Does the cold effect your speed?

mudcow007

i don't mean riding slower because of the ice etc

i just cant seem to get up to speed this week

an its exactly the same morning or night so its not a sleepy thing or warm up thing (i dont think anyways)

the cold just seems to zap all my mojo!

Pufftmw

Yes

rick_chasey

Massively.

In the same way when it's over 30 I tend to take longer to recover from efforts.

jds_1981

I cycled the other day wearing summer shorts and found it much nicer and definitely felt quicker. Firstly less constriction around legs which I'm sure doesn't help, + no tight top bit which makes it a little bit harder to breathe when working hard (noticed it can make me feel a little queasy)

prawny

Mmm hmm

mudcow007

if anything though i would have thought you could ride further an harder as you are kept cooler?!

meanredspider

Depends a bit on how fast you were going in the first place but the air is definitely more dense so it's harder to cycle through. Can't remember the numbers off the top of my head but it is significant. Cold muscles don't work as well. Your gear is heavier and I hate cycling in tights with a passion as it definitely constricts your legs.

notsoblue

Yep, definitely affects me. I can keep my legs and core warm, but nothing I do* stops my hands and feet from becoming painfully cold and then numb after about 45 mins of riding. Pretty envious of those who manage to run hot. I'm definitely looking forward to temperatures going north of 10C again.

*Winter gloves, liners, overshoes, thick socks...

veronese68

Seems to. Added to by a lack of visibilty in the park meaning I have to be a bit more cautious due to all of the wildlife. Nearly collected a rabbit last night, haven't seen one of them for ages.

Kieran_Burns

My commute times always go up in the Winter. I generally am shifting down a gear sooner. I just accept it now and go into "I'll get to work eventually" mode.

You keep going through the Winter to make the fast commutes in the Summer even quicker

meanredspider

At sea level, the difference in air density between 15C and -5C is 8% which means there 8% more drag. As drag is also the square of velocity, it's obviously a bigger impact at higher speeds.

On the upside, there's more oxygen getting into your lungs, so at extreme efforts, there's a bit of counterbalance. That said, whenever cyclists are going for world records in indoor velodromes, they always mention the air temp - the higher the better.

rick_chasey

meanredspider wrote:

At sea level, the difference in air density between 15C and -5C is 8% which means there 8% more drag. As drag is also the square of velocity, it's obviously a bigger impact at higher speeds.

On the upside, there's more oxygen getting into your lungs, so at extreme efforts, there's a bit of counterbalance. That said, whenever cyclists are going for world records in indoor velodromes, they always mention the air temp - the higher the better.

I'd imagine that's a smaller proportion of the 'slow' down than muscular stuff, and, probably biggest of all - clothing.

My chest & head f*ck at lower temperatures.

Went out on Saturday for a ride and I wasn't speaking logical sentences when I got home apparently.

clarkey cat

My speeds have decreased from warp speed to hyper speed since this cold snap.

meanredspider

Rick Chasey wrote:

I'd imagine that's a smaller proportion of the 'slow' down than muscular stuff, and, probably biggest of all - clothing.

My chest & head f*ck at lower temperatures.

Went out on Saturday for a ride and I wasn't speaking logical sentences when I got home apparently.

I run warm so the cold itself doesn't bother me as I don't feel cold. In fact above 0C I have nothing on my head except my (highly vented) Giro Ionis lid and "shades". 8% is also pretty significant. But, for sure, the cold affects people differently and more clothes are heavier, restrict your legs, and create more drag themselves. I don't know what the rolling resistance of tyres is like at different temps. Lubes will certainly be "thicker" (as demonstrated by my dragging freehub).

It's difficult to convert into commuting time because the damp & muddy roads and the dark definitely slow me down on their own

meanredspider

As KB says, though, embrace it - I get more fitness value out of my commute in the winter because I'm definitely working as hard but for that much longer (especially when I add the MTB & Ice Spiker tyres into the mix - it's about 20 minutes longer on some days)

richVSrich

yeah, the last couple of days have definitely seemed slower - combination of what people have alreadt stated

- wearing more (takes me aaaagggeessss to get ready and unready)
- air density ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Density_of_air) i used this to put a nice graph togther - basically the air at :
-5C is 7.5% more dense that that at 15C = significant!
- and just being a bit more wary of potential ice/snow

davis

Doesn't effect it much, but it definitely affects it.

(pet hate; grammar nazi)

notsoblue

clarkey cat wrote:

My speeds have decreased from warp speed to hyper speed since this cold snap.

I'm on impulse

sophidog

i go faster.................cus the wife drops me off in the car. I know WUSS

Paul E

I takes me ages to get my legs upto temp, at least 25, 30 mins so on a 45 min commute that's me screwed in the winter

SimonAH

Very weird, I always feel faster in the cold - but I'm another one who runs hot ('cept for fingers and toes). I'm having to wear my FiveTen shoes at the mo as my DHB spuds are so well vented it feels like my toes will snap off.

pst88

No, I'm just slow all the time.

Bordersroadie

Rick Chasey wrote:

Went out on Saturday for a ride and I wasn't speaking logical sentences when I got home apparently.

I can relate to that!

Training for the Fred at present so have to be out whatever the weather. I did a hilly 50 training run in 2 degrees C a week or so ago and I was almost delirious after it, I think I underdressed for the windchill and never quite got a high enough body temp - I really suffered, even my legs felt cold and my feet went numb after 20 miles. It was also overcast and quite an opressive day all round.

Contrast that with this morning, minus 6 degrees, beautiful frosty sunrise, feeling great, well wrapped up in thick gear including thick tights and riding fast (well, as fast as I can go on an MTB with kilo-each studded tyres!) although 12 miles is a bit less to suffer I must admit.

So I think it's a state of mind thing sometimes, not just temperature.

I must say though, all this cold weather riding with loads of gear on, on winter bikes, is the best possible thing for training. I'm looking forward to those lazy hazy stripped-down days of summer, all of us winter riders will be flying!

velohutts

I go along with the theory it's a bit slower in winter , I ride wider tyres , have more kit on , more aware of damp / icy road surfaces , takes longer to get the legs going.
Have no idea about the drag factors but as Boardersroadie said , come the summer or even spring time all the time spent in the cold will pay dividends come those summer mornings at 0545 !!

mtb-idle

yes definitely, anything less than 2 degrees'ish and my muscles just don't warm up properly meaning that although I don't physically feel cold i never get that lovely fluid riding style that I can achieve in warmer temps.

It's yet another sh*t thing about becoming middle aged.

Initialised

Seems to, probably because riding over patches of ice fast is a stupid idea on skinnies or studs.

Nik Cube

I ride harder to keep warm

My ride into work has been slower but my ride home quicker - the ride home is harder uphill and prevailing head wind, but my work place is freezing so I hit the ride harder to warm up

itboffin

The problem i have is not the cold, ice or dark it's the cycle then 20+ min train wait followed by 1.30 hrs on the train then 15-20 ride across London, in those waiting times i really need to be sure i'm not soaking wet from rain or sweat otherwise i end up very very cold and eventually sick.

If i had a single cycle to work commute i'd nail it everyday in just the lightest of clothes and kit ie MTFU but trust me waiting 45 delayed mins on an exposed country train station platform in your dripping wet clothes will spoil the rest of your 15 hr day.

:evil:

EKE_38BPM

That is a monster commute.

davis

EKE_38BPM wrote:

That is a monster commute.

+1. I'd drive the home->station and Brompton the station->work. Do you need a new bike ITB?

Stevo_666

Yep, legs are quite 'achey' and feel a bit underpowered until I'm warmed up which is usually a good 15 mins or so into a ride on a cold day.