Fastboys - advice

dboden

Hi I have just started going out with the local bike club.
Everybody seems to have carbon frame etc.... £2k+ bikes.
I am quite heavy and am hoping to lose a bit, which may help. (13.5st)
But these lads are flying. I seem quite comfortable at around 18mph av, but they can leave me whenever they like. (esp hills)

How much of this would you say Is down to fitness and hours in the saddle, against quality of bike/components.

With my Giant Scr 1.0 (shimano105)with soon Model Bs / conti 4000s on.. can I expect to get up to their level.
Or will I seriously have to think about upgrading my bike in the future, and using Giant as a winter hack?.... Don't want to waste money unnecesarily, but want to be able to mix it with the boys in the future.

All comments welcome
... cheers

dennisn

dboden wrote:

Hi I have just started going out with the local bike club.
Everybody seems to have carbon frame etc.... £2k+ bikes.
I am quite heavy and am hoping to lose a bit, which may help. (14.5st)
But these lads are flying. I seem quite comfortable at around 18mph av, but they can leave me whenever they like. (esp hills)

How much of this would you say Is down to fitness and hours in the saddle, against quality of bike/components.

With my Giant Scr 1.0 (shimano105)with soon Model Bs / conti 4000s on.. can I expect to get up to their level.
Or will I seriously have to think about upgrading my bike in the future, and using Giant as a winter hack?.... Don't want to waste money unnecesarily, but want to be able to mix it with the boys in the future.

All comments wellcomed... cheers

It's pretty much all fitness.

Dennis Noward

PostieJohn

As Dennis said.

But as an aside, I was very surprised with the difference a set of Pro Race 3's made.
I wasn't expecting to really notice, but the rolling speed, comfort and grip all improved, which, lets face it, can't make things worse!.

volvicspar

Fitness is 99% of it. Getting a more expensive bike may make it more comfortable and a nicer ride, but it won't make much difference to your speed if your not already quite fit.

volvicspar

you're *

roger_merriman

as folks have said fitness, such as last sunday out on the club run took some folks out who where just getting into biking, now i'm a fairly heavy bloke at just under 14 stone and i'm no racer, but partically on the hills my old bike and I could easlly catch them, when i was being mother hen and checking we hadn't lost any one. some had some very pricey carbon bikes some did not.

Headhuunter

I would agree, sounds like you've got a good setup and need to focus on the fitness to up the average speed perhaps

Monty Dog

Contrary to what the marketing people will tell you, 99.9% of your performance on the bike is down to you, the engine and marginally to do with equipment. Optimising your position in terms of your biomechanical efficiency will help too, but basically the fitter and stronger you get, then the faster and further you go. Physiologically, it takes about 7 years to build-up the necessary muscle memory and strength to be an efficient cyclist too.

on the road

dboden wrote:

Hi I have just started going out with the local bike club.
Everybody seems to have carbon frame etc.... £2k+ bikes.
I am quite heavy and am hoping to lose a bit, which may help. (13.5st)
But these lads are flying. I seem quite comfortable at around 18mph av, but they can leave me whenever they like. (esp hills)

How much of this would you say Is down to fitness and hours in the saddle, against quality of bike/components.

With my Giant Scr 1.0 (shimano105)with soon Model Bs / conti 4000s on.. can I expect to get up to their level.
Or will I seriously have to think about upgrading my bike in the future, and using Giant as a winter hack?.... Don't want to waste money unnecesarily, but want to be able to mix it with the boys in the future.

All comments welcome
... cheers

They've been riding longer then you! As they say, Rome wasn't built in a day.

bobtbuilder

I'm afraid its nearly all down to a combination of fitness and experience. Sure, their £2k carbon bikes may be lighter than your bike, but by your own admission, you may be carrying a few extra kilos of bodyweight that the other club members are not. Secondly, their fitness levels are already high, and used to the type of training being done, whereas you are adjusting to it. On th eplus side, you should see some fairly rapid improvement if you stick at it.

softlad

dboden wrote:

How much of this would you say Is down to fitness and hours in the saddle

All of it. Heart, lungs and legs is what gets you uphill - nothing else...

markos1963

Totally down to the riders. Mark Cavendish could beat any club rider on a butchers bike.
I have a reasonable bike(Orbea Onix) but I am only now after a couple of years hanging in with the fast group on a ride, I still get dropped towards the end when things go mental on the rush for home so I know I have some way to go. One thing is for sure is that I am not going to waste money on upgrading my bike till the time I can hold my own in the fast group. The best investment is to find a good training manual or a coach and stick to the plan, you'll gain more speed than any fancy wheelset.

Anonymous

Theres a period of adjustment and fitness to take into consideration. lots of training and handling skills will take time. Your bike is fine, just give it lots of effort and be patient.

steerpike

volvicspar wrote:

you're *

no, you were right the first time.

steerpike

steerpike wrote:

volvicspar wrote:

you're *

no, you were right the first time.

ok - the second your...I'll get my coat.....

Anonymous

I train on a 25lb bike, when I get my 15.5lb bike out on the hills it is a fair bit easier.

However it is the fitness that makes it all work.

Frank the tank

Your fitness is the major factor. If you don't mind me saying IMHO 18mph av is nothing to be ashamed of, I'd be pleased with it.

bigmat

I'm in two minds over this, would've said fitness is most important, but since upgrading my bike in January I seem relatively quicker than in the last couple of years. I've been cycling a lot less, am carrying more weight (I'm around 13.5 stones too) and am generally less fit than this time last year (when I was training for the etape) but am finding that my like for like times on time routes (3 laps of Richmond Park, Box Hill) are quicker than last year. The only positive change has been the new bike - 1.5kg lighter, slightly smoother gears, maybe a bit more comfortable over distance. So, maybe a fancy bike can make quite a big difference? Saying that, you can definitely hold your own on any contemporary road bike provided its properly set up and maintained.

Stumpy Ade

During the Winter I spent a lot of time on my mountain bike and consequently did loads and loads of hill work, on a heavy full suspension bike.

Now I'm back out on the Road bike, the difference is unbelievable, hills that last year I crawled up I can now tackle easily, not even using the granny ring.

My weight has stayed pretty constant, so it is purley down to fitness and training.

(The added bonus is having a great laugh whilst doing it).

One other thought, if we are talking about a difference of a couple of Kg between bikes, would a loss of 2 Kg body weight make the same difference ?

Infamous

The bike has some effect, otherwise we'd all be riding mountain bikes.

But really, it's all down to fitness. Yes a lighter/faster bike will have you going faster, but if you are already riding a road bike with 23c's then the difference will be negligible.

Or do what postiejohn said and change your tyres, it'll make you a million times faster. etc.

PostieJohn

hmmmmm a million times!?!

stagger

dennisn wrote:

dboden wrote:

Hi I have just started going out with the local bike club.
Everybody seems to have carbon frame etc.... £2k+ bikes.
I am quite heavy and am hoping to lose a bit, which may help. (14.5st)
But these lads are flying. I seem quite comfortable at around 18mph av, but they can leave me whenever they like. (esp hills)

How much of this would you say Is down to fitness and hours in the saddle, against quality of bike/components.

With my Giant Scr 1.0 (shimano105)with soon Model Bs / conti 4000s on.. can I expect to get up to their level.
Or will I seriously have to think about upgrading my bike in the future, and using Giant as a winter hack?.... Don't want to waste money unnecesarily, but want to be able to mix it with the boys in the future.

All comments wellcomed... cheers

It's pretty much all fitness.

agreed, although defo some minor gains on speed/efficiency (and enjoyment?) from a better bike

but... my mate did the fred whitton on a £400 bike and wearing trainers. In 7hr 40.... then got some proper shoes and next year did 7hr 25, same bike. He said he might have a pop at 7 hrs when he gets a new bike but is not convinced it will make him much quicker..

Infamous

PostieJohn wrote:

hmmmmm a million times!?!

or 2 times faster, or even a noticable effect, or any number that's in your head, because that's where the difference is.

Scrumple

If you went down the gym, would you think the hulk next to you was lifting 100kg just because he was in a nice Nike outfit, and you were in your Dad's vest?

It is all about the fitness.

The bike is bling, really. Top end it will help, but it isn't why they are leaving you behind!

guilliano

The bike set up being correct for the rider is more important than what bike it is. The SCR 1 is a decent bit of kit, but it may help to get one of the club riders to look at your position on the bike (if they haven't already) to see if that could be improved as this will have an affect on how fast you can ride. Other than that, as everyone else has said, continued riding with faster people is the best way to improve

keef66

worst thing you can do is drop £2k on a new carbon bike and still get dropped on the first hill. Very embarrassing. I imagine.

fuzzynavel

keef66 wrote:

worst thing you can do is drop £2k on a new carbon bike and still get dropped on the first hill. Very embarrassing. I imagine.

You are probably quite right. best to improve the engine before the body work!

dennisn

keef66 wrote:

worst thing you can do is drop £2k on a new carbon bike and still get dropped on the first hill. Very embarrassing. I imagine.

That's why I ride a steel bike. When you get dropped you can just blame it on "that piece of crap, heavy *ss, bike of mine".

Dennis Noward