MTB or Road Bike

Todd89014

My commute is 15 mi (24 km) each way: a combination of slight uphills/downhills. At this time I'm riding a cheap (US $53) Roadmaster 15-speed inwhich the rear hub bearings have already broken free of the locknut and scattered to the breeze -- 5 miles (8km) from home. That problem was solved by borrowing a rear wheel assembly from a compatible bike.

My question is: from those with experience -- what do you ride for your commute? I enjoy the larger MTB frame which will take the abuse of the poorer-paved roads out here. However, I'm considering paying the money for a lighter, faster roadbike that might cut my commute time to under an hour each way.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Todd ~~ Las Vegas, Nevada

tcklyde

Try a hybrid. Best of both worlds. Tires and gearing options suited to road riding, comfort of a MTB. Trek, Fuji, Cannondale, Specialized, to name just a few, make nice models.

In general, a MTB is poorly suited to road riding. Knobbly tires are especially bad for anything but off road.

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Harry

mjw_byrne

Yeah, hybrids are designed for commuting and urban riding. A flat bar is easier and comfier around town, the tyres are skinny enough to be fast but fat enough not to be too fragile/harsh, the frame is stronger and has less twitchy geometry than that on a road bike, the gearing range will be more forgiving, the brakes are usually better, and so on.

rek

I'm a bit spoiled by having both but can give you some comparisons, as I regularly commute on both of them.

If the day is sunny and generally nice, the road bike gets the nod. The sensation of speed and the feeling of total efficiency is nice. If the weather is dicey, though, I take the mountain bike. The wider (slick) tyres and better brakes (my MTB has discs) give more confidence in the wet and dirty/gritty conditions. The MTB also has much better low-speed handling, which is good when you need to navigate through tight spaces etc.

If I had to choose one bike for commuter duties, it'd be a cyclocross bike. Road bike drop-handlebars and efficiency, and the ability to use wider-than-usual road tyres; what's not to like.

Failing that, my second choice would be a mountain bike equipped with a rigid fork and slick 26" tyres. Most hybrids have a seating position far too upright for my liking.

There's also the question of practicality. Are you also looking at fitting pannier racks and mudguards? If so, that rules out a lot of contemporary road bikes. (There are always workarounds though)

For what it's worth, my usual commute route sounds very similar to yours. I find the road bike about 5 minutes faster in total compared to the mountain bike (49-50min versus 54-55min)

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Peter
Cannondale Synapse Carbon Scalpel Cyclocross Ultra

fotodog101

I’m new to this forum as well and am also shopping around, wanting to get back into cycling around town (and to get some exercise).

I’m looking at hybrids and am considering splurging on a Fuji Silhouette, which was highly recommended by a shop here.

Just wondering what others think of this choice and your experiences with it.

Thanks.

MidBunchLurker

I'm with Rek on this one. I've commuted with both MTB and road bikes. My route is between 18 and 50km, depending on how energetic I'm feeling. The road bike would get my vote every time (with Conti 4-season tyres for puncture resistance) except for when the weather turns nasty. Then the mountain bike is better. My 1.75 MTB slicks give great grip in the wet and mudguards keep things (mainly me) a bit cleaner.

If I had to go shopping for a dedicated commuter bike (when I win the lotto ) it would be a cross bike - I saw a nice one the other day that even had disk brakes, gives you the best of both worlds.

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nick.

www.nickcoyne.com

mikdes

No experience with it, but the Fuji Silhouette is also high on my list. It seems to be a lit of bike for the money and isn't so flashy as to attract thieves.

kf5nd

Rek (and others), what are some names of companies that make cyclocross bikes? I've never looked into these at all...

I have a long commute also over mostly flat rounds and some footpaths (35 miles / 56 km round-trip), and the ability to make hay quickly would really be an asset.

I had been commuting on an old road bike, but I was just trashing the he** out of it, now I'm on the MTB and it's holding up but it's slow, and not as sexy (!)

rek

Cyclocross bikes are an expensive rarity here in Australia.. companies I know of are

Bianchi
Cannondale
Felt (someone mentioned one of these in the Hybrid Con thread in the Bike Cafe)

but I'd say that any company with a significant European or American market presence would likely offer at least one cyclocross model.

I forgot to mention my ultimate commuter would also have disc brakes, so in the wet you actually have braking power Some cyclocross frames/forks are disc capable; though I think the UCI banned disc brakes in cyclocross events just recently so those options might fall by the wayside in the future.

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Peter
Cannondale Synapse Carbon Scalpel Cyclocross Ultra

magical311man

My commute is 12 miles each way, and i ride along fairly decent roads...so i use a road bike. i used my old murray wal mart bike in the spring, because its a million pounds and it builds strength, but once my body is geared up for the year, im a road bike guy. some of the routes to the mall and stuff have some sections of bad trail, and the road bike sucks on that, but to me its worth it. i think the real point is to use whatever YOU are happy with

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The bottom line is to enjoy what you are doing!

dsnapp

When I lived in Melbourne, I most always chose a MTB to commute. I put on Slicks and also had the Headshock lockout to make it a rigid fork. When I wanted to go hit the trails, I just simply changed the tires back to the knobby's - so it served two purposes. Every once in a while I would ride the road bike in and it always amazed me how much faster it felt. All in all though, the MTB took the bumps of bike trial along the Yara the best.

I now live in Singapore and ride very regularly 4 times a week - both Sat/Sun and two evenings. I'm hoping to begin to commute again here but am still looking for a shower option near the office. Unfortunately I am a "sweater" and the weather here never is cool. I think I will use the MTB w/slicks option here again as well.

KMKS

I had been debating this road bike vs. hybrid thing for a while myself. What i really wanted was a road bike for the sexiness factor, but i knew that a hybrid might be a better choice for me since about 70% of my riding is to commute. But i just couldn't get myself to buy a bike that i really wasn't excited about. Eventually i found a used bianchi volpe, which is somewhere between a cyclo-cross bike and a touring bike and let me tell you it's perfect. It's a lot sturdier in the wheels and frame than a road bike would be, but it's still got a similar look and feel. At ~23lbs. it's not too heavy either. It also has a rear rack for panniers, which i don't use anymore. I'd seriously recommend looking into a cross bike or something similar.

tmccall

I use several, depending on my mood. My daily commute is 20 kms each way. Generally, during milder and summer weather I ride my Mikado Radisson touring bike. It's got a stiff enough frame to handle the abuse the roads on the way into town hand out, but has the road geometry that I like. Once a week or so, when I fell the "need for speed", I'll take my Trek 2000 road bike. When the fall turns cooler and frost starts to appear on the road in the mornings, I'll slap a set of cyclocross tires on the Mikado. When snow starts to fly, I'll start riding my Kona MTB. I like the lower centre of gravity on slippery roads and I run studded tires for extra grip. If there's any ice, I'll cheat and take the F-150 - but otherwise I'll pretty much ride year round. Wife thinks I'm a nut, daughters are convinced their old man is crazy.

Rocket Coffee

I have an '04 Trek 1500 that I just finished converting to my ultimate all purpose/commuter. I switched out my stock bars for Salsa Moto Bell (cyclocross drops) bars and stuffed Vittoria 28c's on front and back. I have about a 1/4" clearance from tire to brakes and that's good enough since I live in Phoenix (no mud). As a bonus the 1500 oddly enough has rear mounts for a rack. So thats it, and I couldn't be happier!