How can I reduce my commute time?

chris_bass

Do you want to go quicker or just get more miles in?

If it's the latter then the most time saving you can get is probably making sure everything is ready the night before so you can just get up and go in the morning

daxplusplus

Originally it was a bit of both. And, yep, being prepared sure saves on faff time (even down to getting your drink, lights, clothes, money, phone etc all sorted out the night before). I aim to get out the door at 7am.

Someone posted a picture of a TT bike on the thread way back as a tongue in check idea to increase speed so thought a pic of the actual TT bike I ended up using was appropriate

Oh and the TT bike (+ aero helmet but not skin suit or shoe covers) saved maybe 7-8 minutes on a 75 minute trip .. a 10% saving is pretty cool. However that's a sample of precisely one commute so hardly conclusive.

TBH my priorities on commuting have all changed since my opening post anyway .. it's all about training now a days. Haven't got a power meter so it's HR zones and perceived effort. Don't really care about time any more (except to be able to get longer routes in and not worry that I'll be late for work)

tangled_metal

Well I'm not in your league as I only do 8 miles each way on a hybrid bike and a lot slower. Only started up again after having done it 4 years ago for a few months. I tried ducking down on my flatter sections and my speed went up over 1.5mph immediately. Thought it'd slow me because the lean down would interfere with my pedaling. Can't hold it comfortably for long after work so need my old road bike again. Used to get a nice tuck on that.

Anyway it is surprising that even an unfit commuter on a hybrid can gain speed with a simple tuck.

daxplusplus

:-) It's what I used to do on my MTB with slicks - get low at the front and try and get as aero as possible. Got buzzed by a bunch of roadies on proper road bikes one day and thought "sod that!" and got a road bike.