# Road and mountain bikes?



## tonyride1 (Oct 5, 2005)

Anyone else here over 50 do both? As my signature suggests, I have 3 mountain bikes and a road bike, actually it's labeled Gravel bike. I'm mostly a mountain biker but lately I've been doing about 30-50 miles a week on my road bike. In training to do the 104 mile ride from Key Largo to Key West. Should be interesting. I'm about half way there. My longest ride was about 53 miles and it took me 4 hours.


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## Guest (Sep 14, 2016)

yessir i do's, enjoy them equally.


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## Ptor (Jan 29, 2004)

I probably get equal miles a year on my each of my three bikes -- a road/dirt road/cross bike, rigid single speed, and geared hardtail. A half-dozen times or so over the past dozen years my family of four has participated in a supported tour on the road, the Tour de Wyoming. It was a formative experience for the kids, very empowering to ride between 300 and 400 miles in a week through deserts and mountains (and not to mention Wyoming wind) when you're "just a kid". The boy, 16 years-old in the picture below (it was taken on a 100 mile day after crossing over Togwotee Pass as we cruised along the Tetons on our way to Jackson) was 5 years-old when we first did the TdW. He was my stoker on a mtb tandem equipped with road slicks and rode half the miles. When he finally sagged, his 12 year-old sister became my stoker (she was on her own bike the rest of the time). The family is equipped with cyclocross bikes and we use 32c touring tires -- they roll great, handle chip-seal really well, and we can join the few paved roads in our area with the plentiful dirt roads using that setup.


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## k2rider1964 (Apr 29, 2010)

I sort of do both. I ride on the road twice a week for a total of 70 miles on my Niner Air9 hardtail bike. I do it because it's simple to leave right out of my driveway and it's a diversion away from mountain biking. I know road riding actually helps my MTB riding but I can't say that I enjoy it anywhere near as much as mountain biking. If I lived where I could MTB out my driveway, I wouldn't bother riding on the road at all.


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## life behind bars (May 24, 2014)




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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

I'm nearly fifty and I do road, MTB and commute by bike. It means that there is always some form or cycling that you feel like doing :0)


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## jcd46 (Jul 25, 2012)

51 and do both but nowhere near the amt of miles some of you ride (not by choice) but I enjoy both the CX bike is perfect for my rail trail rides and it helps me avoid being on the actual road too long.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

52 and I ride both. Besides the three mt bikes in my signature, I also have three road bikes. But I ride my mt bikes more.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

Both, but mainly mtb lately as I just got a new one...last Oct...sheesh, almost a year now. Time flies when you're old.


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## SteveF (Mar 5, 2004)

I've always done both (well, since I became a cyclist in 1994/road and 1996/trail) and enjoy them about equally but for different reasons. I like the thrill and challenge of mtb'ing, and the zen and scenery of road riding. (I'm more of a tourist than racer, especially on the road bike) There are great trails in my area but most of the really good ones are a bit of a drive, 40-60+ miles away. The road riding is great right out my front door.


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## BruceBrown (Jan 16, 2004)

tonyride1 said:


> Anyone else here over 50 do both?


Yes, of course.

Many times it is muddy and one must stay off the dirt trails. Actually, it's been muddy a lot the past two years, so my road bike has logged many more hours.

And a road ride beats us old guys up a lot less.

You failed to mention gravel.

And you failed to mention grass (Cyclocross).


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## Crankout (Jun 16, 2010)

I enjoy both. 

As a matter of fact, I've been doing the majority of my riding on the road this year...it's just too easy to head out the door and hit the countryside for me. I love it.


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## Boomchakabowwow (Sep 8, 2015)

k2rider1964 said:


> I sort of do both. I ride on the road twice a week for a total of 70 miles on my Niner Air9 hardtail bike. I do it because it's simple to leave right out of my driveway and it's a diversion away from mountain biking. I know road riding actually helps my MTB riding but I can't say that I enjoy it anywhere near as much as mountain biking. If I lived where I could MTB out my driveway, I wouldn't bother riding on the road at all.


this is me. however i just moved to where i can ride out my door and hit a GREAT mtn bike trail system. so i think my Xcross bike tires are flat. i havent touched it in months. i did set it up more for my work commute, but working long days prevents that ride.

i need to ride road more. i want to try some of those distance challenges my friends do. road cyclist are super numerous here in sonoma wine country. EVERYWHERE. i am considering joining a club for the inspirations.


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

tiretracks said:


> View attachment 1094456


Guess that explains why I fight for the sweeper spot on my group rides (actually love to be on that spot), hate my road bike; it hurts me from my hands to my neck and sits on the wall rack collecting dust because to me is synonymous of the bad kind of pain.


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## tonyride1 (Oct 5, 2005)

I had the same experience with riding a road bike which was why I sold my first one. It wasn't until I promised a friend I'd do the ride from Key Largo to Key West that I decided to take up road riding again and train for it but I compromised a bit. Instead of getting a road bike I got a gravel bike. It has a more relaxed geometry so I'm not slumped forward as much. I was still getting the lower back, hand, and arm pains but through research and asking those who road ride on a regular basis that those pains are normal and will go away as your body and muscles adjust and adapt to that kind of riding and that is absolutely true. Also important is proper bike fit. You may have the right size bike but you'll also have to make sure that your saddle height and angle are proper as well as your stem length and angle. You'd be amazed at how much difference a little bit of adjustment makes. So don't give up on road riding. Just do a little research, make any necessary adjustments, and just ride. I will tell you that by road riding I'm able to ride better on my mountain bike.


DiRt DeViL said:


> Guess that explains why I fight for the sweeper spot on my group rides (actually love to be on that spot), hate my road bike; it hurts me from my hands to my neck and sits on the wall rack collecting dust because to me is synonymous of the bad kind of pain.


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

tonyride1 said:


> I had the same experience with riding a road bike which was why I sold my first one. It wasn't until I promised a friend I'd do the ride from Key Largo to Key West that I decided to take up road riding again and train for it but I compromised a bit. Instead of getting a road bike I got a gravel bike. It has a more relaxed geometry so I'm not slumped forward as much. I was still getting the lower back, hand, and arm pains but through research and asking those who road ride on a regular basis that those pains are normal and will go away as your body and muscles adjust and adapt to that kind of riding and that is absolutely true. Also important is proper bike fit. You may have the right size bike but you'll also have to make sure that your saddle height and angle are proper as well as your stem length and angle. You'd be amazed at how much difference a little bit of adjustment makes. So don't give up on road riding. Just do a little research, make any necessary adjustments, and just ride. I will tell you that by road riding I'm able to ride better on my mountain bike.


Have given them a shot twice. The first was an Orbea purchased new at a shop that included a basic fitting session. The bike never felt good and when complained to the store manager all they were willing to do was a second fit, not even that fixed my pain issues, made it worse and sold the bike. The second was a K2 that was given to me by a roadie friend, long story short and several fitting sessions later it became a dust collector, can't stand it.

Actually considered the cross bike thing for a bit based on what you described but went fat instead, now considering selling my skinny and fat to get a full susser plus bike, the problem is that don't have the funds.


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## LoneStar (Jun 17, 2004)

I'm the opposite. Have all but hung up the road bike except for charity type events. Just too many distracted drivers now. And too many deaths. Then you read the opinions posted after those deaths. There are crazy people out there! So I stick to the trails more and just ride the road bike on the rollers in the winter when I can't get out.


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

LoneStar said:


> I'm the opposite. Have all but hung up the road bike except for charity type events. Just too many distracted drivers now. And too many deaths. Then you read the opinions posted after those deaths. There are crazy people out there! So I stick to the trails more and just ride the road bike on the rollers in the winter when I can't get out.


That's a secondary reason for me, have witnessed death and have seen so much hate on the road to even consider riding. Where I currently live people are nice and give you space but I'm still paranoid so if I'm going to be hit by something let it be a tree and not a vehicle.


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## Harryman (Jun 14, 2011)

I ride road, mtb and commute. Riding on the road is easier on the body and really helps with what I call deisel fitness. Putting in steady miles at a comfortable, yet highish pace gives you so much strength on the mtb. Riding a mtb is very spiky in comparison. 

Group rides with fast guys on the road pushes me like no other thing as well.

My road bike is a road frame and cranks, everything else on it is scavanged mtb parts, so I carry the mtb flag high.


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## life behind bars (May 24, 2014)

LoneStar said:


> I'm the opposite. Have all but hung up the road bike except for charity type events. Just too many distracted drivers now. And too many deaths. Then you read the opinions posted after those deaths. There are crazy people out there! So I stick to the trails more and just ride the road bike on the rollers in the winter when I can't get out.


Gravel Bike. Ride the secondary, b roads, Farm roads and paths, get out of traffic. It can a lot of fun using Google Earth to connect roads for routes of varying lengths.


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## fishboy316 (Jan 10, 2014)

59 And ride both. Love both but my Farley7 is the fav.


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## chuckha62 (Jul 11, 2006)

Ride both. Road riding builds better stamina for me. Mountain biking stokes my climbing legs.


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## Velobike (Jun 23, 2007)

Road riding is important.

It is how you get to trails....


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## Bail_Monkey (May 8, 2007)

54 and ride both, have a FS SC Blur LTc, a Norco HT and a Giant TCR for the road. My brother in law told me multiple times to get a road bike to improve stanima, cardio and leg strength. I put his suggestions off for years until 2012 or so... I'll have to say that the RB is a great compliment to mtb, it is especially handy when you do not have time to drive to the trail head, ride then get back home. (For those of us that do not live near the trails).

My tip for road biking is to take as many neighborhood and back streets as possible and to ride in the foothills if you have them around. Staying away from speeding cars is a good thing and I find that most of the drivers in the mtn's are pretty cautious.....or they risk an accident. A good place to find short cuts and routes is the strava heatmaps.


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## jcd46 (Jul 25, 2012)

^^ exactly why I wanted a N+1 I bought a road bike and the streets suck so switched to a CX and it minimizes my road riding by hitting my RTtails.


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## Ladmo (Jan 11, 2013)

Haven't ridden my road bike in 5+ years. One too many close calls with a car/bus/truck finally convinced me that it just isn't worth it. I greatly prefer mountain biking anyway, so no great loss to me.


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## LadyDi (Apr 17, 2005)

jcd46 said:


> ^^ exactly why I wanted a N+1 I bought a road bike and the streets suck so switched to a CX and it minimizes my road riding by hitting my RTtails.


I also have a cx bike (a Salsa). It fits me perfectly and I absolutely love it. I do use it on the road, however I am highly selective about where I'll ride, especially when I go solo. There are just too many inattentive drivers. I greatly prefer long, dedicated bike paths and fireroads.


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## tonyride1 (Oct 5, 2005)

Same with me. The cars on the roads scare me but lucky for me it's only a short 3.5 mile ride from my house to two places where I can ride with no (or not much) car traffic. One of them is a park with a nice bike path. The other is a part of the East Coast Greenway project. For those of you who don't know, it is a project to link up paved trails (mostly abandoned railroad track, parks, existing bike trails) from Maine to Key West totally 3000 miles with no traffic to worry about.


LadyDi said:


> I also have a cx bike (a Salsa). It fits me perfectly and I absolutely love it. I do use it on the road, however I am highly selective about where I'll ride, especially when I go solo. There are just too many inattentive drivers. I greatly prefer long, dedicated bike paths and fireroads.


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## Crankout (Jun 16, 2010)

Ladmo said:


> Haven't ridden my road bike in 5+ years. One too many close calls with a car/bus/truck finally convinced me that it just isn't worth it. I greatly prefer mountain biking anyway, so no great loss to me.


These bike threads run through my mind when I'm on the road, such as yesterday evening.

The majority of my routes are quiet country roads. When in traffic, I'm constantly scanning for potential issues. As crazy as it sounds, I get a rush out of it.


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## Dirtvet (Nov 7, 2005)

I ride my enduro bike both in the dirt and on the street. I live in The Hague and sure its flat & sandy but plenty of street bike paths to follow & explore the area. It's a "Race what ya brung" attitude I have to have, living on an assignment away from the States. 61 here.


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## tonyride1 (Oct 5, 2005)

Awesome.


Dirtvet said:


> I ride my enduro bike both in the dirt and on the street. I live in The Hague and sure its flat & sandy but plenty of street bike paths to follow & explore the area. It's a "Race what ya brung" attitude I have to have, living on an assignment away from the States. 61 here.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

Crankout said:


> These bike threads run through my mind when I'm on the road, such as yesterday evening.
> 
> The majority of my routes are quiet country roads. When in traffic, I'm constantly scanning for potential issues. As crazy as it sounds, I get a rush out of it.


I rarely ride in traffic but I know what you mean about getting a rush out of it. At the same time, it is definitely not relaxing, I feel a lot more tense and stressed and tired when I finish riding. Guess that is why I rarely do it. And this is where I have a bike lane most of the time.


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## k2rider1964 (Apr 29, 2010)

Boomchakabowwow said:


> i need to ride road more. i want to try some of those distance challenges my friends do. road cyclist are super numerous here in sonoma wine country. EVERYWHERE. i am considering joining a club for the inspirations.


Too much lycra and too many coffee stops in those groups.


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## Skooks (Dec 24, 2008)

k2rider1964 said:


> Too much lycra and too many coffee stops in those groups.


Really? Fit women in Lycra look pretty good to me . I commute on my road bike, Ride with an organized group, and do Fondo and other event rides. Probably Ride 2000-3000 miles per year on the road. Road riding is a great way to get fit and fast. Good fitness makes mountain biking easier and a lot more enjoyable. I do enjoy road biking but will always like mountain biking more.


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## tonyride1 (Oct 5, 2005)

Ditto. There's something about a cycling chick that gets me. I don't ride with a group nor do I stop at coffee shops during my rides but I agree that road riding does improve my mountain biking and my mountain biking buddies have noticed the difference. Mountain biking is still my favorite but I do value road riding quite a bit.


Skooks said:


> Really? Fit women in Lycra look pretty good to me . I commute on my road bike, Ride with an organized group, and do Fondo and other event rides. Probably Ride 2000-3000 miles per year on the road. Road riding is a great way to get fit and fast. Good fitness makes mountain biking easier and a lot more enjoyable. I do enjoy road biking but will always like mountain biking more.


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## Guest (Sep 25, 2016)

Skooks said:


> Really? Fit women in Lycra look pretty good to me . I commute on my road bike, Ride with an organized group, and do Fondo and other event rides. Probably Ride 2000-3000 miles per year on the road. Road riding is a great way to get fit and fast. Good fitness makes mountain biking easier and a lot more enjoyable. I do enjoy road biking but will always like mountain biking more.


amen



tonyride1 said:


> Ditto. There's something about a cycling chick that gets me. I don't ride with a group nor do I stop at coffee shops during my rides but I agree that road riding does improve my mountain biking and my mountain biking buddies have noticed the difference. Mountain biking is still my favorite but I do value road riding quite a bit.


amen to the lycra chickas


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## jcd46 (Jul 25, 2012)

^^ x 3 for lycra gurls....


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

I'm fine with girls in lycra but cycling shorts with a chamois pad is far from the most flattering look IMHO.


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## ajjrsons (Jul 15, 2015)

I ride my hardtail on the road and dirt, swapping tires. As others, I am uncomfortable riding on the roads - several near misses and avoidance crashes, so I stick to paved trails, except on organized rides. I completed a couple of centuries ride events this summer. Trained hard for those putting in just under 1000 hot miles/60 days. Felt great, lost all the excess beer gut! You learn what to do and not do to avoid cramping. builds the leg stamina for sure. Cant ride drop bars due to bad back, so the hardtail is the ticket! 

But.. I love mtb so much more than the road riding. Got into XC racing this year - my rehab goal after back injury 3 yrs ago. XC racing pushes my cardio past anything I think I could do on the road - those long, lung busting climbs under pressure. 

Props to everyone getting the families involved. I ride mtb with my boys and have had some awesome adventures (Red Bull Rampage). Doing all I can to get the wife and daughter out too @Ptor -- great story. --


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## Nev (Jan 30, 2004)

I love single track more than anything. I do more miles and spend more time on my fixed gear road bike.


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## jcd46 (Jul 25, 2012)

J.B. Weld said:


> I'm fine with girls in lycra but cycling shorts with a chamois pad is far from the most flattering look IMHO.


That is when your imagination has to kick in 😀😀


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## Rngspnr (Feb 15, 2016)

I do both. Was strictly road until two years ago. Was strictly mtb for almost two years. Realized I need the road bike for stamina and endurance. Road and mtb compliment each other. Each will help you improve with the other.


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## DeeZee (Jan 26, 2005)

Purchased a road bike a couple of years ago and then sold it. Gave it a good year riding it once or twice a week.....

Thought I would use it for training and rainy days. Where I live there are lots of cars.....big ones...SUV's with drivers on their cell phones. When driving my own car watching them swerving into bike lanes and reading stories in the paper about bikes getting hit.....that was it for me.

I could never get comfortable or feel relaxed with cars buzzing by me.... always on edge. My wife was so happy when I sold it.

Now I ride my mbike partially on the road when getting to the various trail heads. I ride on the sidewalk.

I can get the same long distance spin on my mbike that I can on a road bike. As far as bikes that complement each other........get a single speed. I love my SS.


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## BSEVEER (Jan 31, 2004)

I still have a few months to go before I turn 50 but I have been mountain biking 25+ years and got a road bike 3 years ago. I ride MTB once or twice a week, during the week and take the road bike out on the weekends for 25 to 50 mile rides. Mountain biking is way more fun but I find road riding to be almost therapeutic in a way. If I could only do one, it would have to be MTB for sure.


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## ericm979 (Sep 25, 2013)

I've done mostly road riding for the last 15 years. For the last 10 I rode 8000-9000 miles a year with close to a million feet of climbing per year. I broke a million a couple times. Did lots of road races and extreme climbing rides. Eleven Markleeville Death Rides, lots of similar rides and races, the Everest Challenge stage race (29,035' in two days). Top-10s in nearly all of them, some podiums. EC was my favorite but it's dead now, as are the other good California climbing races. And I'm kind of burnt out on it as of this summer.

I have been doing a lot of MTB riding the last few months. There's a new trail a very short ride from my house and it connects with a big trail network. I can't travel this year but I hope to be able to do some Sierra mtb trips.


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## Mr Pig (Jun 25, 2008)

DeeZee said:


> Thought I would use it for training and rainy days. Where I live there are lots of cars.....big ones...SUV's with drivers on their cell phones. When driving my own car watching them swerving into bike lanes and reading stories in the paper about bikes getting hit.....that was it for me.


I'm very blessed in living on the edge of the countryside with quiet roads in the three directions. I cycle to work in the town, only fifteen minutes, but I don't like it. Guy I know who cycles into Glasgow, thirteen-miles, has been hit four times! FOUR!!

Even on the back roads you get idiots. Cycling on the roads in just not a very safe thing to do. My kids cycle to the tran station but I insist they stay on the pavement/sidewalk.


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