Mr. Hairy Legs

Just before leaving this morning I noticed that my regular commuter (a road bike) had a flat tire. I didn't have time to change it, so I grabbed the winter bike instead - a mountain bike with fat, knobby tires and heavy suspension fork.

I assumed this would add a considerable amount of time, but it added nothing. The commute each way on this inexpensive, fat-tired mountain bike took exactly the same amount of time as it does with the road bike and its 700x23's, drop bars and carbon fork. Exactly.

I think wherever the road bike may make gains along the way, the MTB makes up for it over sketchy/rough areas where I can just fly straight into it without slowing down at all. Furthermore I can get away with more crazy ninja moves to get around obstacles such as cars and other cyclists.

So now I have this dilemma... which bike to take tomorrow?

no1mad 

Ride which ever one you like. You might conduct an experiment by slapping some slicks on the mtb and then see if there is any noticeable change in time.

SuperDave

Quite frankly, I think the engine had a large role in this result.

northernlights

Thats why they invented hybrids. So you can have the best of both worlds.

LesterOfPuppets

I like to have at least one bike for each day of the week.

alan s 

It helps if you can roll right over cars. But really, if you have lots of straight stretches where higher speed can be maintained, you'll gain a little time. If you are riding in traffic and lights, you may not be first to the next red light, but it's pretty easy keeping up with faster bikes. One time a guy on a time trial bike dropped me on a downhill at 28 mph, and sure enough, at the first light 3 miles away, there he was. Probably more rested than I was, but not a second faster in the end.

Mr. Hairy Legs

I had one, but it just wasn't fun.

northernlights

that doesn't make sense given your OP but whatever.
.

unterhausen

I put some new tires on the mountain bike, and it's really not that much slower than my road bike on my commute. It would be over a longer distance where I wasn't worrying about sweating though

chriskmurray

Simple, whichever one you have the most fun on.

DVC45

Whichever one you enjoy riding the most.

Bike Gremlin

I have both a heavy (20 kg) hybrid, and a light road bike.

Road bike is faster out of town, on longer rides, climbs. In start-stop city traffic, road bike is a wee bit quicker off the stop, but v-brakes of the hybrid are supperior so you're more confident when pedestrians start approaching bike lane and can actually ride it faster in town. So my commute time (50% open road, 50% in town, FLAT) is about the same on the hybrid, if not faster since I don't slow for bad pavement on the hybrid.

But the thing is, I find road bike, with more low down body possition, more comfortable! That's what I love most about it. And it is somehow nippier, more fun.

CB HI

From your hybrid biased mindset maybe. Some of us find hybrids to be the worst of both worlds.

krobinson103

Both my bikes are based on mtb frames. One is setup more along the lines of xc bike with tyres suited for roads and trails. The other is more upright with racks and baskets etc. Its 90% engine and the rest bike. I rolled on past a dude on a full titanium xtr setup hybrid going up a hill a few days back - on my heavy kid carrying commuter wearing a back pack and taking it easy because I was commuting. I think it comes down to the person riding it and not the bike most of the time.

zacster

I had to switch from my mtb w/slicks commuter to my road bike for commuting (my son took the mtb to college), and nope, it doesn't make any difference at all in time. I've been saying this for a while now right here on this forum. The lights, traffic and road conditions have much more to do with the time than the bike. I can easily keep myself at a 20mph pace on the road bike, but just try to do that on 1st Ave in Manhattan without running into something. I see all these young guys/girls on their fixies/SS and they'll blow by me while I slow down for a crack or metal plate on the road, but they're there at the next light anyway. There are only 2 places where I feel I have an advantage, Prospect Park where there are no obstacles and I can keep 20+ (and I know every crack, dip, rough painted line etc...) and the Manhattan Bridge with its upgrade. It's a lot easier to go up on a road bike.

Overall though I'd rather be on my MTB to commute, it just felt safer. I'm clipped in, in some Spandex, and I look fast, but reality gets in the way.

Dwayne

Put some fat slicks on that MTB and the dilemma will take care of itself.

krobinson103

^^^

A very practical looking commuter. You are using a similar light setup to what I have on my fitness/weekend bike.

tarwheel 

My experiences have been very different than yours. Perhaps it depends on the route, types of roads and distance. My commute is 30 miles round trip with lots of hills but good pavement. A mountain bike with extra weight and fat, heavy, knobby tires provides no advantages at all and lots of disadvantages. I only commuted once on my MTB and didn't enjoy it. I commute mostly on sport touring bikes with 25 mm road tires that provide a nice ride with no real weight penalty on the hills. However, I rode my touring bike today with 32 mm tires and it was surprisingly fast, but it has fast-rolling tires (Vittoria Randonneur Hypers).

jdoff

Yes, do it!

Steely Dan

my fair weather road bike is definitely faster than my foul weather hybrid on my daily commute, but i have an 8 mile uninterrupted stretch along chicago's lakefront where i can really open things up and take full advantage of the road bike's inherent speed. when you have really nice pavement and no reason to touch your brake levers for miles at a time, skinny high-pressure slicks and an aero riding posture WILL allow one to go faster than a bike with fat low-pressure knobbies and a more upright geometry.

however, if your commute is nothing but stoplights and congestion, choice of bike makes less of difference to overall time.

as to which bike to ride, the answer is glaringly obvious, as others have pointed out: ride whichever bike you have the most fun riding!

the first rule of cycling applies: "if you're riding a bike and not having fun, you're doing it wrong."

walnutz

Why doesn't my lady understand this? It's so simple.

AlmostGreenGuy

I have a big heavy steel mountain bike that I use as a beater and sacrificial lamb to the bike thieves. It rolls like crazy once you get it moving. It develops tons of momentum. It's perfect for long flat stretches and downhills. It rolls over potholes like they aren't even there. Just as fast as my road bike, as long as there are no hills and not too many stoplights. The MTB is much harder to get going from a dead stop than my road bike, and the weight is a killer on hills. The ride of the MTB does get a bit fatiguing after the 3rd day of commuting.

Overall, I prefer my 30-mile commute on my road bike, just because it's less fatiguing in the long run. If I were only commuting one or two days per week, I'd probably stick with my $25.00 garage sale MTB. :-)

locolobo13 

LOL.

Years ago I timed myself on a 6 mi commute. No computer, thru traffic so stops included in the time. I pushed, hard. Arrived gasping for air, sweat coming out every pore. Forget the exact time but it was around 30 min.

A few days later I timed myself again but said let's just cruise. NO pushing, all easy, take my time. My time was less than 90 sec more.

Lesson learned. Take it easy and enjoy more.

v0_boulder

Yeah I have been thinking about a MTB commuter myself. i have some bits from a retired MTB I am thinking surly karate monkey something with a stiff frame. Also with my road bike I can't put large racks on it so carrying anything can be a pain. The only thing I have found that is a killer on MTB is a full suspension bike the bike it seems seems to sap some of your forward energy.

fietsbob

Commuting is about being another vehicle..


1MHO, the MTB will be More durable.. thru ignored infrastructure,
on the daily grind.