Is it worth buying a road bike or rather upgrade mountain bike? So I am currently on the fence about my next bike, I have in the last year and a half taken up cycling more seriously. To give some background I mean I am probably doing around 50km (31 miles) a week. Bearing in mind that this is less now because it is winter here. When in summer when races start again I will probably be putting in longer distances when I can.
I would say most of my rides I stick to the dirt and I am looking to buy a pass to use the mountain trails around us, I really enjoy it when I can mountain bike. My one gripe is always having to clean my bike thoroughly because of how harsh the conditions are around me. In South Africa we can also cycle all year around so I thought I would add that as it might affect answers given.
My current bike is a real beginner bike, a GT Timberline Expert. I was given it as a beginner bike and I actually really enjoy riding it. I’ve gotten used to it’s quirks however after riding my dads mountain bike I know how much nicer a lighter bike can be with better components. I still have fun on mine however, I don’t think I’ve ever thought during a ride that I’m not having fun because it’s a beginner model.
I do however notice in road races even with slick tires on that it’s a struggle. Every year I enter the 109km (67mile) race we have in the area and during training and the race I can say it is not fun having to push hard to keep a good pace.
That’s where my problem comes in. I’m not sure whether to add a road bike to the mix and use it for interval training on the road and racing and continue to use my current mountain bike. Or do I upgrade my current mountain bike to a nice new one. I am concerned about how quickly a mountain bike gets wear and tear but I’m not really sure if that’s a real consideration even?
I’ve done some research and on the road bike side the best deal I’ve found was this: https://www.trekbikes.com/za/en_ZA/bikes/road-bikes/performance-road-bikes/émonda/émonda-alr/émonda-alr-5/p/24166/ Good parts and not crazy priced. However for the same price I could get a mountain bike like this: https://www.specialized.com/za/en/mens-chisel-expert/p/154335 which is also a very nice bike.
What are your thoughts? I hope I haven’t bored you with too much background info? I know it’s a tricky question to ask too...
My current mtb also has not done tons of mileage so it can still go for quite a long time.
Only you can decide if you &quot;need or &quot;want&quot;  a road bike. I would not upgrade your mountain bike in an attempt to make it a better road bike. As the saying goes a pig wearing lipstick is still a pig. If you want to road ride for a change of scenery or pace buy a used quality built bike. The used market should have lots of bikes suitable to the local roads. Your times will improve over the MTB on the road just from the gearing alone. If you shopped well,  after a year  you can decide if you want to upgrade or just sell it. You should be able to get 80% of what you paid for it. If you buy a new bike you might get 60% of the much higher new bike cost a year later. I would ride the mountain bike  until the bike becomes the limiting factor in your race times or it breaks. If the races you ride are competitive just upgrading your MTB won't move you from 25th to 1st place conditioning and training has to come in to play.