Road fit vs MTB fit

[Ridgeway]

Had a good year so far on the road with some decent improvements although climbing speed is still my nemesis, targeting more weight reduction and trying to increase my FTP to hopefully see some improvements next Spring.

In the mean time I’ve taken a first step in to the World of MTBing as I see this as a way to keep some fitness through the Winter, wet and windy days are not for me in the road. What I’m curious to understand more about is the difference between road fitness and off-road fitness, so far I can see some very high cadence efforts to just get to the top of a 100m climb on the MTB, some high HR to achieve that but the efforts in a ride are certainly very different. My road efforts are all about efficiency vs MTB where I’m just learning the ropes but a lot of it seems more about technique and where a wrong gear selection can have a huge impact on a short slippery climb

I did around 45km today on the MTB with 900m of climbing but wow was it hard going, 900m in the mud and grime seems 10 x more effort vs the road but wondered if that’s just my perception, my crap technique or that I need to develop a different fitness level ?

I’ve got a few more routes lined up for the MTB that are around 70-90km with 1500-2000m but I need to improve before I can tackle those, oh and have a lot more time available (16kmh vs 32kmh burns a ton of time)

Interested to learn more on this and enjoy the mud in the forest 😀

 

[Gunk]

My own experience is that when riding a MTB on off road terrain 10 miles feels like 20 on a road bike.

 

[wafter]

Not that I know sod all about mountain biking (although do take the gravel bike "off road"), but given the far greater variation in terrain and speed off-road I'd expect a corresponding variation in demands; including the immediate need for some spontaneous hard efforts (and corresponding high strength and exertion). Conversely I see road biking (especially non-competitive riding) to be more about managing a consistant, smooth cadence and endurance.

 

[figbat]

Off-road riding is more effort on a mile-for-mile basis, but in terms of fitness I have found that time on my road bike appears to help MTB fitness but the opposite is not as noticeable. Not sure if it’s about muscle stroke or what but a lot of time spent on the MTB still sees me huffing and puffing on the road, especially on climbs. But time spent on road appears to make MTB climbing easier.

 

[Ridgeway]

I'm hearing a 2 x ratio ie 1 mile MTB is roughly like 2 miles road sort of thing, i wonder what about the ratio of climbing could that be double as well ?

I'm pretty used to 100km/1500-2000m road rides and know how i'd feel afterwards, the 40km/900m MTB ride yesterday seemed not too far off that to be honest.

 

[Dan Ferris]

An interesting thread - i am in the same boat, unless we have some sunny Autumn days i am not planning on venturing out on the roads. Have built up my first MTB bike and other than being chased by dogs it does feel like the ratio you mention is a fair assumption. I get back after being on the MTB for 90 minutes only covering 30km's or so and feel that i should be doing more - despite the fact i'm exhausted!

 

[Scottish Scrutineer]

I too am a roadie who has bought a MTB and finding a huge difference in the effort required. Absolutely poor technique and a lack of any skills are contributors, but boy, is it hard work 😅

 

[fossyant]

It's very variable. 40 miles on the MTB is a killer - was 6 hours for me and three massive climbs. Some climbs aren't rideable in the peaks, so add in pushing/carrying.

Be aware average speed can be as low as 5mph. I have a great 16 mile circuit, but it takes over 2 hours to do, and that's including about 6 miles of canal to get to the hilly stuff. I have other off road circuits that are gravel, non technical, and it takes about 75 minutes to do 16 miles.

Climbing is very different, and it takes a while to get used to it. On gravel, or tarmac, you can tempo climb like on the road, keeping it smooth and a reasonable cadence. Once you hit the rocks, you are going to have to get used to high intensity output, then try and recover, and repeat again to get over the various obstacles. Your body will ache as it's a full workout.

Took me a while to get used to it after mainly coming from road. I'm finding the road a bit tricky now as the bars are sooo narrow.

Base the rides upon 'time' rather than distance, so look carefully at your route - you'll be out longer than you think. Oh, hydration is very important. There is rarely anywhere to stop in-case you run out.

So anything from 2-3 times. I made a rookie mistake a few years back - Said 16 mile circuit - ah won't take long (road ride is around 50 minutes), only had 1 bottle with me. Ran out of water after an hour and a half and really suffered the rest of the way round.

 

[fossyant]

An interesting thread - i am in the same boat, unless we have some sunny Autumn days i am not planning on venturing out on the roads. Have built up my first MTB bike and other than being chased by dogs it does feel like the ratio you mention is a fair assumption. I get back after being on the MTB for 90 minutes only covering 30km's or so and feel that i should be doing more - despite the fact i'm exhausted!

You do know you get absolutely filthy on an MTB even when dry (unless it hasn't rained in months). So a dull damp autumn day is a lot less messy on the road. Just factor in soaking your clothes in a bucket before you destroy the washer, and a while to get the bike clean, including wiping down all the drive chain, and applying silicon lube to suspension seals (avoiding over spray on discs).

Given I'm WFH, I'm tempted to pop some narrower 26" tyres on the old MTB for my lunch time off road circuit, and re-fit the guards I used to have for it for icy commutes. The current tyres are 2.4 and won't fit, and the ice tyres 2.1 and fit under full guards. Saves a full clean of the full sus.

 

[Ridgeway]

It's very variable. 40 miles on the MTB is a killer - was 6 hours for me and three massive climbs. Some climbs aren't rideable in the peaks, so add in pushing/carrying.

Be aware average speed can be as low as 5mph. I have a great 16 mile circuit, but it takes over 2 hours to do, and that's including about 6 miles of canal to get to the hilly stuff. I have other off road circuits that are gravel, non technical, and it takes about 75 minutes to do 16 miles.

Climbing is very different, and it takes a while to get used to it. On gravel, or tarmac, you can tempo climb like on the road, keeping it smooth and a reasonable cadence. Once you hit the rocks, you are going to have to get used to high intensity output, then try and recover, and repeat again to get over the various obstacles. Your body will ache as it's a full workout.

Took me a while to get used to it after mainly coming from road. I'm finding the road a bit tricky now as the bars are sooo narrow.

Base the rides upon 'time' rather than distance, so look carefully at your route - you'll be out longer than you think. Oh, hydration is very important. There is rarely anywhere to stop in-case you run out.

So anything from 2-3 times. I made a rookie mistake a few years back - Said 16 mile circuit - ah won't take long (road ride is around 50 minutes), only had 1 bottle with me. Ran out of water after an hour and a half and really suffered the rest of the way round.

You do know you get absolutely filthy on an MTB even when dry (unless it hasn't rained in months). So a dull damp autumn day is a lot less messy on the road. Just factor in soaking your clothes in a bucket before you destroy the washer, and a while to get the bike clean, including wiping down all the drive chain, and applying silicon lube to suspension seals (avoiding over spray on discs).

Given I'm WFH, I'm tempted to pop some narrower 26" tyres on the old MTB for my lunch time off road circuit, and re-fit the guards I used to have for it for icy commutes. The current tyres are 2.4 and won't fit, and the ice tyres 2.1 and fit under full guards. Saves a full clean of the full sus.

Great and informative reply, thanks for that. Yes you're right I'm still thinking KM's and time as opposed to just pure distance and probably climbing and hence i'm setting the wrong expectations for myself ie "that 40km loop should only take a couple of hours" and you're certainly right about that body ache and full workout, couldn't believe how much effort it was on long down hills, ar$e hanging over the back wheel and sliding down long descents makes you feel knackered at the bottom vs a sit back and strap in road bike descent

Need to brush up on my MTB cleaning procedure as it seems it will need a full blown approach after each ride. Sunday i just stayed in my riding clothes and cleaned the bike, hosed my shoes as well as they we're slightly dirty bike must of been 1kg heavier once i got it back.....

Hum silicone lube on suspension seals, need to look into that

 

[figbat]

I have a 'best' MTB and a donkey-work MTB. The best bike goes out in the dry and the other one goes out in all other conditions. The best one is a full-sus and, in truth, was bought for trail centre and bike park use but has never been to one as they all closed done the moment I got the bike. I now use it for summer use on my local byways and bridlepaths (a job it turns out to be excellent at). At worst it gets a bit dusty and an occasional splash through a persistent puddle. The donkey is a hardtail which gets criminally abused and ignored, and is still in good fighting form. I recently split the fork to replaces the seal and aside from being a bit dry in there, it was all in good shape. The chain is still OK according to my wear gauge and all that gets is a hose-down and squirt of oil. The press-fit BB has been replaced once (the bike is 8 years old). Every blue moon, without fail, it gets a proper strip, clean and service and always comes out in great shape.

I'm not one for babying any machine, although I will keep them mechanically fit and sound. I guess my point is that the clean-up time I don't consider as part of a ride because it rarely happens at the same time (if the bike is properly plastered I will hose it off whilst the mud is still damp). I know this will horrify many, but so far so good.

 

[fossyant]

Invest in a dropper post. Love mine. Get's the saddle out of the way. Practice makes perfect though - I was terribly slow on loads of local gnarly descents and wasn't able to clear them. They aren't a problem now, but I'm not as fast as the 'kids' as I busted my spine 5 years ago, so do ease off (don't want a repeat).

Oh, and always have at least 2 pairs of spare pads - Uber Bike Race Matrix are my favourite. I have blown through a pair of rear pads in one mucky Peaks ride - worth carrying a spare pair incase they wear out on a ride - happened to me once at Llandegla - lost the rear brakes as the pads were to the metal (another wet dirty ride).

You'll be spending much longer cleaning. That said, my rear cassette has just lasted 4 years and 2 chains, as well as going through 2 large chain rings and a small one. I've eaten through them, and a rear tyre this year with doubling my time on the bike.

Silicone spray or Muc off Protect and Shine is good for keeping the seals good - once clean, quick squirt and a bounce, to dislodge any remaining dirt. Worth also having a can of brake cleaner handy to squirt on the rotors after any maintenance, just in-case you get an oily finger on them, or dribble any lube near them.

 

[johnblack]

I do a fair few long distance MTB rides and they're the hardest thing I do, a 100mile MTB is far more demanding for me than 200 on the road.Off road the concentration levels are much higher and you don't get any rest periods that you do on the road, love both though, could never choose between the two.

 

[unlikely]

MTB generally requires far more overall strength and bursts of power, as you need to handle the bike more and hold on more over rough stuff, and be able to put in short boosts of energy to get over obstacles.
Road on the other hand is primarily about continuous leg effort with little needed in the way of upper body strength (unless you're a big sprinter!).

As an MTB'r at heart, my biggest fitness gains come from riding my road bike. I've always found it easier to go harder for longer on my road bike.
As a mate said to me, on a road bike, you start pedalling and you don't stop pedalling. You pedal uphill, and keep pedalling downhill. On a MTB, you pedal uphill, then free wheel down only pedalling when you really need to.

I can go out on a road bike and rarely stop pedalling for two hours, whereas I don't think I've ever done that on a MTB.
This is why MTB fitness doesn't really benefit Road fitness, whereas Road fitness makes a noticeable difference to MTB fitness.


As for the whole how many Road miles compares to a MTB mile. There are far too many variables. I've done some MTB rides where it's taken over 3 hours to do a 10 mile loop. One 12 mile loop I do can take anything from 90 minutes to 3 hours depending on the ground conditions.

 

[Rockybottom]

It's harder on an MTB for lots of reasons, many listed above. It starts with the fact that rolling resistance of tyres is much greater on an MTB. Then, even on a level track it is full of bumps and each one requires power to get over it as well as keeping rolling. Next is the terrain is changing far quicker than on a road so you are changing power levels all the time which is more tiring than maintaining a continuous level of power. Then there is your pedal stroke. You can't maintain the same pedalling efficiency, effectiveness or balance as on a road bike for many reasons some of which relate to the fact you have lots of other things to concentrate on and if you are not clipped in there are some things you just can't do as well as on a bike. You also don't get any micro rests on an MTB, you suffer more wind resistance and your body position cannot support the same amount of power generation so it's harder. Think that's enough to be going on with...LoL