10 Reasons Why Mountain Biking is better.
BusyRaeNOTBusty
Posts: 7,166 Member
http://www.sacredrides.com/10-ways-mountain-biking-is-better-than-road-biking
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The obvious one: No Cars. Nothing harshes your mellow more than 4,000 pounds of noisy steel whizzing by you at 70 miles an hour, 18 inches away.
Mountain Biking is Better for your Health: see above. Not sharing your ride with CO2-emitting vehicles is a lot better for your lungs, particularly when you're surrounded by...
...Trees: There's nothing quite like the feeling of flying down a trail through the woods with trees whooshing by (and hitting a tree hurts a lot less than getting hit by a car).
Quiet and Solitude: Mountain bike trails often take you to remote, peaceful places, where you can commune with nature, meditate, and enjoy the great outdoors. You rarely get such opportunities on a road bike, unless you happen to live in an area with rarely-used paved roads (which are pretty rare these days).
Fewer Type 'A's: Mountain biking seems to attract more laid-back people. Whenever I've gone out for a road ride, everyone quickly gets really competitive. When I go out mountain biking with my buddies, it's all about enjoying good times and good laughs with good friends.
Lots of Riding Styles to Choose From: Cross-Country. All-Mountain. Freeride. Enduro. DH. Lift-assisted. No matter who you are, there's a type of mountain biking to suit your personality. Road riding? Umm... let's see... Riding on the road.
Wipeouts on dirt hurt a lot less than wipeouts on pavement. (Cedric Gracia notwithstanding - we're talking about the average MTB wipeout, not the kind of wipeout you get when you backflip off a 40-foot cliff.)
Mountain Biking Gives you a Better Workout: Riding on the road improves your cardiovascular fitness for spinning at high cadence for a long time. Mountain biking requires much more dynamic fitness - from quick bursts to sustained cardio output - and incorporates many more muscle groups.
Mountain Bikers are More Fun. See #5.
Bib Shorts. Enough said.
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Replies
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Meh. You sound like my boyfriend. He'll never take the road out of me!!0
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100% agree with this post....0
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Meh. Give me a TT bike and a long stretch of road any day.0
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I really don't know the difference, but I do love the xc mountain bike. I imagine that just might change when I get older, and don't want to fall down from trying to ride the technical sections of the single track or get hurt!
I especially like the safety away from moving vehicles, quiet solitude from riding out in the middle of nowhere, and the HIIT like workouts I get from riding across the mountains. What I don't like is knowing that there are wild critters out in the woods that could easily eat me. :noway: Or the fact that I am out there riding alone, and if I fall and can't get up...cell coverage is spotty at best.
I imagine that both disciplines have their pro's and con's, and would really like to try both
Oh and my preference is lycra shorts and not baggies...I don't like baggies getting caught on the nose of my seat. I think that's a bike rule broken, but hey who's gonna know when I'm alone out in the woods!0 -
LOVE LOVE LOVE MY MOUNTAIN BIKE!0
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Yeah, I don't think lycra is that much of a mountain biking no-no anymore. All the endurance racers wear it. When you are on the saddled for 4 to 12 to 24 hours you don't want an extra layer. My husband's team even wears bibs. I like either or as long as the lycra is long enough not to make my thighs look nasty. Is there a term for "thigh muffin bottom"?0
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Yeah, I don't think lycra is that much of a mountain biking no-no anymore. All the endurance racers wear it. When you are on the saddled for 4 to 12 to 24 hours you don't want an extra layer. My husband's team even wears bibs. I like either or as long as the lycra is long enough not to make my thighs look nasty. Is there a term for "thigh muffin bottom"?
:laugh: I hear ya! I understand the need to make cycling clothing so that it doesn't flap, but why oh why does it need to cut off my circulation on my limbs or show my every contour! I'm definitely a club/recreational fit gal!0 -
I have very little technical ability, but can ride fast and up hills like nobody's business. Mountain biking for me is more like me taking my bike out on a hike. :laugh:
Road biking is fun for me because:
1. Zipping past traffic lined up during rush hour on my morning commute makes even the crappiest weather feel better. Yeah, the schadenfreude is great, too.
2. I don't need a car. Ever.
3. I walk out my front door and start riding.
4. I meet and talk to a lot more people when road riding/ commuting. It has a nice social aspect to it that mountain biking doesn't allow for.
5. I can do it well into old age.
6. I can ride with my kids. (He's now 19, and is still trying to keep up!)
7. Road bikers smoke weed and drink beer, too. I know at least one professional road cyclist who is a total pot head. :smokin:0 -
In for the mountain biking. Now if only I could find a coast to coast dirt trail!0
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I have very little technical ability, but can ride fast and up hills like nobody's business. Mountain biking for me is more like me taking my bike out on a hike. :laugh:
Road biking is fun for me because:
1. Zipping past traffic lined up during rush hour on my morning commute makes even the crappiest weather feel better. Yeah, the schadenfreude is great, too.
2. I don't need a car. Ever.
3. I walk out my front door and start riding.
4. I meet and talk to a lot more people when road riding/ commuting. It has a nice social aspect to it that mountain biking doesn't allow for.
5. I can do it well into old age.
6. I can ride with my kids. (He's now 19, and is still trying to keep up!)
7. Road bikers smoke weed and drink beer, too. I know at least one professional road cyclist who is a total pot head. :smokin:
I will agree road biking is awesome when you're drunk or stoned. A lot safer I'm sure. I've always wanted to mountain bike but you need a car to transport your bikes to nice paths. I cant afford a car, in Arizona its a good 15-30 minute drive for mountain bike lands. Hopefully one day I'll be really big into both0 -
Road biking and mountain biking each have their benefits. That's why I own both a road bike and mountain bike.
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Done both, enjoy both. Options are good...more the better.0
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Love 'em both. There is something magical about the feeling of speed you get when flying along a traffic-less piece of tarmac. There is also something magical about the feeling of riding on dirt and gravel through trees and bogs and whatever else nature has to offer.
Let's face it - the "n+1" ownership exists precisely because there are so many different kinds of awesomeness one can experience whilst on the saddle!
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Do both, love both. I love getting out the door and on my bike right from the git go. I also love riding on the bike path and being away from cars and busy city traffic. A couple of things. Flying past trees, good. Flying into trees, BAD. Flying down the road at 45MPH GREAT! Flying off your bike in lycra onto pavement at 45MPH, let's not even go there. There are so many things that are great about both that I couldn't choose just one. I own bikes for both and really it just depends on my mood as to which I will do on any given day. I will agree that there are less type A personalities mountain biking. There are less personalities period. When you live in Grizzly bear and Mountain Lion country, that's not always a good thing. It sure is pretty up on the ridges though.0
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For me...
Road & cyclocross.
Period.0
