Road Bikes and Mountain Bikes

[KeenTeen17]

Whenever in the car, I see someone on a bike with really really thin wheels and I wonder how anyone is able to ride on them. Are these road bikes? They seem to go faster than me on my bike which has broader tires and thick treads. Any reason?

[Lancashire Lad]

Bikes which generally have "drop" handle bars, or racing bikes, are what I would call road bikes.

Commuter bikes (gnerally with straight handlebars) also have thinner tyres than mountain bikes, but not as thin as racing bikes.

Audax bikes, and touring bikes, come somewhere between commuter bikes and racing bikes in the thin tyre stakes.

In a nutshell the amount of rubber on the road equates to thin-ness of tyre, along with circumference of tyre (as well as tyre pressure), and a racing bike will have the least contact of the lot.

These factors, amongst other things, affect "rolling resistance" and are why racing bikes invariably have large wheels, with thin rims & tyres.

There is also the fact that road/racing bikes probably weigh a lot less than half of what many mountain bikes do, and the stiffness of their frames allow more of the pedal power to be converted into forward motion.

Road bike transmission systems are also much more geared towards speed, and such bikes would never compete on tough rocky terrains, where the very low "granny" gearing of mountain bikes comes into its own.

Regards,
Mike.

[Meta menardi]

I was riding my thin tyred bike some time ago, came over a hillock and there was a massive pothole, it burst both tyres and damaged both rims! A very helpful lady gave me a lift home with the ruins of the bike in the boot.

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by KeenTeen17

Whenever in the car, I see someone on a bike with really really thin wheels and I wonder how anyone is able to ride on them. Are these road bikes? They seem to go faster than me on my bike which has broader tires and thick treads. Any reason?

Maybe they are fitter than you KT!

They do go faster though, lighter, less rolling resistance, stiffer frame so very responsive, no suspension dampening to absorb your energy input, but not much good on the 'rough stuff'. A very good quality road bike that fits your build is an absolute joy to ride (fast tourer/audax is my favourite as it has a bit of comfort, with slightly relaxed angles on the forks to absorb a bit of shock, so fine for all day long cycling, and with a triple gear set, with high gears for fast cycling on the straight and downhill, and low gears for long hauls up very steep climbs)... beats any mountain bike hands down in my opinion ... You'd be up that hill before a car has time to pass you on one of those, no need to wobble or use the pavement.

Mind you, when I was your age I only had a very heavy sit-up-and-beg commuter bike which was my mothers circa 1950s, enclosed chain, 3 speed Sturmey Archer gears ... I was very fit though, would love over-taking men on their swish light weight road racing bikes and then catch a glimpse of their faces as they bust a gut trying to catch up and overtake me! Being overtaken by a girl on a heavy very old-fashioned commuter bike was no good for their egos ...

Melanie

[foxy mars]

Having been a keen cyclist since the tender age of 10, my first bike was second-hand. Yes, we were poor in them days But second-bike it was and it was a racer made up from other bits of bikes. Nevertheless, it did inspire me that when I started work, I saved up enough cash to get a brand new bike

This had the 27"x1 1/4" tyres and went everywhere on that, but wear and tear took it toll. I did in 1980, got another touring bike with 27"x1 1/4" tyres and went everywhere with that, again wear and tear sets in.

In 1994, I got a trekking bike, one that can carry heavy loads such as camping gear and that had 700x35cc tyres on.

Couple of years ago, I got a racing bike and that had 700x32cc tyres on. I swopped them for 28's, but when I was at the York Cycle Show, I got a pair of 700x23cc. What a difference, very fast.

But on the trekking bike, which is getting used for the double coast to coast. I have 700x38cc cross tyres, which will be ideal for cross-country and cushion the weight of the camping gear. But it will have some road drag I suppose.

[Jez]

My road bike is a recumbent, dual 650c wheels very similar in size to that of a mountain bike but with thin aero rims and tyres 650cx23 like those used in triathlons, less rolling resistance than 700c but a stiff frame without a boom and comfortable carbon seat and forks. A recumbent equivalent to that of what I coined a racer as a nipper!

Mike's reply sums things up perfectly!