Coast to Coast road route - MTB or Road bike ??

[mikeyw]

Guys,

I’m training for the coast to coast in 4 weeks time and amstarting to have serious reservations about attempting it on my Trek 1.2 roadbike. Yesterday i did a 32mile circuit out to Pateley Bridge from Harrogate andback via some serious hills (those who know this area can no doubt vouch for that!)

I was quite pleased with my fitness levels but a few thingsreally annoyed me :-

1) 1) On one of the steepest climbs i simply had tostop, the gearing on my bike would not allow me to turn the wheels, the otherguy on his hybrid mtb kept spinning in granny gear to the top. Even onreasonable climb i felt i was working harder than i needed to again because ofthe high gearing. As a minimum i believe i’d need to change to a lower gearedchain ring.

2) 2) On the descents i was constantly on both brakesand concentrating like mad to not hit any debris or ruts in the road, leavingme shattered at the bottom (this was crazy having worked so hard to get to thetops)....on an mtb i would’nt have been bothered as they absorb most of whatthe road throw at them

3) 3) Aching – after nearly 3 hours in the sadle on arigid frame i’d felt practically every bump in the road leaving me with a soreneck and back....again the mtb with front sus is far more comfortable and forgiving leavingyou less aching at the end if possibly a tad more fatigued.

So my dilemma is do it leave the road bike and spend my last4 weeks training on the mtb.....it’s not a race so the extra speed of the roadbike doesn’t really help here.....i think i’d prefer the comfort of my trek4700 with slicks on especially if the climbs become easier....

Any thoughts / advice here ?

Tia,

Mike.

 

[Glenn]

Guys,

I’m training for the coast to coast in 4 weeks time and amstarting to have serious reservations about attempting it on my Trek 1.2 roadbike. Yesterday i did a 32mile circuit out to Pateley Bridge from Harrogate andback via some serious hills (those who know this area can no doubt vouch for that!)

I was quite pleased with my fitness levels but a few thingsreally annoyed me :-

1) 1) On one of the steepest climbs i simply had tostop, the gearing on my bike would not allow me to turn the wheels, the otherguy on his hybrid mtb kept spinning in granny gear to the top. Even onreasonable climb i felt i was working harder than i needed to again because ofthe high gearing. As a minimum i believe i’d need to change to a lower gearedchain ring.

2) 2) On the descents i was constantly on both brakesand concentrating like mad to not hit any debris or ruts in the road, leavingme shattered at the bottom (this was crazy having worked so hard to get to thetops)....on an mtb i would’nt have been bothered as they absorb most of whatthe road throw at them

3) 3) Aching – after nearly 3 hours in the sadle on arigid frame i’d felt practically every bump in the road leaving me with a soreneck and back....again the mtb with front sus is far more comfortable and forgiving leavingyou less aching at the end if possibly a tad more fatigued.

So my dilemma is do it leave the road bike and spend my last4 weeks training on the mtb.....it’s not a race so the extra speed of the roadbike doesn’t really help here.....i think i’d prefer the comfort of my trek4700 with slicks on especially if the climbs become easier....

Any thoughts / advice here ?

Tia,

Mike.

I did the C2C last month (www.wrracing.net/c2c) on a mountain bike and would recommend it. Only because of the lower gearing, the hill out of Garrigill is a 20% climb for the first half a mile. Rookhope moor will be closed from next week due to the grouse season, so you will have to climb, the Crawleyside incline out of Stanhope, which is a long drag.

 

[jack the lad]

Its a choice between six and 2x3. When I did C2C we had mountain bikes and hybrids in our group, but plenty of people do it on road bikes.

You might just need to lower the gearing on your road bike (Test it for free just by putting the mtb cassette on the back, you might not be able to get all the gears - but why would you ever want to use 50x34!) as there are some wicked climbs. I'm old and overweight but cycled up Mont Ventoux (15 miles of non-stop 1 in 10) with 36x34 and White Horse Bank (1 in 4) with 36x28, so you should be OK with 34x34 for the climbs on the C2C. If you get your gearing right, the MTB will always be harder work up the hills (especially if the fork doesn't lock out) but less work downhill.

You might also need to plan your route more carefully on a skinny tyred racer. Sustrans routes in my experience are designed for hybrids at the very least and there were quite a few bits of gravelly track on the main C2C route, but if you are happy to stay on proper roads shared with cars you can miss them out and take the road alternatives.

Unless you are getting everything carried for you, I would recommend using a rack, not a backpack. Will either of your bikes take a rack? If not that might make the choice for you! Even though the Trek 1.2 has rack mounts any substantial weight can play havoc with spokes if theres isn't a decent bit of an air cushion in the tyres - have you checked out if you could get say 28mm tyres (or, less likely, 32mm) on - it has mudguard eyes, so there ought to be enough clearance. It might not sound much difference (it's about 25% fatter), but it will ride a lot better than on 23mm tyres. There would be enough tyre width to make the gravel tracks rideable, add long distance comfort and help the downhill scaries - basically try to tweak your 1.2 into being a drop barred hybrid! That would probably be the ideal bike!

 

[Garz]

Most of your numbered issues can be resolved by getting more time in riding the bike. If your doing the ride and are paired with a colleague who's using an MTB then there's no point in taking the road bike if you would constantly waiting for them to catch up. Good luck, maybe you can plan more mileage in training before an event like this next time.

 

[JNR]

What's wrong with 50x34 jack?

 

[jack the lad]

What's wrong with 50x34 jack?

Theres nothing wrong with compact chainsets, if that's what you thought I meant. I've got a period 48/36 on my 70's Carlton, from long before the recent fashion for them, I think they are really sensible for most of us!

Just in case you have misunderstood, I'm referring to combining the 50T chainring at the front (Trek 1.2 double has a compact 50/34 chainset) with the 34T biggest sprocket which is typical for an MTB cassette (26T is standard on the 1.2).

50 x 34 not a gear you need or should use because:-
1 If you fit a bigger cassette without lengthening the chain it probably won't physically go on to the biggest ring(s) at both ends.
2 If you lengthen the chain so it will do 50 x 34, without changing to a long cage rear derailleur you will probably have too much chain slack for 34 x 12 (small small) and other smallish combinations .
3 If you change the chain and rear derailleur you are no longer doing a cheap/simple 5 minute job and will be out of pocket for getting on for the thick end of £50 even with cheapish bits.
4 A big/big or small/small combination gives you a rubbish chainline which you should try to avoid anyway even if mechanically the system will take it.
5 You can get the same or very close gear ratio to big/big if you use small/middling and to small/small using big/middling which keeps a better chainline, so you simply don't need those gears to get a full spread of ratios and so can avoid the expense of buying new parts to achieve it.

If you decide to stick with the mtb rear sprocket it is probably a good idea to get the right parts at some stage, but it's not essential as long as you concentrate when changing gear and don't try to get to big/big. It's not disastrous if you do, but it can be disconcerting as the cranks will lock up and you lose drive until you change down again. You have to back pedal a bit first to release the chain and then change down at the front first, so its a bit of a faff and you end up in your very lowest gear, which you probably didn't want at that point!

I hope this answers your question?

 

[JNR]

I hope this answers your question?

It most certainly does, I see what you mean now. I've become quite interested in gearing lately even though I said to myself I wouldn't!