus the amount of standing required entails a different pedalling technique.

Good road biking fitness is an advantage however.

Depends where you ride I guess. I do most of my road climbing stood up, most mountain bikers tend to sit and spin.

those two rides i posted

mtb avg cadence was 82 and road was 92 and last mtb race was 88 so no real huge difference.

80K on my road bike & I'd be asleep with boredom. 30K on the MTB in't Dales & I'd be more smiley & more knackered.

This is my opinion too ...

Someone said (can't remember where) mountain bikers who don't ride on the road don't have the legs. Road bikers who don't ride on the mountains don't have soul!

I do find that I'm faster and remain seated longer on a road bike than a mountain bike. Once I stand and stamp on the pedals I'm basically playing chicken with the gradient as I lose leverage. I prefer to sit and spin on the road. With a mountain bike, I often shift my weight and lift my backside off the saddle to gain traction. I take the point that it depends on where you ride, because it's very chalky and flinty here so saying seated on techy climbs just isn't an option.

And what about tyre drag? 😉

You also have to factor in that the upper body will be far more active (if the trails are sufficiently technical) on the mtb, as well as more time out of the saddle meaning you're suspending more of your weight, rather than relying on the saddle so overall energy expended is likely to be higher off road.

What if they were both on a conveyor belt?

Road bikers who don't ride on the mountains don't have soul!

Thats great. Ive ridden my road bike on loads of mountains though.

Having a soul sounds like the sort of thing a mountain biking mincer has.

Hard road riders have guts, determination, and massive balls.

The argument that roadies find off road hard doesn't mean it's as physically demanding. You need a decent amount of upper body strength on an MTB (most fit people I take out on an off road ride complain about aching shoulders) and be able to pull the bike in various directions quickly to tackle a trail. None of this you do on the road.
Roadies do have an unbelievable amount of fitness, at least the one who ride often and take it seriously. A good friend of mine does 1hr 25m TT's, he's only an amateur and does it for keeping fit and challenging himself but it is simply astonishing how fast and long he can go with barely any perceivable effort. It's just unreal. I'm sure if he put the same effort into off-road and developed his body to cope he'd be amazing at that!!

You need a decent amount of upper body strength on an MTB

No you dont.

hard to compare MTB to road, totally different workouts, road riding is more steady sustained efforts whereas MTB has a lot more short max effort bursts and a lot more upper body efforts.

[i]You need a decent amount of upper body strength on an MTB
No you dont.[/i]
Yes
You
Do.

I think a lot of mountain bikers want to believe its a lot harder than it really is!

esselgruntfuttock - Member
You need a decent amount of upper body strength on an MTB
No you dont.
Yes
You
Do.

Perhaps if you're the typical overweight AM rider with no technique.

If you have a glance over on pinkbike, theres loads of pictures of scrawny looking kids who can ride a bike far better than most on this forum.

Never mind energy expended mtb vs road, far more energy expended on 29 vs 26 vs 650b vs blah blah....

You need a decent amount of upper body strength on an MTB
No you dont.
Yes
You
Do.

no

I think a lot of mountain bikers want to believe its a lot harder than it really is!

+1

Road bikers who don't ride on the mountains don't have soul!
Thats great. Ive ridden my road bike on loads of mountains though.

Having a soul sounds like the sort of thing a mountain biking mincer has.

Hard road riders have guts, determination, and massive balls.

Thank gawd I'm not a Hard Roadie ! My balls are allreet in baggy shorts ! If my cahunas were muhassive I'd have to strap em in with Lycra !

😀

[i]I think a lot of mountain bikers want to believe its a lot harder than it really is![/i]

Very true, but there's a lot of roadies who think the same.

Sod it ! I'm buying a SKY Lycra top !

That'll show em ! 😉

You cant use smilies if you get a Sky top. From what I've seen, you have to maintain a straight face all the time.

Wearing Team Kit is a serious business apparently!

FWIW, we did a 64 mile 1 day epic from Laggan in the Highlands, over the Corryairack & Glen Roy etc & every rider knew they'd had a BIG day out. That was when I was slimmer & fitter than when I did a 65 mile roadie sportive event on the NY Moors. The sportive was a doddle in comparison!
Still, there's just far too many variables to even start to argue!

It's a wink, there's a chap rides through the village where I live in one, he fills it out well ! He's a big un !

His face is more contorted as he's sucking in air from Guildford ! Not a pretty sight, but it keeps the kids amused as he passes them on the benches at the bus stop, they have to stop snogging to hurl abuse at him !

It's not pretty at all

😆

It'll be road for me.

Both are capable of emptying the tank but on the road its only limited by my fitness and occasionally the fatties in cars getting in the way.

On the mtb the technical nature means theres times when I'm forced to ease up, also if its a group ride mtb seems to more sprint stop chat than road which is still social but you can talk whilst riding.

the same well rounded all round cyclist can probably do a reasonably bigger distance on the road (depending on the roads) compared to off road for the same energy output.

Cadence is generally too personal to be used for comparison.

Upper body strength may not be essential but it's damm useful.
Not just for

Perhaps if you're the typical overweight AM rider with no technique.

Liam Gallagher is a World Cup winner? 😮

Mental mental chicken oriental road training ride with the race squad, I come home tired.

Three hours on the MTB with my old XC partner and I just want to go to bed in my muddy clothes when I get home.
Obviously not everyone will understand this technical data.

About the same, I reckon. Only difference seems to be that on a roadie, it's a more steady effort, whereas on the MTB it's more recovery, then max red line up a climb, then back to recovery on the DH or flat sections.

Of the cyclists I know hat regularly do both disciplines equally , MTBer's climb better then their Roadie only friends, and the roadies descend faster than their MTB only mates.

Only difference seems to be that on a roadie, it's a more steady effort, whereas on the MTB it's more recovery, then max red line up a climb, then back to recovery on the DH or flat sections.

Too many variables

You will expend the same energy on both bikes but the result will differ massively according to gearing, slope, surface, wind, tyre size and pressure, bike weight etc etc. I reckon 20-25 miles over a big mountain with carrying is worth 50-60 on a typically hilly road ride and probably 70-80 on a flat ride.

The biggest difference will be the extra energy you will expend in the muscles of the upper body, counteracting the effects of the terrain while off road.

Is it me or does it look as though he's using 4x10kg instead of 2x20kg plates each side???

You do need upper body. Only thing that ever aches for me the day after a decent ride is my upper body.

I've taken road riding friends out on MTBs and they've struggled with the intervals type intensity. I've taken MTB riding friends out on road rides and they've struggled with the pace.

Either I am a riding god (possible) or the two are too different to directly compare (likely).

I've taken road riding friends out on MTBs and they've struggled with the intervals type intensity.

They don't road race or chaingang then, because if they did then they'd find intervals fine.

Upper body for mtb, unless you are doing a week or so downhll in the Alps or Fort Bill, then rubbish. You steer with your body and let your suspension take up the bumps, upper body does little, and you get a big break on the climbs anyway.

too many variables but, 80 miles off road ride vs 80 mile road ride would be no where near the same by me

i know plenty of people who can put out 50 mile rides no problem (some overweight, 50 years old etc) but there is absolutly no way on this planet if i took them to do a 50 mile off road route they would be able to do it

so for me personally and where we live (peak district) the off road is more challenging than road (even though there are plenty of road climbs)

depends on the route and where you are based too, but if it was around the peak district for example me and my regular mtb buddy (who is pretty fit) do a 30 mile hope/peak route at my pace and hes pretty much on his arse by the end, yet every sunday he can go and nail out 100 miles on the road bike (also around the peak) no problems at all

so for me personally with the riding we do off road the mtb would be much tougher over a prolonged mileage than it would road

I've done some big days on MTB and road but only ever bonked on road... which tells you something about which one uses most energy...

[i]80K on my road bike & I'd be asleep with boredom. [/i]
Need to move somewhere nice then. Was out last night for gently paced (by other measures, hard enough for me) 50 mile spin round local roads, plenty variety, climbs and descents aplenty, paths, railway lines, the lot. Didn't feel asleep (until this morning..)

Road riding is all about conservation of momentum is it not? Which is why I'm not great, to much getting out the saddle, changing down really early, the differences in MTB mean it's hard to compare really..

If offroad wasn't harder than onroad, we wouldn't actually HAVE roads.

you may be confusing smoother with effort

I think it's fair to comment that for any given distance it's harder to ride off road than on, that's pretty obvious.

I think folk (like the OP) saying that 30k off road is harder than 80k on road (assuming similar topography) are rather over estimating how tough mountain biking is.

I'd say that on a time basis they're not all that far removed, 2 hours on the MTB and 2 hours on the road aren't all that different, plus for most people 2 hours on the MTB will involve at least 30 minutes standing around chatting!

I am having a wee chortle at the way mountain bikers think they are in anyway athletic; when I raced mountain bikes we would ride out from Manchester to the Peak District, do the rides that people drive out to do, then ride back home again.

I've also been out on similar ride from East Manchester with the local 1st cats; they were 'messing about' on mountain bikes and did the same thing, riding home afterwards.

I do a 45-50 mile off road ride as training for the 3 Peaks, and it does leave me more tired than a 50 mile road ride, but honestly, how many people here are riding 45 miles off road?

how many people here are riding 45 miles off road?

The same ones saying that MTBing isn't as hard as those who don't do that think it is 😉

I was told that to convert off road miles to road miles you need to multiply off road 2-3 times. I do the Mary Townelely Loop regularly (47 miles) and have done the Fred Whitton route (110miles?) both took similar amount of time door to door (not GPS). So Im sticking with it.
I also find most people sit and twiddle on mountain bikes if they are not used to road bikes. With most road bikes you just dont have that option so you have to get out of the saddle. I used to get more saddle sore on mountain bikes than road bikes due to ineffective granny ring twiddling

I do a 45-50 mile off road ride as training for the 3 Peaks, and it does leave me more tired than a 50 mile road ride,

I average , on a xc ride , less than 50% of a my road average
I have average circa 4 mph for some MTB rides - some walking/carrying was involved though

Depends though as a 10 mile TT would hurt more than 3 hour XC night ride

OK....using a HRM and Strava....

57 mile road ride, moving time 4h 5min, elevation gain 1,829ft, av speed 14mph
Calories burned 1,502
Average HR 141 (which is at the top of Zone 2)

37 mile MTB ride, moving time 4h 55min, elevation gain 3,616ft av speed 7.5mph
Calories burned 1,285
Average HR 150 (towards the middle of Zone 3 - aerobic zone)

So the MTB ride was 65% of the distance of the road ride, but burned 85% of the calories.
However, the MTB ride involved more climbing and the average speed was lower (probably due to the climbing, and the fact that in the Dales, you're stopping all the time to open and close frickin gates)

In general I'd expect to a)climb more on an offroad ride than on a road ride, as an inevitable drawback of seeking fun downhills, and b) for my average heart rate to be faster overall, because of the extra effort involved in climbing and riding on rougher terrain.

The other variable was the weather. My road ride was done in cooler conditions whereas the MTB ride was a few degrees warmer, thus making my heart work harder.

However, the MTB ride involved more climbing and the average speed was lower (probably due to the climbing, and the fact that in the Dales, you're stopping all the time to open and close frickin gates)

That's in the Dales! Saw the climbing stats and assumed it must be in the Fens somewhere 😯

In general I'd expect to a)climb more on an offroad ride than on a road ride, as an inevitable drawback of seeking fun downhills, and b) for my average heart rate to be faster overall, because of the extra effort involved in climbing and riding on rougher terrain.

I find it's because there are steeper climbs on the MTB, so you go up and down more for a given distance. I don't personally find my average HR to be much (if at all) higher though.

As a personal comparison, I did the tour of the Cotswolds road sportive 102 hilly miles in 6 hrs and the kielder100 last year in 12.30 hours. The kielder really did me in, but that was more to do with the absolute time on the bike, being longer than I had trained for. The vibration through the bike on a long MTB ride does also cause additional upper body, hands, wrist,, shoulder fatigue that you don't experience on a road bike.

A better way to compare is that for a similar length of time at an equivalent effort level a similar amount of energy will be used. However the distance covered will be quite different due to the difference in average speed. So 100mtb miles are harder than 100 road miles primarily because it takes longer.

brooess - Member

I've done some big days on MTB and road but only ever bonked on road... which tells you something about which one uses most energy...

As a rule of thumb: 1 mile on the road = 1km off-road?

klumpy - Member

If offroad wasn't harder than onroad, we wouldn't actually HAVE roads.

🙂

As a rule of thumb: 1 mile on the road = 1km off-road?

I've heard that banded about before, and think it's about right, other factors being as equal as possible.

37 mtb ride in the dales and only 3700 feet climb, jesus i always assumed it was a climby type terrain there?

i did a peak ride on thursday night that had 3800feet in 16 miles!

Generally I do around 10 mph average on an mtb ride but manage 18moh solo on a reasonably hilly road ride so 1 km to 1 mph as above sounds about right. I wouldn't say 3 hours on one bike is easier / harder than 3 hours on another bike. If your working hard its hard whatever you are on.

I can easily ride 50 miles or so on the road but would really struggle to do that much off road, after doing the 23 mile red route round dalby forest today (70-80% singletrack) I was pretty much exhausted and my upper body aching like it never does after a road ride. In my opinion off road is a lot tougher, you get nothing for free as you can do on the road if you freewheel on the flat or down a hill. As an earlier poster said if road was not easier there would be no roads! If I want an easy ride I will ride the local roads, If I want a hard ride I go to the forest and go off road.

Holy Thread Resu....etc etc

Welcome to the forum paul.

Man - you're going to be popular!

Thanks for the welcome, it's ok I if I'm not popular i will just ride around the forests and mountains and the roadies will never be able to find me to bully me!