I'm not sure this is for me

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
it's not necessarily a greater level of fitness it's a different kind of fitness. road requires you to be able to knock out a tempo for hours on end, maybe do a short burst of intense effort and recover quickly. mtb is all about power and short bursts of effort, or as least being able to cope with differential effort levels over shorter periods of time and still recover quickly. there's a lot more upper body and core strength involved in mtb than there is on road.

You put that better than me but that's what I was trying to say .....:whistle:

when i've not mtb'd for a while i notice that it takes more effort over shorter periods but when there are longer, draggier off road climbs i'm overtaking the mtb-only types who can't sustain the effort.


They'll be the down-hillers :smile:
 

Cubist

Still wavin'
Location
Ovver 'thill
Xiorell, where abouts do you live?
 

GrumpyGregry

Here for rides.
Get down the gym twice a week for 6 - 10 weeks and do some core and upper body work, lots of light weights with lots of reps, do some (lots) of 30/30 intervals on a turbo, and then give it another go....

....and if still you aren't enjoying it then you simply aren't going fast enough.
 

hotmetal

Senior Member
Location
Near Windsor
Kirstie put it really well.

I have both kinds of bike. The road bike makes me feel graceful as I zoom along at high speed with little effort (relative to mountain biking). If I go with the club it gets exciting when the pace picks up and I'm 6" off someone's back wheel. Other than that it's just the joy of riding such a light, responsive and efficient machine.

My mountain bike is a high-end jobby but it still feels 'sluggish' by comparison. Unlike road cycling, where you can get up to speed and just maintain it with a bit of pedalling, mountain biking is relentless in terms of power input. However, I rarely think about speed (except how to reduce it) when mountain biking on decent trails. With the off-roading, the fun is in overcoming the technical difficulties of certain trails, or hanging on for dear life, or hoping that your front wheel isn't going to land too much earlier than the back as you hit the doubles… Obviously it depends what kind of terrain you have local to you though. If all you've got is fields, it might be a bit boring and the real pleasure might be only the peace and lack of cars. I first fell in love with mountain biking because I enjoyed exploring the local woods. Then I discovered the art of (trying to) ride singletrack fast, and later actually taking the bike into some actual mountains (Lake Garda). To me, it's less about comparing it with road riding, and more about picking out what good things there are off road, be it adrenaline, physical or technical challenges, or just nature and solitude. The answer to your question is that it's head as well as body.

Sorry if I sound like some sort of hippy!
 

deaksie

New Member
Location
Cotswolds
IMHO you either love it or you don't, enjoy getting properly muddy or not, enjoy getting sweaty or not etc etc. Personally, I love the countryside, the challenge, the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere, even when it is hard work and youre going across an endless field slightly uphill and think you'll never make the other side.

I get really bored on the road, can't be bothered with GPS, cycle computers, cadence rating, average speed etc etc (I say this with trepidation as I'm sure some of my cc buddies will take issue.....), and i would look absolutely appalling in one of those little team outfits, so there you go, each to their own.........

You could always give it a few more weeks - there is nothing better than getting up a hill which has previously beaten you and realising how far you've come as a rider

Good luck
 
Top Bottom