[Closed] Going down a hill really fast on a road bike is scarier than on a mountain bike

Entirely dependent on the hill or what you class as a hill. I find going down anything really steep, rocky and never ridden before on a HT a much more intense proposition than going quick on a nice, smooth, predictable road. If you were to go down an off road hill on a road bike though.....that could be proper frightening!

agreed

especially when it starts to 'wobble' 🙄

Bit scary descending the Burway with a sharp frost!

I've been pretty scared going quite fast on a road down a hill on a mountain bike. I definitely don't fancy the inverse.

Only if you start thinking about how much skin you'll lose...

Agreed, was out on the road bike tonight just hitting 40 mph on a straight road decent with my hands on the hoods was deeply uncomfortable. Daren't even put my hands on the drops either. I have clocked myself ona hardtail at over 45 mph and was still wanting to go faster.
I dare say that if the mountain to road bike useage ratio was reversed then I think I would be telling you I didn't know what all the fuss was about and I could hit over 50 mph non handed 😉

Definetly if that Doris from girls aloud is behind you.

just pull on the little levers until the scared feeling goes away - works on mud and tarmac

I saw two blokes yesterday approaching the end of a fairly mild two mile road descent near my house.. I usually hit about 30mph coasting on a fat tyred rigid SS mountain bike down there, so I guess they could have got a fair old chat going on their road bikes..

Not typical serious faced stick thin lycra roadies, they looked more like maybe Aussie Rules footballers..
They were looking pretty ecstatic and stoked etc.. perhaps a new breed of adrenaline roadie..?

just pull on the little levers until the scared feeling goes away - works on mud and tarmac

Unless in the wet, they don't work at 50mph with a sharp left coming up fast!!

perhaps a new breed of adrenaline roadie..?

The DH'er in me can't help pushing it on every road DH. Still trying to break 60mph on the run down from princetown.

I think the uncomfortable truth is that by the time you feel uncomfortable with your speed on a road bike you're already going a good bit faster than you normally could on an MTB. (Provided you're not just bad at riding a road bike).

perhaps a new breed of adrenaline roadie.

I still fancy building one of those cafe racer style "gravity bikes" and going out to get the real tarmac fear next winter

50+ easily round the alpes last year. Very scary and really fun all at the same time. I was doing 30+ down cut gate when the rear tyre decided to pop. That was just as scary.

The worst I have had on a road bike was in the Yorkshire dales last year when touching 45mph the front end stared to wobble. I was clenched. 😯

faceplanter, have you tried descending using the drops ? It's much better as you have better control over the brakes and straighter wrists give better balance

Riding on roads is damn scary, with all the idiots driving these days.

last year i crashed at the bottom of a fast descent on my road bike and knocked meself out for a while. im a bit scared of downhills now even tho i upgraded the brakes, road bikes just dont stop very well

i'll happily go as fast as possible on my MTB tho, which is exactly why i want discs on my roadie

Hmmm most scared is a difficult thing to quantify.

I remember doing 45mph on a steep downhill road in the wet - that was quite scarey but I was so focused on getting down alive I didn't think much about it until after. In fact it wasn't until the next morning when I was in my car following someone else on a road bike doing the same speed in the wet!

It looked a lot more scarey from the driver seat of my car 😯

I've done 90kph (56 mph?) on a road bike quite a few times - Pyrenees, Dolomites. Because I've never come off a road bike I still think I'm invincible and therefore don't get too scared. Let's face it anything above 30 mph is going to really really hurt anyway, so best not worry.

On an MTB I've crashed a few times, and almost crashed many many more. I know therefore that I'm not invincible and tend to be more scared.

Edhornby, I know, I need to just man up I suppose.

I also find it worse.

Last year I did the Route d'Avoriz climb & then rode back down. Slower than I did on my MTB.

I get a real fear when approaching ~70kph. The thought of a blowout & resulting pain is too great.

Let's face it anything above 30 mph is going to really really hurt anyway, so best not worry.

Or indeed barely hurt at all.

road bikes just dont stop very well

There is just not enough rubber on the road. Are the new fangled disks that are emerging really going to make a difference.? Maybe in the wet but again I think the lack of rubber on he ground is the issue.

i am fairly tall and quite light and find i get fit hard by cross winds. 30+mph and suddenly finding your 3-4 feet left or right of where you were isn't the nicest experience. More weight in MTB wheels i guess so they never seem so affected

I've done a bit of DH racing in my time and now ride road bikes a lot. Descending on both is brilliant. Road just edging it for me in terms of scariness, however there is a distinct lack of massive road gaps and other stunts on a road bike ride.

At the extreme end they both have their challenges and in either one, the consequences of misjudging something are severe. However I think on a road bike they are more likely to end up in death.

So road wins.

I don't find the hill a problem but hitting cattle grids at speed always makes me wince a bit.

hitting cattle grids at speed always makes me wince a bit.

Hop them.

it's the bit when you see the 90 degree bend coming up and start to brake hard and it feels like the bike is hopping off the road

When I was 13 I wiped out at 35-40mph on a road bike on a strange concrete/pebble road surface and lost a fair amount of skin from my butt and elbows. The road had a sort of polished pebble top to it and although that caused the crash it did ease the gravel rash. On regular tarmac you can lose a lot of skin and if you are doing over 50mph its gonna get hot too.

I rode the Kirkstone Pass the other week on my tourer and it was fun but I was not that fast. Those drystone walls look unyielding

Hop them.

No thanks, i'm not the best when it comes to hopping on a mtb never mind a road bike with 23c tyres doing 40 odd mph.

I've hit 60mph+ a couple of times with a strong southwesterly tailwind on a very steep short downhill section of road nr to Kirkcudbright before but more often than not i kinda chicken out at 50mph+, it is not a nice place to be especially as the road surface leaves a bit to be desired and taking the corner at the bottom necessitates hugging the left hand side of the road on entry then hoping you have the courage to hold it on line enough to get round the corner without either washing out the front end or crossing the raised white lines in the middle of the road that make the bike leave the ground for a split second. Every time i take the ss road bike down there i imagine the amount of skin graft's i'll need to repair the damage if i fall off at that speed on such a shit road surface.

This is the fastest that i have proof for, green line is altitude, blue line is speed

[img] [/img]

Note at 3.35 my speed drops to zero - i usually need to sit down on the seat nr the waters edge to compose myself after making the corners.

And this is the speed demon machine, it only has a front brake so i tend to avoid pulling it on when going downhill.

[img] [/img]

Record on road bike was 52mph according to my olde worlde avocet bike computer. That's when the wheel wobble was starting.

Record on MTB was here...

[img] [/img]

Edit: don't like steep descents on my CX bike. mini V brakes have sod all power after using disc brakes!

It's a combination of factors that make fast descents on a road bike unnerving.

-Geometry - the bike is designed to be efficient for chopping along on the flat and climbing, but even "relaxed" road bike geometry can feel twitchy pointed down at high speed.

-Tyres - again that thin highly pressurized strip of rubber is intended to be most efficient in nominal conditions. Really high corner speeds especially with adverse camber, moisture, grit or dirt on the surface can be extremely sketchy.

-Braking - It's not that road brakes are "Bad" it's that you need to read ahead and use them early and taken off enough speed to account for the acceleration you get through the corners where you really can't get away with touching them...

-Environment - we have already mentioned some of the things that can get on the surface of the road and affect grip but then there's the other aspects of the environment around you, pot holes come up faster and you and the bike feel them. And you'll be conscious of what you are liable to hit should you run out of road; kerbs, walls, fences, trees, houses and various items of road furniture are not very nice ways to abruptly decelerate a human being.

All of these things coupled with the prospect of skin loss should you "just" tumble and slide will play on your mind and make the road suddenly feel quite narrow.

Road bikes don't descend like MTBs less rolling resistance means they accelerate under gravity far faster and will get to much higher speeds far quicker not really being designed for this sort of operation means that a road bike feels unnerved and scary to use at 50mph+...

Best advice is to read the road ahead, act carefully and deliberately, use as much road as you can and use your brakes early in a straight line not through those 35º corners that now feel like deadly 90º bends and stay as relaxed as you can, tension will not help

topping 70kph on the road bike was fine, 50kph on the mtn bike on a gravel road not so clever, 75kph on the mtn bike down a lakeland pass, no issues at all.

It's all about what you are used to and how much control you have.

Somafunk - not sure about your bike but the Rocco looks sweet.

Agree. Going really fast downhill on my hard tail wasn't scary at all.
Waking up at the bottom of the hill with some broken bits WAS scary though.

Yes

I find the thoughts of "what if?" really pray on my mind on the road bike, not helped after a double blow out in a corner at the bottom of a downhill last Autumn. The collarbone is OK now 🙂

If I turn right out the house I'm at 75kph in 20 seconds.

Much much scarier on a road bike for me. I can without doubt descend quicker on my MTB even on roads.

I'm the total opposite. Going fairly fast on a road bike (or recumbent!) is fine as long as you remain relaxed and don't do anything crazy. On the other hand, as a mountain biker newbie I'm not yet able to convince myself that any downward off-road slope is a good thing. In fact, I'd almost certainly walk down any hill!

You defo get the fear going down big hills. I've had 2 rear tyres pop on me over my time as a mtb er and both times were on flat ground at about 10mph. I shudder to think it might happen when traversing dh at speed. It passes through my mind and I internally wince at the thought of it but then carry on anyway coz I love going fast, weeeeeeeee!

On the whole offroad is scary but that is just knowing that I lack the skill. Road bike is fine in the dry, I have done a touch under 60mph on the tribars which felt damn quick as it was only a small road. But as soon as it is wet I get the fear. The potholes are hard to see and there are plenty that would be fatal if you go in one. Also gravel gets washed onto the roads which on corners can be a bit sketchy, so unless it is a road I know well I take it very very easy as I seem to break something in about 50% of road tumbles, wheras I have fallen off the mtb lots and lots of times and have not broken anything yet.

A combination of age, big crash last year, and a sense of self preservation mean I'm unlikely to reach those speeds on either!!

-Geometry - the bike is designed to be efficient for chopping along on the flat and climbing, but even "relaxed" road bike geometry can feel twitchy pointed down at high speed.

More you ride the more confident you feel.
Stockley Hill in Herefordshire is a 54mph hill on a road bike - it's all about what your used to and how confident you are on a road bike and also being relaxed. I guess also having a well made and designed road bike plays a large part also.

road speed is scarier as you are just sat holding on, looking far ahead and there's nothing in your mind but silence so plenty of opportunity for your brain to wander onto the topic of skin loss. on an MTB you're picking a line, turning, pumping, hopping, all with the intro to Back in Black turned up to 11 blasting away in your mind.

I've done some silly descents on my Roadie, I've a mate who insists we race downhill, I can't hack it I get scared and back off, he carries on and leaves me. I take him up the hills though so it's equal. Nasty falls and some pretty butt clenching moments in the Doli's has put me off going for it, so I back off and enjoy the view whilst digging out of hairpin bends and corners, the really steep stuff I just roll down.
Downhill scares me.
I have nothing but admiration for DH'ers on MTBs.. Brave, very brave.

hit 84kph on the south of the cairn o mount 2 weeks ago - every patch of water i was shitting my self it was ice. over took a hilux.

could have gone faster but was running out of road to make a corner - knew there was gravel on the outside so hit the brakes to avoid it

hit 70kph down the howes on my commute this morning - was running late.

scariest speeds ive hit have been down the cairnwell/glenshee - pre GPS days but the speed wobbles got me . gripping the top tube so tight with my legs.

I confess im a bit of an adrenaline roadie 🙂

Love attacking the DH's hard, spin out and tuck, racing line, minimum braking, plenty of looking as far ahead as I can. I love it

No idea of max speed though, got pissed off with my computer and ditched it

(still doesn't compare to hammering my Ibis through a rock garden and two wheel drifting some turns)

scariest descent I've had wasn't especially fast - it was coming off the Chilterns on the way to Oxford the road was nice and smooth and I was happily doing about 45mph when the road surface changed on a corner and I got stuck in a rut on the outside of a bend. managed to bounce out of it onto the gravel on the edge of the corner and make it round. there was a cyclist being put in an ambulance at the bottom of the hill. I guess he'd not quite managed to get out of the rut. my mate who was behind me said my front wheel was tracking well but the back wheel was bouncing around all over the shop. momentum is your friend!

I rode the Kirkstone Pass the other week on my tourer and it was fun but I was not that fast. Those drystone walls look unyielding

My mate Dean can confirm that. he hit one at 35mph coming off Honister last august. one destroyed hip, and 4 months on crutches later he got back on the bike after Christmas.

I've had the dreaded speed wobble at about 45 mph. it was not a pleasant experience.

You descend even faster in Johannesburg at 5500 feet as the air is thinner. It even feels thinner.

Mister P : My road bike is a bit of an acquired taste being a mish mash of an old 1994 Indian Fire Trail frame, rigid forks and one disc brake on the front. I call it my fungrel (aka FUkin-Ugly-moNGREL). It's ugly but it works 😉

The scirocco is no more due to being rear ended at a junction by an old fart who should've been taken off the roads years ago, twin webbers, 16v engine, absolutely mint with no rust anywhere and one careful owner before i got it - 35,000 miles. I was gutted but at least there is one less doddery old fart removed from the driving pool.

Surely it's only scary if you think you might get hurt?

I don't find 50mph + off road or on road an issue but that's purely because I never really think of the consequences. I'd go a lot faster if it weren't for aerodynamics holding me up.

Whilst I admit a crash would be bad, there's no point worrying about something that probably won't happen. Positive mental attitude and all that 🙂

I find steep & techy MTB descents way scarier than fast road descents, mostly as braking doesn't really help on them. My main fear on road bike descents comes from imagining the tyre's just going to randomly blow-off the rim after 50mph, it's not done it yet but I've seen a few go in my time at slower speeds and I know it's going to hurt if it ever does happen.
Mind you I had a front tyre puncture at around 30mph on the MTB (steep but smooth grassy descent), inner tube came out and wrapped around the disc but fortunately I'd slowed down enough not to go over the bars - it's thinking of those random things beyond your control that give me the fear rather than thinking I'm going to wash out on a corner or something.

I've never been on a road bike, but hit 42mph on the MTB, that's bending over the bars racer style but think the CamelBak probably slowed me down a bit.

That was on the road but it seems to be more scary to me on the road than off road, think it because I'd only just got back into biking when Wouther Weyland had that fatal accident at the Giro and it always sticks in my mind.

My mate once head butted a drystone wall up Rivington when he turned round to see what was behind, i wasn't with him but how he made it through that was a miracle that was on the road as well and he was out of hospital the same day.

Hit 61.9mph on the road bike last year. Was gutted as a little bit faster and it would have been 100kmh+

I think riding a motorbike makes a difference to your attitude on the road. You get used to going fast and feeling vulnerable so anything under 100 feels tame 😀

I don't have a road bike but we'd get up to 45mph plus on a local steep hill on bmxs. The end of the hill sweeps a bit left then a hard right. It was impossible to stop for, so we'd just fling ourselves into and through the hedge that bordered the road. We even tried it at night without lights. One of the dumbest things on my dumb things CV. So bloody terrifying.

Off road is worse for me as the surface is less predictable.

As for speed wobbles, try getting a tow at 30+ on a skateboard 😯

Still to top 50mph on the road, been getting close but then again I have only ridden round southampton which isn't known for its big hills.

Road is definitely scarier. I had a massive brown trouser moment a couple of weeks ago bombing down a dual carriageway around 48mph with lights and hitting a massive pot hole which blew out my front tyre. Somehow manage to keep upright but it took what felt like a long time to stop. All the time I thought I had snapped the fork / the wheel was going to collapse.

Never had anything close on the mountain bike going DH, probably the closest was jumping and having quite some time to think about how much it was going to hurt when I landed. (KO, busted collar bone, ribs, 3 months off work...) Wasnt 'scary' though just a horrible realisation I'd got it very wrong as I started to rotate forwards....

30+ on a skateboard

Then an ambulance came steaming up the hairpins.

At uni, we used to do skateboard "water skiing", ie towed behind a Kawasaki with a rope. Stability was dire, and Toys-R-Us did replace the melted wheels under warranty later the same day 😀

zangolin
More you ride the more confident you feel.
it's all about what your used to and how confident you are on a road bike and also being relaxed.

Painey
Surely it's only scary if you think you might get hurt?

No thanks, i'm not the best when it comes to hopping on a mtb never mind a road bike with 23c tyres doing 40 odd mph.

Roads descending is scary, silly fast and bugger all contact patch for when you try to brake and I always seem to find descents that start with the smoothest of surfaces then when approaching a corner at speed the tarmac suddenly goes all manky, awesome. And of course there's the risk of oncoming traffic. plus I'm always convinced my lightweight* bike is going to snap. Would love to try some tour style routes on closed roads with good quality tarmac.

*not for a road bike but compared to my mtbs is positively anorexic

I find road descents scarier mainly I think of the crazy top speed and the lack of traction from 23mm tyres pumped to 100psi.
I live near the Bathgate hills where there is some very fast descents with tight hairpins. The fastest for me is Kingscavil hill with its single lane bridge and farm at the bottom. Which you would never have enough time to slow down for if there was oncoming traffic, the local cycling club run an annual hill climb race up it and featured on the Adventure show.

I don't tend to ride down roads on my MTB really fast but I would assume the same as road bikes, that cornering at speed would scare the shit out of me. I've done over 40 on the road bike down twisty mountains in France and have been crappying myself in corners. I've gone faster down wide straight roads and it's felt fine. I've not found the limit of my road bike on corners yet but I'm not that enthusiastic to exceed the limit really.