On 5/21/2020 11:04 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Thursday, 21 May 2020 23:36:12 UTC-4, James wrote:
On 19/5/20 11:51 am, news18 wrote:
On Mon, 18 May 2020 21:42:56 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote:

On 5/18/2020 6:38 PM, James wrote:

I bought a gravel bike so that I have more variety of routes and places
to explore. I often ride a mix of bitumen and gravel, and the MTB is
just a slug on bitumen. Furthermore my gravel bike has 3 water bottles
in the main triangle, which is really handy around here in hot weather.
It's also good for towing my shopping trailer.

I certainly agree about mountain bikes being "slugs" on paved roads.

If you ride nobbies.

I have a friend who is not an avid cyclist, although he did some 1000
mile camping tours when much younger. He likes riding under a full moon,
and usually invites me to ride with him. I use one of my road bikes, he
uses his mountain bike. In fact, he uses it everywhere, except off road.
He has no interest in riding on dirt.

At one time, he mentioned that he still had his 1970s Trek touring bike,
but it needed lots of work. I said that bike would be much more
appropriate for his riding and offered to overhaul it for him. And I put
many hours into a complete overhaul. (I may have mentioned having to
disassemble the Campy touring rear derailleur to get it working.)

He came to get the completed bike, test rode it once around my block and
said he didn't like it. It didn't feel stable enough for him. AFAIK he's
never ridden it since.

Did you set it up for racing or touring?

Most of the difference is in the steering. The angle of the head tube
and trail is different on a MTB.

I find riding a MTB no hands is challenging, and easy with on a road or
gravel bike.

YMMV

MTBs typically also have suspension forks and almost flat handlebars.
The former adds a heap of unnecessary weight and the latter encourages a
sit up and beg riding position, with little opportunity for change.

--
JS

I have a number of old rigid frame, rigid front fork MTBs that I've converted to dropbar dirt/gravel roads and/or touring bikes. I like the 26" MTB size wheels because tires are so varied in possible choices. I can tires from 50+mm to 25.4mm online if not in the bicycle shop. Anything from slicks to aggressive knobs are available. In my honest opinion that's about the most versatile wheel size there is. Others, well, YMMV

Cheers


You are not alone in that analysis:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/3rmt.html

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971