Cape Argus - MTB vs Roadie - how much faster can I go?

[georgev]

Hi guys. I would appreciate a bit of advice from you seasoned roadies out there. I do all my riding on an MTB and have done 2 Argus' now because it is just such a beautiful and festive ride. Last year took off unseeded at 10am and managed to cut my way though the traffic to get 3h45 in perfect conditions. This year I got a Q batch seeding and with my Anthem X2 down to 11,2kgs with slicks, front lockout and 130psi in the rear shock managed 3h38. Most of the time I could hang on but on the straights after Smits and the fast run from Lundudno I got left for dust. Also noticed that the roadies streamed past up Chappies but not up Suikerbossie? My question is twofold - firstly, by how much could a reasonable roadbike improve my time and enjoyment on this ride and secondly, if it's worth it, what spec bike is reasonable for a guy who is going to dust it off and ride only one or two races a year? Any comments or personal experiences would be much appreciated.

['Dale]

Hard to quantify improvement.

But lots of improvement - aerodynamics, weight, rolling resistance - can be expected.

 

Be careful now...

Once you buy a roadbike, you might never wanna wander into the bushes again.

[Mr Legs]

Hi guys. I would appreciate a bit of advice from you seasoned roadies out there. I do all my riding on an MTB and have done 2 Argus' now because it is just such a beautiful and festive ride. Last year took off unseeded at 10am and managed to cut my way though the traffic to get 3h45 in perfect conditions. This year I got a Q batch seeding and with my Anthem X2 down to 11,2kgs with slicks, front lockout and 130psi in the rear shock managed 3h38. Most of the time I could hang on but on the straights after Smits and the fast run from Lundudno I got left for dust. Also noticed that the roadies streamed past up Chappies but not up Suikerbossie? My question is twofold - firstly, by how much could a reasonable roadbike improve my time and enjoyment on this ride and secondly, if it's worth it, what spec bike is reasonable for a guy who is going to dust it off and ride only one or two races a year? Any comments or personal experiences would be much appreciated.

 

No doubt that your time will improve. I have a low spec Trek road bike that I use about 4 times a year, you do not have to spend a lot of money to get a significant improvement on your MTB time.

 

Re the difference re Chappies and S'bossie: Chappies is not as steep and on my road bike I do between 16 and 20 km/h, on Suikerbossie I do an eve of 13-14 and on the steeper incline the gearing on your MTB works better, but you will do even better on a road bike.

 

Would like to hear other opinions about me theory.

[kandui]

No doubt that your time will improve. I have a low spec Trek road bike that I use about 4 times a year, you do not have to spend a lot of money to get a significant improvement on your MTB time.

 

Re the difference re Chappies and S'bossie: Chappies is not as steep and on my road bike I do between 16 and 20 km/h, on Suikerbossie I do an eve of 13-14 and on the steeper incline the gearing on your MTB works better, but you will do even better on a road bike.

 

Would like to hear other opinions about me theory.

 

I tend to agree with your theory. Chappies I can do about 13-17km/h on my mountain bike and up Suikerbossie I am doing 13-15km/h. This is of course weather, feel and mood dependent. Suikerbossie is a tougher climb than Chappies.

 

Yesterday I ran out of gears on my 2x10, 29er with slicks when road descended and on the flats (my legs) and the gearing made me loose the bunch a couple of times.

 

I was hoping to do a 3:10 or thereabouts yesterday, but I felt a bit pap in places after Simons Town and I thought the wind was a bit of a factor in the morning. Got to Simons Town in 1:11 which was on track, but thought the wind conditions were a bit "strange" from Smitswinkel to Sun Valley. Anybody else think so too?

[PET3RS]

My situation is almost identical to yours, ride 11.5 months of the year on my 12.5kg mtb.

 

Only road race I ever do is the Argus for which I manage to borrow a road bike a few days before the race and get an average speed improvement of at least 3km/h

[PET3RS]

Forgot to mention, the road bikes are not fancy at all, just something slightly above entry level

[Richard the Lion Heart]

yeah me too ride my rode bike twice a year for road races - makes big difference at least 5km/h, 2 different sports choose your weapon accordingly...

[georgev]

Wow! If I crunch the numbers you guys suggest then if my average speed on this Argus on a MTB was 30.1km/h for a 3h38 time - and I got that up to 33km/h on a roadbike that would bring my time in to 3h20 min and at 35km/h I could be heading for 3h07. Sounding awfully tempting. Makes me wonder how many potential sub-3 diehard mountainbikers were out there bobbing and mashing away on their FS bikes with knobblies and all!