It must be genetic?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Emile Flournoy

Formerly known as Yellow-Road
Location
Covington
It's been a while since I was here & in my absence I bought a MTB & learned how much more I prefer to ride a road bike. An mtb in my opinion feels like pushing a riding lawnmower down the street whereas a road bike feels like riding a razor blade. Needless to say I sold the mtb.
After a couple weeks of I realized there was nothing gained with a mtb but I was missing the precise sharp handling, rapid acceleration & high speed of a road bike that just isn't possible with a mtb. I don't think there's anything I can't do on my road bike as I'm too old or "mature" to give a sh@# about jumping or dropping off or climbing anything taller than a curb.
 

Attachments

  • 82f44f368ea59ff40471040c383d73b709fec08f_hellholegravelgrind_img (1).jpg
    82f44f368ea59ff40471040c383d73b709fec08f_hellholegravelgrind_img (1).jpg
    114.7 KB · Views: 9
  • 21985586_10155820812386869_577867192_o-674x450 (1).jpg
    21985586_10155820812386869_577867192_o-674x450 (1).jpg
    97.4 KB · Views: 9
  • 21952615_10155778934091974_1243829929_o-675x450 (1).jpg
    21952615_10155778934091974_1243829929_o-675x450 (1).jpg
    58.7 KB · Views: 10
  • jan_herse_gravel (1).jpg
    jan_herse_gravel (1).jpg
    104.8 KB · Views: 9
Last edited:

Globalti

Legendary Member
I went through 21 years of all that dropping off and jumping along with the crashes, the mud, the night rides and having to change in a freezing garage afterwards, the wear and tear on kit and the expense. Then 9 years ago I went over to road riding, dismantled my titanium hardtail and sold the bits and I've never looked back. Mrs Gti reminds me that I used to deride roadies with their lycra and their serious expressions but now I is one..... oh dear....
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
I had 21 years of fantastic fun mountain biking and got fit and slim after returning from a very sedentary lifestyle working abroad. For the first 15 years I lived for mountain biking to the point where my brother and I drove our family mad with our obsession. We talked about nothing else, we cycled every weekend and coming from a mountaineering background we undertook some pretty necky trips up British mountains, bikes on shoulders. We simply loved the ability to travel so far and so easily in mountain terrain and have so much fun doing it. We did races and Polaris Mountain Marathons, usually coming in the top 33% but once coming 13th in the Seniors when everybody else got stuck in slushy snow on Cheviot.

But gradually the fun faded, I grew tired of riding the same old stuff with my local club and the petty bitching and bickering and the racism towards young Asians who wanted to join. Then one day I found an almost new carbon road bike thrown off a bridge into the brook near my house and the road obsession took over.
 
Location
Loch side.
I had 21 years of fantastic fun mountain biking and got fit and slim after returning from a very sedentary lifestyle working abroad. For the first 15 years I lived for mountain biking to the point where my brother and I drove our family mad with our obsession. We talked about nothing else, we cycled every weekend and coming from a mountaineering background we undertook some pretty necky trips up British mountains, bikes on shoulders. We simply loved the ability to travel so far and so easily in mountain terrain and have so much fun doing it. We did races and Polaris Mountain Marathons, usually coming in the top 33% but once coming 13th in the Seniors when everybody else got stuck in slushy snow on Cheviot.

But gradually the fun faded, I grew tired of riding the same old stuff with my local club and the petty bitching and bickering and the racism towards young Asians who wanted to join. Then one day I found an almost new carbon road bike thrown off a bridge into the brook near my house and the road obsession took over.
Change one or two names and places, and that's my story you told there.

However, there's a fat-tyre specimen in my bike shed and I have caught myself looking at it lovingly once or twice in the last year.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
You are obviously not riding a MTB in the right places if you can do it on a road bike - just saying. MTB's are like riding a big truck, but in the right place they are great.
 
OP
OP
Emile Flournoy

Emile Flournoy

Formerly known as Yellow-Road
Location
Covington
[QUOTE\] I don't understand the road or MTB mentality, its all bike riding and I have and will continue to do it all, but at a more gentle pace nowadays.[/QUOTE]

As I said I just very strongly prefer a road bike. Riding a mtb seems so childish compared to road cycling. I no longer care about playing in the sandbox during recess. No I need real, appropriate transportation not designed play in the dirt with my GI Joe Mobile command unit.
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
A triathlete friend of mine had her bike nicked a couple of days before a triathlon last weekend. Fortunately her neighbour lent her a bike. Unfortunately it was an MTB complete with gigantic knobbly tyres - that was too big for her. She completed her tri, but said it was like driving a tractor.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
Try riding a road bike on muddy trails and see how much responsive acceleration you don't get.

Different tools for different jobs.

Good roadies will also train on MTBs as well - I know, because I tutor them. It improves balance, bike and body control, reactions, anticipation, balance, correct use of gearing, fitness... all things that make them faster, safer, simply better road riders as a consequence.

You talk loftily about not playing in the sandbox and MTBing being childish, incredibly patronising remarks, but the deep irony is the very thing you decry will make you better at the discipline you've haughtily chosen. If you don't want to do it yourself then that's cool with everyone, but to deride it is utterly disingenuous and simply illustrates your ignorance about cycling of any kind.
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Emile Flournoy

Emile Flournoy

Formerly known as Yellow-Road
Location
Covington
[QUOTE\] MTB's are like riding a big truck, but in the right place they are great.[/QUOTE]

I just don't care about riding off road. Splitting lanes, jousting with cars, riding sidewalks, jumping curbs is just a heckuva lot more fun to me than getting covered in mud, damn near killing myself dropping off cliffs. It's just seems so childish.
 

Johnno260

Veteran
Location
East Sussex
Horses for courses, I have my road bike for well roads, but getting covered in dust and mud with the kids on some trails is fun and has it's place as well.

I wouldn't say one is better than the other, it's like arguing about what the best colour is..
 
High end MTBs nullify the difficulty of off road terrain. If you want to cross terrain, pick s suitable MTB. If you want to test your skills and seek thrills, and lack extreme terrain in your area, take a roadbike offroad.

For most UK riding the old fashioned cross country style of MTB was ideal, very light, agile and requiring some rider skills.
 
Top Bottom