Road bike vs Mountain bike for commuting

jonneymendoza

jonneymendoza

jonneymendoza

Soldato
Joined
7 Apr 2008
Posts
24,641
Location
Lorville - Hurston
Hi.

i just started riding to work but i only have a midrange mountain bike i got from decathlon. It is the btwin rockrider 560 one.

Decent bike but i get overtaken by pretty much everyone on the road with road bikes.

Are Road bikes that much faster then MTB or is it a case of me just needing to become stronger and faster at peddling?

Do people who ride MTB work harder compared to road bike users?

I dont wanna necesary spend cash on a road bike if im just going to be riding on the same speed!

Thoughts? Are road bikes that much faster in general then MTB?
 
Road bikers are always faster. And more handsome ;)

Does it really bother you that much though? I would say that a MTB would cruise around 15mph while a road bike does it at 18mph (making up the numbers to a large extent). I get dropped by both types of bikes often enough to stop worrying about it :)
 
If you've just started riding you could be on a super pro carbon road bike and still have people on MTBs sailing past you. As you've guessed, a lot of it is down to your fitness level and cycling ability.

That said, if you took two people equally fit and put one of them on a road bike the roadie would be substantially faster (on the road). Stick the same two people on a trail though and the MTBer would have a lot easier a time.

One option you could go for rather than go all out and buy a new road bike is just to stick some thinner and slicker tyres on your MTB. They'll help you roll much better on the road but obviously will give you less traction if you try anything off-road.
 
Get slick tyres first and foremost. That'll help, as FT says.

It depends a lot on the distance of your commute, the profile, route, etc how much it's worth getting a road bike. If it's 4 miles then you're not going to save much time even if you could double your speed.
 
Echo the tyres comment and pump them up nice and firm. Also try and lock the suspension out and keep your seat right up to ensure you're pedalling into the road and not your knees
 
:p

The ones you need to look out for are wiry old guys on battered old Releighs. They're without exception all ex-pro cyclists that average 30mph whilst looking like they're on a morning stroll to pick up the paper.
 
FrenchTart said:
:p

The ones you need to look out for are wiry old guys on battered old Releighs. They're without exception all ex-pro cyclists that average 30mph whilst looking like they're on a morning stroll to pick up the paper.
Click to expand...

Then they take up touring and beat you up climbs on bikes with 47 panniers and a tin bath hanging off the back.
 
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