Is road biking REALLY a performance advantage for MTB…?

junkyard +1

since road biking i’ve found my fitness levels have increased massively. I can train smarter on a road bike and achieve consistent levels (HR in zone 4 for 90 secs.. 1 hour L2 etc) this is not easy on the mtb

I reckon road riding has made me faster on the mtb, improved my endurance, and when I slip into my pink lycra, has also improved my attractiveness to the opposite members of both sex, especially when topped off with a nice suede jacket.

Just the opposite sex? 😀

It makes you fitter cos you ride for longer and feel ‘faster’ (also leg speed IS a good thing)

I ride quite a lot of road (a lot less this year to be honest) and without doubt it has made a huge difference to the amount of riding I am able to do. Also, I love getting on the road and climbing mountains.

I have actually stopped going to the gym and just worked on Speed and Weight loss. I feel stronger when I ride MTB cos I am fitter and lighter but if I don’t mix up skills riding I turn into a mincing queen 😉

I once rode my MTB on the road, anyone else done this?

I once rode my MTB on the road, anyone else done this?

only once since getting a road bike. its just depressing how slow it is….

So put slicks on. You don’t need a roadbike just to get some quick mud free miles in. You may however like one, I confess I already have one myself.

The road biking does help in terms of fitness and its far easier to find fast people to ride with on the road than it is off road.
However you still need to be doing a couple of MTB sessions a week to move forward with the off road technical skills. Worth looking at 2x 20’s off road or interval training as part of this. Junk miles not likely to help much other than base endurance

To add a bit more perspective; My time is limited by work/family etc so I can only get 3-4 rides in per week, a typical week being 3 rides

3-4 rides per week? How do you manage that? I can barely get out for just the one at the minute due to work/family stuff. 5 weeks off right now and counting.

Oh yeah, +1 for sticking slicks on the MTB. I started doing this last year instead of splashing out on a RB. Did loads more miles and got fitter as a result.

Been using Schwalbe Big Apples for a while too = more miles in less time plus decent off-road capability.

I don’t think cycling is thought to be as useful for general running.

It’s actually quite good cross training, not least because cycling is low impact. Top triathletes seem to manage combine the two quite successfully as well. Not just fell runners. I suppose someone will be along in a bit to tell me that fell runners and non-fell runners ‘use different muscles’. Go on, you know you want to 😉

My opinion, is generally yes, as said above it’s much easier to train at a steady pace on the road plus group road rides are much better for training than 90% of group mtb rides. In fact I find group mtb rides can be detrimental to fitness.

Although think you still need a good dose of MTB riding too, for fitness, road doesn’t toughen your hands and arms up like long mountain bike rides. One year I trained mostly on the road then when I got on the mountain bike after 3 hours my upper body was really hurting.

Road also means a quick blast is not followed by more time cleaning than riding.

But do you need a road bike? No, IMO, if I didn’t want a slightly different bike to ride for a change and liked having to option to do a road race here and there, I would just use a mtb with slicks thus keeping the bikes feeling just the same(…still tempted to do this). Apparently a lot of MTB pro do this, although that’s just second hand information. Will be a bit slower than a road bike (although I am convinced that I am almost as fast on my MTB with xc tyres, than i am on my road bike, just more used to it and the position suits me better) but if fitness is the goal then should matter.

I find winter road riding grim. Up in Newcastle most of the more serious racers seem to do quite a bit of turbo and switch to mtbikes.

Icy roads are not fun and several people in the club (myself included) had crashes which stopped them riding for quite a while. Also because you are more static on the road bike I tend to find I get colder.

If you are down south then it may not be as bad but the amount of good safe winter riding days are small. I tended to go out on my mountain bike and make use of the waggonways (old railway paths) to get distance in.

Generally road biking improves my fitness but that’s more down to doing specific training rides, hard club runs and racing rather than just pootling on a different bike.

From what I understand – you get more efficient recovery from training on a road bike as you aren’t battering so many muscles, thus more efficient training, off road is too high intensity if you do it all the time (unless you live in Thetford I guess).

And training is all about receovery, as we all know.

Yes, road riding does improve your fitness for MTB. It allows you to consistently keep pedalling, unlike MTB, which builds up aerobic fitness and muscular endurance. You can fit more traning sessions in as it takes less time to recover due to the fact that MTB gives your whole body a battering from its rough nature, whereas road riding does not. As somebody mentioned, it allows you to stay in specific heart zones for long periods of time accurately, unlike MTB which constantly fluctuates.

It’s a well known fact that most pros do the vast majority of their training on the road. See here:

http://www.xcracer.com/Master-Class-With-Jose-Hermida-and-Gunn-Rita.html

really you should just try harder on the road HTH

I didn’t say I don’t get my HR up high, I just said it’s easier and more likley in general riding to get it closer to max on the MTB.

I’m very familiar with the various kinds of interval training on road thanks 🙂

IMHO off road is a little like [long]interval training long draggy climbs freewheeeling down hills long draggy climbs freewheeling down hil etc

That depends where you ride. Very few long draggy climbs where I live and not much freewheeling on the downs either.

“fell runners and non-fell runners ‘use different muscles'”. Same muscles used in different proportions which makes a fair difference e.g. http://jap.physiology.org/content/83/6/2073.short

MSP – Member

Do they? links please.

The beauty of Twitter and the like. Let’s you see into the lives of people.

“fell runners and non-fell runners ‘use different muscles'”. Same muscles used in different proportions which makes a fair difference e.g. http://jap.physiology.org/content/83/6/2073.short

… because road or trail runners never run uphill?

yes, is the short answer.
you can train at specific cadence/HR much more easily on the road (not necessarily a road bike), and by training at specific combinations (e.g. at your threshold HR for a given cadence) you’ll ultimately generate more power for a given HR. Also much easier to practice pedalling through 360..nice smooth cadence makes maintaining traction on slippy stuff much easier, rather than mashing the pedals.

The beauty of Twitter and the like. Let’s you see into the lives of people.

Its also provides information in the public domain that can be linked to.

I definitely find I’m a lot fitter on the MTB when I’ve been doing a lot of road biking but I think it all comes down to the amount of time spent on the bike. When heading out on the mtb I find it takes planning, thinking about where to go and getting all the gear together (usually a drive to get there too) road biking can be done from the front door planning the route as I go.

Definitely find I can go for longer on the mtb when doing a lot of road riding but not so sure about the improvement on the climbs. Once I get fit on one it tends to rub off on the other meaning I spend more time on both.

Not sure about this winter option either. I hate the roads when they’re icy and snowy and find it pretty difficult to warm up on the road bike. On the mtb I enjoy the easy trails turning to super difficult in those conditions (as long as it’s still passable unlike last Decemeber), definitely wouldn’t be my choice to head out on skinny tyres through the winter.

Thinking about it, have actually been pretty dissapointed with recent results in mtb endurance events (10UTB & GT7) where I thought I’d do better yet I’ve been pretty happy with times in road events. Maybe time to do mtb miles before 10@KT….

I would just ride your mtb on the road and try and do some hill reps.
It would be better training than a road bike because of having to pedal with bigger softer tyres and would be a comfier ride. 🙂

I literally spent years thinking that road bikes probably werent for me, but after realising that I was likely to get more milage in I took the plunge last year.
3 road bikes later im hooked, and wish id done it years ago. I feel the fitness advantage (cross training with MTB and running) and massively enjoy long ride outs now. Rode home 80 miles from Isle of Wight last week and was best ride of the year so far.

Do it, make sure it fits well, and enjoy.

“… because road or trail runners never run uphill?”

Then cycling will help with those components, however I think it is fair to generalize by saying fell runners do far more uphill running than road or trail runners, hence for those disciplines there is far less of an advantage training in a way intended to help on the hills (e.g. cycling).

So the answer is yes, no and maybe.

“not necessarily a road bike”

This is an important point – I once read the website of a cycling coach who said that he had coached a youth/junior to a national championship and he never even owned a road bike, though he did ride his MTB on road. Can’t recall the link now unfortunately.

Yes. Although I agree with the “not nec’ a road bike”.

I put semi slicks on my MTB, not full slicks, so I can still blast down vehicle tracks as well as tarmac.

Without question all the fittest/best climbing riders that come to AMV put in a lot of road time.

The only thing I don’t like about my road bike is how flimsy it feels – get worried when I approach rough roads, pot holes etc (loads of this round here) as it feels like it’s gonna fold under me.

I stuck some road tyres and changed the gearing on the 29er about 6 weeks ago. It has yet to leave the flat.

Why? I dunno really. I’m finding that I have no motivation to ride it. The advantages talked about above – doesn’t need cleaning etc were why I did it, but I’ve found I prefer going out for a run.

Been taking the HR monitor and timing myself. In 6 weeks I’ve knocked 4 mins off my time for 4 miles so I’m getting fitter. Slowly.

Sounds like you need a CX bike tom 😆

for me, the pleasure of mountain biking is in riding interesting trails, and here, my speed is limited by my technical ability.

it’s exercise, but the intensity is not high.

(i could go a little bit faster, but i’d crash a lot more)

for me the pleasure of road riding is in the sensation of speed, and yes, the exertion of a good climb.

i spend much more time near my limit; – i went out for a half hour spin on the road bike last night, and spent at least 15mins exploring every spare recess of lung capacity.

(mainly because i’m asthmatic, not very fit, i live somewhere hilly, and just about every hill is hard work)

Yeah I’m selling the road bike to go traveling soon anyway, when I get back I’ll probably get a cx or light rigid 29er with slicks 🙂

A change from riding trails to roads helps keep to mind and mojo fresh

I agree with this, if you can find nice traffic-free road loops to ride. Road bikes barrel along and feel smooth, just rolling and rolling with far lower drag and instant response from the pedals. Great fun, head down, blasting about virtually deserted country roads around here.

Obviously it’s not going to help with off-road technique, but I think all riding is good training for legs and lungs.

I can’t get huffing and puffing on open roads, the pain overcomes me well before that point. I do on steep chossy MTB climbs tho.

Not read the entire post, but from a personal perspective:

It all depends upon the terrain and how you are using the road bike and your training regime.

As an incredibly simple rule of thumb (not an absolute) the following might help….

Cadence

If you only train high cadence with easy gears (prob more specific to turbo sessions than roads due to controlled environment…..unless you live in Milton Keynes) then no, your mtbing will not see massive improvements from a hill-climbing/power point of view. You will, however lose weight and improve your conditioning + your bodies memory to ‘feel’ what’s high which is very important when you introduce…….

Power

There are volumes on ‘the best’ way to train this but essentially, is the ability to turn a high resistance over a prolonged time and cadence does fit into it; you choose how to define these parameters. Clearly, too much power training will knock off your cadence (high cadence does save energy/the legs for the run phase of triathlons….but there’s lots to say on this).

When trained correctly, which I am not atm, high cadence and power training will take your MTBing into a new dimension + when you get back on the MTB those extra gears will feel like you are cheating ?

CAVEAT

The above is neither definitive, nor exhaustive. It is intended to shed some light on how to bring road biking into MTBing. I will say this, it doesn’t happen over-night and takes a HUGE amount of regular effort.

Hmmm. Not clear cut is it.

Also, Joe Friel says its important to rest over the “winter” period by doing something different (he recommends weights / swimming / aerobics)otherwise by May you’re mentally and possibly physically exhausted by continual cycling.

Last year I used weights in the week and 1 MTB ride through the gloop at the weekend – more accidentally akin to Joe’s recommndation than continual road riding…

Makes sense, and I guess he knows what he’s talking about…..

Road biking will help you develop better heart and lungs. It also makes it easier to learn how to manage your energy levels over varying endurances. It will also develop certain muscles that you’ll use in mountain biking but not all. For example, you’ll be able to use your road developed muscle to climb consistently on a long, steady climb but mountain biking needs occasional bursts of power to overcome an obstacle that you just don’t get to do on the road.

But, if your aim is to improve your mountain biking fitness (ignoring skills, which is a whole other area), I’d ride on road, off road, run, swim, lift weights and stretch. All will help.

I’ve read a lot of this now and as far as I can see, there’s no way that fitness developed pushing such thin tyres can possibly translate to mountain biking. Think about it, if you were say, training to lift huge weights, there’d be no point in say, doing power cleans with 5kg dumb bells, but in essence that’s what you’re doing with road cycling. As soon as you get on a mountain bike, your feeble road leg muscles will struggle to cope with bigger, heavier tyres.

So, for example, although Chris Boardman would be good on a road bike, on a mountain bike, he’d likely struggle. In fact, I would suggest that an averagely fit mountain biker off road would still have an edge over even a very strong roadie, maybe even a Tour rider.

I’m not saying road cycling is rubbish, but don’t expect any fitness benefit from it as regards your mountain biking. You are already mountain bike fit, chances are that riding a road bike will actually diminish your mountain bike fitness. That said, if you like the idea of riding on the road, that’s what it’s all about. Maybe fit some bigger, heavier tyres if you want real fitness benefits from it. HTH.

As regards the muscle thing, spot on, no way can a roadie climb off road. This requires specially developed muscle which only mountain biking can generate.

as far as I can see, there’s no way that fitness developed pushing such thin tyres can possibly translate to mountain biking. Think about it, if you were say, training to lift huge weights, there’d be no point in say, doing power cleans with 5kg dumb bells, but in essence that’s what you’re doing with road cycling. As soon as you get on a mountain bike, your feeble road leg muscles will struggle to cope with bigger, heavier tyres.

I think you’re talking a load of tosh tbh. Training on the road bike can target specific weaknesses in fitness, unlike riding a mountain bike. For example increasing your FTP if you train with a PowerTap. Sure, you need to keep your skills in check, but its the same fitness. You can spend a much better hour of training on the road than the mountain bike I would say.

In fact, I would suggest that an averagely fit mountain biker would still have an edge over even a very strong roadie, maybe even a Tour rider.

Really?? Think about what you’re saying for a minute 🙄 .

Yes you will get huge fitness gains from riding road, if you train smartly.