mtb'ers and roadies?

[sundial]

How many of you mtb'ers ride road bikes? If so, how often?

[bounceswoosh]

I just got a road bike after several years of mountain biking. And just did my first "real" road ride (30 miles; I plan to post about it a little later). I don't expect to enjoy road as much as mtb, but DH just got a road bike, I have friends who ride road, and I hear a lot of people saying it really helps in mtb climbing. And I figure when it's been raining, I can ride a bike with a clear conscience, rather than dithering about whether the trails will be dry enough to ride them without causing damage.

[MALcontent]

I've been spending more and more time on my road bike. There's lots of great riding right from my house, so I don't have to throw the bike on the car as much as my MTB. Also, I enjoy riding alone a lot more on my road bike than on my MTB. It's also a great way to develop your overall fitness. I've generally been pleased at how time on the road bike transmits to fitness on the MTB.

[bike4ever]

Interesting question. I was always a roadie until last summer. I turned to the dark side and haven't looked back since. Unfortunately, the midwest has been drenched this spring, so I've had to do a few more road rides. I was able to get out today for a terrific mountain ride. I can't wait until more trails dry for a better selection.

[singletrackmind]

Been mountain biking since '91, got a 'real' road bike in '98. Hung up the road and mtn bike last year when I got a mtn tandem that we mostly do road rides on though we do get occasional dirt in, too. We did the Midwest Mtn Bike Festival weekend before last. Fun fun fun!
Like bike4ever says, around here it's as wet as they let that wet pet get.

[divingbiker]

I wouldn't call myself either an MTB'er or a roadie, but I ride both. Road more than MTB, mostly because I can do a road ride by myself but don't feel comfortable in the woods alone after my crash last year.

I just like all kinds of riding--MTB, road, commuting, errands...

[7rider]

Well, I'm probably more of a roadie who rides a mtb than the other way around. The road bikes get about 90% of the use. Primarily, mtb'ing for me is a social event....I don't care to go alone in the woods (whereas I do road rides alone and commute to work alone). Because it's a social event, it takes planning and consensus (and driving to the trailhead). Therefore, the regularly scheduled group rides from the LBS or easy road rides right outside our front door usually win the day.

[bounceswoosh]

Posts about not MTBing alone are interesting to me -- when I first started riding my MTB (after years without ever riding a bike), I wanted people around. But I found that I was so hard on myself, so worried about whether they were frustrated with my pace, etc, that it wasn't necessarily fun, even if it was nice to have that safety blanket in case something went wrong.

And I also found that if I waited for DH to come ride with me, a lot of times he would put it off and put it off, and then finally tell me he didn't really want to go late enough in the day that I ended up not going, either. Or we'd go together, and I'd be puffing so hard I thought I would puke, and he'd be cruising along telling me I should keep pushing myself. It wasn't necessarily a good combo.

So I got into the habit of riding stuff solo. Always trails I'm familiar with, and always popular trails where I can expect lots of other people to be around. I love setting my own pace, stopping when I want to, and -- this is something that drives DH nuts -- when I see someone who looks like they could use some encouragement or someone who seems friendly, stopping to chat with them.

I end up riding my mountain bike solo a lot more often than I ride with other people, and I enjoy that freedom. Riding with others is a lot more fun now, too, knowing that it's my choice.

Don't get me wrong -- I totally understand the desire to have others around. And when I ride with other people, I have the freedom to explore new terrain and to be a little more gutsy than I would be alone.

Maybe if I weren't so hung up on the concern about holding people back (even after they tell me they don't care), it would be a different story. For me, riding alone = less pressure (self-imposed).

[Irulan]

haven't really done a road ride in about 15 years. I hung up the steel road bike after a few too many firecrackers, water balloons, and crazed SUV drivers. I gave my roadie to a steel bike collector last year. I do errand running on the roads, does that count or not?

[ima_bleeder]

I definitely consider myself a mountain biker. I loathe car fumes and headwinds, and generally find the terrain less interesting than mountain biking. I also have the advantage of a large network of mountain bike trails from my back door (nearly). I rarely load my bike up to go mountain biking.

But, that said, my "road" ('cross) bike is getting a lot more miles these days. I was able to get my muscles in shape for all the anaerobic mountain bike work, but I never got the aerobic fitness. So now I'm riding on the road, a lot, to get endurance and an aerobic base for my mountain biking. And I'm learning to deal with the fumes, headwinds, and monotony, and I'm actually enjoying the road riding a bit more.

[sundial]

Interesting question. I was always a roadie until last summer. I turned to the dark side and haven't looked back since.

It was last summer when I decided to get my mtb to have something to ride every now and then in the winter. Turns out I'd rather be on the mtb than the road bike and I ride in the parks where there's no traffic, it's scenic and peaceful. I did finally put in a road ride the other day and although it was a great aerobic workout, it seemed kinda boring compared to the trail.

[atombessy]

I ride both on a regular basis, my ideal week is a few days on the commuter bike, one good road ride (20-35 miles) and one good mt ride. I just like to bike generally, and each type provides it's own challenges. The nice thing about the road bike is I can start a ride right from the house (I live in the city, about 3 miles from the start of paved MUT trails), it challenges me to keep a good cadence (which is hard for me, I get distracted easily and I have to work pretty hard to keep a steady pace), and when I feel like zoning out a bit it's a better choice than the mountain bike. But mountain biking gets me out in the woods, challenges me to pay attention to the trail, can get me away from the crowds, and makes me say 'weeee.'

what can I say, I love both!!

[Kristi]

I ride my mountain bike 2-3 days a week. I ride Tuesdays and sometimes Thursdays after work, and every Saturday morning.

I also ride my road bike a couple days a week (wish I rode more). I ride it every Sunday morning. And I try to get in a week day ride after work one day.

It's already in the 100's here, so my time on the road is going to get shorter. It's time to head into the mountains.

[Trekhawk]

Well, I'm probably more of a roadie who rides a mtb than the other way around. The road bikes get about 90% of the use.

I would say I am the same as 7rider a roadie who mountain bikes sometimes. I do not mountain bike alone unless its a fire trail or something easy as I fall waaay too much. When I was in the States I was also afraid of being lunch for some big cat so I preferred to be with someone. At least they could call for help if needed.
Riding alone on my road bike never worries me.:)

[NbyNW]

Mtb was my only bike for many years (since 1998), so it was my everything bike. In recent years it's had slicks on it for doing errands around the neighborhood since I've been too busy to take it out of the city.

I had a really bad back injury about two years ago and wanted to start cycling again to get some cardio into my workout, and the slicks were not terribly gratifying for this purpose. I also worried that getting out on rough terrain might lead to re-injury, so decided to look for a road bike. It took a while to find one small enough for me, but it's been the right move, and I'm planning to put knobby tires back on the mtb so it can go back to doing what it does best, once I'm healed and strong enough.