# How much easier is a road bike to ride than a mountain bike? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 5, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637 "2010-11-05T23:29:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/21 "2010-11-07T00:08:14Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Now that I live out in the beautiful mountains, I am thinking about taking up bicycling, but only if I can go fast enough for it to be fun. It’s always going to be fun. You can have more than one. So get the $800 or so road bike. Then get the $800 or so mountain bike. Different bikes for different reasons. Where are you at? What mountains? ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/22 "2010-11-07T02:09:54Z")
> [@Quintas](#): > > It’s also $9500. Yes, yes it is. > [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > I never liked mountain bikes, because all I ever do is ride on roads, so I haven’t seen any new top-of-the line ones recently. That said, if all you are doing is riding on the road, a mountain bike is a poor choice. It has features and such that are optimized for off-road use. Those range from useless to negative in on-road situations. For the same price, a road bike is better for road use than any mountain bike ever will be. > > On the other hand, I would never take a road bike off-road, ever. If you want to do both with the same bike, it would have to be a mountain bike like you describe, because while a mountain bike will waste some effort on-road, a road bike will get stuck or break off-road. Your suggestion is a better “does both” compromise, if compromise is what you want. What you say is true. I was simply countering what I took away from what you said: That you could lift your bike with your pinky, outrun traffic, and climb any hill and that no mountain bike could do that. The bike I mentioned can do all those things, as well, albeit for a king’s ransom. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/23 "2010-11-07T02:27:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Roughly speaking, air resistance is proportional to speed squared… Yes, the force is about proportional to speed squared, but the work is proportional to force times speed, so work is proportional to speed cubed. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/24 "2010-11-07T02:36:00Z")
The main reason I opted for a mountain bike in Honolulu was the fantastic off-road options right on the edge of town. However, I quickly found out I did not enjoy off-road biking. But I did enjoy having a big monster-looking bike and kept it instead of selling it. Three times a week, I rode it up the regular road to the top of a small mountailn called Tantalus overlooking the city. After a while, I was able to do it all in one go without having to stop and rest. It was a full loop up there and back, and coming back down full tilt was FUN. Whizzed right past Richard Chamberlain’s mansion on the side overlooking the city. (He’s since sold it I think, and when I first arrived in Honolulu I thought it must be a hospital, this giant white building up there, until someone said no, that’s Richard Chamberlain’s house.) Fantastic views up there. Maybe that’s why the bike never seemed slow and clunky to me, I really built up my strength on it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/25 "2010-11-07T05:01:51Z")
> [@Poysyn](#): > > I have a heavy cheap mountain bike, and I bought (last year) a used TREK hybrid. I love it. The difference is night and day, really. Agree, I have a mountain bike and a touring bike. Night and day. I truly discovered how badly the difference was when I rode on the same rail/trail with both bikes. One would grind to a halt on a low grade hill and the other just kept going. I kept looking at the mountain bike to see if a brake was dragging. It’s bad enough that it feels like I’m pedaling a 56 Chevy but when it doesn’t coast far down hill it is a bit depressing. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/26 "2010-11-07T05:07:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Yes, the force is about proportional to speed squared, but the work is proportional to force times speed, so work is proportional to speed cubed. No, power is proportional to force times speed. Most rides are for a set distance (from home to work or whatever), not a set time, so work will be proportional to power divided by speed. Or, to put it more simply, work is force times distance, and the distance is the same no matter what bike you’re on or how fast you’re going. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/27 "2010-11-07T05:59:27Z")
> [@Shamozzle](#): > > What you say is true. I was simply countering what I took away from what you said: That you could lift your bike with your pinky, outrun traffic, and climb any hill and that no mountain bike could do that. The bike I mentioned can do all those things, as well, albeit for a king’s ransom. Well, if you adjust the one I have for inflation, it comes out to about that much money, too, so I’m not surprised… ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/28 "2010-11-07T13:14:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > No, power is proportional to force times speed. Most rides are for a set distance (from home to work or whatever), not a set time, so work will be proportional to power divided by speed. Or, to put it more simply, work is force times distance, and the distance is the same no matter what bike you’re on or how fast you’re going. Oh, I’m sorry. I was thinking work per time, which is power. So, it depends if we care about riding an hour or riding to the next town. For a given route, you are right, the work to deal with wind resistance is speed squared. My mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/29 "2010-11-08T03:16:52Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Since you hope to ride in the mountains, make sure you get a bike with a triple front chain ring…This will give you some granny gears for climbing while you work on your conditioning. A compact double is probably a better choice. You can get low enough for even mountain roads on a compact double. You don’t really need triple unless you are riding steep things with full panniers. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/30 "2010-11-09T03:05:28Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > A compact double is probably a better choice. You can get low enough for even mountain roads on a compact double. You don’t really need triple unless you are riding steep things with full panniers. I definitely vote for the triple. If you are already a strong cyclist you may only need a triple for steep hills with loads, but then you would already be riding what you wanted. Most of us would enjoy the bigger range. Whether you really need a triple is moot; you don’t really need the whole bicycle. I bet it would be much more fun with the triple, which is the most important thing. Besides, the triple doesn’t have much of a downside. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/31 "2010-11-09T04:13:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Enough with the theory, though, from my personal experience the biggest difference between a road bike and a mountain bike is the shocks. Shocks are great if you’re going over rough terrain, but on a smooth road, they’ll just provide one more place for energy to be dissipated. Oh yes. Back when I was still riding $150 “mountain bikes” from Target, simply switching from a $150 bike with a rear shock to a different $150 bike with a hardtail was a shocking improvement. I suddenly realized, “My god, half of the energy I was putting into pedaling was going into flexing that shock instead of propelling me forward!” ---
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/32 "2010-11-09T06:34:16Z")
What about a cyclocross bicycle? I own a mountain bike (Gary Fisher Tassajara) but 90% of my riding is on roads, but it’s a mixture of pavement and gravel. My typical ride is 20 to 30 miles; I’ll occasionally do 40-50 but that’s a stretch. I like being able to hop curbs, ride in the wet, and climb steep hills (slowly). My friend, who is more of a road bike rider, wants me to get a road bike and join his 50-60 mile rides. Aside from not having the time to do that, I wonder if a cyclocross bike with the appropriate road-ish wheels would give me the best of both worlds, or the worst of both? I guess that my goal would be to be faster on my rides, so that I could go farther with my limited time, but keep the ability to run on gravel roads, take bumps, etc. **coremelt** , I’d be interested in hearing about the flat bar road bike you mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/33 "2010-11-09T09:54:28Z")
> [@brossa](#): > > What about a cyclocross bicycle? I own a mountain bike (Gary Fisher Tassajara) but 90% of my riding is on roads, but it’s a mixture of pavement and gravel. My typical ride is 20 to 30 miles; I’ll occasionally do 40-50 but that’s a stretch. I like being able to hop curbs, ride in the wet, and climb steep hills (slowly). My friend, who is more of a road bike rider, wants me to get a road bike and join his 50-60 mile rides. Aside from not having the time to do that, I wonder if a cyclocross bike with the appropriate road-ish wheels would give me the best of both worlds, or the worst of both? I guess that my goal would be to be faster on my rides, so that I could go farther with my limited time, but keep the ability to run on gravel roads, take bumps, etc. > > **coremelt** , I’d be interested in hearing about the flat bar road bike you mentioned. A cyclocross bike is recommended brossa - definitely closer to the best of both than the worst. You have a pretty wide range of tyres to choose from that will cater for trail or road riding or both. The type of riding you’re talking about - mix of road / light trail etc is made for a CX bike at this time of year. While it won’t match the feeling of sheer speed you get from a top end road bike, it’s certainly not a compromise on the road and is perfectly well suited to road riding. You can even take them round some pretty gnarly mountain bike trails if you’re hardcore enough - here it is clearly a compromise but still great fun to do once in a while. My understanding is that the geometry of a CX bike is not that different from most road bikes. Now, we all know that roadies will argue about the minutiae of frame angles and top tube lengths till the cows come home, so I’m sure there are subtle differences that the cognoscenti would appreciate. But to most riders they’ll feel pretty similar in set up. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/34 "2010-11-09T12:02:01Z")
What I have done likely exceeds what the op and others in this thread are willing to shell out, but please hear me out. You don’t need to spend what I have for this to apply I have several high end road bikes, two of them built up with circa 1990 Merlin titanium frames (a 650cc wheel size and a 700c) souped with several thousand in components. Also have in my arsenal of bikes a 2007 Cervelo SLR olympic paint edition with Campanolo Record and a highend Reynolds wheel set, have a 9k into that bike. The reason I list these off is to emphasize what I have to compare what I am about to recommend all of you avid and beginner cyclists alike to consider. That is, to get a nice mountain bike, and get a separate set of wheels for it. The extra set of wheels allows the luxury of swapping tires in a snap w/ quick release levers, sparing the tedious chore of changing tires. My wheel sets are comparable in quality and rim type. It’s the tires that set the different wheels apart. One wheel set can have high volume off road tires, mine - 2.4 front and 2.3 rear, they do the best at floating over sand that is prevalent in our region here, just an overall gnarly set up for the roughest terrain. The other wheelset can have a skinnier tire of choice - mine has Ritchey Tom Slick 1.4s - wider/bigger than the Ritchey 1.0 version, but the higher volume absorbs pavement anomalies with ease, offers greater comfort and control than that of the narrower/lower volume. They still roll fast on the pavement/concrete. IMO, the high end mountain bike with the 1.4 inch tires is a \*lot more fun to ride on - not as fast overall as a high end road bike mind you… but easier to handle, turn, stop. (I believe this translates into a safer ride.) I have Mavic wheel bags, zippered duffel bags that I carry one set of wheels or the other in, they don’t take up much space in my minivan over what the bike does. It’s like having two bikes where ever I go. This is the best that you can do, imo to enjoy the best of both worlds. Of course as a bike freak, I do have a wheelbarrow load of money into this stuff. I am almost embarrassed to say how much. 😉 But you certainly don’t have to spend what I have to make this work. A disgusting amount of money is not required to tap into the extra wheel philosophy - certainly is a \*lot cheaper than two separate bikes and saves the stowing/storage space, too. Also, comparing 150dollar bikes from target/kmart/walmart etc, to any “real” bike is like comparing crabapples to honeycrisps. Don’t expect any quality rides on bikes of that sub par grade of quality. They are junk. At least start out with a decent quality bike through a good shop - it’ll repay itself in fun and hold its value reasonably well too. If you get an uninspiring-never-stay-in-tune-heavy shitass bike from kmart, your good intentions to ride will end up gathering cobwebs and taking up space in your garage. And if this doesn’t happen, you’ll be in a constant struggle to get it fixed/adjusted, spend a \*lot of time and money doing this. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/35 "2010-11-09T14:40:08Z")
> [@brossa](#): > > **coremelt** , I’d be interested in hearing about the flat bar road bike you mentioned. Giant CRX 2 flat bar road bike: [http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bikes/model/crx.2/5292/39057/](http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/bikes/model/crx.2/5292/39057/) not sure if they sell this model overseas, was just over $1000 AU… its really made it so much more fun riding for me… the amount of relative effort is night and day… ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637/36 "2010-11-09T14:52:54Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I definitely vote for the triple. If you are already a strong cyclist you may only need a triple for steep hills with loads, but then you would already be riding what you wanted. Most of us would enjoy the bigger range. Whether you really need a triple is moot; you don’t really need the whole bicycle. I bet it would be much more fun with the triple, which is the most important thing. Besides, the triple doesn’t have much of a downside. Mine is a double. If you get the rear one custom geared, you can cram a really wide range on a double. Still, a triple can’t hurt, if you don’t mind the (modest) extra cost. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-easier-is-a-road-bike-to-ride-than-a-mountain-bike/559637.md?page=1)