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What is it like having a road bike?

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

What is it like having a road bike?

Old 03-28-20, 12:47 PM
  #26  
Amt0571
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Originally Posted by noodle soup
+1

this is why gravel bikes are becoming so popular.
No way a gravel bike is faster than a MTB on the trails in my area. Gravel bikes need a relatively smooth surface to work well without being a torture.

It depends on where you live though.
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Old 03-28-20, 12:49 PM
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Originally Posted by MoAlpha
It's like having an F-35 Lightning II under your carport, instead of a Kia. Don't get one unless you're ready.
Yeah! it's like having a license to fly. Only thing is, if you don't keep making the installment payments, your license is taken away.
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Old 03-28-20, 01:15 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by Amt0571
No way a gravel bike is faster than a MTB on the trails in my area. Gravel bikes need a relatively smooth surface to work well without being a torture.

It depends on where you live though.
I’m talking about riding unpaved roads, where anything more than a fully rigid 29er is overkill.
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Old 03-28-20, 05:07 PM
  #29  
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It's like dating an Italian super model with all the plus and minuses that come with that.
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Old 03-28-20, 05:55 PM
  #30  
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Further to Maelochs 's long and detailed post about the biomechanics of road bikes, the bars offer a huge variety of hand positions, allowing you to fine tune your position according to varying conditions and avoid the fatigue and discomfort of maintaining a single position.

And, huge point, the bars are only as wide as your shoulders, so you're far less likely to clip them on a rearview mirror or something, and you have an instant intuitive grasp of whether you can make a gap.

All of which, in my view, implies that a road bike is pure bicycle, and everything else is a specialised distortion of that. Pure bike is pure joy.

Originally Posted by chainwhip
Hill climbing, after a bit of a learning curve, becomes a fun challenge, and the downhill speeds exceed the comfort bike, and most likely the MTB speeds.
On the right sort of road, dudes with sufficient cajones on road bikes can outrun motorbikes.

Tell me that ain't badass AF.
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Old 03-28-20, 07:26 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by MoAlpha
It's like having an F-35 Lightning II under your carport, instead of a Kia. Don't get one unless you're ready.
This. Exactly
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Old 03-28-20, 07:28 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by WhyFi
Fun. It's fun.
This too.
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Old 03-28-20, 08:08 PM
  #33  
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Like bags of sand.
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Old 03-28-20, 09:23 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
Like bags of sand.
And so castles made of sand,
Fall in the sea eventually.
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Old 03-28-20, 11:36 PM
  #35  
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Old 03-28-20, 11:46 PM
  #36  
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Wax.
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Old 03-29-20, 02:45 AM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by CAT7RDR
You can go fast
Feck. I think my bike is broken.
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Old 03-29-20, 12:33 PM
  #38  
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What's it like owning a road bike. You're always wondering how much faster you could have ridden if you would have just saved 20 grams.
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Old 03-29-20, 12:59 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by morgothaod
What do you like and dislike about owning a road bike? Does road biking cause discomfort in your back? Never been on a road bike and am considering trying one. My only bikes have been mountain bikes and a comfort bike.
Bikes of all types work best when they are matched to the kind of path you are riding on. I have an MTB but I live in the city and there is a road at the end of my driveway so with a road bike I can start and end my rides from my driveway. The MTB, on the other hand, has to first go inside the car then a drive to the place where there are dirt trails. I could have been riding my road bike all that time I wasted in the car going to and from the trailhead. So there is a huge advantage to owning a road bike because you can just start from where you live.

Road bikes are very fast on the road. I have what I call a "city bike" that I ride to the store or short trips and the difference is very noticeable. I would never want to ride that city bike (flat bar and pedals and 26x2 tires) on a 50-mile ride. I'd never finish. Get a road bike for riding dozens of miles on a road then turning around and riding back home.

Make certain the bike FITS. The MTB or city bikes don't have to fit well because the rides are very short before you change position or stand up. But on a road bike, it is common to ride an hour without moving any bit of your upper body. The bike has to fit and it is worth it to get some expert to help you fit it. Also, you must use the bike shoes with cleats although the MTB style SPD cleats work "well enough".

Last edited by ChrisAlbertson; 03-29-20 at 01:22 PM.
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Old 03-29-20, 03:52 PM
  #40  
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I dislike those moments when I see myself in the mirror and realize I look like a condom.

I like that 100km later my butt is thanking me for wearing padded shorts.
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Old 03-30-20, 08:11 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by Kimmo
Further to Maelochs 's long and detailed post about the biomechanics of road bikes, the bars offer a huge variety of hand positions, allowing you to fine tune your position according to varying conditions and avoid the fatigue and discomfort of maintaining a single position.

And, huge point, the bars are only as wide as your shoulders, so you're far less likely to clip them on a rearview mirror or something, and you have an instant intuitive grasp of whether you can make a gap.

All of which, in my view, implies that a road bike is pure bicycle, and everything else is a specialised distortion of that. Pure bike is pure joy.



On the right sort of road, dudes with sufficient cajones on road bikes can outrun motorbikes.

Tell me that ain't badass AF.
Agree bada$$ as terminal velocity == 130 kph
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Old 03-30-20, 08:48 AM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by JayKay3000
I dislike those moments when I see myself in the mirror and realize I look like a condom.
More aero than a diaphragm.
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Old 03-30-20, 09:19 AM
  #43  
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I like going fast, and doing long rides, a properly fitted road bike is def the ticket.


Originally Posted by Amt0571
No way a gravel bike is faster than a MTB on the trails in my area. Gravel bikes need a relatively smooth surface to work well without being a torture.

It depends on where you live though.
Def depends on the terrain. I don't see any of my mtb friends here doing 50-100 mile rides, much less any ride with avg speeds over 15mph, so if we're talking speed, I'd have to give the nod to my gravel bike. That's what drew me to gravel, I can still go fast, but get out in nature and away from traffic.
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Old 03-30-20, 09:37 AM
  #44  
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It's like owning a **********. It's super fun and a great way to get in tune with your inner monologue, but it's (probably?) not something you tell your coworkers about.
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Old 03-30-20, 10:00 AM
  #45  
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I've got a friend I used to MTB with until he moved away. He was mostly a MTBer with a little road, and I was mostly a roadie with some MTB. He had much better skills than I did on the MTB, and he would beat me on descents and technical parts, but on less technical parts and the climbs and whatnot I'd blow him away. On one 15-mile MTB route nearby my Strava PR was like a half hour faster than his. I'd say even if you prefer MTBing, getting a road bike and laying down some serious high-output mileage will do more for your endurance than just about anything I could think of. And that endurance will in turn pay dividends during your MTBing.

I'm not sure I can really answer "what's it like to own a road bike?" For laying down miles on the road it can't be beaten. If you're not into road riding then it's just an expensive toy taking up space in the garage. If you like road riding, though, having a nice road bike is a real joy. I've currently got the road bike of my dreams, though it wouldn't be the road bike of everyone's dreams, and I love it every time I take it out. It's not the Ferrari of road bikes, but I'm at the age where I'd rather have the Cadillac of road bikes anyway, and that would be a good descriptor for my bike. Owning it is cool, though the novelty wears off. Riding it just reminds me how fortunate I am to have it.

Anyhow, owning a road bike is great if you are interested in road cycling, and even if your primary interest is mountain biking, adding road cycling and doing a lot of it can really improve your mountain biking with improved endurance and strength that is much harder to come by purely mountain biking. Not saying MTBers aren't strong or don't have endurance, but if you're doing 150+ miles/week at a good pace on a road bike it's going to be tough matching the benefits on a MTB in the hills.
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Old 03-30-20, 12:46 PM
  #46  
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Originally Posted by morgothaod
What do you like and dislike about owning a road bike? Does road biking cause discomfort in your back? Never been on a road bike and am considering trying one. My only bikes have been mountain bikes and a comfort bike.
Initially we used road bikes on and off road. I am still not daunted by taking hilly trails with a 23 mm street tires though it is too uncomfortable for me now at my age. The MTB's were invented. They were nothing more than a street bike with a longer wheelbase that used fat 26" tires. Everything built from there. I have some top flight full suspension bikes but was entirely unimpressed with them since they are so damned much heavier than a cyclocross bike that in anything but the roughest terrain I can drop full suspension bikes. Well, I could. Now I've had a concussion and no longer have any balance, I can't be sure of hitting the trail through narrow passages I've slowly given up off-road other than gravel.

But road is where it's at. Yes, at fist you get pains everywhere but that eventually goes away. The proper saddle makes a lot of difference since road saddles ae a lot different than MTB saddles. For many years I was putting in 10,000 miles per year and that took a lot of my time but a friend Dan'imal put in 20,000 a year until he could no longer stand the stress of traffic and feeling like at any minute he was going to be run over. I've never had that feeling except in particularly dangerous areas and after I learn where they're at I avoid them.

Doing 40 or 50 mph downhill or climbing a 10% to 12% hill for a mile or more is really great (after it's over) and you get a much better connection with the land. You see the farms (much of which are now gone). I visited a friend in Phoenix and saw flat land where they thought that a 5% climb was a dangerous hill. Although this has been a typical winter and there hasn't been a lot of riding I have over 800 miles and over 33,000 feet of climbing so far. All of the early season Centuries have been canceled so I have plenty of time to train for those later in the season.

Road riding is definitely where it's at and if I feel like a slow ride far away from traffic there's plenty of gravel trails. I have two cyclocross bikes and one of them is great on gravel.
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Old 03-30-20, 05:20 PM
  #47  
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I have been riding ten speeds since the early seventies so I don’t have anything to compare it to. I had a mountain bike in 1990 and it was ok but found myself back on my road bike more often than not. I am 65 and still ride with the drop bars with no back issues. Get fitted correctly by a reputable bike shop with the type of road bike that suits your type of riding. Don’t spend too much on your first one, your desires are most likely going to change after about a year.
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Old 03-30-20, 06:18 PM
  #48  
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Originally Posted by RiceAWay
Initially we used road bikes on and off road. I am still not daunted by taking hilly trails with a 23 mm street tires
On smooth dirt, sure. But bikes designed with rougher surfaces in mind have always left room for wider tires.

Prior to the mid-80s, it was very common for road bikes to fit much wider than 23mm rubber. All 3 of my vintage steel road bikes will happily fit at least 32s with adequate room; one would probably be okay with 38s.
The fat-tired 650b French "randonneur" bikes from the early-mid 20th century were allroad/gravel bikes by today's standards, built to manage rough mountainous double-track roads and such.

The MTB's were invented. They were nothing more than a street bike with a longer wheelbase that used fat 26" tires.
Early mountain bikes weren't based on road bikes, they were based on the Marin klunkers, which were basically modified beach cruisers. It wasn't just the longer chainstays: the steering geometry was wildly different, with a very slack head angle producing high trail. They also used slack seat tube angles like beach cruisers, and swept-back non-drop handlebars, with the intention of being set up with a fairly reclined posture.

I have an '84 Stumpjumper that's fit like a road bike, and I occasionally use it as one...





...but due to the differences in the steering geometry, it handles dramatically different from road bikes, even from road bikes with long chainstays and fat tires (like some touring builds).

The proper saddle makes a lot of difference since road saddles ae a lot different than MTB saddles.
The proper saddle does make a lot of difference versus having a saddle that doesn't fit, but I'm not sure I'd say that road saddles are much different from MTB saddles. There's a ton of design overlap, and it's not unheard of for an "MTB" saddle to work great on someone's road bike or vise versa.
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Old 03-31-20, 08:04 AM
  #49  
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What is it like having a road bike?
Originally Posted by morgothaod
What do you like and dislike about owning a road bike? Does road biking cause discomfort in your back?

Never been on a road bike and am considering trying one. My only bikes have been mountain bikes and a comfort bike.
As an extension of your question, I have posted about riding an expensive (i.e carbon fiber) bike vs a more ordinary but fine steel bike (a Bridgestone RB1), that emphasizes the advantages of a road bike in general.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
"Why Expensive Commuter bikes?"

…My average speed stayed the same, but I think I was hampered by injuries from the accident [including a fractured sacrum], and I believe the new bike compensated at least to maintain my average speed. I did note that I was more inclined to sprint (successfully) to beat traffic lights before they turned red.

I further craved the smoothness of the ride, including the shifting,making cycle-commuting more pleasurable. Of greatest benefit, while long (greater than 40 mile) rides took the same amount of time as before, I felt much less tired at the end.
Originally Posted by Rowan
… Performance in this context does not mean outright speed because that is down to the person riding it and their strength and endurance.

But rather is in the quality of the shifting, braking, ride, handling through corners and over rough surfaces, aerodynamics and (dare I say it) comfort.
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Old 03-31-20, 09:23 AM
  #50  
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It's great to have a road bike. My only regret is not starting the road cycling hobby sooner.
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