Would mountain biking improve my road bike climbing?

[PaulSecteur]

Early new years resolution... Get good at hills in time for next years sportives!

I have brought myself some cold weather gear for the road bike so I can still go out and train on the Secteur, but would getting a mountain bike and doing cannock chase over the winter improve my climbing ability?

I know that hills are all about putting down a high wattage for a sustained period, but would mountain biking provide that, and would the skills (by skills I mean extra cardio effort, pedel strake and so on, nor bouncing off boulder skills)

Also, is mountain biking a good fat burner?

 

[derrick]

I came from mtb to road a while back, always found the road hills harder, i just make a point of finding hills and pushing up them on the road bike, i know find the mtb a bit boring.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

I have brought myself some cold weather gear for the road bike so I can still go out and train on the Secteur, but would getting a mountain bike and doing cannock chase over the winter improve my climbing ability?

Any climbing at all will count eventually.

I know that hills are all about putting down a high wattage for a sustained period, but would mountain biking provide that, and would the skills (by skills I mean extra cardio effort, pedel strake and so on, nor bouncing off boulder skills)

Certainly. The major factor is your ability to sustain the power output,the bike is just a tool to get you up, your body does the hard part. Climbing hills regardless of tarmac or mud can only benefit climbing hills.

Also, is mountain biking a good fat burner?

Don't worry about that bit. Eat sensibly and it will shift.

 

[black'n'yellow]

I have brought myself some cold weather gear for the road bike so I can still go out and train on the Secteur, but would getting a mountain bike and doing cannock chase over the winter improve my climbing ability?

If you combined the MTB with your existing road riding, then yes, it would improve your fitness, which would lead to improved climbing ability. On the other hand, if all you did was switch from road to MTB over the winter, then I doubt if your overall fitness would change very much, if at all.

Also, is mountain biking a good fat burner?

'fat burning' doesn't really exist. But any sustained exercise will consume calories, of which a percentage will be fat.

 

[billy1561]

My mates who i ride with are superior mountain bikers to me and make the hills look relatively easy. On the road it's a different tale though. One of them is marginally better than me and the other suffers and we have to wait for him regularly.
Strange how this is. I personally fing mtb'ing tougher than road biking but my mates say it's the other way.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

My mates who i ride with are superior mountain bikers to me and make the hills look relatively easy. On the road it's a different tale though. One of them is marginally better than me and the other suffers and we have to wait for him regularly.
Strange how this is. I personally fing mtb'ing tougher than road biking but my mates say it's the other way.

From someone who came from mountain biking, to touring and now to road bikes. road bikes are by far the easiest (for me anyhow).
My ability to look at a hill and class it as an incline has come from cycling abroad in places with much bigger hills. Now I simply look at the steepness and don't worry about the length of the climb and coast up most things. I'm not fast but I get there without stopping or getting off, (though one or two of the really steep little inclines around here are killers!).

just keep practising.

 

[PpPete]

I've not tried MTB, but I've found regular spin classes at my local gym have improved my hill-climbing from "utterly catastrophic" to merely "dire".

 

[Red Light]

Generally no it won't other than through a general level of fitness. Climbing on a mountain bike is a power thing, because you are constantly having to increase and decrease power to lift yourself over steps, rocks etc whereas road bike climbing is getting good at metronomically turning the pedals. I do both but the best thing for road bike climbing is doing road bike climbing.

 

[billy1561]

From someone who came from mountain biking, to touring and now to road bikes. road bikes are by far the easiest (for me anyhow).
My ability to look at a hill and class it as an incline has come from cycling abroad in places with much bigger hills. Now I simply look at the steepness and don't worry about the length of the climb and coast up most things. I'm not fast but I get there without stopping or getting off, (though one or two of the really steep little inclines around here are killers!).

just keep practising.

I agree practice definately improves the stamina in my case anyhow. I used to suffer badly on the hills but ive lost weight and got fitter and now they just hurt like hell

 

[Trail Child]

Mountain biking certainly didn't hurt Ryder Hesjedal. I think there are a few others in the peloton that are former mountain bikers.

 

[aberal]

Generally no it won't other than through a general level of fitness. Climbing on a mountain bike is a power thing, because you are constantly having to increase and decrease power to lift yourself over steps, rocks etc whereas road bike climbing is getting good at metronomically turning the pedals. I do both but the best thing for road bike climbing is doing road bike climbing.

I agree with this. Mountain biking can be hard because of the constant battle with rocks, mud, streams etc. That's what makes if fun, but it's not ideal for road training. What mountain biking does do IMO - is seriously improve your bike handling skills - especially if you don't use a full suspension bike.

 

[black'n'yellow]

Mountain biking certainly didn't hurt Ryder Hesjedal. I think there are a few others in the peloton that are former mountain bikers.

there's been lots who have made the switch over the years - with Cadel Evans probably being the most notable...

 

[GrumpyGregry]

My 2p.

Climbing non-technical stuff like fire roads would, I would think, pay dividends if done at the right level of intensity and often enough. Can be ruddy boring though. This is because each little bumpy imperfection on the trail increases the effective gradient of the hill your climbing and your doing it on tyres with greater rolling resistance, and on a heavier bike. (But it ain't mtb'ing.)

Technical climbs will give a you a better full body work out, and will tax your core and upper body far more than road climbing does but not all of that benefit translates directly to the road and technical climbs are often of relatively short duration.

That said improving my core and upper body strength this year in the gym has made me a significantly better climber as in I've gone from utter **** to plain ole ****.

If you really really want to improve though, I'd honestly say, get a fixed.