Road tips for a mountain biker?

[mcinvale]

Here's the story; my brother, friend and myself have all registered for the Tour de Palm Springs. Brother & friend both have road bikes and are pretty capable on them.

I've never ridden a road bike in my life. I'm planning on renting/demo/borrowing something to do the 55 mile ride with them.

How hard is riding 55 miles on a road bike? What should I do to prep for this thing?

Thanks

[sailcalifornia]

I will see you out there at the Tour of Palm Springs. It is a fun ride not too difficult in terms of these type of rides. I would compare the 55 miler to a decently hard 20-25 mile Mtb ride. You big disadvantage having not ridden a road bike before is you will be scary when it comes to drafting. I say scary for the people behind you. But if you can get hooked into a good group you will be amazed how fast you can go without a lot of work.

[sdyeti]

Just be aware of your body positioning...

I did the Rosarito-Ensenada 50 miler in September and hadn't been on a road bike in a while, though I had been doing some mtb. My lower back and hamstrings were in pretty bad shape by the time I was done.

[Knuckledragger]

Whatever you do don't bunny hop any obstacles in the road..... The next guy will hit it and they all flip out.

C.K.

[mtnbikej]

Originally Posted by sdyeti

Just be aware of your body positioning...

I did the Rosarito-Ensenada 50 miler in September and hadn't been on a road bike in a while, though I had been doing some mtb. My lower back and hamstrings were in pretty bad shape by the time I was done.

Agree.......your position on the bike will be the real difference you will notice from your mtn bike. You will also notice that you will sit and spin a lot more than you do on your mtn bike. Just be sure to stand up and stretch on a regular basis and you should be fiine. Also, don't worry about getting down in the drop on the the handlebars, you can go just as fast and be just as in control by stayin up on top of the shifter/brake hoods.

From what I hear, the Palm Springs ride is pretty easy.....so have fun. Just watch out, once the roadie bug bites......it hard to shake off.

[denmother]

Borrow or buy a road bike and do some rides before the event!!! Find a local road bike club! Get used to the brakes, shifting, cornering, road bike etiquette, etc. before hand!!!

[emejay]

Last November, I went into Jensons to buy some MTB shoes on sale and walked out with a road bike, also on sale. The last road bike I rode was a Schwinn Varsity in junior high school. You will be amazed how smooth and efficient a good road bike is. If you are in decent shape from mountain biking, I don't think you will have much trouble doing 55 miles. I just did the Stagecoach Century last week (100 miles). Yes, I was tired but not sore and I did it in a much faster time than I expected (6 hours 29 minutes on the bike). Before this ride, I started doing longer and longer rides. My longest ride before this was 2 weeks before the century and I rode my mountain bike 61 miles (on pavement, not dirt). I did quite a bit of research before and some of the things I read which I found to be valuable were:

Start out at a very comfortable pace, you will have plenty of time to hammer it later on.

Drink plenty of water. Once you get to the point of dehydration, it's too late to recover. Most roadies don't use a Camelback, but I did and find it easy to constantly sip.

Eat. There will be several well stocked rest stops along the ride with lots of carb rich munchies. Once you bonk from lack of carbs, it is too late to recover.

Get some miles on the paticular bike you will be riding before the 55 miler. You will find making minor adjustments to the saddle and bars makes a big difference.

Wear good shorts.
Good Luck! I plan on being there too.

[S54MCoupe]

Make sure your bike is fit well and it's comfortable... other than that, have a fun and meet people along the way. It's not a race, so don't let those who try to act like it's some sort of competition bother you.

Don't bother with any pacelines if you've never ridden one before... a big ride with a lot of people you don't know might not be the best time to learn. Just talk to people and you'll meet a lot of friends.

Have fun!

[MTBMaven]

If you are a MTBer with intermediate fitness you should be able to bang out the TdPS 55 miler with no problem. Road bikes are SO much more efficient that MTBs. You can really haul some serious a$$. (my wife has White Zombie on and I haven't been on my road bike in over a month...I want to get out there and haul some a$$ right now!!!!!! )

I had my road bike like a month when I did that ride and the longest I had ever ridden was 60 miles. S54MCoupe and I met on that ride and it was our first centuries. Go pretty slow until the first SAG (rest stop). There is a slight hill and some rollers in between the start and the SAG. After that there are some really fun fast descents. Don't sweat it...you're going to have a blast.

Use Bag Balm too! Bag Balm and Fig Newtons are the secret weapon.

[Wrecker]

I totally agree that it shouldn't be a problem riding the 55 if you're in decent shape and you should get used to the road bike before the ride. The positioning is a bit different and can hurt if you're not fitted properly.

As for the pace lines, the best time to try this is once you're used to the bike and handling, then try it with someone that has some sort of experience. It's difficult to try to learn to draft off of someone who's speed and braking is erratic. Hell, I can't do it efficiently now--it's a trust issue

[madrider]

The biggest challenge when I first started riding long road rides was sitting on my bike for so long without letting my mind wander- similar to a long climb to main divide, except spinning fast and going 20mph

keep it active, get into the ride, if you're fit on mtb, a flat 55mi should be fairly easy. Although you may be sore the next day because you're using muscles differently.

Oh yeah, also, be careful, you may like it, I did.

[Endo Verendo]

I'd recommend you not do it! If you do it you might like it and then you'll find yourself eschewing some mtb rides for more road rides, then spending more time and a crapload of $$$ shopping for roadie stuff and then become addicted to following the pros on velonews.com everyday....and next thing you know, a 55 mile ride is nothing and you'll fly up the hills on your mtb.

[mcinvale]

Thanks everyone!

I've been looking for an inexpensive roadbike like a mad man the last couple of days. Have a couple of decent leads, but nothing solid just yet. I have a backup plan to borrow a friends bike if that doesn't work out by this weekend.

[2wheel_lee]

The main tips I'd suggest have already been covered. A 50ish mile road ride is like a 25ish mile mountain bike ride; it'll go by quicker than you think.

In case you haven't seen this bike for sale: GT ZR1000 Road Bike

[HUGH]

Did Lee just pimp out his bike to ya? It does look sweet though and if Lee owned it rest assured it was well taken care of !!
Now for my input.. Do the full 100 miles. The hardest part of the ride is the first climb(read gradual incline). Oh and there are a few little kickers towards the end but nothing big. If you are going to drive out there might as well ride! But thats just me!

HUGH

[BSki]

I give you a lot of credit to move from mnt bike and hop on a new road bike and bang out 50 miles. Get some really REALLY comfy shorts. I think the biggest problem you are going to have is saddle sores as you are not used to the bike or the seat.

See ya out there.

Oh, about pace lines. If you havn't trained in them, I would highly recommend avoiding them in a century ride. Most lines are pre-formed groups that expect certain etiquette in a line. I have been road riding over 2 years and still avoid pace lines if I dont know the group.

[HUGH]

Originally Posted by BSki

Oh, about pace lines. If you havn't trained in them, I would highly recommend avoiding them in a century ride. Most lines are pre-formed groups that expect certain etiquette in a line. I have been road riding over 2 years and still avoid pace lines if I dont know the group.

Thank you!! Well said.

HUGH

[sdyeti]

Learn the typical hand signs that roadies throw so that you can (1) know what to expect if you see them and (2) can alert the people behind you to any obstacles you see (i.e. glass, pothole, etc).

[BSki]

Oh, very important.

Check your 6 before launching snot rockets.

[slowSSer]

Originally Posted by BSki

Oh, very important.

Check your 6 before launching snot rockets.

no kidding!

also, make sure you do a pre-ride or two of about 40 miles- you'll find that 35-40 isnt too bad, but also, as you're used to the upright position of a MTB, the muscles between your shoulders and shoulder blades are not your front suspension- be prepared for some strange aches there.

hence, the pre-rides. trust me.

the coolest thing about a road bike is how much less resistance there is rolling 100 psi skinny tires versus 35-40psi fattie mountain tires.

roadies can be addictive. you've been warned

-slowsser, about to return to commuting by bike.