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Cycling Forum: Difference Between Bike Types

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    • CommentAuthorFree Memberneon0107
    • CommentTimeMay 1st 2008
     
    neon0107

    Hello All.  I am new to this site and enjoying it very much.  I am also new to biking.  Now that I live in a great climate for outdoor activity I picked up biking.  Really out of shape, but having fun.  It has only been two weeks and about 8 rides.  Started with a simple 3 mile ride and today made it 15 miles.  I got a mountain bike, because I had intentions of doing a lot of off road trails with all the parks in this area.  Now that I am doing this as an exercise routine, I find I am doing more road riding than anything.  I was woundering what the benefits are to having more of a road bike than a mountain bike for all of this road riding I am doing.  I was looking at the Novara Forza Bike at REI.  This is a little bit of both, since the road riding I do does go through the park walking trails, there are some loose gravel sections.  Just wanted to know what some of the differences are when riding a road bike and a mountain bike when doing rides on the roads.  Is it worth investing in another bike.  Just not to expensive.

     Thanks in advance

    Ian

    • CommentAuthorFree MemberCosmo420
    • CommentTimeMay 2nd 2008
     
    Cosmo420

    While you don't necessarily need a true "road" bike, a mountain bike isn't the best choice for road riding.  The wider, knobby tires cause a lot of rolling resistance.   You will see a big difference going to a bike like you posted.

    • CommentAuthorFree Memberlisandom
    • CommentTimeMay 3rd 2008
     
    lisandom

    this is how i became a roadie!

    love mtn bike/trail riding, but there's something very satisfying seeing miles flying by on the road.  also, much less bumpy and turny...

    i have a fuji flat bar road bike, not wanting to COMPLETELY abandon my mtn biker roots, and it's fast and fun, both uphill and down.

     Added bonus, when back on the mtn bike, i've been able to easily ride up trails that i couldn't before.

    don't be afraid to spend "too much" for a machine that you will use and WILL improve your fitness. you could spend way more on a gym membership. but with your weather, why would you?

    also, go to your local bike shop to buy.  the future support you'll get there is invaluable! from tune ups to free replacement of cracked crank arms. rei don't do that!

     sorry if this is too much info.  i just LOVE BIKING!

    • CommentAuthorFree Memberneon0107
    • CommentTimeMay 3rd 2008
     
    neon0107

    Thanks Cosmo420 and lisandom for your comments.  I will start looking into a road bike as I too love watching the miles fly by.  It makes me feel good when I look at my gps watch and see how many miles I have gone.  There are a ton of bike shops in downtown Austin so I will be visting a few of those this weekend.

    Thanks again, any many happy miles to both of you.

    • CommentAuthorFree MemberPBA
    • CommentTimeMay 7th 2008
     
    PBA

    Road bikes good.  Mountain Bikes not so good!

    That's a personal viewpoint!

    Do remember that if you are doing this for fitness, any kind of bike is good just so long as you are enjoying it.

     

    I'd certainly give it several months before you give any serious thought to a road specific bike.  These can be expensive and they usually have higher gearing which can make hills difficult until you get some strength.  Your longest ride so far is 15 miles.  Try and do longer rides with your current bike, and try as many different surfaces as you can...

    • CommentAuthorFree Memberewums
    • CommentTimeMay 8th 2008
     
    ewums
    Mountain Bikes are for crashing
    • CommentAuthorFree Memberd1rty
    • CommentTimeMay 8th 2008
     
    d1rty

    Bikes are to me like shoes are to my wife, You can never have too many!

    I'd start by getting some slicks for your mountain bike and ditching the nobbly tyres.  You'll find this will make things a lot better on road, and you'll be fine on gravel paths.

     A true road bike can only be ridden on smooth tarmac or you'll destroy it, and you :)

    @PBA MTB > ROAD Tongue out (its the shaved leg lycra thing, you're very wrong!)

     

  8.  
    mellophonium

    D1rty has a great suggestion about putting street tires on your mountain bike.  I have done the same thing so that I can ride my mountian bike to work instead of risking my road bike outside work all day.  I have three friends that have what I would describe as "cruisers",  flat bars and wider than road tires but narrower than mountian tires.  These bikes do very well on road and can still be riden on some light trails.  Two of the bikes are Treks and were purchased for around $300.  I can not recall what brand the third bike is but was purchased for around $400. 

     

    PS I have three bikes,  so don't feel bad if you have more than one bike.

    • CommentAuthorFree MemberMk1Racer
    • CommentTimeMay 18th 2008
     
    Mk1Racer
    You may want to look into what's known as a 'cyclocross' bike.  For lack of a better way to describe it, it's a road bike that's designed to handle a bit of rough terrain.  You won't want to use it to do big jumps or big drops, but it will surely handle gravel, tow paths, and other off-road stuff while still being a decent ride on the road.
    • CommentAuthorFree Membernatehoy
    • CommentTimeAug 18th 2008
     
    natehoy

    I have a T-handlebar cycle that has a road bike-ish frame that is commonly referred to as a "Hybrid" cycle.  Specifically, it's a Specialized Sirrus (base model).

     It came stock with 700x28 tires, and due to a large number of flats I replaced them with a set of "Armadillo" tires which my local shop only carried in 700x25.

     It's OK on hard gravel - I live down a 1/4 mile driveway and I have to go over a little tight-packed gravel (and I ride on a busy 50MPH road so I spend a lot of time in the broken glass lane).

    It's NOT a mountain bike by any stretch, but few stretches of the roads I ride on have very rough and ugly potholed edges, and I'm frequently forced into those edges by autos, so I know the bike will take a significant amount of abuse.

    It's an inexpensive cycle for a road bike (I got it on clearance, but I think the new ones are under $600), and I can do my 30-mile-a-day commute on it without too much trouble.  My average commute speed, in mildly hilly terrain, is about 15-16MPH, and I can maintain about 18 on level ground without any pain.  I'm 39 and this is my first "serious" year of cycling, so I'm no Lance.

     I think the "Hybrid" type cycle is an inexpensive step-up from a mountain bike to a road-ish bike without blowing a lot of dough.

     Honestly, though, if you are in it for the exercise, put some smoother tires on that mountain bike and "feel the burn".  A new bike is a lot of dough to increase the numbers on your cyclocomputer without actually getting a better workout.  :)

     Tires are pretty cheap, get a semi-smooth set and put them on the mountain bike (especially on the rear tire) and see if that makes you happy.  If it doesn't, you're not out that much money.  If it does, you've saved yourself the cost of a whole new cycle.

    Unless you plan on distance (errands, commuting, etc), the key to exercise is spending quality TIME on the cycle.  IMHO Start measuring your workouts on the stopwatch, not on the odomete.  Plus a slower ride allows you to see the scenery in more detail (grin).

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