I just started commuting to work about 3 weeks ago (6 miles one way). I was riding my 29er hardtail and was getting to work in about 25 minutes. This last Saturday, my wife's uncle gave me his old 1980's road bike and I have been riding it to work the last three days. I can now do the commute in 20 minutes and it is a much easier commute. I put a lot less effort into maintaining my speed and it's not even a nice road bike.

I wouldn't go buy a new road bike. I would find something used and in decent shape and put some miles on that first. I, myself, was like you when I was riding my MTB to work; I thought about a road bike, but didn't know if I would like it. I can guarantee you that as soon as I have the money to upgrade, I will more than likely be getting a cross bike.

Here is what I'm riding now:

 

...My other main question is in regards to road bike braking ability. I often ride very steep roads with extremely tights bends that require frequent hard braking. It seems to push my current XT disc brakes pretty hard and so I'm wondering how a typical road bike holds up in comparison. I've been trying to read up on road bikes and have read some comments about the braking ability not being all that good compared to a mountain bike (due to to the restricted tire patch?)...

I replied to your efficiency question with I can avg 15 on my mtb and 18 on my road bike on a hilly paved 21 mile course with 1000' elevation gain.

I forgot to address your braking question. I can stop in about 1/2 the distance on my mountain bike (better). I assume its a combination of larger tire contact patch, softer rubber, lugs that grab the asphalt, the ability to get off the back of the seat further and lower and disc brakes which are easier to actuate so I'm more likely to go to the limit of the tires than I am on my road bike. The minimum stopping distance for a 15 mph stop is MUCH longer on my road bike even when I modulate the brakes nearly perfectly.

You have to weigh that with your desire to get there faster with less effort. Not to mention, faster and easier is good sometimes but most of the time we ride for exercise so for a given course you will get more exercise on a mtb than on a road bike.

 

My advice is if you are going to ride the road, get a road bike. Its fun to go fast on the road and you will go faster on a road bike. A road bike is much more enjoyable then a mountain bike on the road. In my opinion it is important to get a proper bike fit when road riding to avoid injury. Also, follow the same rules of the road on your bike as you do when driving. Learn to ride consistently straight regardless of your speed. Learn to check your blind spot without swerving. Use hand signals when turning amongst cars. Learn to counter steer for cornering at speed.

 

You'll be very surprised by how different a road bike is. Before I bought my road bike I used to bike "with" a buddy of mine; he was on a road bike and I was on a hybrid. The only times saw him were at the beginning of our ride and when he would pass me after turning around to get back to the car. I've ridden MTBs, hybrids, and road bikes on roads and the efficiency of a road bike is amazing compared to the other types of bikes.

 

I ride both mt. and road. bikes.
its possible to pedal the mt. bike over 20 mph, but the effort is much higher compared to a road bike.

It took me a while to save up, but I finally bought a carbon road bike, Wilier Izoard w/Ultegra,and many carbon upgrades. The Ultegra brakes are strong enough for down hills, I change to pads Kool Stops, for increased stopping power and to control the heat on extended descents at over 40 mph..

On my mt. bike a 15 mile singel track ride with climbs is enough for me. On the road bike I ride 40 to 50 miles to get an equal work out.

The road bike is designed for high speed and much more stable on the descents at 45 mph.

I got a chance to ride my friends Pro tour level Ridley Noah with Campagnolo Super Record 11 speed, Fulcrom Zero wheels, Vedistran Tires. Wow, much faster!! : )

 

I started road biking this year. I had always heard it would make me a better mountain biker, but wasn't sure how. What I have found so far is that I pedal more consistantly now on my mountain bike, and probably have increased my average speed by close to 1 mph. The other thing I now notice is that my mountain bike rides are much longer now, I think it may be a mental thing since you are riding so many more miles on the road that a 15 miler just doesn't sound long enough so you end up riding more. On the road bike, I find that I can fly up the climbs much faster than most of the other road riders, which I believe may from the short steep technical climbs we have on our trails here translates well on the road.

 

There is no substitute for a proper road bike on the road. Its faster and more efficient, period. You got it on the brakes, I have a very steep hill on my usual road ride that tests my brakes, but they do stop. To give you a comparison, on my old 26" hardtail w/slicks, I could do my ride averaging 16 mph. On my road bike, I am at 19 mph. You don't need anything fancy, I picked mine up used and have a total of ~$600 into it. Its perfect for me. Carbon is great, but you certainly don't need it. A carbon fork will do wonders for just about any aluminum bike. Road riding will improve your offroad riding.

 

I rode a 50 mile road ride last year on my mt bike. It nearly killed me...
This year I got a road bike and have done a couple metric centuries and no where near the pain. Plus I finished the metric's in less time than the 50 miler.

 

I want to know just how much more efficient a road bike is compared to either a normal mountain bike with road slicks, or even a hybrid or adventure bike. If a rigid cross country bike is set up with narrow high pressure slicks, a good riding position and similar gearing to a road bike is it possible to have a similar riding experience?

it'll be close, but the road bike will always feel a little faster because of the handlebar setup and how twitchy the stearing is compared to a typical mtb.

brakes aren't an issue. they'll be fine for any speeds/turns a sane person will attempt.

i think it just comes down to.....will you ride the road bike enough to justify the money spent on it?
if 'exploring' is riding to the outskirts of town a couple times a year or cruising around on the local bike path, then just grab some slicks for your mtb or just ride your mtb tires and judge your speed by how loud the buzzing sound is.
if exploring is going in a different direction for 30+ miles, a handful of times a month or you get serious about gaining fitness....then a road bike will probably be faster and more fun.

and for everyone saying how a mtb is oh-so-much-slower...
Mountain Biker Wins Road Race On His Hardtail - BikeRadar
it's the indian, not the arrow.

 

Seriously? A pro MTBer at a local race in Botswana. Yeah the talent was deep at that one.

 

Drivers are moon brained batshit. Screw riding on the road. I don't care to be Twittered: OMG! RAN OVR LANCE, BFF TXT ME...LOL...GOTTA FB PIC

 

this is true as well.

nearly t-boned a SUV yesterday.....i was descending at ~30mph, car was coming from the other direction in the opposite lane and decided to turn left into the parking lot right in front of me....good thing he saw me and slammed on the brakes quick enough to stop short or i would have been toast. and then had two other separate occasions on the same ride where i started off from a fresh green light, while cars from the other direction ran the red left turn signal and we pretty much met toe-to-toe with me being like "wtf dude?"

 

Sorry to hear that nomit - its up to us to try to educate the drivers out there I guess. I had a "soccer mom" in an SUV lay on her horn and then pass me with about a foot clearance on a narrow section with no shoulder. When I caught up with her at the light I politely said to her, "I'm sorry ma'am, I noticed you were honking at me, was there a problem?" to which she replied, "yeah, you were veering into the lane!" I calmly told her that according to the New York State DMV laws I had the right to take the lane when there was no shoulder to which she replied, "just try it next time and see what happens!" Really? I guess you don't have to deal with that on the mtb but I do like to cross train on my road bike. Maybe I should have just pepper sprayed her?

 

Unless you have desolate roads to ride on, its a HUGE risk to road ride. Take a look around to see how many drivers are unable to put down the smart phone for a second. It'll really disgust you if you start keeping track.

And it only takes ONE of them to take you down...no matter how good or careful a rider you are.

 

A road bike is DEFINITELY allot more comfortable to ride over a long distance. I ride my Trek Madone 6.7 SSL on the road, my Trek Top Fuel 9.9 SSL off-road. Although I've ridden each on it's opposite road condition, it was hard. I even have an old Cannondale KillerV 500 (rigid) with hybrid tires that I can do casual rides on paved roads, but still feels very unfortable on long rides. I've ridden it on a 30 mile event ride and felt allot worse, compared to me riding over 50 miles on my road bike.

 

*note

If you do get an older road bike, something from the 80's, understand that the bottom bracket sits lower and closer to the ground than what you are used to. This means that you have to be extremely careful pedaling through turns, otherwise, you will skip a pedal and end up going OTB like I did on Tuesday. Trust me... it's not very fun.