Question:

Is a road bike fast than Mt. bike for on road tirp of 20 miles or less?

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Is a road bike fast than Mt. bike for on road tirp of 20 miles or less?

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  1. Yes, a road bike will always be faster than a mountain bike on paved roads, even if the distance was 5 miles or less.  There are several reasons: (a) Road bikes are lighter, (b) Road bikes have skinny high pressure tires, where as mountain bikes have wide low pressure tires (c) The body position on a road bike is much more aerodynamic.  The bottom line is that mountain bikes are not efficient at all on the road.  And the suspension mountain bikes are even worse, because they are heavier and the shocks absorb your pedaling energy.

    The one place a mountain bike is better is off-road, or on very rough pavement.  For example, if your commute consisted of 2 miles of cobblestones, you probably would want wider tires and shocks!


  2. Given the same rider a road bike should be at least marginally faster.

    However, don't let anyone tell you a mountain bike can't be faster than a road bike given a good rider .. particulalry over a relatively short distance.  With a couple of caveats: The mountain bike has slicks not knobby tires, and the gearing is high enough not to limit potential speed.

    I have a Titanium hardtail mountain bike with bullhorn handlebars (low aerodynamic position as an option) and a centre slick style of high pressure tire and a light carbon fibre road bike. Given that I have ridden at 37-40 kph for kilometers at a time on both I doubt I would go 20 miles on the road bike much quicker than on my mtb. In an out and out 20 mile time trial I would pick the road bike to win .. but not by much. And if we were talking two different fit riders I wouldn't necessarily bet on the road bike.  

    I've had the experience of riding a tandem for over 50 miles at an average speed of almost 25 mph (40 kph) and having a mountain bike be the only one who stuck with us.  Sure it's unusual, and it doesn't prove anything, but mountain bikes are not necessarily slow.

  3. Is a Ferrari faster than a mini van?

    Yes a road is faster

  4. A road bike is faster than an MTB for ANY length road trip.

  5. A road bike is faster and easier to pedal for several reasons:

    They usually have a thinner tires (less friction with the ground)

    They are much lighter

    They usually don't have disc brakes ( which add weight)

    They are designed for speed and efficiency

    They are more aerodynamic ( because, they don't need big springs or brakes, which create drag)

    I hope you have a great ride and that this helped

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