Getting a bit cocky now
nickcuk
Posts: 275
Over a fairly short period, but a decent number of miles, my average speed is increasing nicely at all distances. I have a basic hybrid with 700c wheels, shimano 21 speed gear and can cruise at 17 - 20mph in top gear on most roads with a sustained cadence. To get that bit more cruising speed, which component should I be looking to replace next ?
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Aha, a speed merchant! 20 mph on a hybrid is good going.
Aerodynamic improvements can usually give a much greater speed gain than reducing rolling resistance (i.e. friction) or weight. Does your hybrid have flat bars? Fitting dropped bars will make a huge difference.
Skin tight clothes also make a big difference - up to 5 mph compared to street clothes.
After that it's time to look at more minor things like tyre and rim width.
First you need to give us more detail on your bike's spec. Fitting dropped bars may not be practical.<hr>
<h6>What\'s the point of going out? We\'re just going to end up back here anyway</h6>0 -
What rpm is your cadence running at, also what gearing are you running?.0
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If you're already in top gear a lot, then you could fit higher gearing - bigger front cogs or smaller rear. That would allow you to push up the speed on at least the easier sections of your route.
Another component you could replace is the whole bike. What I might do if I were you could be to start saving up for a nice road bike.0 -
If you're doing that speed on a hybrid, It's time to get a proper road bike.
Another way of boosting your spped would be to get some clip on tri bars. These will fit on your hybrid and get you into a more aero position.0 -
I did say 'up to'.
Easy for you to test the theory - just go for a ride in baggy trousers and a jacket! <hr>
<h6>What\'s the point of going out? We\'re just going to end up back here anyway</h6>0 -
What do you consider a "sustained cadence"? Doing 20 mph (a good speed on a hybrid, no doubt) in top gear is probably far too low a cadence. For some reason, newcomers to cycling have a tendency to grind along in a big gear, but doing so wrecks your knees and also limits your performance. Ideally you should be spinning the pedals at about 90 RPM or so (maybe higher if you're a lightweight like me). This is more efficient and less damaging to your joints.
Due to your good speed on the hybrid I'd be inclined to recommend a road bike too, but it would be helpful to know what cassette and chainrings you are using.0 -
The bike has lightly curved bars but it's a strange (to me) a-frame type (?) where you have limited height adjustment by changing the angle of the handlebar, rather than raising or lowering the post as normal. Suited me when I bought the bike a few months ago but it has become obvious that wind resistance has a big effect and I've adjusted to what feels like the best position.
Having only worked on my cadence for the last month or so, I aim for the 3 beats a second but probably currently ride at 75 - 80, changing up when I feel the 'bounce' starting. The original question comes from suffering the 'bounce' in top when riding down even a gentle slope, so I think I might soon be reaching the limit of what the bike is meant to be doing.
In terms of the chainring and sprockets (my counting) the front is 42-34-24 and the rear is the shimano M set-up of 13-15-17-19-21-24-28. Today was the first time I've used the 24 front - climbing up Alderley Hill in the rain - and most of my time is spent on the largest two front cogs and the smallest 3 at the back.
I guess the roadbike seems the logical next step - thanks for the advice guys0 -
Ah okay, so you've got a very low top gear then. At 90 RPM that would only let you hit about 36.6 km/hr (22.8 mph), which you'd easily hit the moment the road starts going downhill if you can manage 20 mph on the flat. At 75-80 RPM you'd just about reach your stated cruising speed.
Do try to get comfortable at 90 RPM: try to imagine pedalling in smooth circles rather than pumping up and down like pistons. But other than that, it sounds to me like you'd be better off buying a road bike rather than messing around too much with the bike you have. If that's unwanted or unaffordable, try to get some bigger chainrings fitted (new crankset).0 -
Get thinner tyres. Unless you've already done that, then your hybrid's tyres will probably be about at least 28mm, you could get 23mm ones or even 21 if the roads round you are quite good. And pump them up hard.
OR, if you want to still be able to ride on the odd canal-towpath type terrain, you could get a new set of wheels and put skinny road tyres on them.0 -
Now you've got the speed bug, probably is time to think about a decent road bike with larger cogs. Then cruising in a high gear on the flat will go up to 25, perhaps 30 and you'll be looking at 20 or higher as your average.
It's very, very addictive.0 -
Thanks for the ongoing advice - it's appreciated. My main worry about roadbikes is that the local roads around here are in such bad condition ( and I'm a big fat lump of a guy ) that I'd be sure of wrecking wheels at a scary rate. Are they really up to hitting grids and potholes ?
I'm still working on the 90 bpm, especially on local 8 - 9 mile loops when I can play about with pumping at all kinds of rates and still know I'll make it home. Is it fair to assume that if I'm hitting about 22.8 in 'top' with my gearing then I'm at 90 bpm ? I can reach 25 and even 30 down a couple of the railway bridges but I can aim for as close to 22.8 to get the feel of 90 bpm instead of the '1-2-3' that I count in my head and try to match at the moment.
The tyres are 35mm on 700c wheels - lovely and smooth now after 600+ miles since the start of June when I got addicted. They don't go near towpaths, but the cow-sh*t laden roads I have to go along make it a bit dodgy at speed.
I'm not addicted to the speed itself - I just love the fact that distances have shrunk so much now - I can't believe that I go for a a nice early evening ride of 20 - 30 miles or a weekend morning 40 - 50 mile jaunt when I wasn't doing much more than a walk to the shops or pub 3 months ago0 -
A word of wisdom a lot of people would do well to remember: cycling shouldn't rely on numbers to be fun. It should be fun without stopwatches, mileometers, speedos and cadence meters.0
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I love the cycling bit - even after this weekends ride in the rain up Alderley Edge and through the traffic ar Manchester Airport - but I also love putting the last ride into Excel and watching the stats. 2 buzzes for the price of one.0
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nickcuk wrote:My main worry about roadbikes is that the local roads around here are in such bad condition ( and I'm a big fat lump of a guy ) that I'd be sure of wrecking wheels at a scary rate. Are they really up to hitting grids and potholes ?
You just have to select the right bike for the job, there are bikes that can take a bit of the rougher stuff but also go along at a fair rate on the flat, like the Spesh Tricross http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... egoryID=46 . Though if you're just worried about potholes, the cheaper (heavier) end of the factory built wheels available are pretty robust these days.0 -
shave your 'nads, shave your head. No, seriously :twisted:- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I\'m only escaping to here because the office is having a conniption0 -
700 x 35C tyres typically have a circumference of around 2.17 metres.
Your top gear ratio of 42 x 13 multiplies the speed of your cranks by (42 / 13) = 3.23 at the wheels.
So 90 RPM at the cranks = 90 x 3.23 = 291 RPM at the wheel.
291 RPM x 2.17 metres = 631 metres per minute, which is 631 x 60 = 37900 metres per hour.
1 metre = 3.28 feet, so that's 37900 x 3.28 = 124000 feet per hour.
5280 feet = 1 mile, so 124000 / 5280 = 23.5 mph.
So now that we know the size of your wheels we can see that 90 RPM in your top gear is 23.5 mph. You could repeat the above calculation for any other gear ratio, so that you would know your 90 RPM speed for each of your cruising gears. Heck, put it in an Excel formula so you can calculate it instantly for any gear ratio! Don't be afraid to vary from that 90 RPM depending on how you feel, but I agree it might be useful to know exactly what 90 RPM feels like without getting out a stopwatch.
Some people prefer to cycle by the seat of their pants, but there's nothing wrong with making it a numbers game if that's what you prefer.
As long as you ride.
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