MTB to roadie...
Discussion
I gave up road riding in my teens and have not really spent any time on a racer since. I do a lot of MTB miles.
My work is doing a sponsored road ride and as with most things, it is turning competitive between consultancy departments. I have had a call from my boss stating that he needs me to take part and WIN cos all he has in his department is "fat geeks".
The ride is about 25-30 miles
Sooo ... I have a friend with a very nice Madone 5.9 (I will have to let him know I am stealing it!), how much road specific training will I have to do? Can I get off the MTB and on the roadie and stand a chance of not embarassing myself? am I going to heve to get out on the thing and spend more time dodging cars than I really want to?
He has the shimano ultegra 6700 pedals and girly baby feet so I cant get my flippers in his shoes, can I just change the cleats on my usual shoes? or will I have to buy some specific shoes for the pedals?
My work is doing a sponsored road ride and as with most things, it is turning competitive between consultancy departments. I have had a call from my boss stating that he needs me to take part and WIN cos all he has in his department is "fat geeks".
The ride is about 25-30 miles
Sooo ... I have a friend with a very nice Madone 5.9 (I will have to let him know I am stealing it!), how much road specific training will I have to do? Can I get off the MTB and on the roadie and stand a chance of not embarassing myself? am I going to heve to get out on the thing and spend more time dodging cars than I really want to?
He has the shimano ultegra 6700 pedals and girly baby feet so I cant get my flippers in his shoes, can I just change the cleats on my usual shoes? or will I have to buy some specific shoes for the pedals?
Hold your line
Avoid potholes
Avoid wet drain covers/painted lines on the road where possible
Warn others around you of any road furniture / potholes / parked cars they may not have seen
Hold your line
Car up (car overtaking you)
Car down (car coming towards you)
Hold your line
Be careful of wheel overlap with the person in front / behind
Think that should cover it
Avoid potholes
Avoid wet drain covers/painted lines on the road where possible
Warn others around you of any road furniture / potholes / parked cars they may not have seen
Hold your line
Car up (car overtaking you)
Car down (car coming towards you)
Hold your line
Be careful of wheel overlap with the person in front / behind
Think that should cover it
mtb riders are normally pretty fast on road bikes because off road is very similar to interval training (fast/slow/fast) on a road bike. mtbers also have good endurance on climbs as htey tend to feature on off road trails so i really dont think you will have any problems.
i always tend to stop more often on a mtb rather than on a road bike, normally to discuss each good downhill or rythmn section so just work on endurance, get on a spinning machine just to get your body used to 60 minutes of continuous effort at a constant pace.
i always tend to stop more often on a mtb rather than on a road bike, normally to discuss each good downhill or rythmn section so just work on endurance, get on a spinning machine just to get your body used to 60 minutes of continuous effort at a constant pace.
A lot of MTB'ing is all about positioning your weight for maximising balance, on the road you want to be a smooth and as efficient as possible and keep body movement minimal and be aware of maximising drafts, crosswinds, wind breaks etc.. try a few hills as well so you know whether you want to be out of the saddle and whether you prefer low or high cadence climbing.
pablo said:
mtb riders are normally pretty fast on road bikes because off road is very similar to interval training (fast/slow/fast) on a road bike. mtbers also have good endurance on climbs as htey tend to feature on off road trails so i really dont think you will have any problems.
i always tend to stop more often on a mtb rather than on a road bike, normally to discuss each good downhill or rythmn section so just work on endurance, get on a spinning machine just to get your body used to 60 minutes of continuous effort at a constant pace.
Partially agree/disagree i always tend to stop more often on a mtb rather than on a road bike, normally to discuss each good downhill or rythmn section so just work on endurance, get on a spinning machine just to get your body used to 60 minutes of continuous effort at a constant pace.
I got on a road bike 4y ago
I was a pretty fit MTBer
The climbs and sprints were OK but anything over 2h at pace was just torture
You may just be OK for 30 miles but it took me a while to build up the stamina for longer
But as said above you have a chance of monstering them on the climbs
Nice blag with the Madone BTW
It took me a whiIe to get used to the narrow bars on my roadbike. WouId be worth pacticing just for that. Gear shifts too, but they are fine pretty quickIy. It is not as intuitive not necessariIy having the brakes at you fingertips, but again you get used to that soon enough.
The distance wiII be ok with MTB fitness. You wiII probabIy find it easy due to the speedy nature of a roadbike. 30 road miIes is Iike a 15 miIe potter around an easy traiI.
The distance wiII be ok with MTB fitness. You wiII probabIy find it easy due to the speedy nature of a roadbike. 30 road miIes is Iike a 15 miIe potter around an easy traiI.
If you want to come out road riding with me, there's a couple of guys I work with who are keen - not that quick yet, but we do 20-25 miles after work, usually on a Wednesday.
Just's bike is a bit nice though - you'll have to train hard not to look "all the gear, no idea"!
Oh, and you'll have to shave your legs (assuming, of course, you don't already!).
Just's bike is a bit nice though - you'll have to train hard not to look "all the gear, no idea"!
Oh, and you'll have to shave your legs (assuming, of course, you don't already!).
AndrewM said:
If you want to come out road riding with me, there's a couple of guys I work with who are keen - not that quick yet, but we do 20-25 miles after work, usually on a Wednesday.
Just's bike is a bit nice though - you'll have to train hard not to look "all the gear, no idea"!
Oh, and you'll have to shave your legs (assuming, of course, you don't already!).
SHAVE MY LEGS? Just's bike is a bit nice though - you'll have to train hard not to look "all the gear, no idea"!
Oh, and you'll have to shave your legs (assuming, of course, you don't already!).
Do you know how long that will take?
As long as I dont have to do my back too, I may have to start wearing clothes...!
madbadger said:
It took me a while to get used to the narrow bars on my roadbike. Would be worth practising just for that.
I got a bit of a surprise when I first stood up on a roadbike. I guess I was used to the leverage of wide bars. It didn't take long to adjust, but it's worth doing it before the event.25-30 miles you should be fine. Definitely have a go on the road bike first though for these three reasons:
- as others have said it'll feel strange when you first stand up on the pedals (lighter weight, narrower bars, different hand position).
- You need to learn how to brake and swerve about, especially if it's a race (just in case!). This is very different on a road bike, as most don't have brakes on the hoods and with your hands and arms in narrower the balance is different.
- Even though you're used to being clipped in, pedalling will probably feel very different due to the different seat height, geometry of the bike, lack of suspension and tyre flex etc.
If you're used to disc brakes on an mtb road bike brakes take a bit of getting used to, especially the first time you go above 30mph
Also the riding position takes a bit of getting used to-you'll be pretty stretched out. Best thing to do is to put as many miles in as possible to get used to the bike/riding style.
Also the riding position takes a bit of getting used to-you'll be pretty stretched out. Best thing to do is to put as many miles in as possible to get used to the bike/riding style.
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