Little old men pass me by

Cesii

Hello All, I was wondering if you could advise please.
I have been cycling for about 6 months but can't seem to go any faster than about 8 miles per hour. Once I noticed someone on foot had actually passed me.
What to do?

stage_fright

OK - the obvious first question is to ask for just a tad more information..

what sort of bike do you have? (what gears etc.?)

how fit are you?

are you only riding uphill?

domtyler

I love folk like you, especially when I go out running and I get to overtake someone on a bike, brilliant motivation!

8mph on a bike is, as you have pointed out yourself, remarkably slow. You should be able to double this with a little attention, tell me more details about you and your bike please.
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redddraggon

I know what it feels like to be going slow.

I average less than 12mph on my commute. I used to get all sorts passing me, but now my speed has increased.

The problem with my speed is that I seem to be stopping alot and waiting at junctions or traffic lights, when I am moving I'm definitely going a lot more than 12mph even on the steepish uphill sections.

overmars

Look alive there soldier!

Pump up those tires!

Take ya hand off that brake!

Pysche yaself up! Attack! Attack! Attack!

McBain_v1

Maybe he's cycling in the middle of London rush-hour traffic?

Cesii

Oopsie, sorry about the lack of detail. Here goes
I am 28 I weight about 14 stone BUT I am about 6 foot tall.
My bike is quite old(10 years plus) but in very good condition I had it serviced and a few seasoned bike riders have said it's ok. It's a mountain bike
I have been riding with front gear at 3 and rear gears on about a 3 as well. The area I live in not hilly so to speak, but lets just say, I live on the bottom of a gentle slope. It's 8 miles and takes me 50 mins. I am cycling on the thames path by Greenwich.

Also, I pump the tires before I go out but they always seem to go soft again mid ride, I tired changing the wheel and tyre but I still have the same problem.

Any help is greatly appreciated

Eat My Dust

see, you're going faster already (9.6 mph average)!!!!!!

PeteinSQ

You ought to try using the largest chainring on the front and the small sprocket on the back. Make sure the seat is at the correct height.

As for pumping the tyres up, you should get a track pump as otherwise you will never get up to the required pressure.

If they still go flat you must have a slow puncture. Put a new inner tube in and check the inside of the tyre for glass, thorns etc.

Once you have done all this just get on your bike and pedal as hard and fast as you can, if you can't go faster than 9mph I will be amazed.

McBain_v1

PeteinSQ, if he's using a mountain bike then you won't need a track pump to get to the max pressure of those fat squashy tyres. An ordinary pump will easily take to up to 90psi, and this is probably double what his tyres are rated for.

Agree that more effort is needed, but perhaps for a short section of the ride rather than its entirety, just to begin with at first.

JustRidecp

PeteinSQ wrote:

You ought to try using the largest chainring on the front and the small sprocket on the back

To a degree yes, this will get you going as fast as the bike is capable but only if your cadence is high. Slogging in a high gear and you're hardly going anywhere is incredibly innefficient. The amount of times I wizz past folk struggling up hills on a big gear is unreal!

Mikey1280

Another point to add is that in my opinion the Thames Path is a slow place to ride, especially near Greenwich. Up until the Dome (o2) I tend not to average more than 12-13 mph due to joggers, dog walkers, other cyclists along with the numerous blind corners which I slow right down for. Saying that I would expect you to go a bit faster than that. Are you starting from near the Cutty Sark?

Mike

Chirg

Saddle too low?

I commute seven miles each way and know that I can average 3mph more if I do not have to contend with the traffic as I have done the same trip very early in the morning. Not suggesting the solution is to get up stupidly early though!

on the road

PeteinSQ wrote:

You ought to try using the largest chainring on the front and the small sprocket on the back.

Only if he can push it.

I would suggest using the large chainwheel and a rear sprocket somewhere in the middle.

Cesii

Eat My Dust wrote:

see, you're going faster already (9.6 mph average)!!!!!!

Yes, you are quite right actually!!! Really want to be able to do the ride in about 30 mins tho. I leave early but the bus ride only takes 40 mins.

My cadence is high, I have to put it to the maximum gear, perhaps some kind of bigger bike is in order?

I will put track pump on my shopping list, somehow managed to break all the other pumps I have.

The traffic is not too bad by my area(Thamesmead) but it is hilly, so I use the Thames path because it's not as hilly only problem is, its the longer way. The dome(Ha! Ha!) is where I end but it's not to bad up there.

Thank you for your advice.

on the road

If you're cycling on a path then you might struggle to get up to 16mph average speed. What is the path like, is smooth, lumpy, pedestrians about?

Also, is the path wide, narrow? How easy is it too get passed pedestrians?

gary_fisher3

My cadence is high, I have to put it to the maximum gear, perhaps some kind of bigger bike is in order?

In an ideal world using a large gear and turning the pedals quickly is the way to go quick. However, if you're mortal like me you wont be able to do this. Your better off using a low gear and turning the pedals quickly. Count how many times your push the right hand pedal down n a minute. Your aiming for something like 80-100.

As for speeding up your bike; a set of slick pumped up to a high pressure will make all the difference. In the meantime getting your existing tyres up to their maximum pressure for the whole trip will give you a dramatic boost in speed.

Cesii

on the road wrote:

What is the path like, is smooth, lumpy, pedestrians about?

Also, is the path wide, narrow? How easy is it too get passed pedestrians?

Thames path is all of those things! It starts off as gravel then up by Woolwich( about 4 miles in) it gets better , paved. At the time I go , there aren't any pedestrians about so it's not too bad.
However if Mikey can get up to 13 miles an hour I want to do it too!

Peteinsq, I went out and bought this track pump thing and pumped my tires up from 20 to about 40. Couldn't get it past that even though it said on the tire/ tube it's possible to go up to 60. I think my tires being that soft must have slowed me down at least a little bit. Will go out tomorrow and test the out the effect.
I am pushing on the pedals as much as possible, I notice my legs go alot faster than people who are going faster than me. Someone once said my chain could do with having a few links removed,should I do this?

Eat My Dust

You should be able to blow your tyres up with a track pump, and I mean "blow" them up!!!

Tony666

All I can really add is that when I switched from a MTB to road bike my average speed went up overnight. And the road bike is a lot easier to ride.