Mtb vs road bike up steep climbs

[Kajjal]

The additional grip from big knobbly tyres, suspension and weight means it will never be close to a road bike.

Swapping out the tyres to narrow slicks will help a lot but then you still have the weight and suspension. My xc MTB is a lot slower uphill than my road bike.

 

[nickyboy]

Really? Holme moss to me is quite hard. It has me out of the saddle pretty much all the way once i hit the switchbacks. Im not a particulary fit cyclist i acerage 15mph ovet mixed terrain that said im a trier and wont get off. My lowest gear is a 36/25 mind.

Yep

The steep sections of Holme Moss are hard pretty well no matter what gearing you have. A long alpine 7% is all about the right gearing (I'd suggest you should have something easier than 36/25), hydration, eating and measuring the effort. On gearing here is my take on it; a Peak District 7% I would typically do in 34/21 but I needed 34/27 at times on the twenty odd km climb of same gradient I did last year

 

[Venod]

Really? Holme moss to me is quite hard. It has me out of the saddle pretty much all the way once i hit the switchbacks. Im not a particulary fit cyclist i acerage 15mph ovet mixed terrain that said im a trier and wont get off. My lowest gear is a 36/25 mind.

I am not surprised you find it hard, I could get up the Moss on 36/25 or similar when younger, it was never easy, its still not easy nowadays on 34/28 or 34/30 if struggling but its more enjoyable, try gearing down a bit and see how you go.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Road bike with a triple, I have mine currently set up with a 50/38/26 front and 12-27 rear giving a range of 25-110" (10sp 105 triple) wide range pretty close rear ratios.

 

[S-Express]

Whaday reckon? Mtb has low gears but are they awkward/heavy/wrong geometry to climb effectively on the road?

Yes. Your question isn't really about 'MTB v road', it is about 'the wrong gearing v the right gearing'.

 

[swansonj]

Isn't it a it of a sad commentary that "road bike" has come to mean, not "road bike", but a particular sort of racing-derived sporty road bike? On any logical use of the words, a hybrid and a touring bike are both road bikes, but that's not how we've come to use the term. Says a lot about the dominance of current fashions.

 

[cyberknight]

Yep

The steep sections of Holme Moss are hard pretty well no matter what gearing you have. A long alpine 7% is all about the right gearing (I'd suggest you should have something easier than 36/25), hydration, eating and measuring the effort. On gearing here is my take on it; a Peak District 7% I would typically do in 34/21 but I needed 34/27 at times on the twenty odd km climb of same gradient I did last year

Heres me grinding up weaver hills on a 36 x28 , i could have done with a bit lower.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Isn't it a it of a sad commentary that "road bike" has come to mean, not "road bike", but a particular sort of racing-derived sporty road bike? On any logical use of the words, a hybrid and a touring bike are both road bikes, but that's not how we've come to use the term. Says a lot about the dominance of current fashions.

Its why I still ride a triple "road" bike, I just prefer the drops to a straight bars.

 

[suzeworld]

Isn't it a it of a sad commentary that "road bike" has come to mean, not "road bike", but a particular sort of racing-derived sporty road bike? On any logical use of the words, a hybrid and a touring bike are both road bikes, but that's not how we've come to use the term. Says a lot about the dominance of current fashions.

Not really - if you call all three types "road" bikes you make no distinction between them, and I own one of each type and find there is a BIG distinction in the riding of them, and what I want to do with each of them.
I love my tourer for plodding about and commuting and panniers; I even went up Mont Ventoux in it for my first time before I invested in my "road" bike which is light and equipped with a triple and made hills much easier ..
Here's the archive shot of me on my tourer near top of MV.

But to be fair, nothing I own is as cheap as 200 euro / quid .. not at all sure what you can get for that price!
This is a Dawes Super Galaxy ... very low gearing.

I call my road bike "Skippy" cos she really skips up hills, but she cost nearer 2,000 than 200

 

[swansonj]

Not really - if you call all three types "road" bikes you make no distinction between them, and I own one of each type and find there is a BIG distinction in the riding of them, and what I want to do with each of them.
I love my tourer for plodding about and commuting and panniers; I even went up Mont Ventoux in it for my first time before I invested in my "road" bike which is light and equipped with a triple and made hills much easier ..
Here's the archive shot of me on my tourer near top of MV.
View attachment 137627

But to be fair, nothing I own is as cheap as 200 euro / quid .. not at all sure what you can get for that price!
This is a Dawes Super Galaxy ... very low gearing.

I call my road bike "Skippy" cos she really skips up hills, but she cost nearer 2,000 than 200

I recognise this is becoming far too political for the context of the OP ... But ....
Whenever the name for a category is also the name for one subdivision within it, it implies that that particular subdivision is normative, and causes problems.

Thus "man" is used both as a category -humans- and a subdivision - man alongside woman. Many of us try to break away from that usage because of the problems it brings. Using "England" to encompass Wales and Scotland as well frequently causes offence.

In this case we have several types of bikes designed for roads - tourer, hybrid, Dutch-style utility, and, let's call it, "sports" (and many others as well). My objection is that using the term "road bike" to describe a particular type of road bike normalises that particular type. The reason I object is that the particular type of bike in question, being derived from racing norms and oriented towards sporty uses, is not the best type of bike for many road users, yet is presented to them as if it should be.

 

[User482]

Yep

The steep sections of Holme Moss are hard pretty well no matter what gearing you have. A long alpine 7% is all about the right gearing (I'd suggest you should have something easier than 36/25), hydration, eating and measuring the effort. On gearing here is my take on it; a Peak District 7% I would typically do in 34/21 but I needed 34/27 at times on the twenty odd km climb of same gradient I did last year

I've done climbs all over the UK and I've never found one as difficult as the HC Alpine Cols.

 

[srw]

I recognise this is becoming far too political for the context of the OP ... But ....
Whenever the name for a category is also the name for one subdivision within it, it implies that that particular subdivision is normative, and causes problems.

Thus "man" is used both as a category -humans- and a subdivision - man alongside woman. Many of us try to break away from that usage because of the problems it brings. Using "England" to encompass Wales and Scotland as well frequently causes offence.

In this case we have several types of bikes designed for roads - tourer, hybrid, Dutch-style utility, and, let's call it, "sports" (and many others as well). My objection is that using the term "road bike" to describe a particular type of road bike normalises that particular type. The reason I object is that the particular type of bike in question, being derived from racing norms and oriented towards sporty uses, is not the best type of bike for many road users, yet is presented to them as if it should be.

I'm partly with you, but the term "road bike" seems to me to be a subcategory of the term "bike", along with "mountain bike", "touring bike" and "folding bike".

As ever in these circumstances I reach for my OED, because it's a descriptive dictionary. It's interesting that the definition supports you - "road bike" as opposed to "bike for riding across country or on racetracks", but the citations mostly seem geared (sorry) towards "road bike" meaning "lightweight bike designed to go quickly on tarmac".

1896 House Furnishing Rev. Jan. 25/2 This company has devoted its energies not only to the making of ‘racing machines’, but also equally as fine road bikes.
1949 Chicago Tribune 3 June 10/2 The optimistic cycler selected a light English road bike geared to make hill climbing easier.
1970 Daily Rev. (Hayward, Calif.) 19 July 26/3 These trail bikes are definitely not road bikes when it comes to riding them on highways where traffic moves very fast.
1992 Men's Health July 48/2 These versatile new machines combine the ruggedness and low gears of mountain bikes with the sleekness and speed of road bikes.

(I've omitted a citation to do with motorbikes).

 

[suzeworld]

I recognise this is becoming far too political for the context of the OP ... But ....
Whenever the name for a category is also the name for one subdivision within it, it implies that that particular subdivision is normative, and causes problems.

Thus "man" is used both as a category -humans- and a subdivision - man alongside woman. Many of us try to break away from that usage because of the problems it brings. Using "England" to encompass Wales and Scotland as well frequently causes offence.

In this case we have several types of bikes designed for roads - tourer, hybrid, Dutch-style utility, and, let's call it, "sports" (and many others as well). My objection is that using the term "road bike" to describe a particular type of road bike normalises that particular type. The reason I object is that the particular type of bike in question, being derived from racing norms and oriented towards sporty uses, is not the best type of bike for many road users, yet is presented to them as if it should be.

Aye. I see what you mean. I never use man to encompass all humanity, myself.
But I think general bike users go out for a BIKE! I am not sure how influenced they are by this naming. In our house are happy to call our racier bikes road bikes and our "really useful for the road in general" bikes are called the tourers, or the work-horses!

 

[smutchin]

I think it was the 2003 Giro when Cipollini swapped his road bike for an MTB at the foot of the Zoncolan. He didn't win the stage.

(I've never seen any footage of this, only heard stories, so I'm not entirely sure it really happened.)

 

[Kajjal]

Just make sure you have the range of gears you need, current trends and people telling you to man up are irrelevant unless it works for you.

My road bike has 11 speed 50/34 & 11-32 which works well for me, my mountain bike has 38/24 & 11-36 which will climb up a wall if needed.