Which Components Dictates Speed & Terrain Application?



CycleNovice

New Member
Aug 8, 2011
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I joined a local cycling club some months now and we have out of town rides at least once a month I initially purchased a mountain bike because I enjoy off road riding (you know little dirt tracks of the beaten path and so on) but after experiencing several hilly rides and flats I have come to the conclusion that I prefer the flats. So here lies my dilema since I have already purchased a mountain bike which is idealy for off road and mountainous terrain someone was once explaining to me that a Mountain Bike cannot keep up with a Road Bike for several aspects such as weight and so forth but also due to the "Derailleur" because something along the lines of the "ratios" being different (I have no idea what they are referring to).

So my question is would it be easier for me to sell my Mountain Bike and purchase one of those Hybrid-Trail Bikes like the "Sunfire 2.0" so that I can get better performance on the long flat rides while still having the ability to ride off road?

Or can I change parts like the derailleur on my Mountain Bike to ones similar to what can be found on a Hybrid-Trail Bike?
 
i have seen people using their MTB with thin road-like tires for the road,
so you have two choices: have two set of wheels, one for the road and one for off road,
or have two bikes, a MTB and a Road bike
 
Yes Vspa several of my group members do that also for the long rides so go switch to the thinner wheels that are usually shipped with Hybrid Bikes and one or two switch all the way to the Road Bike Wheels. So I have already factored that part I was just wondering if there is anything else I could change and thus my question in regards to the derailleurs. If possible could you explain to me what the whole ratio is about and how does it factor in actual practice?
 
the derailleurs are part of the mechanism system for shifting gears (sometimes referred as mech, like rear mech), so they work together with the setup of your bike: levers + cables + chain + cassette or sprokets + cranks and chainrings

the idea of buying two set of wheels is that your second back wheel should have the same number of sprockets (like 6 cog cassette, or 7 or 8 etc) as your current wheel, the beauty of that is that it allows you to swap between both back wheels without making any kind of adjustments to your gearing system !

the common gear ratio of a MTB is ok for use in road but you get less subtle changes, you would typically jump 2 teeths for every shift instead of 1 teeth at a time like in a 10 or 9 speed road cassette, it is something that you can live with, nothing too serious, if you are riding for training purposes.
 
Well I ride for the exercise/recreational purposes and not for training but come to think of it on those out of town long rides a 1 teeth at a time shift may be better for my overall endurance especially when I start getting tired from the long hall and I could use a little more speed but I don't have the strength to handle even a single increase in gear.