Looking for Road bike advice from Mountain Bikers

I have been riding mountain bikes since the late 80s, and before that it was BMX. In all that time I have never ridden a road bike.

For the first time, I am looking into getting a road bike and I was wondering what other mountain bikers ride.

I am thinking that I will be getting a compact crankset relaxed style road bike. I think I have narrowed it down between a Cannondale Synapse, Specialized Roubaix, Giant Defy or Bianchi C2C. Also, looking at either the Sram Rival or Shimano 105 group. Would like to go Ultegra, but just a bit too steep for me.

I was wondering your thoughts on the above mentioned bikes / groups. Do you prefer the relaxed or race style bikes...race style like Tarmac, Supersix?

Also, when you go back and forth from the road bike to mountain bike, how long does it take you to get used to the mountain bike again and visa versa?

I am currently riding an Intense 6.6.

Thanks in advance.

 

Very good bike choices there. The relaxed geometry is a great transition. If you really start to put on the mileage and drop the hammer you may want a more "race-inspired" geometry (0/-10 degree stem, longer TT). I have the fit of all my bikes dialed in so there is no "getting used to" time. Being new the road bike will undoubtedly feel awkward for a few rides. There is no shortcut for putting in miles to get a feel for it. Don't feel obligated to shave your legs to fit in; just remove the visor from your helmet.

 

I bought a Specialized Roubaix Expert, Utegra groupo, with compact cranks, for road riding. It's comfortable and is quite responsive. I can keep up with my buddies, and it's easy to do 25-30 mile runs right out of the box. These things really roll with every turn of the cranks ! !

 

You should test ride each bike if you can, as each has slightly different geometries that fit everyone a little bit different. You could also look at the Trek Madone, as most of the frames come in their H2 geometry which is more relaxed like the Roubaix.

As far as groupsets go, Rival and 105 are both very nice. You should try both Shimano and SRAM, as they use different shift technology and some people don't like one or the another. As far as performance goes between 105 and Ultegra (or Rival and Force) both shift great. The only really difference between the 2 sets is going to be the weight, so not a lot of reason to upgrade unless you want the lighter components.

 

I ride a roubaix and if you're not doing crits and don't need the sharper handling that a Tarmac gives you, I'd go for the relaxed fit. When I got my MTB, i simply transferred the fit from my Roubaix to my MTB as far as the seat to BB angles and distance went. Reach is a little different of course, but I have no issues going back and forth between the two bikes.

Aside from the slightly less sharp handling and slightly more upright position there isn't really a big downside for most people. Straight line speed is still all there. Once you're down in the drops its all about the engine.

 

I'm a mountain biker who rides road every now and then. My road bike has a regular double chainring on it. No reason to go compact if you already have trained legs. I use my high gears quite a bit.

 

I'm not sure I agree. There's plenty of reason around here to go compact crankset if you're a climber. Besides, you gotta be going over 38mph to spin out a 50x11 combo, and I'm not sure there are many people that do that very often. There are some climbs I do where I'm putting out 280+ watts for 15 minutes and its so steep that I'm still in the granny gear ( 34x28 ).

I guess it all depends just how trained you mean by "trained legs".

 

^^^^ Agree 100% with Jon on this.

One thing you should definitely do is get professionally fitted to your road bike. Your back and your knees will thank you.

 

Curious to see where this goes. Currently choosing between specialized roubaix, felt ar5, or masi evoluzione. All with 105 group.

 

i ride a tarmac. the roubaix is a nice bike; more compliant but the reason i didn't like it is the reason a lot of people do; the headtube is really tall, putting your bars up high. for me i run a negative stem anyway, so the roubaix it would have to be really low to get the same fit i can get on the tarmac. i think out of your list, the roubaix is the most mountain bike-like, which you you might like from a fit stand point. gotta go and ride them but you'd be happy on any of the bikes you listed. after you ride road a couple years you will then have a better idea of what you want out of a bike, because road bikes are not as different from one another as choosing a rigid single speed vs. a downhill bike.

 

This is a little bit off track of the equipment discussion but, moving on to actually riding, I highly recommend riding with a club. You should look for ones that have a slow group and a fast group and you should start with the slow group. You pretty much don't have to be a member to ride, you can just show up, so try different clubs. When you arrive, tell the gang that you are new so, if they see you do something "wrong" to let you know. (Otherwise they'll grumble to themselves like crazy and say nothing to you)

There's no way to really describe how sweet riding in a fast pace line feels, and sounds. Just make it one of your goals.

I ride with Team Velocity out of Fullerton on the weekends and with the Rebel Riders on week nights. FWIW, Team Velocity has a lot of mountain bikers and cycle-cross racers.

 

Don't do it.
Mikie Watson will call you out as a ......, and you don't want that.


j/k about getting the road bike. Not kidding about Mikie calling you out. LOL

 

Go with compact gearing... much more usable range of gears for general road riding... especially if there's any climbing to be done. The only time you would regret going compact is in the final meters of a criterium.

I went back and forth between Roubaix and Tarmac geometry and went Tarmac. It's more responsive, but not so much as to be too twitchy. Having said that, it's likely that all road bikes will feel twitchy and narrow at first. To help, you might want to go with wider bars. Depends on your size/fit... but I run 44cm wide road bars which helps ease the transition back and forth between road and MTB. As for the height of the front end... I find the Tarmac front end to be tall and the Roubaix front to be REALLY tall. (I have a road racing background, so my perspective may be warped) With the race geometry, you can always raise and lower the front end as you get use to the road bike position... but with a tall steerer tube, you'll always be limited by how low you can go.

I've be running 105 for a couple of years and it's good stuff. There really isn't any weight difference between 105 and Ultegra with the exception of the crankset where there is a 225g+/- difference. You could always upgrade that later if you're worried about grams... however, when you get around to upgrades, you'll be MUCH better off upgrading the wheels.

Aside from the wheels, the only thing I've upgraded on my 105 bike has been the brake pads. Brake performance out of the box wasn't very good. I went with some Kool-Stop after market pads and performance is much improved.

 

Don't know how big you are or if you have hills around, but if you are clyd'ish and like hills/climbing look at the Sram Apex bikes. It can roll the flats with the best but is also geared low for the steeps. All your choices are solid and you can tune your fit as you ride more on a roadie easier than a mtb.

If you are skilled and aggressive on your mtb you will be on your roadie in no time. I have friends that bought "transition" bikes and outgrew their performance quickly, so consider that, it's highly addictive.

 

As with your mountain bike, it depends on what / where you're going to ride.

If you're just going to hammer on the flats, then don't worry about compact gearing.

But if you want the ability to do some longer rides with some steep climbs, definitely get a compact or even a triple. I have a triple chainring and love it / it's been great, but it's an older Trek road bike. If I were going to buy a bike today, I'd definitely go with a Compact.

In my opinion, shifter and derailler components are not as important in road biking (for most of us) as they are in mountain biking. You don't need split-second, reliable shifting in road biking like you do on mountain biking as the terrain isn't as varied. And most components are fine these days, as long as we're not talking about the ultra cheap bikes at Target. I even have a Townie that I use occasionally to cruise around or go to the store. It has Shimano Alivio or Tourney components and they work fine and have been reliable.
I have a mix of Shimano Tiagra (one level down from 105) and 105 components that's worked flawlessly for 7-8 years and I've put some serious mileage on my road bike.

Definitely make sure you throw a leg over the bike you're going to buy, especially if it's over $1,000 which it probably is these days. My friend bought a Specialized Secteur (supposedly the Aluminum version of Roubaix); it has a Compact with SRAM Rival. He really likes it / it's been a good bike for him for 6+ months. Most mountain bikers will feel more at home with an upward sloping top tube, which is more common these days, rather than a downward sloping top-tube found on some frames which are more geared towards racers.

With regards to components, 105 is the most I'd buy. Ultegra is great, but not worth the price IMHO. My wife's bike is a carbon frame with Ultegra and it was overkill in hindsight. Dura Ace is for racer weight-weenies only.

I have an aluminum frame that I can throw a rack on which makes it nice for commuting to work on occasion. Guys with carbon frames have to typically carry a giant backpack to commute.

Of course, as with mtn biking, you kind of don't know what you're going to be riding as you might get into a certain component of riding you never thought about. You could even wind up growing to like road riding more than mountain biking. I did for a period of time, but eventually regained my sanity...

If you're just looking for something that's going to be efficient and reliable, you'd probably be best served by an aluminum frame (steel is even smoother) road bike with Tiagra or 105.

Nothing, for me, does my legs better than a nice long road ride. When I get back on my mountain bike, I seem to have more power and endurance and a virtual "extra gear" that I didn't have before--especially on tough, technical climbs.

I don't like riding in the mud / slop and stay away when the parks are closed, so it's nice to have a road bike to use on such occasions. And, every once in a while I'll commute to work or go for a ride through Santiago Canyon or Glendora Mountain Road or on the Santa Ana River trail. Nice to be able to change it up.

As long as you're not buying the bike at a department or sporting goods store, you're probably going to be pleased even with the lowest level bikes at good bike shop unless you wind up deciding you want to race or do double-centuries. But if you decide doing that, you have bigger problems anyway--you're going to have to shave your legs, buy a new wardrobe, etc. (you'll be screwed...).

Having said all that, my dream bike to a certain extent is probably a high-end carbon Roubaix. I bet they ride great. But, the way I ride, I'd probably be happier with a steel frame--that would probably make more sense for me. And, since my current road bike is still working fine, I don't need another road bike--especially since most of my time is on the dirt anyway.

And remember, the less you spend on your road bike, the more you have to spend on upgrades for your mountain bike...or your next mountain bike...

 

Shimano 105 is old reliable.....not pretty, not super light, not expensive........but it always works.

 

ding, ding, ding! WINNER!!

 

I agree with everything except for:

"Don't feel obligated to shave your legs to fit in; just remove the visor from your helmet."

Never do anything simply to fit in with others' expectations because everyone else is doing it. Unless there is a valid reason for someone's suggestion, disregard it completely.

On that topic, should he remove all of the reflectors on his bike too? And the "dork disc" too? Immediately after coming home from the bike shop, before his first ride. And his mtb shoes/pedals can't be used on his road bike either, right?

Wouldn't want "the peloton" to see that, right? Someone might look at him sideways and some 120 pound MAMIL might even sneer at him from beneath his Oakley Jawbones in disgust or even say something that mocks him, like "what a Fred!"

Want to know the secret to where that pent up angst and disgust comes from?

It comes from spending 4X more than you needed to on a bike and equipment and doing things you don't understand why you're doing them but do them just to conform...and having to justify that to yourself and your buddies...

The best revenge is living (riding) well. The rest of that nonsense doesn't deserve a second thought.

 

Ever ridden in the drops with a visor? There's a reason for taking it off. Seeing the road ahead.

I'd check out your seat angle fore/aft tilt, seems to be causing your panties to bunch up.

OP: what jae2460 said.

 

Whoa, dude. Too much coffee? Well, I ride road, dont shave my legs. Why do I remove my visor? So I can see. Am I a conformist? I guess so. Thanks anyways for the lesson in behavioral science.

Back to the OP... I had a C2C, really liked the geometry, just bought a sysnapse, so far so good. Still dialing it in. For me the relaxed geometry is the way to go, going from mtn bike to road can be tough for me as I ride mtn 90% of the time(with visor) and road more with my wife.(without visor) Not sure about the others but I know Cannondale sets up synapse frames for the guys in Paris Roubaix. Longer lower stems for the more "race" riding position. So the potential is there if you want to race it I guess. I had 105 on my bianchi and loved it. The Synapse has rival. Works awesome as well. The new apex looks pretty kick ass and has a huge gear range if that appeals to you. Good luck!!