Am I being a div?

tomhowells

I started cycling to work 2 days a week, about 15k each way, couple of hills, not too bad. It's been about 3 months now, & I have got the bug.
I am 40, fairly fit, do a bit of running, footy etc. The bike I bought was a Halfords Apollo hybrid, about £140 as I didn't want to spend a load of cash only to find out that I hated it!

I keep seeing people speeding past me without a lot of effort, while I seem to be exerting myself quite a bit! These people are mainly on proper road bikes, drops, etc, usually known named bikes, cannondale, specialized, etc., but a few of 'em seem to be riding hybrids too.

I can get the speed up, but it does cost me a lot of effort, & can't sustain it for too long. Is it just time in the saddle I am lacking, or would a 'proper' bike make a difference? Or, am I just being a bad tradesman blaming his tools/a crap rider?

I am looking to compete in triathlons, but I did a sprint tri in July with a mate who has a Pinarello, and while we were at the gym training, we were neck & neck on the gym bike at the same level, but in the triathlon, he smashed me on the bike by 17 mins (over 25k distance)!!

I guess the short question is would a better bike make a big difference to my times or should I rule 5?

Cheers
(abuse welcome )

Wirral_paul

Yeah you're just crap!!

Well if you're enjoying your cycling and clearly arent about to give up, sounds like you dont really need any more reason to buy yourself a proper road bike. Just go for it and dont worry about having to justify it (plus you'll take away your excuse for being so damn slow and we can all make up jokes about you getting passed by oap's and communters!)

schweiz

Your mate was 41 seconds a km faster than you.

You don't say what your times were in the tri, but for the sake of easy maths, with a speed of 30 km/h, a km takes 2 minutes. A 2:41 km is a speed of 22 km/h.

Assuming you're on the standard tyres that came with the bike and the more upright riding position on a hybrid, I'm sure that would account for a proportion of that, but not all.

But since when has a logical thought and reasoning been the basis for buying a new 'faster' bike? It's almost the end of the season, the sales are on and bargains are there to be had....that's all the reasoning you need!

Mikey23

if you are moving towards triathlons and you have the bug, then a road bike makes perfect sense

simon_masterson

The bike that sparked my 'adult interest in cycling' was (and is) an old Raleigh leisure bike from the 80s; purchased as a scrappy commuter. It evidently spent most of its life in a garage, as it showed few signs of use and I bought it from the same shop that had sold it originally. It's a budget leisure bike; heavy plain gauge steel, cheap steel rimmed wheels, flat bars, relaxed 5 speed gears, rack, cheap components, even a kick stand (which I took off). Before I had a road bike,I did everything on that bike, and I set one of my first fast times on it (17 miles in 43 minutes).

I'm not saying you shouldn't get a road bike -I only don't ride mine if it needs fixing - I'm just suggesting that you may not instantly become exponentially faster. You should feel much quicker, though, particularly if you get some cyclewear of the 'road' persuasion.

Enjoy, and by the way, the disease is incurable!
.

wiganwarriors

I can think of far worse deseases. Stick at it and you will see improvement.

jgsi

I think you could be a gifted cyclist.... born to race... spend the dosh...
GIVE up any idea of TRIATHLON!!!!
One of them silly rules that actually makes sense... a bike race should never ever be preceded by a swim or succeeded by a run.

nochekmate

Whilst his bike gives him a definite advantage - it would be nothing like a 17min advantage over a distance as short as 25Km

Mikey23

And you've got to do the 10k run in 29 mins or better to be any good! X

♠ChumBucket♠

IMO a better bike would make a considerable difference to you.

tomhowells

Lol, cheers for all the advice guys!
Paul, I never thought of losing my excuse, might have to rethink that plan!
This bike has a 24/34/42 chainset, I was wondering if that had anything to do with it? And the fact that it weighs nearly 20kg!
Simon, I got the padded shorts & some spd's, the bug has bitten!!

Mikey, not quite that quick, around 45 mins! Though it was the Brownlees that inspired me to do it, saw them racing last year, thought I would get a bike & train for one this year!!

ChumBucket, I like your style! :P

This is what I am thinking of getting
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bbd/road- ... BRA&bike=1

Cheers again for the advice, guys!!

desweller

Asking 'should I get a new bike' on this forum is a bit like asking a drug dealer if he thinks you should buy more smack.