Your Speed Comfort Zone

My situation is probably not applicable to most as I live in the Philippines! The roads are terrible and lots of cars, motorcycles, and SUVs everywhere including the mountains outside the city. Even if you take away the vehicles, the roads which are often in very poor state of neglect is enough to cause serious accident to any cyclist who isn't paying attention to the road.

Most of the time, I'm really just under 30 mph.

Many roadies here ride hardtail MTB's to deal with our poor quality roads. Road bikes are relatively unsafe to use in our roads if you're going to ride fast. Gravel bikes are your best bet, in >40mm wide tires.

There's a mountain just outside the city. There's only one road up and down accessible to cyclists who isn't residents of the gated neighborhood at the top. Some of the gradients are ~25% and there's plenty of sharp turns and hairpins. It's crazy steep and the poorly maintained roads are incredibly bumpy. On some of the very steep, sharply turning downhill sections, I get off the bike and walk down before the brakes upgrade. Even after having better brakes, I still descend those parts at almost walking speeds!

Hey there! It sounds like you're dealing with some challenging road conditions in the Philippines. Safety is key, so it's smart to adapt with hardtail MTBs. Let me know if you need any tips on suitable road bikes for your situation! Keep riding safe! 🙂