Clifton CC

Hey guys,

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but will I get the same benefits riding long distances on my mountain bike (instead of my road bike) over winter at weekends to keep my endurance up, and using my road bike on the turbo during the week? This is so I don't have to constantly change the rear tyre from road to turbo tyre.

The reason I ask is because of the different riding position; maybe different muscles are used, and some club members on here will know a lot more than me about the subject.

Thanks,
Andy

Hi Andy, not a stupid question at all. I'll hazard a tentative answer: lots of people (me included) use winter bikes that are slightly different in set up to their race/summer road bike. In my case, the riding position is more upright, because I'm using it mainly for longer trips and that makes it easier on the lower back. But the saddle - BB setup and cranklengths are the same, which I think is important, since this dictates the range the leg muscles work through.

My concern with the MTB would be that it probably has longer cranks and hence also a different saddle position to your road bike. This means the leg muscles work through a different range, and there is some loss of 'specificity' in fitness transferring from this back to the road bike in the spring. Just how much, I couldn't say; and it'll obviously be much more effective than not riding at all, but I suspect you will notice a difference when you return to the road bike.

That said, if it's as icy as last year, you'll spend all your time on the turbo anyway and the MTB won't be a problem...

cheers,
tom