Just been out on the road bike. My God! after a winter of pootl'ing on the Mountain bikes just been out on the road bike and done 6 quick miles.

Conclusion: Winter mountain biking does not keep you fit enough for road riding

Ride faster off road then!

I discovered that as the winter started and mostly kept to the road in order to stay fit. Did my 1st sportive on Sunday and reckon I'd have struggled without the road riding.

Maybe but winter road riding keeps you fit for MTB.

I found commuting through heavy snow on the FS the best work out I've had in ages

If you just rode 6 miles on your roadbike you are clearly still fit enough for road riding, dumbass!!

I'd say mountain biking comes a very poor second at actually keeping you fit compared to road riding. For increasing fitness levels there is nothing better than the steady all day spin you do on a road bike with some nice big hill climbs thrown in to keep it interesting. I'd also say road riding is hugely better at burning off fat too.

Which is interesting because I'd say mountain biking is a lot more like fartlek training which is supposed to be the best method of increasing fitness.

All from personal experience of course.

whatever road biking is still ghey as ****

leave roads for cars

soulrider, tell that to Jens Voight

leave roads for bikes

I'm not sure what ghey is but watching the riders climbing then descending some of those mountain passes seems a pretty good proof of toughness.

And watching them slide down a road at 30mph then leap back up and grab a new bike and carry on, still bleeding :p OK some are pansies and break their collar bones and sit about looking for sympathy but that's not the norm.

As for fitness – I find road riding is better for building up a good base fitness but I rarely red line as much on the road as on an MTB (it's more your choice on the road rather than terrain dictating it off-road).

OK some are pansies and break their collar bones and sit about looking for sympathy but that's not the norm.

LOL, yeah cos that wouldn't stop you riding, nor hurt at all 🙄

I never said it wasnt tough..
I just said it was ghey..

some people…

i left the road bike in the garage over winter, started using it again this week. i forgot how fast it bloody is.

Cynic-al I think he was being sarcastic…..

Had a modest 'Eureka' moment at the weekend by using one bike for both while visiting home; from 35 mls in road guise –

to an hours XC via a quick tyre change –

(photopage)

Definitely going to try that again 🙂

The old mtb v road argument again .Is anyone else just a cyclist who rides most stuff and does not want to be pigeon holed?

What's ghey?

I'd say mountain biking comes a very poor second at actually keeping you fit compared to road riding.

Spot on IMO.

I dunno, but ask soulrider he seems to be the expert.

Cynic-al I think he was being sarcastic…..

Oh fair enough, I just assume people are stupid. It's more fun.

I have ridden them both through winter coz clearly I am hard as nails.
I have been doing singlespeed commutes for two weeks now but off on the road bike tomorrow on same route suspect it will be seem very fast.
I agree with Samurai re workout you get fitter but as other note you red line far less which is what you need for mtb – I suspect extra weight helps on MTB re tractionand total power as opposed to power to weight on road.
I know better MTB than me but I would drop them all on the road if they were man enough to own a proper road bike.

Oh dear, is it that time again 🙄

Not an argument, I love riding my mountain bike it's ace, mint, cool awesome, sweet, sick, wicked, fresh, class, quality, sound, phat, dope solid, well good, safe, smoking, rad, boss and most high key!

I like riding my road bike but not nearly as much. This is because I hate cars seeing how close they can get without killing me.

In my mind I think mountain biking is harder, really long slow climbs, plugging through gloop but this morning trying to keep the road bike above 20mph for 6 miles nearly killed me and I've been out on the MTB every week over winter riding through some of the sh!test weather.

With the road bike it feels like every watt of power that comes out of your legs go straight to the back wheel. (this is a different thrill to singletrack but a good feeling non the less)

I think it has made me realise that as much as I'd pick up the MTB 1st time every time doing a few evening 10's has to be good training. I think 30mins-1hr fast on a road bike is worth a whole afternoon of mountain bike riding fitness wise. (not enjoyment)

Both are as hard as you make them, it's a pretty meaningless comparison.

This is because I hate cars seeing how close they can get without killing me.

yep that is is the bad bit about road riding, but much better if you can get away from main roads.

Both are as hard as you make them, it's a pretty meaningless comparison.

I'd be inclined to disagree. Obviously on the same surface then yes, but on typical mountain biking territory – bumpy hills, muddy paths, I don't believe you can maintain the same level of cardiovascular activity as you could on similarly hilly tarmac. As I say though, just personal experience.

In reality many MTBers, at a professional level, ride road bikes as part of their training. Road riders do not ride MTB as part of their training. There may be a reason for this. If you are serious[anal] about training you need to do it on road to be able to monitor HR/power and keep it in the zones. I often find on the mtb that the terrain decides the effort not you hence it is less effective. Over exerting yourself [redline for ages]is not necessarily great training or the bets way of improving fitness. Again I agree with Samurai

^^^^^^^
Seems to make sense

samuri – Member
I don't believe you can maintain the same level of cardiovascular activity as you could on similarly hilly tarmac.

You're not trying hard on tarmac are you?

This helps prove my point – casual riders dont have to ride as hard on tarmac, so they don't bother.

In reality many MTBers, at a professional level, ride road bikes

I'd actually go as far as to say all do.

Im afraid to say that like for like road biking is significantly harder on you in terms of fitness.

With the exception of racing or when you are riding mtb with somebody really pushing you, it is far too easy to back off and not push it off road.

I personally feel on road i can't do this – perhaps the gears don't allow it, praps looking down at your computer and seeing yourself doing 15mph is too galling…

But like for like, a ride out on my road bike will ALWAYS be harder (fitness wise) than going out on my mtb.

I would have thought so. I'm only a tail end Charlie in races, but when I tried returning to road racing after a decade of mountainbiking I got seriously found out.
So I upped the road training and that's had a significant effect on my mountainbike speed.

Road riders do not ride MTB as part of their training.

Not strictly true. Where I live in Germany there are quite a few road pros who also live here. I quite often see them riding their MTBs in the off season. Helps with keeping it all interesting apparently.

As said before the main advantage of road riding is that you can easily stay within your training zones on a ride which keeps you on track if you are following a training regime. With mountain biking I have read that on an average ride a rider is in a zone just under red lining which sees the least improvement in fitness.

Having said that when I have been racing on my road bike as soon as the road hits a hill I leave all the dedicated roadies for dust.

You're not trying hard on tarmac are you?

Nah, I just bimble along.

You stopped for 13 minutes in a 2 hour road ride? Did you have several punctures!?

17.8 average? Yes you do.

Er does it not depend on the amount of climbing?

BTW, I came in the top 20% of the sportive I just did and averaged 15.5 mph – I don't think I'm fast but there's a lot slower out there it seems.