I want to ride faster

[momof4greatkids]

...thank you for sharing your advice. My tires are 32cc. A good ride for me is 42 miles at 14.8 mph, with some small hills, no big grades. I really don't do much climbing here in Ohio, it's more like little rollers.

That link is amazing! I have so much to learn, gotta admit a lot of those variables go right over my head.

Geonz, my ambition is to do RAIN, but I cannot see myself averaging 17.9 on my bike, but your story gives me hope!

Colleen

[Veronica]

Using calculators for climbs has an important limitation - when you plug in the numbers, % grade, etc - the assumption is that the climb is steady, and I've yet to see a climb of any significant length that fits such a description.

You need to come to the Bay Area then.



This is a fairly steady grade. There is one spot around 2,000 feet where it kicks up to 9%. The last tenth of a mile is 17%. Otherwise it's fairly steady 5 to 6 % for 11 miles.

V.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

...thank you for sharing your advice. My tires are 32cc. A good ride for me is 42 miles at 14.8 mph, with some small hills, no big grades. I really don't do much climbing here in Ohio, it's more like little rollers.

Wow, that's fast if you ask me!
I have 700c x 38c tires - really WIDE, I know, but I started with them on purpose when I started riding 5 months ago- I was scared to death of skidding on the gravely roads we ride here. Was scared of traffic too. Many small but steep hills here, and not many flat stretches of more than a mile or so. Also, my lugged steel bike is somewhat heavy- 27 lbs fully loaded. With all this, I tend to average only 9.5 mph! Pathetic, I know.

But I am over my skidding fears at this point after 5 months of riding now...so I am about to switch to 700 x 27c tires. I suspect that's going to make a big difference for me, going from 38 to 27 width. Lately I've actually been feeling my tires were sort of gluing me to the road! But we do lots of very rough gravel wooded backroads, so I don't want to go thinner than the 27's.

I think you are FAST, girl!

[Kano]

That calculator is interesting!

According to it, I think I need to lose 40-some pounds of me to equal the change I'd make by losing about fifteen pounds of bike.

Now, losing 40 pounds of me is a really good idea, since the combination of losing some of me and losing some bike weight is HUGE!

Karen in Boise

[Geonz]

If you go to skinnier tires, you'll go faster for cheap.

However, it sounds like you've made a sort of psychological transition... you want to be a roadie

Ride some. See how they feel. (I have not found one that doesn't make me irritable after 30 miles - maybe I have some "core muscle" issues so I don't do the aerobic position well ??... we'll see what spring-semester-yoga can do for me. Sitting poses give me *exactly* the same bad mood...)

[mimitabby]

...thank you for sharing your advice. My tires are 32cc. A good ride for me is 42 miles at 14.8 mph, with some small hills, no big grades. I really don't do much climbing here in Ohio, it's more like little rollers.

That link is amazing! I have so much to learn, gotta admit a lot of those variables go right over my head.

Geonz, my ambition is to do RAIN, but I cannot see myself averaging 17.9 on my bike, but your story gives me hope!

Colleen

Colleen
you can probably put narrower tires on your bike. Take it to a bike shop and ask. That will improve your speed a little without your having to spend a fortune.

[Geonz]

...thank you for sharing your advice. My tires are 32cc. A good ride for me is 42 miles at 14.8 mph, with some small hills, no big grades. I really don't do much climbing here in Ohio, it's more like little rollers.

That link is amazing! I have so much to learn, gotta admit a lot of those variables go right over my head.

Geonz, my ambition is to do RAIN, but I cannot see myself averaging 17.9 on my bike, but your story gives me hope!

Colleen

As weather goddess, I brought a tailwind. Since it's a one-way ride, it helped a lot

Is that 14.8 under your own power or in a group? I ended up linking up with folks for big chunks of RAIN , and of course a paceline sticks another 2 or 3 mph onto your speed. I'm fortunate in that we have a Tuesday Tour that goes long miles at 14-15... and I learned how to do the paceline thing at those speeds, with just a few people in sort of a "low-key" way before I ever got on speedier ones.

[DirtDiva]

Riding in a group is kewl - On my Tuesday night rides I go about 5km/h (3mph) faster for the same amount of effort as riding solo. (Until the speed goes over 35km/h - then my legs fall off. )

[momof4greatkids]

As weather goddess, I brought a tailwind. Since it's a one-way ride, it helped a lot

Is that 14.8 under your own power or in a group? I ended up linking up with folks for big chunks of RAIN , and of course a paceline sticks another 2 or 3 mph onto your speed. I'm fortunate in that we have a Tuesday Tour that goes long miles at 14-15... and I learned how to do the paceline thing at those speeds, with just a few people in sort of a "low-key" way before I ever got on speedier ones.

Let me know please when you plan to ride it next and tell me so I can benefit from your tail-wind wielding powers also! If it's a one way ride, how do you get back to the start?

That 14.8 is by myself. I'd like to ride with others, I'm just not sure how to hook up. Seems like all the folks I see in pacelines and groups all have road bikes and are going much faster than lonely ole' me on my hybrid.

Colleen

[momof4greatkids]

Colleen
you can probably put narrower tires on your bike. Take it to a bike shop and ask. That will improve your speed a little without your having to spend a fortune.

This sounds like a very logical and fiscally responsible first step I really don't want to spend a lot of money right now, so skinnier tires could be just the ticket.

Colleen

[momof4greatkids]

Wow, that's fast if you ask me!
I have 700c x 38c tires - really WIDE, I know, but I started with them on purpose when I started riding 5 months ago- I was scared to death of skidding on the gravely roads we ride here. Was scared of traffic too. Many small but steep hills here, and not many flat stretches of more than a mile or so. Also, my lugged steel bike is somewhat heavy- 27 lbs fully loaded. With all this, I tend to average only 9.5 mph! Pathetic, I know.

But I am over my skidding fears at this point after 5 months of riding now...so I am about to switch to 700 x 27c tires. I suspect that's going to make a big difference for me, going from 38 to 27 width. Lately I've actually been feeling my tires were sort of gluing me to the road! But we do lots of very rough gravel wooded backroads, so I don't want to go thinner than the 27's.

I think you are FAST, girl!

Sometimes I think I am doing fine until a group of very fit and handsome and MUCH younger men fly by me on their bikes That's when I think, I gotta get faster!

I think you are doing very fine especially w/the terrain. You will probably feel like you are being pushed by angels when you go to the skinny tires! I know that's how I felt when I switched from my mtn bike to the hybrid. I remember thinking, this feels effortless!

I'm in a rural area, so roads are not as daunting. But now that it's more wintery and getting dark so early, I like to stick to the trail. I'm 99% of the time riding alone, so I always try to be very cautious.

Colleen

[Geonz]

They're going fast ***because*** they're all riding together.

Pacelines are truly an animal of their own, wiht their own physics *and* psychology. It is most certainly more than a question of being able to go fast. I'd highly, highly recommend finding somebody to help you learn drafting skills (though perhaps you're braver than I ;-)). It really helped me to be able to practice with one or two people and ask questions. Most of those 'young guy' pacelines are going too fast to allow for questions, and mistakes can land people in hospital.

Get the tires - you'll ***love it***

[Cassandra_Cain]

You can save an enormous amount of energy while drafting. Most especially the further back you are in the line.

Case in point...

This past weekend I was riding in the number 4 slot of a paceline. While I was putting out 210 watts, the guy who was pulling was hitting 300 w. That is not a small difference by any stretch.

Most things I've read suggest that depending on what position you ride within the paceline, you can save as much as 35%.

[momof4greatkids]

They're going fast ***because*** they're all riding together.

Pacelines are truly an animal of their own, wiht their own physics *and* psychology. It is most certainly more than a question of being able to go fast. I'd highly, highly recommend finding somebody to help you learn drafting skills (though perhaps you're braver than I ;-)). It really helped me to be able to practice with one or two people and ask questions. Most of those 'young guy' pacelines are going too fast to allow for questions, and mistakes can land people in hospital.

Get the tires - you'll ***love it***

How much will a new set of tires cost, on average? This might be a good thing to put on my Christmas wish list. Do I need new wheels, or just the tires? What does the "c" stand for in the measurement, ie, 700 x 32 c ?

Am I asking too many "noob" questions?

Thank you!

Colleen

[Triskeliongirl]

32 c means your tires are 32 mm wide. You shouldn't need new wheels just new tires, but depending on your rim its not clear how narrow you can go. The best is to bring your bike to a LBS and ask. 32 mm is 1 1/4", 28mm is 1 1/8", 25 mm is 1", 23 mm is ~3/4" for comparison sake. You also want to get a tire that is smooth, light and goes to high pressure. Tires can cost anywhere from $15 to $60 each depending on how fancy they are.