SOS: Tips to gain speed for a total newb

tommy81

Hi,
I've just started road biking, went for my first ride ever, 20k in the Peak yesterday. I started off feeling a little dispondent, as I didn't seem to be going very fast. Took 5mins to get use to changing the gears and just being on a road bike.
However, about half way round, after talking to my friend, we put the seat up 2 inches from how it was set up for me in the bike shop. I couldn't believe the difference this made. I was suddenly getting close to keeping up with my friends.
Then I got into a rythm and found that by going into a gear with more resistence, I actually found the cycling easier once I got the momentum going.
First question, is there anything obvious I could be missing or should look for to gain additional speed?
Also, I'm currently cycling in old floppy running shoes, with some loose fitting cages on the pedals provided free by the bike shop. Am I going to notice a significant difference if I switch to SPDs?
Bearing in mind I'm training for sprint triathlons, so distances of about 25k.
Thanks for the patience, any help appreciated for a total noob.
Cheers
Tom

charliew87

My limited experience (started in November), is that the more you cycle the quicker you get.

First ride was a 6 miler I did @ 14mph. Did a 50 miler @ 16 last weekend, and do the same 6 mile loop from day 1 at 19mph now.

Keep putting in the miles, and yes, some SPDs and matching shoes should speed things up a bit.

petejuk

Hi Tom and welcome to road cycling. From my experience, there are a number of things you can do to improve your speed on the bike:
1. Firstly, make sure your tyres are up to or around the highest pressure (find out on the sidewall of the tyre). This makes a big difference to ride performance and handling.
2. Floppy running shoes are never going to transfer power through the pedals like the hard soles of a cycling specific pair. Furthermore, loose cages, while handy for getting your feet in and out, won't keep your feet in the right position. SPDs or clipless pedals aren't necessarily better than toe clips - just a bit more convenient.
3. Try and pedal in circles- like you are trying to scrape mud off the balls of your feet.
4. Plenty of rest.

Hope this helps.

BobScarle

Don't get caught up on speed! Get out ride your bike and as the fitness improves, so will the speed. Average speed figures quoted on here are mostly meaningless, and are only of use to the person posting them. If you can keep up with your mates then that is probably the most important factor right now. If you want to measure your improvement, select a route and ride it often. Note the time taken, weather conditions, road conditions (traffic), food eaten, drinks taken, the way you feel, and probably loads more.

Clipless pedals will help as will proper cycling shoes. Don't expect an imeadiate 5mph improvement from them but they will help. I would also be careful with the saddle height as a rise of 2" is a lot in one go, especially as the bike shop set it up for you. Expect a little trial and error in this department.

The most important thing is you get out and enjoy riding your new bike.

ineedalager

Don't get dispondant, just get out and ride do a regular route if you feel like testing your self and just put in as much effort as you can and your speed will improve with your fitness. If your keeping up with your mates you can't be doing that bad.

As has been said you will get better power transfer when you get some road shoes and clip in. Don't expect massive improvemts do the miles your endurance and fitness will improve and the speed will improve.

pilot_pete

Getting the correct set up on your bike will pay dividends, not only regarding speed and power but also comfort. Sounds like either you or the bike shop were way off if you have moved the saddle up 2".... I suspect that the fore and aft setting of the saddle is also incorrect now. What about bar drop and reach? If all these are set correctly for you, then you will be more comfortable and able to put the power down, perhaps even managing to go a bit further too! I would certainly look to get clip less pedals and appropriate shoes which will benefit you immensely.

Once that is done you will be able to go faster by one of two ways; increasing thrust or reducing drag. Thrust comes from your muscles turning the pedals, so ride more and, well, ride even more! Reducing drag is the second way. This predominantly means decreasing your frontal area. I have noted that riding on the hoods putting out the same power means my speed is 0.5-1.0 mph slower than just lowering my hands to the drops which means I am more bent over and therefore offering less frontal area to the air. On my time trial bike for the same power i am much, much quicker! Note how many pro riders have a virtually horizontal back when in the drops; an extreme position that an old duffer like myself can't really stay in for too long, and one that they have spent many hours getting used to/ perfecting, including the use of wind tunnels these days.

After this you get into the realms of more aero kit, such as a specifically aero bike, aero wheels (quite a big saving on flats and downhill) etc etc, but it gets VERY costly....!

So, start with correct set up, then just get out and ride many many miles to get fit and strong and then look at other aspects if you still want to improve.

Good luck

PP

alihisgreat

You definitely need some proper clipless pedals if you are going to be racing triathlons -> the power transfer and extra stability and confidence whilst out of the saddle, as well as in general handling, is invaluable.

If you want to get faster you need to build your endurance over the sprint triathlon distance, as well as your power output over that distance -> the simple way is to keep riding 25km as fast as you can, finding your limits so you can pace yourself in the races, and push past them in training.

I'm not sure what your level of fitness is, and how much training you are going to do so its hard to advise what to target in your training.

If you're only just getting into triathlons and aren't strong in any of the stages then extra running is probably going to have the biggest effect on your overall performance.

If you're already a strong swimmer and runner then i assume you're training quite a lot? I'd aim for 3 bike days a week -> two 30-40km rides, and a shorter 15-20km ride or a turbo session doing intervals. Anything less than that and you won't be improving too quickly.

tommy81

Thanks for the advice, it is genuinely appreciated.
Some background to help with the advice.
My main sport is rock climbing, but I entered some triathlons on a whim following some tendon damage in my hand -getting better pretty quickly. My general fitness levels are reasonable. I can do the 400m swim in 8:15s and run 5k in around 20min. Going to start with some brick sessions soon.
I think the biggest improvement is definitely on the bike. I had my first ride (on any bike for 8 years) yesterday and the first triathlon is in 3 weeks. I know I've not planned it great!!
I picked up a new Scott Speedster S30 2011 for £550 which I'm happy with. Now I didn't expect red carpet service at the shop, but when fitting me for the bike it was a case of a disinterested "yeah, that'll do", I think the 2 inch rise is closer to what I should be and was a lot, lot faster and more comfortable. Although if I had time/money I think a proper fitting could be advantageous. Learning how to change the gears helped too
My main quandry now is wether to invest in clipless pedals. I'm competetive (in a friendly way) and would like to get as good a time as possible. Wondering if over the 24k bike ride the clipless would shave 2-3 mins off my time. I know it's a bit of a piece -of-sting-length question, but again, any help appreciated.
Also wondering if there was any other obvious points e.g tyre pressure etc that I may have missed.
Thanks to everyone who has replied so far.

thegreatdivide

Welcome to road cycling - it gets better from here on (honest) ;-)

However please do not do this...

petejuk wrote:

1. Firstly, make sure your tyres are up to or around the highest pressure (find out on the sidewall of the tyre). This makes a big difference to ride performance and handling.

It's not a good idea. Ride your tyres at the highest pressure if you’re on a velodrome track but do not do this outside.

Your tyres will be skipping all over the road at the highest pressure when in reality you want as much contact on the tarmac as you can safely get. Every rider will have their own pressure dependant on rider weight and tyre size – but you want to try and get the tyres to the best/lowest possible pressure for your weight without getting pinch flats - max pressure is wrong for everyone!

I’m 67kg and ride my tyres at 110psi

andrewjoseph

thegreatdivide wrote:

...
It's not a good idea. Ride your tyres at the highest pressure if you’re on a velodrome track but do not do this outside.

...
I’m 67kg and ride my tyres at 110psi

+1

i have 23mm tyres on my bike, usually at 90 front 95 lb/inch rear, I'm 80kg. my wife is lighter then me so her tyres are 80-85lb.

for touring we use bigger tyres (35mm) but more load so pressures are similar.

reduce pressure slightly if roads are wet.

your tyres should bulge just a tad when you sit on the bike with all your weight, this is giving the greatest contact patch while reducing the chance of pinch flats. you may have to suffer a few pinch punctures before you get your pressure sorted.

cyberknight

this is a good guide for bike fit ...
http://www.jimlangley.net/crank/bikefit.html
Guy in my club just paid £150 for a bike fit and tbh i spoke to another rider and we both said his saddle was to high as you could see his hips rocking.
Once you get your bike fit consider your cadence, how fast do you pedal?
Some people like to grind and others like me prefer to spin faster, assuming you have a speedo of some sort try pushing a big gear and then drop down 1 easier sprocket and you might be suprised that you can go as fast for less strain.This also gives you the ability to adapt quickly to terrain changes as you have the leg speed to keep on top of the pedal, 90 rpm seems to be an average figure.

tommy81

Thanks for all the replies, some useful information there. I took my bike to Wales this weekend and seem to be getting a lot faster just by getting used to being on the bike. Seem to really be enjoying the up hills.

I'm still not sure about buying clip ins for this triathlon in 3 weeks. Would it noticably improve my time over 24k?

Also, I don't want to clog up the forums starting loads of new threads. So, can anyone recommend a good bike maintenance book for beginners.

andrewjoseph

If you get on with clipless, I think you would improve your times. But whether you manage to get confident in 3 weeks is another matter.

Clipless, in my opinion, allow more power output, you can put down power through all the stroke.

I wouldn't risk it 3 weeks before the event though, apart from getting used to the pedals, it may take some time to get your foot position right.

andrewjoseph

park tools book.

rick_chasey

Cycle more!

Wacky Racer

It took me a good month to properly get used to riding clipped in, so 3 weeks might be optimistic. What you gain when clipped in you may lose unclipping and clipping back in. But, I hate cages, they can be a bitch to get out of in a hurry.

Totally agree with previous posts about tyre pressure. I run mine at around 90lb, yet they state a minimum of 100lb on the side. I pressure my wifes to around 80.

Just ride the bike, and your times will tumble as you get technically better at riding. Selecting the right gears going into climbs will come with practice and will improve your times a whole lot more than what pedals your are using. Set yourself targets and vary your riding distances and contours. Basically just get out on a regular basis.

rake

mileage.

ShutUpLegs

Wacky Racer wrote:

I pressure my wifes to around 80.

Does she like it soft :?:

Wacky Racer

ShutUpLegs wrote:

Wacky Racer wrote:

I pressure my wifes to around 80.

Does she like it soft :?:

I meant centimetres not psi