Mixing Road Biking with Mountain Biking

You may be one of those hard core mountain bikers who have no desire to hit the pavement unless it's to get to the next trailhead entrance. You may also be one of those people who have road biking friends and just don't see the thrill in riding on nice smooth pavement even though your friends tell you how exciting it is to ride 100 miles next to cars flying by you at 60 mph.

Sure road biking doesn't offer the same types of thrills as mountain biking at least when it comes to the terrain but can offer thrills (and spills) thanks to the high speed attained on the downhill road sections you will often encounter and the aerodynamic nature of the bikes... and the tight pants. On the other hand if you are looking for a way to improve your mountain biking endurance to take on those longer rides and more difficult climbs then road biking will definitely help get you there. Plus if the trails are muddy after the rain you can always hit the road to get your riding in and keep those legs from getting weak.

One downside of course is the investment in yet another bike because you don't want to be taking your mountain bike on the road because you will be left in the dust by your roadie friends. You can start cheap with a budget bike for a few hundred dollars and if you think you are going to be a full fledged roadie you can upgrade later. Then of course you have to get all the road biker gear and also learn how to maintain your new road bike since it's not exactly the same as a mountain bike.

Then there is the learning curve as you get used to a totally new type of bike with skinny tires that handles differently than your mountain bike. Road bikes tend to be more "twitchy" and if you run over something like a rock or some other kind of debris at high speed you might get launched off the bike and onto the pavement for some serious road rash. Plus you have to get used to sharing the road with cars and drivers who may not be paying attention to who is riding beside them.
In the end if you do decide to take on road biking it will definitely help your mountain biking endurance and then you will be able to blow away all your mountain bike only friends on those longer rides but just make sure not to forget which is your favorite kind of riding...

Posted by Jim Bernstein