How much faster is a road bike?
Discussion
I agree, it is a big difference, i have a road bike at the moment but am building an mtb which should be ready soon so will be able to tell the difference even more after riding them back to back.
I use the road bike on the road and light gravel trails, on the road where i have felt the difference is in cruising at a speed but not pushing yourself hard and going uphill where you would just give in on an mtb (or pedal like crazy just to go .5 mph) you can keep on going on the roadbikes.
I am not particularly fit so have not got a clue on average speeds but it is a lot faster than on an off road biased mtb.
The wheels are strong as the trails i use are not super smooth and they can withstand a pounding and i decided to use the trails as the roads here are shocking anyway.
I use the road bike on the road and light gravel trails, on the road where i have felt the difference is in cruising at a speed but not pushing yourself hard and going uphill where you would just give in on an mtb (or pedal like crazy just to go .5 mph) you can keep on going on the roadbikes.
I am not particularly fit so have not got a clue on average speeds but it is a lot faster than on an off road biased mtb.
The wheels are strong as the trails i use are not super smooth and they can withstand a pounding and i decided to use the trails as the roads here are shocking anyway.
I did this exact on road experiment.
When I first started commuting on my bike the 8 mile trip on an iron framed giant £150 MTB on knobblies and very loose front sus was done at an average of 10mph.
I fitted fatboy specialized slicks and this went immediatley up to 14mph
That bike was stolen and replaced with a £400 GT (alu frame) and various schwalbes slicks and with a front sus preload wound up = 16mph
Then came the road bike a 2005 Trek 1500 triple on bontrager standard tyres = 20mph
and finally a 2007 Trek 6700 on 1.2 Conti gatorskin slicks at 120 psi for the winter after being found out on the road bike in diesel & icy conditions once too often. = 17mph
I finished up using the road bike between March & October. Basically I switched to the MTB for the winter when the clocks changed. That way I could keep the light setup for dark commuting on one bike.
Anyway I loved going back to the road bike in the spring, it's not just tires, but weight and resistance for a given power input. The relative aceleration in speed or maintainance of a high average is so much easier on a road bike, especially as the 26" wheels even with high PSI slicks and gearing with larger cranks doesn't make for the best cadence in road use.
editted to add that all the MTB have/had standard platform pedals whereas the road bike has clipless look pedals, this makes big a difference as well.
When I first started commuting on my bike the 8 mile trip on an iron framed giant £150 MTB on knobblies and very loose front sus was done at an average of 10mph.
I fitted fatboy specialized slicks and this went immediatley up to 14mph
That bike was stolen and replaced with a £400 GT (alu frame) and various schwalbes slicks and with a front sus preload wound up = 16mph
Then came the road bike a 2005 Trek 1500 triple on bontrager standard tyres = 20mph
and finally a 2007 Trek 6700 on 1.2 Conti gatorskin slicks at 120 psi for the winter after being found out on the road bike in diesel & icy conditions once too often. = 17mph
I finished up using the road bike between March & October. Basically I switched to the MTB for the winter when the clocks changed. That way I could keep the light setup for dark commuting on one bike.
Anyway I loved going back to the road bike in the spring, it's not just tires, but weight and resistance for a given power input. The relative aceleration in speed or maintainance of a high average is so much easier on a road bike, especially as the 26" wheels even with high PSI slicks and gearing with larger cranks doesn't make for the best cadence in road use.
editted to add that all the MTB have/had standard platform pedals whereas the road bike has clipless look pedals, this makes big a difference as well.
Edited by OneDs on Tuesday 20th April 10:29
Stupeo said:
I have just borrowed a racer of a work mate after riding a mtb for the past 6 month. I was well shocked..its atleast 30% faster in every way. The drop bars take some getting used too though. Also, I've been using spd-r so these may have helped with speed.
position is the key here - getting a proper "fit" for you on your bicycle will make you more comfy and help you ride much faster for much longer - but if you are a lardy - nothing can help you . . . . EVER!LOL
khushy
E21_Ross said:
road bikes are leagues and leagues quicker than MTB bikes. it's not even a comparison. i struggle to average 13-14 on a MTB on road for more than 2-3 hours, but on a road bike i could average 16-17 for about 4-5 hours.
the difference is massive.
i'm comparing an £850 MTB hard tail, with my old (gone, but not forgotten!) £1100 giant TCR road bike.
This.the difference is massive.
i'm comparing an £850 MTB hard tail, with my old (gone, but not forgotten!) £1100 giant TCR road bike.
Gooby said:
dirty doug said:
Quick answer for your question - whatever speed you can average on a mtb in kmh will roughly equate to mph on a road bike.
is that on the same bit of road?Alpine descent on the road bike, fire road ascent on the MTB.
You can't hop on and off stuff on a road bike or jump down sets of steps etc. It depends where you ride; if it's mostly road a road bike will be quicker. If it's through the middle of a city centre then a play mtb and not sticking to the roads is probably be quicker. If it's offroad then a mountain bike will be quicker. If it's a DH course then a road bike would be suicidal.
shalmaneser said:
Gooby said:
dirty doug said:
Quick answer for your question - whatever speed you can average on a mtb in kmh will roughly equate to mph on a road bike.
is that on the same bit of road?Alpine descent on the road bike, fire road ascent on the MTB.
moleamol said:
You can't hop on and off stuff on a road bike or jump down sets of steps etc. It depends where you ride; if it's mostly road a road bike will be quicker. If it's through the middle of a city centre then a play mtb and not sticking to the roads is probably be quicker. If it's offroad then a mountain bike will be quicker. If it's a DH course then a road bike would be suicidal.
re. what's quicker through town, just look at what any bike messenger rides. I'd love to see an MTB keep up with them lot through town...Saddle bum said:
pablo said:
On a mtb, the best gearing you will push is about 44/13 whereas a road bike you can spin 53/11 which makes a massive difference on the flat.
You should be a pro...
e instead.I like the idea that km/h on a MTB corresponds to mph on a road bike. It's not a terrible rule of thumb!
magpie215 said:
Potholed roads tend to vaporise road bike wheels.
I've got a set of handbuilt wheels on my road bike, they have proved extremely durable. Handbuilts don't look as flash as the factory wheels but they are more durable, easier to repair and have a more compliant ride. Mine are DT RR 1.1 on Dura Ace so are nice and light too. I've ridden on them for two years including plenty of commuting in London, had one broken spoke which cost £10 to fix. Saddle bum said:
pablo said:
on amtb, best gearing you will push is about 44/13 whereas a road bike you can spin 53/11 which makes a massive difference on the flat.
You should be a pro...........EDITED TO ADD
I just took my new bike for a short spin and compared to the MTB's and BMX's of old. This thing is so much faster! I thought it would be b
ks, but it's true 
Edited by Rich_W on Wednesday 28th April 20:31
Jimbo. said:
moleamol said:
You can't hop on and off stuff on a road bike or jump down sets of steps etc. It depends where you ride; if it's mostly road a road bike will be quicker. If it's through the middle of a city centre then a play mtb and not sticking to the roads is probably be quicker. If it's offroad then a mountain bike will be quicker. If it's a DH course then a road bike would be suicidal.
re. what's quicker through town, just look at what any bike messenger rides. I'd love to see an MTB keep up with them lot through town...
I was in the same situation as the OP. I have a set of fully slick Maxxis tyres which go on teh rims of my Malt 4. Makes a whole world of difference to the point where justifying a full roadie purchase for the level of road riding i do (maybe 50 miles on a saturday and a couple fo 10 milers on a summers eve) is hard. Grab yourself some cheap slicks for a test ride. Or if you are in the Tonbridge area feel free to try mine.
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