Never ridden a road bike

[Danone]

I have no experience riding a road bike, how would i adapt having only ever ridden a mountain bike?

Being on-road majority of the time i've racked up many miles since riding and i'm always pushing myself to go further, i'm just not going fast enough! I have the energy and determination like many road cyclists but i'm still being over-taken by these endurance racers who all happen to be kitted up with the best road worthy bikes and equipment.

By no means do i think myself unfit because i ride 20 miles plus almost every day which i have been for many years and i very rarely take a break, why can't i reach the speeds of some of these cyclists? Is it the bike? Is lycra really necessary!? :roll:

I've underestimated the speed and power of a road bike and i want to try riding one.

 

[Kinetic-UK]

Hi Danone. I recently quit 5 years of cross country MTB and recently bought a retro Viking road bike.

It's easy as well....riding a bike ..... It took me less than half an hour to adapt to the bike and how it handles and now, after 2 weeks of straight riding it, it feels natural.

You're probably thinking nervously about the skinny tyres like I was. But as soon as I jumped on it I was enjoying every second of it compared to my old MTB.

I used to own a XC bike with 1.50" slicks but it was no where as near good as a real road bike.

Just have the seat slammed right down at the start of getting on a road bike, then gradually heighten the seatpost by 1cm at a time until you can ride it with the seat higher.

Hope this helps..

 

[Lysander]

You'll find that a proper road bike is like casual sodomy.........ye'll wonder why ye didn't try it years ago.......

If ye are riding your mtb on road with knobbly tyres, a set of slicks will make a huge difference.

 

[Kinetic-UK]

Mine made a little difference with slicks. It didn't make a huge difference though as when I rode my road bike there was no sluggish feeling. I had Schwalbe City Jets (1.50") and then Kojaks which were 1.35" and even with them pumped up to maximum PSi the bike still felt slow and heavy (even though the bike was light as it had Carbon eXotic rigid fork and the frame weighed 1500grams)

I would suggest a proper road bike too. My friend had slicks on his Orange Evo XC bike and he said compared to a road bike it's very far off.

 

[Lazarus]

Hi Danone The reason why road bikes burn off MTB's is simple, road bikes have almost nothing in common with MTB.

2 bikes I have are, 52-42 front / 13-27 rear (hill ratios) other bike 56-42 front / 12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21 rear (sprint flatish rides) My 56 IS extreme to most but not to me, I'm used to it. NO ONE catches me on a 56. I often ride 54-42.

I'll go up most small hills/short climbs on a 52, rarely dropping to 42.

Your MTB at best is gonna be 50,40,30 front, 13-32 rear.

Wheel size, cog ratio's, crank lengths, number of teeth on the front & rear cogs, aerodynamics, posture, frame geometries, but the big 1 for me is "shock absorbers". They steal a large proportion of the energy you put into your cranks.

Speed and more importantly ease at keeping high speeds is mainly down to delivery of the energy from your legs into the movement of the cycle. MTB are designed to "absorb" Road bikes are designed to "Deliver".

I have ridden road for 40years, but occassionally use MTB. Love both because I use each for what they where designed for. Wouldn't dream of going more than 10miles on roads/flat surface with an MTB because 10miles on an MTB to me would feel like 25miles on a road bike.

Another huge factor for speed is "surface area/drag on your tires" 23mm tyres grip the road surface just as good as 40mm MTB tyres, but have far less drag. You "feel" the roads on 23-25mm, you dont feel anything on MTB.

Get yourself a half decent road bike, ride it a few miles, then borrow a very decent road bike and feel the difference just between 2 road bikes for speed and ease of cadence.

Later buddy, yours Laz.

PS: Lycra is an absolute necessity if you have got a big packet and like the look on womens faces as you speed past

 

[Ross 1964]

Danone, I'm a recent returner to road biking after a 20 year break through injury.

Before I recently restored my 1980's road bike I was using an MTB with a lockout fork (to prevent energy losses described above) and very narrow (23c I think) slicks, pumped up to 125psi. This is about the best you can hope for within the limits of "MTB adapted for road", and it's not a bad compromise.

However, on returning to my old road bike the difference is massive. Even though it's an old, fairly modest lightweight touring bike (Reynolds 531c frame) rather than an out and out racer, it has decent wheels on it and with modern tyres pumped up above 100psi, it is a superb machine for the road compared to the converted MTB which I had previously thought was pretty good.

You can pick up a decent old lightweight 531 or Columbus framed tourer or racer for a very reasonable amount. If you can afford to, I'd urge you to do so.

You were asking how it feels to ride a road bike, I remember the first time I rode a 531 framed lightweight, after riding heavy lower-end road bikes for years. I vividly remember the feeling of the energy in my legs being converted like some sort of magic spring, into forward motion, the bike just felt alive! It sounds really corny but I'd be surprised if you didn't get the same amazing feeling!

I'd be interested to hear how you get on.

Anyway, there's plenty of good advice on this forum so go for it and enjoy it!

 

[hamster]

The main difference is aerodynamics - I have a slicked up MTB with drop bars and a proper road bike. Getting low and aerodynamic is simply easier with a road bike and above 15ish mph 80% of your effort is in beating wind resistance.

Yes, faster tyres etc make a difference, but the big one is posture once obvious ones like suspension losses have been removed.

As other have said, the fact it has taller gears makes you ride it more aggressively uphill which hugely increases average speed over the distance.