Hi, I'm new to the forums. I plan on riding the MS150 from Houston to Austin later this year, and am wondering if anyone has done this on a mountain bike before. I plan on putting slicks on my RM Blizzard hardtail. I know I will be at a weight disadvantage compared to road bikes. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy a road bike, but I already have 4 bikes (all mtn bikes). Thanks for any input you have.

Sure, people have done it. I have a buddy who did the Hotter N Hell 100 on an Enduro with slicks last summer. Lockout will be your friend. Biting the bullet won't be the worst thing you've ever done if you've got the cash.

Good luck with the ride!

Just get a road bike. I have enjoyed the ability to take off and ride out of my driveway when I know the trails are wet or flooded. Plus, after training on the road, I was blowing my riding buddies away on the trails. I got so into it that I did the America's Tri last year. Nothing will convince me it is better than MTB, but its better than letting the wife tell you which project to work on next at the house.

Several of the folks over at the www.bikemojo.com "raspa" board do it every year on their MTB's and have a great time.

I did it 3 years ago on my FSR with full knobby's. Made it all the way.. I think my ride time was 8 hours in the Saddle the first day and 6 hours the 2nd day (not counting stops).

It can definately be done...I would recommend slicks though.

You will be slower than most of the roadies, but you would be supprised at some of the people who actually ride. Everything from 250lb women to guys on single speed beach cruisers.

Having said that, I would probably go for a road bike if I did it again.

One down side of being slower is you get in to both La Grange and Austin late in the day and miss most of the post ride festivities.

I don't know if you live in Austin or Houston. In Austin, you will be able to rent a road bike from Bicycle Sport Shop. I'm sure you could do the same somewhere in Houston as well. Put your MTB pedals on it and use you mtb shoes. My sister rented in Austin for the ride last year and it cost her about $100. She said it was worth it for the improvement over her MTB. Make your rental reservation early, shops will rent out their bikes for that weekend quickly.

I rode it last year on my upgraded Trek 4500 and made it just fine. I put slicks on it, which I HIGHLY recommend. Just make sure you get alot of training in since your bike will be at a weight disadvantage. Ultimately, a road bike would be better, but I couldn't see spending $500 or more for a road bike when the MS150 would be the only time I ride it all year.

Also, if you decide to ride your MTB, you'll actually have an advantage over most of the roadies on the hills that you climb on the 2nd day. The gearing on your MTB is much better than road bike gearing when it comes to hills. You'll be passing the roadies left and right on the hills.

Thanks for all the tips and info. I already bought slicks for my RM. I guess I need to start training on that bike and stop riding the singlespeed. :p

Of course, if I can get a great deal on a road bike I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. Those Felts sure do look sweet.

i did it on a 1999(i think) k2 razorback, if anything its easier on a mtn bike, due to the horrible roads.

Don't be a *****. This is MTBR, not RWBR (road weenie bike review). I did the '82 Wimberly Hillacious (100k) with no training on a POS 30lb "mountain bike". As it turned out, I needed the gears to make the nicknamed climbs. Didn't win but I finished ;)

I did the Carolina MS150 version on a Mountain Bike 3 years in a row.

Our ms150 is acually about 190 miles from my starting location just outside Charlotte,NC and we end in Myrtle Beach, SC

I did it one year on my Raleigh M-400, then on my GF Sugar, then on my Racer-X. I had a great time all three times. I have a Road bike now but I really enjoyed the rides on the Mountain Bike.

I also did a road ride here that is called the 24 hours of booty. you just do laps over and over until the 24 hours clock ends. I did 290 miles in 24 hours on my singlespeed Mountain Bike.

I suppose that is enough lame-arse bragging for one day....just wanted to point out that if you love Mountain bikes like we do then just Go For It...road bike or mountain bike don't matter just have a GREAT time!

And, thanks for helping the MS Soceity!

Mark

I know a guy who did it a couple years ago on a P1!! He even had the stock 2.3's. But he's a different sort of fella...

Well, I made it into Austin by 3pm on Sunday. The weather was nice and there was no headwind to deal with, so it was a great weekend to ride. This was my first year, so maybe by this time next year I'll have a road bike. I think I did pretty good considering I didn't train alot, and I only rode one of the recommended rides beforehand. The longest distance I rode before the MS150 was 60 miles. I'm just happy I didn't have to walk any of the climbs, and didn't have to SAG even though my right knee was irritating me after the first day. I actually kept it in the big ring upfront the whole time.

Congrats on finishing the ride, but don't get used to those weather conditions. The second day is usually notorious for head/cross winds. Last year, it didn't rain, but the wind was howling at 25-30mph.

This dude was on a Blur
http://www.bikemojo.com/photos/data/500/113P1010025-med.JPG

Hope you enjoyed it. This was my first BP ms150 (Have done bike to the beach the last 2 years) I really enjoyed the route, and the weather was superb.

-Terry

I might have seen that guy. It was cool to see all the different stuff people were wearing and towing. One guy was towing a 60 lbs dog behind him. One guy had speakers under his seat and was playing rock & roll. We even had a rider on our team who rode with a prosthetic leg. I did see a few singlespeeders, bmxers, rollerbladers ... I can't imagine trying to go up those hills on rollerblades. I also saw a few people riding mountain bikes with full knobbies, and even full suspension bikes. It looks like the rider in that pic had both. I don't think I would have tried it without road slicks. I was happy just to make it into Austin by 3pm even though I had a late start out of La Grange. :D