How much faster are road bikes?

I’m doing the Manchester to Blackpool again this year again, I did it last year on my Whippet with slicks on and completed. Just wandering how much faster I’d be on a road bike? Few more people doing it this year and I don’t want to struggle!

Depends. Probably quite a bit. Are you able to get into an aero position on your Whippet? 🙂

Answer from this weekend is…

1 mins per 10min section on average.

I rode plenty of routes on Strava this weekend I know well and ride often… I rode them for first time on a road bike compared to my Rocket Ron shod 29er HT and was basically 1min quicker on 3-4 sections of around 8-12 mins in length.

No, not at all! If it’s as dramatic as it looks I’m going to find a mate who can lend me one, or buy a cheapo maybe. Cheers.

I’m typically 2-3 mph quicker on the road with my 12 year old fairly cheap road bike compared to my new mountain bike. That said, slicks on the mountain bike would narrow that gap as would a light hardtail.

My whippet is just over 20lb but does have suspension forks.

However, if you don’t fit whatever you’re getting, or can’t find a decent position that’s relatively comfortable, then I predict all your aero dreams will vanish and by halfway you’ll wish you’d taken the whippet.

I do the same 20km commute at the same steady effort level (Z1 or easy Z2) on three bikes, a hardtail with 2″ summer tyres at 25 psi, a CX bike with 33 mm knobblies at 45 psi or a road bike with 25 mm slicks at 90 psi. The road bike is 1 to 2 km/h faster than the CX bike which is another 1 to 2 km/h faster than the MTB.

You can stick narrow slicks on an MTB and go fast enough—when I was 16 I could ride a slicked MTB faster over 40 miles than I can a road bike now—but that’s not the whole story.

A road bike should be set up so that you can comfortably stay in one position for hours on end, because that’s basically its job, whereas an MTB is more likely to be set up to be ridden as much out of the saddle as in it. I couldn’t begin to imagine the discomfort I’d feel riding my MTB over the distances I’ve done on a road bike.

So if you’re doing a 20-mile bun run, fine, a slicked MTB won’t be a problem. If you’re on tarmac for the whole day then rather you than me 😉

twelvety times faster

Snot just that they’re faster, they’re also more efficient – which means faster for longer

Don’t borrow a road bike.
You’ll be in agony after 5 miles. They have to be carefully tweaked to suit the rider.

I couldn’t begin to imagine the discomfort I’d feel riding my MTB over the distances I’ve done on a road bike.

this

I once did a 184 mile road ride on a knobbly tyred mountain bike. I was young and stupid though. Think I only averaged about 13 mph (based on elapsed time, I did stop a few times for biscuits and to nab some water from a garden hose).

I’d be faster on a road bike now, but might fall over in a heap long before the end.

When I was commuting regularly by bike I switched from a hard tail with slicks to a proper road bike and on average my commuting times reduced by 10%.

I’d echo what others have said.

If your whippet is set up to be comfy sat in the saddle for ages, it’s probably the best bike. If you had time to buy a road bike and get the position just so, it would be a bit faster (or easier, depending) and more comfortable. But you’d have to be used to it and have the position set up just so to make it comfy.

I think the faster you go the bigger the difference. There’s a stretch of road that I often ride; 40mph zone; usually get a tail wind; can happily keep up with the traffic in top gear on the road bike. Cannont imagine being able to get anywhere close on an MTB. Obviously these sorts of speeds aren’t a typical average for a ride though!

You’ll always get a twisted view on here, in reality a road bike will be a lot faster, thats why people ride em.

When out on the MTB and I get overtaken by roadies, some of them appear to be going pretty damn fast by comparison.

When out on the road bike and I get overtaken by quicker roadies, I can sometimes slipstream them with a bit of effort. Some are still too fast though.

I reckon I average 25-35% quicker on the road. Latter feels a lot quicker though.

Don’t borrow a road bike.
You’ll be in agony after 5 miles. They have to be carefully tweaked to suit the rider.

Don’t be daft!

My brother rode my road (well, CX commuter, actually) bike the other weekend. Managed the whole 7 miles without contracting worms or snapping his spine in half despite the “careful tweaking” extending to no more than dropping the saddle by a few cms.

My previous road bike was ordered online, I put the saddle at the right height and regularly rode a 35 mile round trip commute on it. I’m not confined to a wheelchair as a result.

Mainly aerodynamics and position I think though. This sort of position is fine on a road bike and no doubt makes a fair bit of differece. Dont think it’s possible on an MTB

A mtb with slicks and locked out suspension is perfectly fine for the Manchester-Blackpool run. I really wouldn’t bother getting a road bike just for that.

I couldn’t begin to imagine the discomfort I’d feel riding my MTB over the distances I’ve done on a road bike.

Whereas I found mine perfectly fine for doing road centuries. It’s not as if you’re riding any longer than a big day out off road.

Don’t be daft! My brother rode my road (well, CX commuter, actually) bike the other weekend. Managed the whole 7 miles

*taps irony meter in confusion*

This sort of position is fine on a road bike and no doubt makes a fair bit of differece. Dont think it’s possible on an MTB

It was in 1991, trust me 🙂

Pretty slow compared to a recumbent. Plus you have to wear silly padded shorts, learn about chamois cream, and your penis goes numb 😉

It’s not as if you’re riding any longer than a big day out off road.

The point someone made up there – and I agree with – is that on a typical MTB ride you’re moving around a lot more and spending less time actually in the saddle, whereas you could easily be spending several hours sat down in the same position on a road bike.

I rode the South Peak loop recently and one section was 11km of ever so slightly uphill. Completely untechnical but was really a sit down and pedal job. It was genuinely uncomfortable being in the same pedalling position on my MTB for that long, whereas that distance/time sat on my road bike wouldn’t cause me any discomfort at all. I’d never previously viewed my MTB as being uncomfy until that day and that’s mainly cos I’ve never done a ride on my MTB that required so much pedalling in the same position for so long.

Ok – there’s a good chance you’ll be in agony after let’s say ten miles. Try it, you might get lucky, or you might be bitterly regretting it 20 miles into an 80 miler.

Ask me why I say this, go on.

It’s not as if you’re riding any longer than a big day out off road.

The difference is as Bez said, 100miles off road involves a lot of standing, shuffling, cornering etc. On a road bike you’re sat there not moving for the whole time.

My MTB’s are where my road saddles go to die, because it makes sod all difference what saddle is on there, hence why almost everyone can be happy on a £20 charge spoon. Whereas anything other than a specific make and model on my road bike ends in blisters, numb little-spoon and sores.

It was in 1991, trust me

😀

Long and low!

MTBs in 1991 looked like road bikes with flat bars.
An MTB now looks more like a motorcrosser, but with out the comfy cushion in place of a saddle.

If the OP has a nicely racey set up on his whippet, he’ll probably be fine, a road bike will be somewhat quicker.

I’d not fancy even 30 road miles on some of the MTBs i see around now.

Ahhh, i now understand the entire recumbent market, people who can’t set bikes up properly….. 😆

On my ‘fast’ road bike (still only a £500 job) i can tap out 25mph on the flat pretty easy for miles on end.

On my Escapade it’s more like 20-22mph*

My hard tail with nobbly tyres on the road frankly it’s just depressing to look at the garmin so I don’t do it but it’s more like 14mph and a constant feeling like i’ve got a parachute on my back.

*most used bike as it can take the child seat on the back of it and i pick the nipper up on the way home from work.

The difference is as Bez said, 100miles off road involves a lot of standing, shuffling, cornering etc. On a road bike you’re sat there not moving for the whole time.

As I said earlier, I have done those distances on a mtb with slicks. I’m still here.

There’s no doubt a road bike is quicker and comfier, but a mtb is perfectly fine for what the OP is talking about.

“…and your penis goes numb“

A variation of sitting on your arm, this way it feels like you’re wking someone else ?

This sort of position is fine on a road bike and no doubt makes a fair bit of differece. Dont think it’s possible on an MTB

Thats assuming you can actually hold that position on a road bike for hours on end. I’m not the most flexible and I have to hang my head in shame and say my road position is awful.

If you’ve not really ridden a road bike I’d say stick with the slicked-up whippet, or try the road bike beforehand. Over longer rides comfort (and possibly lower gearing!) might be a better bet than some notional benefit you can only sustain for an hour.

I think the main benefit from the road bike might be the varying hand positions on the bars.

Ahhh, i now understand the entire recumbent market, people who can’t set bikes up properly…..

There’s no right way to set up a racing bike, there’s only the least wrong way.

Road vs MTB on the road?

95% of the difference is the aerodynamic difference from the body position.

However, just jumping on a road bike set up in such a way as to make a significant difference to your aero will probably be a right pain in the neck (literally) for a one-off ride.

I’ve done the same commute for about 10 years, for the first 7 it was all various 26inch rigid or hard tail MTB’s with tyres ranging from semi slicks to 2.3inch knobblers. I reckon I averaged 32 mins to do the ride over that time.

3 years ago I finnaly succumbed to a proper bike for this commute and the improved speed was far more than I ever envisaged. I’m averaging around 26mins now.

So it’s 20% faster for me and that city streets with lots of traffic lights etc.

Thats assuming you can actually hold that position on a road bike for hours on end. I’m not the most flexible and I have to hang my head in shame and say my road position is awful.

I wouldn’t say it’s the sort of position you’d hold for hours on end. It’s a change for flat sections of road though, especially if you have a tail wind. Don’ know if it’s any faster, certainly feels it though.

On my ‘fast’ road bike (still only a £500 job) i can tap out 25mph on the flat pretty easy for miles on end.

40kph taking it easy on a £500 bike! If I were you I’d get in touch with Sir Dave Brailsford.

40kph taking it easy on a £500 bike! If I were you I’d get in touch with Sir Dave Brailsford.

😆

Dodgy bike computer or blissfully unaware of how fit and capable he/she is? Average speed for a Tour de France rider on flat terrain is 25 – 28mph according to my quick bit of Googling (link)