Road Bike vs Mtb Setup

[W@nted]

Hi Hubbers

For those who are riding/racing om both road and mtb…

 

Is it possible to perfectly match the position on both bikes? I feel that I am struggling to get the same performance from my mtb. On the road bike I feel comfortable, especially during hard efforts. On the mtb it just feels that my setup is too upright. Even with the stem slammed, hard efforts feel cramped. Just feels harder to get the same power put down.

 

any tips? Professional bike setup on both? New mtb?😜

 

[Theunissa]

1 hour ago, W@nted said:

Hi Hubbers

For those who are riding/racing om both road and mtb…

 

Is it possible to perfectly match the position on both bikes? I feel that I am struggling to get the same performance from my mtb. On the road bike I feel comfortable, especially during hard efforts. On the mtb it just feels that my setup is too upright. Even with the stem slammed, hard efforts feel cramped. Just feels harder to get the same power put down.

 

any tips? Professional bike setup on both? New mtb?😜

 

Sell the road bike and go ride in the veld. On the road I have 50 times less hard times. Mtb tires my arms, lower back and the shaking gets to you. But once you are fit in these it's fun. Road I done feel the same. Alot less effort to do the same speed/ distance tits on road. Ps I use slicks on my mtb

[JacBrand]

The frame geometry makes it hard to match exactly. A friend of mine managed to get it close way back in 2006. It did make for (in my opinion) an uncomfortable mountain bike.

Maybe experiment with wider bars/stem lengths on your mountain bike.

On my bikes, I only matched the saddle position compared to the bb. For the rest, I adapt. 

[DieselnDust]

The only dimensions that I transfer from road bike to Mtb are saddle height and saddle to grip position. On the road bike it’s measured from widest part of saddle to centre of the brake hood and on the Mtb it’s to centre of grip. The way you ride an Mtb and road bike is different. Mtb requires a lot of working the bars while the road bike is more about aero . Well that if you’re aero enough for aero to be a real thing and not a marginal gain.

you’ll want to get the bikes set up independently by people who understand both disciplines 

Edited March 5, 2023 by DieselnDust

[W@nted]

Thanks. I think the saddle to grip is definitely shorter on the mtb. (Compared to saddle to road bike hoods). Will see if I can get them closer. Where it feels alot different is when standing and pedalling. Feels like the mtb is too close. Will take some proper measurements.

 

The difference only felt so noticeable yesterday, as I was riding only on the road bike since atta. Then yesterday back on the mtb and the setup just felt so much different.

 

might be that I just need to harden up again, as the road bike made me soft😂

[DJuice]

Moving from my tri bike to mtb I really struggled.

Changed to shorter cranks, it made a big difference to me.

I am not powerfull,62kg now, racing weight 59kg.

[J Wakefield]

4 hours ago, W@nted said:

Hi Hubbers

For those who are riding/racing om both road and mtb…

 

Is it possible to perfectly match the position on both bikes? I feel that I am struggling to get the same performance from my mtb. On the road bike I feel comfortable, especially during hard efforts. On the mtb it just feels that my setup is too upright. Even with the stem slammed, hard efforts feel cramped. Just feels harder to get the same power put down.

 

any tips? Professional bike setup on both? New mtb?😜

 

You cramped cause your set up is to agressive infront more than likely with the slammed stem. Closed hip angle; no hamstring or glute recruitment.

 

[Zebra]

…maybe UN-slam the stem a little, and put some SQ Labs inner bar ends on (yes, seriously…), sort of replicates ‘hoods’ of a road bike, on an MTB…., replicating MORE of a road-bike feel on an MTB…

At around 60 grams per set, best single ‘road bike’ mod one can make to an MTB - my opinion/experience of course - and obviously J Wakefield makes some seriously good suggestions about your ‘compactness/ position’ on the MTB…

!go!

[love2fly]

I ride an older (2015 model) MTB and have just recently compared measurements. My seat height was close to identical but seat fore/aft was a bit fiddly. Reason for mentioning the 2015 is that later MTB models tend to be longer and slacker - I've  gone from a 100mm stem to 60mm and bars 720 to 800 and now 760.

On both my road and MTB I felt like I wasn't making any power and discovered a great solution my moving my road saddle back. It was a bit of a challenge on the MTB as I had to go back to what looked a bit far back but wasn't really as my MTB frame was probably never designed for a shortish stem - my centre of saddle to stem bolt centres in mm are now quite similar.

[DieselnDust]

3 hours ago, J Wakefield said:

You cramped cause your set up is to agressive infront more than likely with the slammed stem. Closed hip angle; no hamstring or glute recruitment.

 

That could be resultant of the set up of both bikes though surely?

sounds like the road bike set up works but he can’t mimick the same riding position on the Mtb because the set up isn’t long enough 

[W@nted]

3 hours ago, J Wakefield said:

You cramped cause your set up is to agressive infront more than likely with the slammed stem. Closed hip angle; no hamstring or glute recruitment.

 

Thanks John, very interesting indeed! Here I was thinking going the opposite direction. But like dieselndust mentioned, my road bike is quite aggressively set up. And I feel more comfortable and efficient on the road bike (which I use on the indoor trainer as well). How big a factor is the plain fact that I just spend more time on the road bike?

 

Just a disclaimer, this is purely based on feeling, as I do not have a power meter on the mtb. Only power figures is from the indoor trainer. But I have a good estimate in terms of power vs HR and I ride with HR all the time.

[W@nted]

So did a bit of analysis on my setup of both bikes. After some balance tests and taking a video on the trainer, i do believe my saddle was too high on both bikes and saddle too far forward. Dropped saddle a bit and moved it a bit backwards. Balance test felt a lot better and my toes were not pointing towards the ground as before. Going to test it tomorrow and will give feedback.

[Training wheels]

This question by Wanted makes me wonder if it is wise/the right thing to have a road bike on the indoor trainer if I am only doing mountain biking? With the difference in geometry, body position etc., etc., will one gain muscle strength on the specific areas used on the mountain bike. It might be marginal, but there is surely a difference to the exact part of the muscle applied on the different bikes/set-ups which could influence the effectiveness of training on a road bike for mountain bike racing. Your opinion?     

[DieselnDust]

9 minutes ago, Training wheels said:

This question by Wanted makes me wonder if it is wise/the right thing to have a road bike on the indoor trainer if I am only doing mountain biking? With the difference in geometry, body position etc., etc., will one gain muscle strength on the specific areas used on the mountain bike. It might be marginal, but there is surely a difference to the exact part of the muscle applied on the different bikes/set-ups which could influence the effectiveness of training on a road bike for mountain bike racing. Your opinion?     

it depends, you could mirror the road bike set up on the MTB or vice versa, or have slightly different set ups.

If going for different set ups then each would need to be done independently for the objectives sought, e.g. a more aero position on the road bike my require hips rotated forward, longer reach, slightly higher saddle or lower etc. Always a good idea to have the fit conducted by someone familiar with both disciplines and the performance level you are at

[Sandro]

The geometry of an MTB is meant to be upright, the gearing, riding style and the aerodynamics are completely different. MTB is far less efficient. Two different sports as far as I'm concerned.

[ChrisF]

3 hours ago, Training wheels said:

This question by Wanted makes me wonder if it is wise/the right thing to have a road bike on the indoor trainer if I am only doing mountain biking? With the difference in geometry, body position etc., etc., will one gain muscle strength on the specific areas used on the mountain bike. It might be marginal, but there is surely a difference to the exact part of the muscle applied on the different bikes/set-ups which could influence the effectiveness of training on a road bike for mountain bike racing. Your opinion?     

 

It certainly helped me.

 

Sure, I changed the setup on the trainer to be more upright than it would be outside as a road bike.

 

Getting back onto the MTB after a while it suddenly felt like I was sitting more upright.  Even after a longer ride it was super comfortable on the MTB.

 

 

But there is a LOT more to an indoor trainer than just the sitting position.

 

There are no free miles !  Took a while to get used to this.  Then I went through a phase of doing "cadence rides", gradually pushing my cadence higher and higher.

 

Do this for a while and suddenly "that hill" becomes so much easier !  Gear down, up the cadence and just go go go go .....

 

 

 

Enjoy the journey