how's my progress?(newbie transferring to road bike)

thecyclingnerd

Hey guys, thecyclingnerd here. I recently broke 30km/h average on my Cannondale quick 4, and will be soon acquiring a CAAD 10 105 with my well earned money. I was just wondering, for a 16 year old, if this is any good. Also, I was wondering If I was going to find any improvement with my new road bike.

Thanks,

TheCyclingNerd

lc1981

It's impossible to say without knowing how far the ride was and the type of terrain it was over. It sounds quite good, but then it might have all been downhill!

EPO Delivery Man

The new bike might help a little.

TakeTurns

Hey buddy.
I started riding around your age and got my first road bike 2 years later. I can imagine you must be ecstatic about it and will be out on every opportunity possible. However you've got to bear in mind that, if you really want to go faster, you need to get out and train hard. Don't let the marketing delude and seduce you into thinking you need the best equipment to be any good. Just have fun and enjoy yourself!

thecyclingnerd

My training route is 35 kilometers long, and is extremely flat. I live on a hill, with a 15% downhill section(about 700 meters long). The problem with this hill is that you can't put all energy out on the flats, because you have to save a bit of energy for the climb. What I have done is just take the climbing portion of the route out of my times completely. I do go about 67 km/h down the hill, but that speed doesn't really seem to change my time(and it shouldn't due to it's shortness). I wanted a road bike to get into my local bike ride, and futuristicly a team. But I wanted to get my latest goal of 30 km/h first.

djm501

Hills are where it's at dude - the quality of the ride is judged by its climb not just its distance.
30 km/h is a pretty decent average if you're only just starting out - you'll be beating us all soon, good luck.

diamonddog

thecyclingnerd wrote:

Also, I was wondering If I was going to find any improvement with my new road bike.

At 16 if you keep riding and keep your enthusiasm definitely you will improve, but if you get way laid by wine and women you may as well sell the bike

simonhead

That's great and faster than many could do it. Having a target to work towards is a great motivator. Try and find a local club or even the ctc and try some group rides. The social side of cycling is important and the advice and help you will get from other riders is invaluable.

thecyclingnerd

djm501 wrote:

Hills are where it's at dude - the quality of the ride is judged by its climb not just its distance.
30 km/h is a pretty decent average if you're only just starting out - you'll be beating us all soon, good luck.

I think the hills can't judge the quality of the ride, Even Pro cycllists average gets swayed by hills. My average afterwards was 27.8 km/h, so My next goal will be 33km/h on the flats because if I lose 3 kms on the hills, then I should get an average of 30 k overall. And just wondering, but how far have you guys gotten after a year(on flat bars?).

djm501

I don't understand what you mean there - of course you will go slower up the hills. But if you time yourself up the hill then you may just want to get quicker at climbing. Who won the Tour de France, Cavendish or Froome? Who's the better climber?
We can all go quick on the flat. If you really want a flat time, go to the velodrome.

And if you don't believe my first sentence, read the rules Rule number 68 :-) www.velominati.com/the-rules/

djm501

And just wondering, but how far have you guys gotten after a year(on flat bars?).

Again, don't follow. Do you mean how far have we cycled or what was our rate of progress? Also why flat bars?
I rode about 4000 miles on my first bike last year on flat bars before I got a road bike with drops.

slowbike

So you're doing about 20 miles in just over the hour ... on the flat ... on flat bars (no idea how sat up you are though) - that's not a bad pace - but it's difficult to measure speed in isolation.

For progress measurements - you'd do well to note down (or record on GPS) your time/distance & course - don't forget to allow for weather because a tailwind really helps and cold, wet weather won't get you any PBs.

Personally I use Strava to track my progress and give me an indication (it's just an indication) of how fit I am (or not) compared to my peers. I have increased my fitness by around 15-20% in 2 years of commuting - most of that has been in the last 8-10 months. I've always had drop bars though ... ever since I was a kid .. tried flats for a bit but soon went back to drops - I just prefer them.

If you're serious about cycling fast then find a club near you and join in - you'll learn loads!

thecyclingnerd

djm501 wrote:

I don't understand what you mean there - of course you will go slower up the hills. But if you time yourself up the hill then you may just want to get quicker at climbing. Who won the Tour de France, Cavendish or Froome? Who's the better climber?
We can all go quick on the flat. If you really want a flat time, go to the velodrome.

And if you don't believe my first sentence, read the rules Rule number 68 :-) http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

I go up the steep bits at 9km/h, and then push the shorter, less steep bits at 13km/h.

thecyclingnerd

djm501 wrote:

And just wondering, but how far have you guys gotten after a year(on flat bars?).

Again, don't follow. Do you mean how far have we cycled or what was our rate of progress? Also why flat bars?
I rode about 4000 miles on my first bike last year on flat bars before I got a road bike with drops.

no, I mean how good was your average speed while you were using a flat-bar.

djm501

I can recall being about 15 mph average (24 kmh) over my local routes on my flatbar hybrid but then they are quite hilly. The least climby ride I do has about 1200 ft (400 metres) of climbing over 42 miles I think - rolling stuff over the Vale of Glamorgan. I can now do it at 18 mph (30 kmh) but that's on my roadbike which is quicker. There is almost no such thing as flat around here. I have little interest in flat rides anyway - climbs are much more interesting and challenging and a much better workout. Beating a bitch of a hill is a real personal achievement. I find flat ride have their own trickiness attached to them too - they can be very boring, with no let up from pedaling and wind can be a real pain.

Another thing you might want to bear in mind is that climbing will probably help your flat speed as it makes your legs stronger. Putting in lots and lots of base miles will help too. Think hundreds of miles a month.

As said, average speed means squat unless you take into account weather conditions, climbs etc.

You can measure average speed over *any* ride. Judge yourself against yourself, others' average speed is meaningless as you have no clue as to these factors on their rides. If and when you join a club and get a coach they may do stuff like measure your power output- that is a much better measure than most other things as that isn't subject to inclines/descents and weather.

Main thing though - don't forget to enjoy it

MickTheMove

It will be amazing how little you think about speed once a Doris starts to interfere with your cycling! Climbing is the kiddie! Get your average speeds up with some good climbs and compare yourself to others of the same age approx on strava covering the same distance and elevation, that will give you more of a sense of how you are doing.

But above all, enjoy it!

thecyclingnerd

MICKTHEMOVE wrote:

It will be amazing how little you think about speed once a Doris starts to interfere with your cycling! Climbing is the kiddie! Get your average speeds up with some good climbs and compare yourself to others of the same age approx on strava covering the same distance and elevation, that will give you more of a sense of how you are doing.

But above all, enjoy it!

My computer does not connect to Strava, but I do, In the future, plan on getting a computer for Strava, and websites like it. And I do plan on doing some hill reps around the hill I live on, has anyone else seen good results in their strength, endurance, and overall speed by doing hill reps.

djm501

Yes, absolutely.