How much easier is it to Climb hills with Road bike than MTB?

[itaa]

I have an MTB which I bought about 9 or 10 years ago (was worth about £160 when new- so it's pretty crap compared to what the rest of you got)
Its 14.5kg ''light'', I have recently upgraded tyres to low rolling resistance schwalbe hurricanes and it made a really good difference as to how fast I can get it to roll+ I managed to shed 550grams just from upgrading the tyres

I still like the bike very much ,it's the perfect fit for me and all that,or I just haven't tried anything else in my life so I don't know what a better bike feels But when there are some incline, I just feel dead after a 1-2 minutes climbing one and have to do it standing up,sitting=no chance even on the lowest gear. + I sweat like crazy from climbing.

Now I'm just wondering if it's my [inappropriate word removed] form/experience/stamina ( I'm 1.86m/ 77kg and fairly active so I can't really complain about anything)
Or it's just easier to do it with a better bike?
Or it's the exactly same heavy work whatever bike you have?

Those who have tried/have more than 1 type of bike what's the actual difference between each of these types of bikes when it comes to climbing up an incline?

-Crap cheapo 15kg mtb like mine
-Expensive 10kg Mtb
-Decent sub £1k 10kg Road/CX bike with good gears?

How would you describe the difference in feel/hard work between those 3 types of bikes?

[Mick F]

It's not the weight - within reason - that makes the difference, but how efficient the bike is as a machine.
This is to do with body position, crank sizes and width, tyres, frame geometry and saddle position, and if the bikes have suspension or not.

Road bikes are generally more efficient on the road than MTBs.
Horses for courses. One is for road use, the other for off-raod use.

[meic]

Nine times out of ten this problem will be because the seat is much too low for climbing.
It seems that the seating position that people naturally gravitate to with MTBs is more aimed at off road control than on road climbing.

[brumster]

And then there is the question of which bike is better for coming down the hill ?

[rmurphy195]

Depends on the road bike.

If it has the same gearing as your mtb it'll probably be a bit easier due to weight, tyre drag etc. Maybe.

If it has road bike gearing (as opposed to MTB, hybrid or touring gearing) it'll be much harder work.

[mattsccm]

Might I suggest that its a bit of all the above?

[Nigel]

The YouTube "channel" called GCN recently ran a "cheap bike vs posh bike" comparison, comparing a £100 s/hand road bike from Ebay with a very posh multi-thousand pound machine. There was a difference, but not as much as you might imagine.


- Nigel

[bigjim]

I have a road ready MTB as well as road bikes. The MTB is fine at hill climbing due to its very low gears. However it does take longer to ride those hills as the wheels are smaller and heavier than the road bike plus the MTB is not as efficient. Also I tend to spin a lot more so my lungs are working hard for a longer period of time, so it can get tiring. I can never work out whether it is more tiring to spin more in a lower gear or struggle a bit more pushing a highr gear? It does not though take me that much longer on my local 25 mile circuit on the MTB. I don't use it that often, so if I used it more, I would probably get better at it and improve my times. A lot of people tour quite happily on MTBs eqipped with road tyres and have no problems.
The more hills you climb the better and fitter you will become, so maybe it is more of a fitness thing in your case.

[Pneumant]

I think it was Eddy Merckz who said the bike is at most 10% in the machine/rider equation, don't underestimate the rider input! I remember watching a YT video of a swiss pro riding a heavy post office type bike and burning off amateur cyclists like they were stood still. And also reading of the chap (MikeF I think) from this forum who rode a Chopper on LEJOG.
I used to ride with a CTC 'A' section and there was a member who regularly turned up on a heavy MTB and he could keep up with the fast lads on the hills (proper northern hills!) and easily complete 100+mile rides. His bike was not well kept and he had flexible trainers and plastic toe clips. His background was not cycling but fell-running. Merckz is right.

[Cugel]

These factors make a significant difference to hill climbing as they absorb more or less energy rather than raising you up the hill:

The absolute weight of the bike; the efficiency of pedal-energy transfer to the rear tyre; the drag of wind & surface on the bike.

Generally (with some exceptions) a road bike loses less energy than an MTB to these factors. However ....

Road bikes are designed for roads (surprise!) whilst MTBs are designed for tracks or raw countryside. The road bike will tend to go up tarmac hills better whilst MTBs definitely go up muddy rocky tracks better. Well, unless you have a cross bike perhaps. Or an MTB with no suspension, slick tyres and a low-set handlebar.

Asking if a road bike or MTB is best for hill climbing is a bit like asking whether a sausage or a beefburger is best to eat. It depends what's in 'em. Either may be highly nutritious or made of nastiness.

Cugel

[foxyrider]

When I was much younger and fitter I could compete with the road bikes on my ATB even with knobblies fitted and low gears. But in the real world anything more than a couple of hundred metres on tarmac the road bike will win out (assuming it's fitted correctly and the rider is the same fitness - see above!)

The general stance of a road bike will (usually) set your c of g further forward which is better for climbing whether in the saddle or stood on the pedals. Not just that but hand position will affect things too - wide, flat bars might be great for low speed control but just makes things awkward on the road.

Some on here will prefer to sit and spin, others to stand and push but in truth most people use a combination of the two, sit for low grade and long, stand for short and sharp regardless of bike. Moving your body weight around can assist with traction as well as efficiency and may vary depending on road conditions and surfaces.

[drossall]

Years ago I used to ride a local club's hilly evening 10 (actually I think it was a bit shorter - we went round a circuit). One night, one of the better riders came out on his MTB for the fun of it. He did at least put racing wheels in. He flew past me like I was standing still.

The rider makes the difference...

[Abradable Chin]

When I was much younger and fitter I could compete with the road bikes on my ATB even with knobblies fitted and low gears. But in the real world anything more than a couple of hundred metres on tarmac the road bike will win out

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/mountain-biker-wins-road-race-on-his-hardtail-22736/

[pwa]

A very heavy bike does take more effort to get up a hill. So getting a bike that is not much heavier than it needs to be is a good idea. But if you try to go too light you end up with fragile wheels, etc, so it is a case of striking the right balance.

Road tyres are better than off-road tyres when you are cycling on roads.

[old_windbag]

The rider makes the difference...

The rider only makes the difference relative to other riders. If that rider rode an mtb on a time trial course then a road bike, they'd be quicker on the road bike. All the design features of the road bike are about maximum transfer of the riders power to where it should go. An mtb has a different purpose where the criteria aren't the same due to terrain involved requiring heavier duty wheels and drivetrain and the resultant penalties in power translating to slightly lower speed.

Given our meagre total of watts, why waste them and i feel a road bike does give a more purposeful efficient ride on smooth roads. But that all too often is where we are shortchanged. So an all terrain bike will sometimes benefit you by giving a more forgiving ride and on some spalled surfaces a faster one because of that. Climbing on an mtb versus road bike is only a small difference time wise but any wasted energy adds up over a long day. The feel of a lightweight planted road bike on smooth tarmac on a warm summer day is a joy.