I decided to write about this, very irritable topic – what is better, road bike or MTB? After few years and riding on different bikes, I think road bike is much, much better. Remember, that it’s only my opinion and you can have completely different – everyone has their own point of view. I did not try to be objective, but I have some arguments to say that road bikes are better. Why? Just read rest of this post.
Table of Contents
It’s faster
The first reason is a bit “obvious” – road bike is faster than MTB. Of course, not in the terrain, but when driving on the road, asphalt. It’s not only because slick tyres, because then one could change every MTB into a “road”, but also because of weight, our aerodynamic position and other transmission of the power that we put into pedaling. There is also another sense of speed: we are depressed and suddenly there is more than 30 km / h on the meter, bends are poetry, and the feeling of speed at descents is one huge reproach of endorphins. Yes, I know that in the forest at the exit is also fast on the MTB but … it is not the same even for the sake of the grip.
It’s more comfortable
The second aspect is our comfort. Of course, if we do not match the bike to our body, everything will be uncomfortable, poorly set, incorrect and tiring even on a non-long ride. If, however, we assume that everything is set correctly, the road bike handlebar gives us many, many more positions. Whoever has not tried at least once in his life, will not understand this fact.
In many situations, is more practical
Observing different people in the nearest (and not only) environment, I think that road bike is a much better choice than MTB for such an ordinary cyclist. Why? Because now, most of the MTB market is customized (even from the appearance, not only specification!) for racing. They are also heavy, they are slower. In low budget they have very heavy forks, and there are a lot of problems with assembly of a water bottle or fenders. Talking about the fact that we drive “everywhere” is not an argument, because most often it ends with using 2.2″ MTB tires asphalt … sad, nonsense. It is better to choose a cross or a gravel bike, which retains many advantages of the road, and on gravel, forest roads it will also work very well.
It’s lighter
Road bikes are lighter – this is due to lack of fork, other drive, “shaded” frame and lighter wheels. Cheap road is about 9.5 – 10 kg. A bit more expensive can go below 8 kg. In the case of MTB with 29 “wheels, cheap bikes are about 14-15 kg, Light, but also a lot more expensive, around 11 kg – it is possible to make MTB bike less, but it really really raises the price.
It does not require so much maintenance
Because MTB is created to ride in terrain, it requires much more user attention – we must check fork at least once a year. There are also hydraulic brakes which can be very problematic on low temperatures. Mechanical disk brakes from road bikes are simpler in any maintenance. Of course, modulation is worst than on hydraulic brakes, but it is not so important in that bike. Chain, chainset etc. also requires more attention due to the conditions in which it will ride.
it is not so dirty
View of very dirty MTB – it’s normal. View of a very dirty road bike – well, you can see only if their owner does not care. I prefer to care, so if something gets dirty, I clean it. However, I have only one life, and the day has only 24 hours – MTB requires much, much more of our attention, unless we do not want to care. In the case of a road-bike or even my CX bike, cleaning is much simpler (because we have not some elements), faster and more convenient. If you have time all the time to rub in the dirt, cool, I prefer to do something else.
It is not wasting our energy
Pedal on the road – I feel that I am accelerating, I feel that I am going faster and faster. I pedal on MTB and well … even with a blocked fork it flies somewhere in the air. I do not know where, but I do not like it. If we add to the previously mentioned driving on MTB tires, then we have a real drama. The longer the route, the worse it looks.
It is cheaper to maintain
With all above points, I move smoothly to the last one – the road bike is cheaper to maintain. The chain and chainset does not wear as much as in MTB, we do not have to invest so much in the services, and if we do something by ourselves, we do not have to invest so much of our time – nobody will pay this time us back, and riding is much nicer. On an annual amount, if we drive a lot and we want to keep the bike in good condition, the difference will be considerable.
And it’s all. It’s only my point of view. I prefer road bikes,gravel bikes and CX bikes. Because they are much simpler. What do you think about that?