MTB vs Road why is your fave your fave?

Hodders

Hodders

Hodders

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
5,243
Location
Riding my bike
This is absolutely NOT an attempt to say which is better....

One of the reasons I vastly prefer MTB to road is just the views. Off road, you get to see tracks, cycle through woods and see the countryside at it's very best.

zVxubyC.jpg

Whenever I go on road for a bit of the ride, I just get bored of the tarmac and the cars.....

Why do you prefer your preferred option?
 
Surely it's now MTB > Gravel > Road?

I prefer mtb, not for the views that's done mostly on the gravel these days. Thought that depends on the situation, I've had some epic views on the roadie! When you get a few thousand metres up, the views are nearly always awesome :)

I prefer mtb for air, sideways, smashing through rocks and generally the emptyness that brings. You can't think about much else really.

Don't need a mtb to get proper views ;)

yzFwtQ6.jpg
 
Never owned a proper mountain bike but I prefer cycling on tarmac as I feel like I can go fast on it. MTB does look a lot of fun though especially at the harder end


This looks like the most fun you could have on two, non motor-powered, wheels.
 
Junglist said:
Never owned a proper mountain bike but I prefer cycling on tarmac as I feel like I can go fast on it. MTB does look a lot of fun though especially at the harder end

*Snip*

This looks like the most fun you could have on two, non motor-powered, wheels.
Click to expand...

Some mentalist MTBers


I enjoy MTB (bit tamer than above), gravel and road depends on when, where, who with and the weather :D
 
Cross country MTB for me.

Used to road cycling years ago before life and a period of illness took over and I took a considerable number of years absence from any cycling.

Decided to get back into it 2 years ago and purchased a mountain bike. I've had back injuries in that time and knew that my body wouldn't like getting back on a road bike for 2+ hour rides. Can ride for hours on the MTB, probably due to seating position and the constant body movement when riding.

Also like browsing the OS Maps website, plotting a route along bridleways, paths, sticking in my newly acquired Garmin unit and just hitting the countryside.
 
I don't have a favourite as each has its positives and negatives.

Mtb is great but I'm only a xc guy and with sdw on my doorstep it's great to just head up there, however having to clean the bike after every winter ride and some summer rides as well as any riding on road is demoralising.

Cx/gravel is great aa you can make progress and descents although sketchy keep you on your toes. If the bridleway runs out it's not as depressing.

Both of these are good to avoid motorists but you get the joys of dog walkers and people round this way to contend with instead.

Road is great as it's easier to ride as a group and have a proper social ride whilst still moving, can do it from home with ease and do long days in the saddle to get a long way from home, and in my sadistic head nothing beats an alpine climb followed by descending for 15 mins. But you have to deal with car drivers in the UK...
 
Last edited:
Definitely MTB for me. I enjoy the adrenaline rush of tackling challenging singletrack and downhill, plus it's still an excellent cardio workout. It's also much safer than road biking imo, I simply don't trust drivers not to do something stupid. At least if I get hurt on an MTB it's probably my own fault, can't say the same on a road bike.
 
Have had a road bike since I was a kid

At 34 I bought my eMTB. It's only a front suspension, but it's so much better than my road bike.

Just for being able to go down coastal path, into the hills. Just so much more scope.

Electric makes the huge weight no issue
 
nicktay2605 said:
Definitely MTB for me. I enjoy the adrenaline rush of tackling challenging singletrack and downhill, plus it's still an excellent cardio workout. It's also much safer than road biking imo, I simply don't trust drivers not to do something stupid. At least if I get hurt on an MTB it's probably my own fault, can't say the same on a road bike.
Click to expand...
This sums up my feelings.
 
MTB for sure. Road cycling just doesn't do it for me and I never feel safe every time I hear a car coming, too many idiots on the roads. With MTB there's no cars and it's just more exciting due to the rough terrain. Standing in the middle of a deserted forest just hearing nature around you does wonders for the mind. Always come back home tired but satisfied and most of all happy!
 
I didn't think I would ever say this as I was a die hard MTBer, but road for me now.
The convenience of walking out your door and covering big distances over a morning etc is what appeals to me most.
The faff of driving to trails (particularly when I rode a lot of downhill), then riding, then faffing about packing and driving back (when sweaty, tired etc) just got to me after a while.
 
I bought a gravel bike with the intention of being able to tackle a mixed bag of conditions and terrain. In reality, I've converted the gravel bike to a "road spec" with skinnier slick tyres and picked up a second hand hard tail for trails etc. Lesson learned...
 
Gravel bikes are great if you have the miles upon miles of fire road they're built for, unfortunately not in great supply in much of the UK. Or you're more experienced and don't mind a bit of punishment on the rough stuff.
 
MTB for me. I only got back into Cycling after a 30+ year break. Love getting out and seeing the countryside. To be fair i've not tried the road stuff, but my limited experience of it on a MTB has put me off, with full on road rage incidents happening when i just link a few miles of road into a ride, i'd hate to see what it would be like doing 100+ miles that my mates like doing.
 
This is so dependent on where you live, what your friends are into and what you have access to/what the roads are like for traffic around you. If I lived where I used to (mid-wales) then I quite easily could've ended up MTB'ing and CX'ing. But where I am now, although there's lots of that around, it's just as easy to be a road rider. For me the social side and commuting is important, which is road.

I generally find on road set myself more challenges (generally climbs and routes for me). So more social. Costs far less. And I would say it gives me more fitness.

Number of times I've ridden on the road in the last 5 years: 23,000+. Number of times clipped by cars: 4? 5? Number of times crashed not involved with another vehicle: 3. Number of times with any injury: 2.
Number of times I've ridden offroad the last 5 years: 4. Number of times injured: 3. No vehicles involved.

LOL I'll stick to road thanks. It's far safer! :D

Bike parks my mates ride are boring for scenery - just trees and loads of people, generally in the way. As a mediocre punchy road rider, I can out-climb all of my MTB buddies on trails and have far more stamina. Although most of them are eMTB riders now so a little harder to keep up with them. I really need to do more MTB as get quite a lot of bike skills from it you miss as a road rider, so that aspect of it I'd say MTB is more skilled. I probably need to ride easier stuff as well, to get injured less doing so! ;)
 
Last edited:
Roady said:
This is so dependent on where you live, what your friends are into and what you have access to/what the roads are like for traffic around you. If I lived where I used to (mid-wales) then I quite easily could've ended up MTB'ing and CX'ing. But where I am now, although there's lots of that around, it's just as easy to be a road rider. For me the social side and commuting is important, which is road.
Click to expand...

100% this. Growing up there were loads of bridalways and forests around me, so I naturally got into mountain biking. As an adult, I moved to the city and couldn't drive. There was nowhere for me to go mountain biking without a 20 mile trip on the roads first. That was when I got into road biking which if I'm honest I prefer now. Once I move to a bigger house I'll probably get another mountain bike as I can drive to bike parks now, but I certainly won't give the road bike up. Riding 100+ hilly miles (mostly in the Yorkshire Dales) is an awesome feeling and some of the roads are as quiet as trails!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom