There’s a debate raging amongst me and some biking friends over whether it’s more fun to go mountain biking or road biking. I’m a road bike fan, so naturally I think that’s more fun, but I can see the attraction of mountain biking too. I think it lacks a certain something compared to old fashioned road biking though.
You can get a lot more speed when on a road bike which is the main reason I prefer it. There’s nothing quite like speeding along a long and flat road without having to worry about roots, bumps and other hidden obstacles that will throw you form the bike (apart from cars, but that’s a different story!) It’s also a lot easier to go road biking. You don’t need to worry about trying to find the perfect trail, you just get on your bike and ride from your home.
I can see why some people might prefer mountain biking though. Having a bike fitted with a good set of suspension forks does make riding a lot more comfortable (although also slower – you lose a lot of energy while pedaling because it goes into compressing the forks). Riding in nature means that the scenery while mountain biking is usually better. And you don’t have to worry about cars, which is a real bonus as that’s the main downside of road biking.
Overall though I think that road biking is much more fun. It’s possible to set times, accurately record the distances you travelled and then try to beat it the next time. You can’t really do that while mountain biking, as the trails change, the terrain might be different etc. Mountain bikers will tell you otherwise of course.