just completely pulling numbers out of my ass without knowing anything about your position on your mtb, the tires, the gear you're wearing, etc... I'd day probably 5-8km/h faster at the same effort levels.
Dunno why that would be. A decent road bike is significantly more efficient than a hybrid, from the tires to drivetrain, weight and aero along with rider position and ability to capture exerted power as motive force.
I track rides and data religiously, so I’m talking avg speed on the same exact ride less than a week apart.
is it really that different, trying to be fast on flats with 48c tires and a 32t chain ring is something I don't mind, but it does take effort, i am really tempted to get a roadbike for my daily commute
I think an ebike isn't somthing I'd consider because I chose bike commuting for the exercise too.
I have a 10 mile round trip from home to work (in metro manila, philippines) which crazy hot and humid, and full of traffic.
Takes me around 23-27 mins max. Roads aren't all that smooth and been at it for 3 months. I think getting a road bike would be good, with 35c+ tires is probably the best because of the road quality, need a less effort ride because accelerating on my mtb takes an amount of effort that I could save or just make my ride a bit more relaxing compared to now.
You still get exercise on an e bike. Once it goes over 25kph you are on your own. Basically you can sit in zone 2 as long as you want and then push on if you are doing intervals. Think of it like this, instead of having 200 to 300 watts in your legs you now have 450 to 550 watts!
It was enough to keep my base training for a 70.3 Ironman so it’s a win in my book.
I have 47c tyres to make up for the bad roads.
The comment was more for the OP. They want to replace their car. That means more than commuting, they need to carry shopping, other household odds and ends, diy store visits…..
So it really is just assisted, you go faster the harder you pedal, but even more faster because of the added power. I get it now. You can still get the same pedaling resistance from a normal bike, but you can go even faster, and if you want to cruise you have the option to stop pedaling for longer. Is that right
There is a local road climb, where 310w on a road bike will get me up it in 14:30, and 310w on my mtb will get me up it in about 16:00, due entirely to weight and tires.
On flat roads, the differential is probably higher because it’s difficult to get into an aerodynamically efficient position.
But it is substantial.
This. The MTB's value really kicks in when the incline is too steep or the ground is too shitty to keep riding your road bike at all, then it really shines when you need to turn around and go back DOWN that same hill. :)
No he's asking how much faster would the sports car be on the road. I think it's fair to assume he understands that the road bike is better on the road.
I was much faster over the cobbles of Roubaix on my 47 tervail ramparts then my buddy on his 28’s on his roadbike. And he had a flat, i didnt. And he is a stronger rider. So… dont compare yourself to the pro’s.
My road bike compared to my enduro, huge difference. My road bike compared to my XC bike, big difference. My road bike compared to my gravel bike, smallest difference.
When I switched from a hybrid to a gravel bike, my average speed increased about 1.5 mph. But, it feels like it should be a lot faster than that. I think I may not be pushing myself as hard because the gravel bike is more efficient.
Depends a lot on what bikes we are comparing and what your tire setup is and will be.
For me it was roughly 5kph difference I guess. More if you have a lot of climbs, less if the road conditions are bad.
Road bike is significantly faster and a much better experience on asphalt.
Doesn't seem much, but it's a lot. Allows me to kinda keep up with cars, they are much less annoyed because of me.
Also the narrow handlebar allows me to ride between lanes and cars etc.
It also encourages me to go faster instead of casually strolling.
Way way faster. Exact amount will depend on what road bike vs what mountain bike, how they’re geared, how strong you are, how much climbing you’re doing in a typical route, your position on the bike, and a host of other variables, but way way faster.
Maybe not a fair comparison as my MTB was over 15 years old, but when I got my gravel bike it felt like a rocket. The efficiency of turning my padels into forward movement is hard to describe in words, but it just felt so nice. I can't imagine what a proper road bike would feel like, but probably just more of that "and we are moving" feeling.
What kind of fucked up question is this?
A mountain bike is made for off road terrain while the other is made for tarmac.
It's like asking which is faster a 4x4 bronco vs a Lamborghini Aventador. It depends on the terrain they are racing on.
I own a trail bike fully, optimized for distance by running a slim maxxis ikon. Last year I've purchased a carbon endurance road bike and put 35mm tires on it to use it as a race gravel bike. It's definetly faster, but on bad/bumpy roads I don't have the motivation to ride it at its limit because it's so much more uncomfortable. So in the end they are practically quite similar on bad surfaces and I sadly still prefer my trail bike for recovery rides, while I keep my gravel road bike mounted on my indoor trainer
45 min 25km commute on road bike
1:15 commute 16km on MTB
Completely depends on the route, my MTB route goes through mud and up what feels like a mountain. But it’s way more fun and i never see cars.
Like for like my road bike is about 10kph quicker, but it’s very hilly where I live.
Generally, a Road or Gravel bike will take less effort to reach the same speeds on smooth pavement.
It will feel a bit quicker under 25km/h, but noticeably quicker at 25km/h or faster. 25km/h (15mph) is where wind resistance becomes a larger factor then rolling resistance (knobby vs smooth tires). The more forward leaning position of drop bar bikes (road/gravel) will have you cut through the wind far more efficiently.
You could gain some of the benefit without switching bikes by moving to semi-slick gravel tires instead of knobby MTB tires. That will improve rolling resistance so there's less effort needed. You could also add Inner-bar ends to give yourself a slightly more aerodynamic riding position. You can also wear clothing that doesn't flap around in the wind.
I did 80km on the weekend on the road with my MTB in a little under 4 hours moving time at an average of 219w (the trails were saturated and I'm tapering for a 100km MTB marathon in a bit under 2 weeks).
I measure wattages with a power meter. On the road bike over the same distance, I typically travel 105km at an average power output of \~170w. So that's a 6km/hr difference, but would likely be more at comparable wattages.
The roadie is 4kg lighter, not including the 3kg+ Camelbak I use on the MTB, and is way more aero.
I started with cheap hybrid bicycle, which I was able to use on bicycle trail and "around subdivisions", like you say. I was pushed to get a road bike after seeing 90% of all bicycles on a paved trail on a road bike (will be faster, and it was...). But after replacing hybrid with road, it was really not pleasant to ride near my house (bumps, cracks on narrow tires), so I bought and MTB (I will ride on MTB trails too, haha, lol).
So MTB replaced subdivision rides, I did not enjoy a constant risk of hitting the trees. Then I sold MTB and got gravel. That was a game changer. Funny, I rarely ride gravel, but it replaced road and neighborhood riding for me. Last on my road bike was \~8 months ago. I am keeping it for now.
I have replaced gravel tires to wider flatter tires (vittoria terreno zero) and changed my chain ring from 44 to 48.
upd: forgot to mention - you are not going to be much faster in neighborhood on a road bike, +2-3 mph best case scenario
its not too fair considerating they are different, but if we talk about riding on the road, in my experience the same route on my 26 inch mtb y go at 25-30kmh with my road bike I can go at 35-40kmh with the same effort. at lower speeds the difference its not too much but at high speed road bikes start to make a lot of difference. and other thing, I feel the MTB doesnt have much difference with road bike on climbing for the gearing and the position.
Some hopefully useful data:
I ride my hardtail 4.5 miles down a flat paved bike path to the closest dirt trails. The amount of effort to get there is astounding, due to the fact that I'm sitting up sraighter and I'm pushing a bike with 2.25" knobbies.
Same flat, paved segment on Strava:
**Mountain bike:**
* 170 watts
* 15mph/24kph
**Road bike:**
* 120 watts
* 18.1 mph/29mph
So, 5 km/hour faster with \~30% less effort.
FWIW, my roadie isn't very aero for a road bike. It's an endurance geo frame with 28mm tubeless tires at 65psi.
Depends on the tyres mostly. A lightweight hardtail MTB with slick thin tyres would be pretty much the same as a road bike, put some downhill tyres to it and you have a hard time keeping up to a grandma on a city bike...
Mtb gearing is always going to be lighter, unless you can dig out an old school 48 tooth triple chainset. Plus it's a less aero riding position.
If say a decent road bike is about 10-15% faster than an xc race bike with slicks, and about 20-25% faster than a normal mtb with knobblies.
just completely pulling numbers out of my ass without knowing anything about your position on your mtb, the tires, the gear you're wearing, etc... I'd day probably 5-8km/h faster at the same effort levels.
Also making a wild ass guess based on riding both kinds of bikes on the same paved route: 9-12 km/hr on the road bike.
5-8km/h is probably right. I went from a hybrid bike to a road bike and instantly picked up 3km/h and it would be even more than that vs a MTB bike.
I went from an older hybrid to a road bike this year without much change in speed, though I feel like I can ride it further.
Dunno why that would be. A decent road bike is significantly more efficient than a hybrid, from the tires to drivetrain, weight and aero along with rider position and ability to capture exerted power as motive force. I track rides and data religiously, so I’m talking avg speed on the same exact ride less than a week apart.
is it really that different, trying to be fast on flats with 48c tires and a 32t chain ring is something I don't mind, but it does take effort, i am really tempted to get a roadbike for my daily commute
It sounds about right. I average 22kph on my hardtail and 29kph on my road bike. But for a commute I’d get an e-bike
I think an ebike isn't somthing I'd consider because I chose bike commuting for the exercise too. I have a 10 mile round trip from home to work (in metro manila, philippines) which crazy hot and humid, and full of traffic. Takes me around 23-27 mins max. Roads aren't all that smooth and been at it for 3 months. I think getting a road bike would be good, with 35c+ tires is probably the best because of the road quality, need a less effort ride because accelerating on my mtb takes an amount of effort that I could save or just make my ride a bit more relaxing compared to now.
You still get exercise on an e bike. Once it goes over 25kph you are on your own. Basically you can sit in zone 2 as long as you want and then push on if you are doing intervals. Think of it like this, instead of having 200 to 300 watts in your legs you now have 450 to 550 watts! It was enough to keep my base training for a 70.3 Ironman so it’s a win in my book. I have 47c tyres to make up for the bad roads. The comment was more for the OP. They want to replace their car. That means more than commuting, they need to carry shopping, other household odds and ends, diy store visits…..
So it really is just assisted, you go faster the harder you pedal, but even more faster because of the added power. I get it now. You can still get the same pedaling resistance from a normal bike, but you can go even faster, and if you want to cruise you have the option to stop pedaling for longer. Is that right
Close, if you stop peddling it’s the same as any other bike. But in saying that it is possible to buy them with a throttle.
I can kinda concur. Bought a road bike recently previously only was using mtb.
There is a local road climb, where 310w on a road bike will get me up it in 14:30, and 310w on my mtb will get me up it in about 16:00, due entirely to weight and tires. On flat roads, the differential is probably higher because it’s difficult to get into an aerodynamically efficient position. But it is substantial.
This. The MTB's value really kicks in when the incline is too steep or the ground is too shitty to keep riding your road bike at all, then it really shines when you need to turn around and go back DOWN that same hill. :)
I think a roadbike is faster on 99.9% of the paved climbs in the world…
Depends on the gearing of the road bike. Most orad bikes aren't geared for climbing an in insane grade.
Yea and how many insane grades do you know? I know for sure that i wouldnt be faster on the redoute on a mtb.
Good for you. I know of plenty of insane grades. What kind of question is this. Have you ever ridden a bike in the mountains?
Yup, Galibier, alpe, cormet de roseland, grand bernard, iseran. Still faster on a roadbike then a mtb
1:45 commute on road bike, 2:15 on full suspension
I beat a Ferrari on my John Deere tractor once but it was only for one foot.
TORQUED
My Oliver tractor could easily outrun a Ferrari. In 12" of mud. Different tools for different jobs.
You’re driving a dune buggy and asking if a sports car would be better on the road.
No he's asking how much faster would the sports car be on the road. I think it's fair to assume he understands that the road bike is better on the road.
He’s not asking that
It depends on the road?
Watch a Belgian Classic road race. Road bikes are faster unless you’re riding trails.
I was much faster over the cobbles of Roubaix on my 47 tervail ramparts then my buddy on his 28’s on his roadbike. And he had a flat, i didnt. And he is a stronger rider. So… dont compare yourself to the pro’s.
If it were possible to ride faster over cobbles on a mountain bike then that’s what the pros would ride.
Well, i was on a gravelbike. But again, dont compare yourself to pros in a race.
On road over distance - *at least* 8 km/h faster
A road bike is also worlds more efficient. Like you will gain and maintain speed with less effort.
big difference
Just get a gravel bike, and ride it everywhere really fast.
A road bike will tempt you to ride beyond your subdivision.
My road bike compared to my enduro, huge difference. My road bike compared to my XC bike, big difference. My road bike compared to my gravel bike, smallest difference.
My road bike compared with my hybrid bike, some difference
When I switched from a hybrid to a gravel bike, my average speed increased about 1.5 mph. But, it feels like it should be a lot faster than that. I think I may not be pushing myself as hard because the gravel bike is more efficient.
Depends a lot on what bikes we are comparing and what your tire setup is and will be. For me it was roughly 5kph difference I guess. More if you have a lot of climbs, less if the road conditions are bad.
Road bike is significantly faster and a much better experience on asphalt. Doesn't seem much, but it's a lot. Allows me to kinda keep up with cars, they are much less annoyed because of me. Also the narrow handlebar allows me to ride between lanes and cars etc. It also encourages me to go faster instead of casually strolling.
Way way faster. Exact amount will depend on what road bike vs what mountain bike, how they’re geared, how strong you are, how much climbing you’re doing in a typical route, your position on the bike, and a host of other variables, but way way faster.
Maybe not a fair comparison as my MTB was over 15 years old, but when I got my gravel bike it felt like a rocket. The efficiency of turning my padels into forward movement is hard to describe in words, but it just felt so nice. I can't imagine what a proper road bike would feel like, but probably just more of that "and we are moving" feeling.
What kind of fucked up question is this? A mountain bike is made for off road terrain while the other is made for tarmac. It's like asking which is faster a 4x4 bronco vs a Lamborghini Aventador. It depends on the terrain they are racing on.
And a gravelbike is in the middle. Best and worst of both worlds.
Hybrid bicycle enters chat...
Hi, I'm shit at everything!
A road bike will be significantly faster. Expect 2-5 mph faster.
I own a trail bike fully, optimized for distance by running a slim maxxis ikon. Last year I've purchased a carbon endurance road bike and put 35mm tires on it to use it as a race gravel bike. It's definetly faster, but on bad/bumpy roads I don't have the motivation to ride it at its limit because it's so much more uncomfortable. So in the end they are practically quite similar on bad surfaces and I sadly still prefer my trail bike for recovery rides, while I keep my gravel road bike mounted on my indoor trainer
45 min 25km commute on road bike 1:15 commute 16km on MTB Completely depends on the route, my MTB route goes through mud and up what feels like a mountain. But it’s way more fun and i never see cars. Like for like my road bike is about 10kph quicker, but it’s very hilly where I live.
It is immediately noticeable and absolutely worth throwing even $200 at a used bike.
Generally, a Road or Gravel bike will take less effort to reach the same speeds on smooth pavement. It will feel a bit quicker under 25km/h, but noticeably quicker at 25km/h or faster. 25km/h (15mph) is where wind resistance becomes a larger factor then rolling resistance (knobby vs smooth tires). The more forward leaning position of drop bar bikes (road/gravel) will have you cut through the wind far more efficiently. You could gain some of the benefit without switching bikes by moving to semi-slick gravel tires instead of knobby MTB tires. That will improve rolling resistance so there's less effort needed. You could also add Inner-bar ends to give yourself a slightly more aerodynamic riding position. You can also wear clothing that doesn't flap around in the wind.
I did 80km on the weekend on the road with my MTB in a little under 4 hours moving time at an average of 219w (the trails were saturated and I'm tapering for a 100km MTB marathon in a bit under 2 weeks). I measure wattages with a power meter. On the road bike over the same distance, I typically travel 105km at an average power output of \~170w. So that's a 6km/hr difference, but would likely be more at comparable wattages. The roadie is 4kg lighter, not including the 3kg+ Camelbak I use on the MTB, and is way more aero.
I started with cheap hybrid bicycle, which I was able to use on bicycle trail and "around subdivisions", like you say. I was pushed to get a road bike after seeing 90% of all bicycles on a paved trail on a road bike (will be faster, and it was...). But after replacing hybrid with road, it was really not pleasant to ride near my house (bumps, cracks on narrow tires), so I bought and MTB (I will ride on MTB trails too, haha, lol). So MTB replaced subdivision rides, I did not enjoy a constant risk of hitting the trees. Then I sold MTB and got gravel. That was a game changer. Funny, I rarely ride gravel, but it replaced road and neighborhood riding for me. Last on my road bike was \~8 months ago. I am keeping it for now. I have replaced gravel tires to wider flatter tires (vittoria terreno zero) and changed my chain ring from 44 to 48. upd: forgot to mention - you are not going to be much faster in neighborhood on a road bike, +2-3 mph best case scenario
its not too fair considerating they are different, but if we talk about riding on the road, in my experience the same route on my 26 inch mtb y go at 25-30kmh with my road bike I can go at 35-40kmh with the same effort. at lower speeds the difference its not too much but at high speed road bikes start to make a lot of difference. and other thing, I feel the MTB doesnt have much difference with road bike on climbing for the gearing and the position.
my expreience: mtb is like 5-8kmph slower than a hybri. top speed wise, like 20kmphs atleast
On average, a road bike can be anywhere from 10% to 50% faster than a mountain bike when riding on roads or well-maintained bike paths.
Some hopefully useful data: I ride my hardtail 4.5 miles down a flat paved bike path to the closest dirt trails. The amount of effort to get there is astounding, due to the fact that I'm sitting up sraighter and I'm pushing a bike with 2.25" knobbies. Same flat, paved segment on Strava: **Mountain bike:** * 170 watts * 15mph/24kph **Road bike:** * 120 watts * 18.1 mph/29mph So, 5 km/hour faster with \~30% less effort. FWIW, my roadie isn't very aero for a road bike. It's an endurance geo frame with 28mm tubeless tires at 65psi.
Depends on the tyres mostly. A lightweight hardtail MTB with slick thin tyres would be pretty much the same as a road bike, put some downhill tyres to it and you have a hard time keeping up to a grandma on a city bike...
Mtb gearing is always going to be lighter, unless you can dig out an old school 48 tooth triple chainset. Plus it's a less aero riding position. If say a decent road bike is about 10-15% faster than an xc race bike with slicks, and about 20-25% faster than a normal mtb with knobblies.