# Riding mtb bike on the road?



## Smudge524 (Aug 6, 2016)

Only enough money for one bike. I mostly ride on pavement but occasionally ride off road. Anyone use a mountain bike primarily on pavement? Is there any disadvantage to doing this? Thanks


----------



## Hallzy4Life (Jul 21, 2016)

Smudge524 said:


> Only enough money for one bike. I mostly ride on pavement but occasionally ride off road. Anyone use a mountain bike primarily on pavement? Is there any disadvantage to doing this? Thanks


If you don't ride rough trails I would take a look at some hybrid bikes.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## *OneSpeed* (Oct 18, 2013)

cyclocross bike > hybrid in every way


----------



## Smudge524 (Aug 6, 2016)

Hallzy4Life said:


> If you don't ride rough trails I would take a look at some hybrid bikes.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Plan to ride some "rougher" trails from time to time.


----------



## jcd46 (Jul 25, 2012)

Cyclocross/Gravel as mentioned


----------



## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

A mountain bike isn't as fast on the road and doesn't handle as good at speed on pavement but in some ways it's better, think Jeep vs. Porsche. I do enjoy a road bike on the road but if you only have 1 bike and you want to ride rough trails occasionally then I say go with a rigid or hardtail mountain bike.


----------



## rangeriderdave (Aug 29, 2008)

You can ride almost anything anywhere ,will it be the best for that use ,most likely not. Mountain bike gearing isn't the best for riding the road ,the tires wear out faster. The bikes are heavier, etc. Some people have 2 sets of wheels to do it.


----------



## Cornfield (Apr 15, 2012)

I've never liked drop bars, so if I were to get a road bike, it'd be a flat bar roadie, and probably some kind of gravel/xc mtb. I'd look at a Salsa Fargo, or even a Karate Monkey.

What's your budget, Smudge? Do you have any bikes in mind?


----------



## mack_turtle (Jan 6, 2009)

mtb with two sets of tires, or get some tires that will work on the trails and pump them up harder for pavement.


----------



## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

Pavement will chew mountain tires fast. I've worn a new set in less than 150 miles. Terrible. My vote is definitely CX bike if you want mostly pavement and maybe some trails. CX bikes are a blast. I love my gravel bike and just ordered a CX frame to build up.


----------



## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

A mountain bike on the road is better than a road bike on mountain bike trails. But if the trails aren't too rough, a cyclocross bike would be nice. Stay away from a "hybrid", they are too compromised to be good on either, in my opinion. How far do you plan to ride on the road? If the trails are rough, definitely a hardtail.

I actually got into road biking when the trails would be closed due to freeze/thaw cycles. I quickly realized how inefficient my dual suspension was on pavement and bought a road bike.

Actually, now that I think about it, I didn't buy my first road bike, I found it for free on Craigslist! It was an old Nashbar with downtube shifters and I swapped out the 27s for 700c. Great bike for the price but don't expect to pull that off, that was an extremely lucky deal.


----------



## TheGweed (Jan 30, 2010)

Will a mountain bike be optimum on the road? No. Will a road bike even be ridable on trails? No.

What if you decide to get more into off-road riding? Will the one bike you buy be up for that? 

I like the Jeep v. Porsche comparison...if it was me I'd go mountain bike all the way, but then of course I'm biased toward mountain biking.


----------



## edubfromktown (Sep 7, 2010)

Also not a fan of drop bars and skinny tires offer less room for error.

My hard tail 29er generally sees more gravel and pavement than trails (I do a 20-30 mile fast paced urban assault ride every week at ~15-16 mph). Definitely slower than road bike riding but much more fun dropping down stair cases and launching off urban "technical features".

Only downside to riding MTBs on pavement is that some roadies get really upset when you pass them on climbs or dust them during sustained hammering over distances


----------



## Guest (Aug 13, 2016)

Salsa Fargo. I'm probably in the cult as deep as anyone, but you can change tires and you get three bikes from one (MTB, Cross, Touring), add a set of 27.5 wheels and you can make it four (27.5+). It's no road racer, but does a lot very well.


----------



## Smudge524 (Aug 6, 2016)

I definitely want to go the mountain bike route. Maybe I worded my question incorrectly. I am more concerned about getting opinions from those of you that use mountain bikes on pavement. Also, I would like to purchase a less aggressive tire. Any recommendations for something that will fit a 27.5 bike?


----------



## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

I've put lots of road miles on mountain bikes and aside from the fact that they're a little slower and not as lively in the handling department the biggest downside for me is lack of drop bars. Not a big deal on short (<10 mile) rides but on longer ventures the drops add a lot as far as comfort and efficiency is concerned IME.

Aggressive knobbies are useless and detrimental on pavement so go minimal, something with a smooth center ridge works well. Not sure what's available in 27.5 but I'm guessing there are options.

I like the idea of something like a Karate Monkey or Salsa Fargo, suspension is great on the trail but kind of sucky on pavement.


----------



## Geralt (Jul 11, 2012)

I prefer drop bars when I'm churning out big mileage even on gravel roads, but since it sounds like you'd rather go with a flat bar bike, I think something like this would work well for you:

Kona Big Rove Bike 2015 > Bikes > Commuter & Urban Bikes | Jenson USA

I've always thought the steel version of the Big Rove would be a nice all-around bike, but I also thought it was a little overpriced. That's a good deal from Jenson. Its biggest gear is 42-11 and smallest gear is 28-36 which is pretty decent range for road and offroad.


----------



## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

When you side ride on pavement, what do you mean? I ride my full sus mtb on pavement from my home to hit some trails 1-2 miles away. I wouldn't dream of commuting 12 miles each way to work riding it. How far or for how long do ride on the road?


----------



## unaware (Sep 22, 2012)

Cyclocross might be the best compromise but it depends on a number of factors. Some people find drop bars quite unstable and paired with a rigid fork it's a difficult combo for trails. Again it depends on what type of trails you are riding. 

MTBS on roads tend to suck. Typically limited to a 44 chainring and the weight and aero further limit speed. If commuting for shorter distances it may be fine though. I'd highly recommend some road oriented tires as mtb tires will just drag you down further and wear out quite quickly.


----------



## Muirenn (Jun 17, 2013)

Another Salsa Fargo vote. It's a drop bar mountain bike. The drops are not what you find on a road bike, the drop portions are offset. (You could pick different bars). The bike's stack (front portion) is high like a mountain bike. The Salsa Vaya is another option. It's somewhere between an old style mountain bike and a cyclocross. Another option is a Surly Ogre. It's a mountain bike that works very well on the road. All three can be considered 'adventure' bikes, which is exactly the use you describe.


----------



## blkangel (Aug 8, 2014)

Continental Tour Ride 27.5 tire. Jut lookup 27.5 tire and select a more road or touring oriented tire.


----------



## TheGweed (Jan 30, 2010)

Get the Schwalbe Rock Razor tire.


----------



## MuddyBikeRider (Apr 30, 2016)

I ride both. The only disadvantage is that mountain bike tires are softer so your nubs burn off when you ride on the asphalt.


----------



## Muirenn (Jun 17, 2013)

To answer your second question, I ride my single speed Krampus on asphalt all the time. It's a lot of work with the wide, nubbly tires, but a good workout. Good for developing pedal stroke and cadence, too. And there is an asphalt rail trail entrance a block from my house. I take it off-road, too. Bit that requires loading it into my car. There is no way I'd pedal the 20 miles to the trails over asphalt on that thing. The Fargo would do it nicely, though. If I were to buy a mountain bike primarily for road, I'd go with the Schwalb Razor Rock Tires, or similar, with a fully rigid frame set and a bike similar to what I mentioned earlier, Fargo, Vaya, Ogre. The reason I don't own any of them is because I have two classic road bikes and a nice cyclocross, and I'd end up using it for everything but group rides if I did. 

Even if you had the money to buy two at once,it would be very difficult to choose the right two. Buying one will clue you into whether you want some crazy downhill machine, or a skinny tire road beast. (Or a cx). 

For me? Owning a classic road bike, a cyclocross, and a very classic style mountain bike (with modernist geometry) is a perfect fleet. (for now, the next bike might be a hard-tail or full suspension).


----------



## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

I have used a mountain bike on the road for many years. You can't use off-road tyres though as it will destroy them very quickly and they do not roll well. 

Changing tyres is a pain. I used two sets of wheels, one with slicks and the other with MTB tyres. Also, if the bike has disk brakes you can run 700c (road) wheels and narrow tyres on a mountain bike. They will fit. 

A MTB with road wheels and tyres will be fast on the road, but not as fast as a road bike. Not a problem unless you ride with guys on road bikes, which is what I ended up doing! 

If you only want one bike I would buy the lightest 29r/700c MTB you can find. That should be good off road and perfectly fine on the road with a set of slick tyres on. Just don't expect to win any road races ;0)


----------



## TheGweed (Jan 30, 2010)

I did a 25 mile charity ride on my full suss mountain bike...didn't take the checkered flag but I didn't come in last...


----------



## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

You should read this: LINK

There is a video of the guy surrounded by bemused roadies but I can't find it.


----------



## hallstevenson (Aug 17, 2016)

Another downside of a mountain bike on the road will be the fork if you try and ride hard/fast (unless you can lock it out).


----------



## CWWalker (May 11, 2016)

I have two wheelsets and ride my 29er on paved trails, gravel, and around town... got rid of my hybrid bike.


----------



## idividebyzero (Sep 25, 2014)

I dont recommend a cyclocross or semislick tires if you plan on doing real trails (not just unpaved flat walkways). A mountain bike can replace a road bike but not the other way around.

I ride my heavy full suspension bike with very slow rolling 2.35 Kenda Nevegals to work on the road and its fine, its nowhere near as fast as a road bike but its not hard or unpleasant, just slower. I have a wheelset with hybrid tires I got for city riding and yes its much smoother but trail riding is awful, when going off road even for a short while they are extremely susceptible to thorns and have barely any grip, it would be suicide taking them through to the mountain trails. I havent bothered fixing the last puncture and just use my normal aggressive trail tires now. Theres also a paved "trail" that runs through the city that I like to ride when I feel like something easy despite having the worst possible tires.

If you can only have one bike and one wheelset then a set of fast XC tires will still be very good on the road and allow you to hit the trails without compromises.


----------



## kpla51 (Feb 18, 2015)

check out the commuter thread and you will be happy about what you find. I ride my mountain bike 80% on-road


----------



## jcd46 (Jul 25, 2012)

kpla51 said:


> check out the commuter thread and you will be happy about what you find. I ride my mountain bike 80% on-road
> View attachment 1092276


Nice bike.


----------

