On a mountain bike on the street, there is more of a touch of control and stability and it seems better going up hills.
But, there is more of a thrill with a road bike since it’s quicker and smoother.
Overall, I don’t reflect there is that much of a difference. The guy at the bike shop said a mountain bike can be ridden anywhere not just on trails.
In the long run, does anyone feel there is a difference between the two?
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Sloan
Oh my gosh…. YES!
The mtn bike is slow, heavy, and unresponsive on the road. A drop bar ‘racer’ is quick, dexterous and set alight. The hybrid is a combination of both….. The momma bear of cycling.
The mtn bike on the road is an R.V.. The drop bar bike, a Porsche. The hybrid, a BMW SUV.
As for your bike guys comments. Yes, it can be ridden anywhere that it can go. It is just not the best bike for the job!
If you want to get in real fantastic shape ride a mtn bike with the roadies on group rides! There is that much difference in effort!
Soccerref
I was there asking the same question. All I had was a mountain bike in college and I had to ride it everywhere even in the damn snowy winters. So then I get my first job and got a cheap road bike. WOW! it made such a difference! It was quicker and so much simpler since of the weight reduction. Then I went and got pedals and shoes that clip in. Again, a major change! Now I really do cyclocross races. If you want something that will do both road and mountain, get a cyclocross bike! They are the perfect mix of both.
There is a huge difference between a road bike and a mountain bike. If you are only planing on ridding on smooth gravel bike paths a hybrid is a compromise between the two. A road bike will be much quicker and efficient and can climb hills as well. Knobbies and shocks on a mountain bike eat up a lot of energy on the road.
is this a j oke?
yes
huge difference
wle
If you are looking for one bike to do it all get a mtn bike. For the average criterion the difference is not enough to worry about and if you do choose to ride the road a lot you can do one of two things, get a set of 26″ road tires or a set of off-road tires with a honestly smooth tread. If you are looking at a $1000+ mtn bike it must have lock out on the suspension and just lock it out for road riding. If you are considering a box store mtn bike avoid them as the handle poorly and are real heavy. One other option, if you don’t ride the trails much or the ones you ride are very smooth consider a cyclocross bike. Don’t buy into the road bikes are quicker thing either, it’s not that huge a deal for the average weekend warrior.
Giant difference. Mountain bikes usually have 26″ tires that are much wider & a knobby tread pattern. That alone will slow you down. Yes, you can ride a mountain bike on the streets but they take more effort from the criterion since of these wider tires. A wider tire that holds less air pressure will have a higher rolling resistance than a taller, thinner road bike tire. Also, the suspension parts of a mountain bike soak up energy. Not all of the criterion’s efforts is transmitted to the rear wheel. Some of it (a lot) is sodden up or absorbed into the bike’s frame & suspension.
A road bike has no suspension. Most of the criterion’s effort is directed to the rear wheel. Then toss in those taller, thinner tires that pump up to a higher psi level & it rolls so much quicker on the streets.