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Road or Mountain bike riders are stronger /fitter/have more stamina


FirstV8

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Im sure this debate happens around many coffee tables /lunches /braais or at races .Which rider has the best of form in being fitter ,having more stamina or being stronger because of the discipline the ride in .Im and old school roadie but started Mtb 8 months ago after 20 years off my bike and i now train purely for my Mtb experience on the weekend . Is there a cross over point were it does not matter what you ride you have all the above  attributes . .I have some of my own observations but would like to hear others that have ridden both on and off road  . 

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Its difficult to say as they both compliment each other, ride them both, they each have their own advantages and doing both will only make you a stronger rider.

 

Plus if you are only a road rider you get to Butch it up by doing some serious offroad and if you are only a MTB rider and you start doing road you can get into fashion, start shaving your legs, gel in you hair, worrying about your socks and start wearing your wife`s panties. :ph34r:

Edited by nickc
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Pointless discussion really.

 

Just because you do one instead of the other won't automatically mean you are better than the other.

 

Who is stronger out of the following: Wout van Aard, Niño Shurter, Peter Sagan or Matthew Fraser. Depends on what yardstick you want to use.

 

Road cycling is fun.

MTB riding is fun.

I am sure Cyclocross is murderous, but fun.

 

I am sure you can manufacture arguments for each, but to what end?

 

Riding your bicycle is fun

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You're a bit early for Friday but OK...

 

It does not matter what discipline you ride....as long as you ride.

There are no measuring standard to determine which is better.

Just get on the bike, any bike, and enjoy

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Road, MTB, cyclocross are all pooftahs- track riding is where the real men are found.

 

Comic sans font of course.

 

Pointless really - "fit" is a relative term - "fit for purpose" is a better term. Roadies are best at road, mtbers are best at MTB etc.

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Im sure this debate happens around many coffee tables /lunches /braais or at races .Which rider has the best of form in being fitter ,having more stamina or being stronger because of the discipline the ride in .Im and old school roadie but started Mtb 8 months ago after 20 years off my bike and i now train purely for my Mtb experience on the weekend . Is there a cross over point were it does not matter what you ride you have all the above  attributes . .I have some of my own observations but would like to hear others that have ridden both on and off road  . 

 

As a full on amateur rider but wanting to do a decent time in no mater what event, I have seen the benefit of doing both MTB and Road, I have a lot more fun doing MTB and can defiantly feel my legs get stronger as I train for stage races and so on. The MTB gets a lot more of my time after the CTCT. From January I start hitting the road, with the higher cadence and the now extra power from MTB, I get to see how it helps on the road cycling side of it. Longer turns on the front and so on. What are your observations..??

There is also the added bonus of upper body work out in MTB. 

Edited by T-Bag68
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My 2c, firstly I echo pretty much what everyone above has said (including the Friday comments) riding a bike is fun, period. That been said I think both have different skill sets that apply with big overlapping areas. Generally I think mtb riders are stronger at short very high watts surges, where road riders can sit near or at threshold for longer periods. Also think mtb has a very technical element in bike handling, though on the flipside roadies know how to ride in bunches which is a skill on its own.

 

All that been said riding any bike vs not riding a bike I know which one I choose.

Edited by Sitting@89
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I find that the more road riding I do the faster I get on the MTB - I think the stamina and endurance and more constant effort required on the road means that when I reach a technical section on the mountain I'm less fatigued, able to hold better posture and move more easily on the bike because of being less tired. 

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I am a very green cyclist. I only ride on the road, and participate in triathlons. I watch the MTBers in the Cradle, and they have some pretty decent skills. I am sure being on trails will up handling and technical skills way faster.  I am considering picking up a MTB to learn to ride my bike better, and maybe look at the Xterra type triathlon races. 

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