Newbie Panic Part 2: How much faster on a road bike?
3354
Member
1412 days
RV posted 1 year ago.
Probably best to ride the bike that you are most comfortable with.
You can better the speed on the mountain bike with different tires. They have skinny tires for mountain bikes with significantly less tread - so you'll have a faster rolling speed. Your LBS should be able to get you set up.
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
612
Member
1448 days
qb ant posted 1 year ago.
If you're real comfortable on the mtn bike, you can change the knobby tires and put road tires on. I did my first tri on a mtn bike, then for my second I used the same bike with road tires and it made a big difference. After that I bought my first road bike. There is a big difference in the two bikes. You'll find that the gearing on the mtn bike doesn't really allow you to pedal on the downhills and that the road bikes are A LOT lighter.
Take them both for a test ride, and since this is your first race, go with what you feel comfortable with. Your first race is always a learning experience and will set you on the path to knowing what you need to change or do differently for your future races.
Good luck and keep us posted,
Ant
"90% of the game is half mental" Yogi Berra
1012
Member
1203 days
PJT posted 1 year ago.
It's your first tri. Most people's goal in their first tri is to just finish--everything else is gravy. Which bike better allows you to do this? If you are more comfortable with the MTB, get some slick tires on it and use that one. If you get confident on the road bike and would feel better mentally riding it, then go ahead.
However, if you cannot make it up the hills on the road bike, the bike is likely overgeared for you--this means that there is not an easy enough gear to keep you pedaling (you are shifting to the easiest gear, right?). So you'll be walking those hills if you use the road bike.
If you want to find out how much faster you are on the road bike, get a bike computer or ride a timed measured loop on each and do the math. Personally, I find a road bike is at least 2-3MPH faster than an MTB at similar effort levels, and the longer I go the more that gap widens.
1040
Member
1396 days
Tikal Dog posted 1 year ago.
This is a hard one and i´m not sure what to tell you.
A part of me would recommend the road bike you will be faster!
But I really don´t want you to have a bad experience and if you haven´t ridden it enough maybe the wisest thing is to go with the mtb. Changing tires would be nice but then you have to know if that is something you want to invest in. I mean maybe you are planning on buying your own bike soon so the last thing you want is extra expense. It all depends!
I would recommend you go with the MTB and get other tires only if it´s not a big deal spending some extra cash on something you probably won´t use that much.
Hyperactive Trifueler!!!! (I refuse to let the status go :p)
34
Member
608 days
m2tall2 posted 1 year ago.
I don't think I will necessarily have a bad experience on the Road Bike since I already did the course with it and it was serviceable (although with very little rear brake it was a slow-go). If the brakes are appropriately fixed (which includes a new wheel) when I pick up the road bike tonight, I think I may use the road bike.
I am not going to spend any more money on the MTB since I just spent money to get the road bike in working order.
I have decided I definitely like this, and I find jumping on the bike after a swim exhilirating. So, I will either start saving for a new bike, or look at the costs of doing some upgrades to the road bike I have. So I guess who care's if I'm still getting used to it. Maybe I fumble a gear shift or go a little slower because I'm awkward on it - its my first race. Since I intend to get used to it, as long as the brakes work, maybe I should go with the road bike. Now, whether I continue to do tri's or just seek out aquabike competitions is yet to be determined.
Maybe in some ways I already had my mind made up, I just needed some encouragement. Thanks!
4496
Member
1644 days
kylie posted 1 year ago.
Good plan. If you are comfortable with how it works, the road bike will be your best bet. And it might end up being the perfect race bike for you once the kinks are worked out :) Best of luck!
34
Member
608 days
m2tall2 posted 1 year ago.
I am so glad that my brakes are now working. It was too dark for me to bike when I got home Tuesday so instead I got used to getting in and out of my new traditional style toe clips. After hurting my back semi-falling off the bike due to this, I've spent the past couple days resting.
Great news: I can get in and out of the toe clips no problem.
AND, I finally feel comfortable and go quite faster on the road bike. I just went for a quick 3 mile spin around the block to loosen up a little (after spending 20 minutes on and off the bike making adjustments). I am about 3.5 to 4 mph faster on average with my road bike. YAY! I am pumped, psyched, and excited I should probably be able to keep up with the middle of the pack at my first race on Sunday!
I'll let you know how it goes. (Should be interesting, it's supposed to rain.)
81
Member
641 days
Slimpee posted 1 year ago.
My only bike is a smallish-for-me mtn. bike so I used my roommate's road/cyclocross/commuter bike for my tri (1st one). I only trained on it one longer ride (30 miles) and one short ride to the grocery store before the race and although the seat was angled up slightly, which made it a bit uncomfortable, the ride was only 15 miles so it wasn't a big deal. I averaged 18.4 mph which would've been hard on the mtn. bike if not impossible so I have absolutely no regrets about using a rather unfamiliar, yet faster, bike. Just make sure to get the fine-tuning done on the bike before you go and you'll be golden! Good luck!
(I have been in a bit of panic state as my first tri (a sprint) gets closer. Now, I am 5 days away, including today.)
So, through most of my training I have been practicing with my huband's cheap mountain bike. I'm used to it, and it has lots of gears (21 speed and some nice low ones), but I can only manage about 13 mph average at very best. It has knobby tires.
My father-in-law gave me his old 14 speed Univega Road bike and I've been trying to work that into my workouts over the past month. Due to some breaking issues which hadn't been resolved I don't feel like I've been able to go full speed on the thing, and I'm still a little quirky on the shifting but that's mostly worked out. Now, I am supposed to get it back from the shop tonight with brakes happily fixed and I can't wait to take it out for a spin.
I am in a quandry over which bike to use for my first tri this weekend. On the one hand, I am very comfortable and used to the mountain bike. Additionally, I tried the course I will be doing last weekend and it has hills significantly larger than what I have been practicing and I couldn't make it all the way up two of them on the road bike. I don't know if this would have been different on the mountain bike. I have no clue how much faster I can actually go on the road bike. I have found it feels much lighter and my body position is more comfortable in the road bike.
Does anyone have a comparison? Like, "I can comfortably do 13 mph on a mountain bike but break out the road bike and I can do 15 mph."?
I am looking forward to taking the two out for a test run tonight. Is speed really that much of a difference between the two? Does comfort in handling outweigh physical comfort and at least mental advantage? If I'm not used to the hills, should I use the mountain bike? Does it make a difference since only 1/3 of the course is very hilly, the rest I consider reasonably flat (although they call it rolling).
Help!