[Closed] Riding a road bike - the differences?

LOTS OF PAIN

Seriously though? As long as the bike fits and you're fit enough to do the distance, I'm sure you'll be fine.

You'll probably turn into a bitter faced dick head.

Good things , more speed
Bad things , stopping and you notice just how bad the roads are

You'll probably turn into a bitter faced dick head.

I'm not letting anybody in a car pass me on a narrow road,...that is a certain fact.

I caught two people on road bikes up the other day, as soon as i got to them they said, ow we're just taking it easy today . . .lol . . i should have said so am i . .

They feel all narrow and unstable, the brakes don't work, they scare you round corners.

Cars hurt more than trees...

edit - oh, and trees don't turn around and say "sorry love, I didn't see you..."

Rachel

First thing you'll notice is how twitchy they are, but you'll get used to that.

Next thing you'll notice is how harsh the ride is (compare to MTB).

Then you'll notice how chuffing fast they are.

The last thing you'll notice is how crap they are at stopping 🙂

roads ain't so bad . . .

[img] [/img]

Road bike brakes are nowhere near as good as some hydro discs.... which makes descending somewhat frightening...

Whathaveisaidnow - presumably that's going round Orme's Head or whatever it's called near Llandudno??

🙂

wink . . the Great Orm . . your right about Llandudno of course . . . 😀

110k is nowt.

Did the Dunwich Dynamo on an MTB a few years back. 120miles through the night and had about 20Kg of crap in my panniers for the missus who did it too.

No training either.

Couldn't walk properly for a week after but on a road bike it'll be a breeze.

If you hit a wall at some point, you will get through it. Keep eating LOTS of carbs and don't drink too much otherwise you'll be wanting to pee too much.

Most of you seem to have crap calipers and or pads on your road bikes as my brakes are ace, loads of power!

That or your mechanically challenged an cannot set them up!

110K, I thought it said 110 miles! You'll be fine! I've taken to owning a crosser and I love it. It's taken me a couple of rides to get used to the differences. The braking is the main difference and I've now got forearms like Popeye but is great fun!

If you're havin' roadie problems, I feel bad for you son.
I got 99 problems but bitumen ain't one.

you'll start looking at men in lycra in a different way, your wrists will become all limp, perhaps your voice might change and you'll start drinking cinzano bianco or drinks with umbrellas in.

If you're havin' roadie problems I feel bad for you son.
I got 99 problems but bitumen ain't one.

😆

GrahamS, legend )

Yup, that looks exactly like the Orme in Llandudno ... just add lashing rain, gale force wind, and stinky feral goats 🙂

Wherever it is, I wish I was riding there!

I'm not letting anybody in a car pass me on a narrow road,...that is a certain fact.

You'll have to get used to letting cars past, that or get used to massive ammounts of abuse and threats of violence.
😯

You will develop OCD (cadence, calories, split times etc) and you will immediately stop enjoying what you are doing.

HTH

I'm sure you'll be fine, of course there are lots of factors. Dreadful weather can really speed up the onset of tiredness.
On the other hand, whilst we were in France last year one of the guys got out of the support car, grabbed a spare bike and just rode 140 miles of our 180 mile day, just like that, no training nothing.

I agree with Taxi25 you will learn to embrace the positive comments made by car drivers!! (ive ditched mine in favour of a crosser :D)
Seriously if you have never been on a road bike and intend to do a sportif of 100k+ expect to have a sore back for a few days afterwards despite your set up, its a different ball game to a mountain bike. However you will be fine just eat your way round.

Headwind is what I've really noticed, especially recently which has never been an issue for me on an MTB.

It's a bike, pedals go round etc etc etc.

If you're taking an MTB saddle you might want to set it up slightly nose down, or at least take a tool with you to adjust it after the first 20 miles. There's a reason a lot of roadies have big holes down the middle of their saddles.

The biggest differences I find are that you have to pedal to move, there's no pumping or anything like that, so you pedal at a nice constant pace. And the gears work, none of that MTB shift up 2, down one to change, click the lever and the chain jumps across.

Twitchy? Nope, try a BMX, that's 'twitchy', if a road bike's twitchy you're not pedaling hard enough.

Most of you seem to have crap calipers and or pads on your road bikes as my brakes are ace, loads of power!

That or your mechanically challenged an cannot set them up!

+1, I swapped my brakes for Planet-X forged calipers to shed soem weight, not in the same power leagues as Shimano groupset stoppers, but still more than adequate. Road brakes are plenty powerfull.

110k isn't much, most clubs do similar distances on Sundays by the time you've ridden to the meeting point. Stop for cake and a coffee half way round and it'll fly by.

The only tips I'd give you is don't half wheel the guy in front, drafting is fine (and makes the distance easy), but if ever your front wheel overlaps his rear you can gaurentee he'll pull out round a pothole and you'll be using your face as a brake. That and don't brake, it's bad for the guy behind you and the tyres have way more grip than you could ever imagine (unless they hit diesel or a manhole cover, or paint).

Headwinds suck big time! Brakes aren't as bad as people say, if you grab them hard mind they will lock the wheels and then it gets fun! The ride is hard with 100+psi the roads are terrible and so is people's driving! Other than that I find it huge fun with my five tens and baggy shorts 😀

Brakes aren't as bad as people say,

People are still turning up for club runs with open QR's on their stirrups. When I point it out, they say that's how they adjust them? These are the people who complain.

First thing that struck me, apart from the daft bint on Bowling Green Island in the Ford Focus, was how quick you move for relatively slow pedalling cadence. Best thing is dropping a gear & climbing out of the saddle. I hate spinning like a hamster. The brakes aren't as good in the wet, in the dry I thought they were actually quite good. Harsh as hell best describes the ride, even on a steel frame.
60 miles will fly by in a morning, you'll be surprised. If your tempted to carry a pack, put it on a rack, & when it's wet full guards are lovely.

Yup, that looks exactly like the Orme in Llandudno ... just add lashing rain, gale force wind, and stinky feral goats

Wherever it is, I wish I was riding there!

there is more than one Llandudno

@The Doctor

could not agree more!

we get loads of road bikes into our workshop with worn out brake pads, filthy rims covered in road grime, corroded cables and the brakes have terrible adjustment, yet the customers are complaining "cannot stop!"

I run Dura-Ace pads on Ultegra caliper brakes, Mavic Open Pro rims, keep them clean (once a week using Iso Alcohol, grit paper and a stanley blade to pick out metal pieces) and well adjusted and never had any issues stopping even in the pissing rain going down a steep hill when a motorist has suddenly pulled out in front..

my other bike is a mountain bike with hydraulic disc brakes running 185mm rotors, in comparison

we get loads of road bikes into our workshop with worn out brake pads, filthy rims covered in road grime, corroded cables and the brakes have terrible adjustment, yet the customers are complaining "cannot stop!"

This! was the same in my workshop 😕

@The Doctor

typical comment from road customer "I have to clean my bike?"...

All this brake stuff is exactly why...
http://road.cc/content/feature/72743-disc-brake-revolution-coming-industry-insider-comment

Bunny Hop the rough bits
Get used to the brakes when not in a bunch
cornering is fine just get used to it by yourself
apeed is all relative