Why is my bike SO slow?!

[ridebikeme]

I know that you mentioned that it wasn't the brakes, so I would tend to think it is the wheels. It could be that the bearings need to be repacked, or perhaps the adjustment it too tight on the bearings and the wheel can't roll freely. It might be something that new bearings/grease will help.

The one thing that I always remind people of is to compare only that set of wheels, quite often we compare it them to more expensive wheels which better quality bearings, races, seals etc...

Let us know what you find out!

[Pedal Wench]

I was a rear wheel free-wheel fail on me. It would definitely make that bike harder to roll. Simple test - hold the bike up, give each wheel a spin and see how long they spin before slowing. Try it again on another bike and see if there's a significant difference.

[zoom-zoom]

I was a rear wheel free-wheel fail on me. It would definitely make that bike harder to roll. Simple test - hold the bike up, give each wheel a spin and see how long they spin before slowing. Try it again on another bike and see if there's a significant difference.

I just asked hubby and he said when he checked the wheels they spun as he'd expect them to--no obvious issues. He wonders if it's my fit on the bike (it's a size too small), but my fit is probably worse on my friend's Ala Carte (a 12.5" frame--tiny. My bike is just a hair <14" seat-tube) and that thing is easy peasy to move and keep moving.

[OakLeaf]

I was thinking it could be the freehub also, but mine never made any noise or significant drag until I was coasting above 30 mph for enough time to heat it up. LBS owner couldn't replicate it on the flats no matter how fast he got the bike, since he couldn't coast long enough to heat up (and therefore he wouldn't believe me... but that's another story ).

Still, that wouldn't affect you unless you're freewheeling. If it feels slow when the pawls are engaged - when you're pedaling fast enough to keep up with the wheel - it isn't the freehub.

Loose spokes - or just a floppier wheel overall? I had no idea how flexy spoked wheels are, and how much power you lose there, until the first time I rode a disc.

[Hi Ho Silver]

It could be due to many things-
-the grease in the wheel bearings is "packed up" (sorta solidified)
-the freehub needs cleaning & lubrication
-the wheels are not tensioned properly
-tires a/o tubes are clunkers
-the frame is misaligned or the dropouts are misaligned.

Frame and/or dropout misalignment (i.e., the front and rear wheels are not spinning in exactly the same plane) is often overlooked, but I had this problem on one of my bikes and the effects are very noticeable.

[zoom-zoom]

It could be due to many things-
-the grease in the wheel bearings is "packed up" (sorta solidified)
-the freehub needs cleaning & lubrication
-the wheels are not tensioned properly
-tires a/o tubes are clunkers
-the frame is misaligned or the dropouts are misaligned.

Frame and/or dropout misalignment (i.e., the front and rear wheels are not spinning in exactly the same plane) is often overlooked, but I had this problem on one of my bikes and the effects are very noticeable.

Those are all interesting possibilities. How easy is it to determine any of these possibilities and diagnose? The tubes and tires would be my last suspicion. I have Kenda Nevegals, which people around here always seem to rave about.

What is so frustrating is all the glowing reviews I read of the Cannondale F5. I have a friend with the EXACT same bike (Cdale had a bunch of the petite size sitting in a warehouse and essentially liquidated them about a year ago). She rides far less than I do and on the road with our road bikes I can ride circles around her. On trails I can barely keep up with her and end up beating myself up trying to do so.

[laura*]

The tubes and tires would be my last suspicion. I have Kenda Nevegals, which people around here always seem to rave about.

Could the tires be inflated too much? It sounds counter intuitive because higher inflation means less sidewall flex and thus less energy lost flexing the sidewalls. However, overinflation also makes you bounce over every little road/trail irregularity. Lifting you up a millimeter and then dropping back down takes a lot more energy than you might save in reduced sidewall flex.

A nearby university has a sidewalk / utility road where one side is concrete and the other is asphalt. Riding on the concrete is annoying because of the constant thump-thump across each expansion joint. However, it is the easier and faster ride. In contrast, the asphalt has constant rolling irregularities that just sap all my energy and speed.

[Hi Ho Silver]

Those are all interesting possibilities. How easy is it to determine any of these possibilities and diagnose? The tubes and tires would be my last suspicion. I have Kenda Nevegals, which people around here always seem to rave about.

What is so frustrating is all the glowing reviews I read of the Cannondale F5. I have a friend with the EXACT same bike (Cdale had a bunch of the petite size sitting in a warehouse and essentially liquidated them about a year ago). She rides far less than I do and on the road with our road bikes I can ride circles around her. On trails I can barely keep up with her and end up beating myself up trying to do so.

The first thing to check would be wheel trueness. "Dish" (proper spacing of the rims between the dropouts) and "lateral trueness" (no side-to-side warping of the rims) are most relevant here. Roundness of the rims (vertical trueness) wouldn't affect tracking.

The easiest way to check the rims is with a truing stand and a dishing tool, but you can improvise tools to do a quick check of trueness (http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html#improvised). Spoke tension can be checked with a special tool, or in a pinch, by listening to the tone when the spokes are plucked (http://www.bikexprt.com/bicycle/tension.htm). Check Sheldon Brown's web site for truing methods.

Checking the frame alignment is best done with a special tool. You could do a preliminary check of alignment by improvising (http://sheldonbrown.com/forkend-alignment.html), but your best bet is to take the bike to your local bike shop -they should be willing to check alignment for for free, or for a very minimal charge.

[Pedal Wench]

I was thinking it could be the freehub also, but mine never made any noise or significant drag until I was coasting above 30 mph for enough time to heat it up. LBS owner couldn't replicate it on the flats no matter how fast he got the bike, since he couldn't coast long enough to heat up (and therefore he wouldn't believe me... but that's another story ).

Lemme guess... Mavic's? Mine would only happen after a long downhill (spent the summer in Colorado, they're hard to avoid!) and then would make a god-awful screeching sound.

[OakLeaf]

I think we may have talked about this when it happened. Mine was so loud that cars coming the other direction pulled over.

[Pedal Wench]

I think we may have talked about this when it happened. Mine was so loud that cars coming the other direction pulled over.

Ha! Sounds like the same thing. Mine was just this summer, and it was terrifying when it would start howling. Just got home so I can finally get it fixed.

[zoom-zoom]

I was thinking it could be the freehub also, but mine never made any noise or significant drag until I was coasting above 30 mph for enough time to heat it up. LBS owner couldn't replicate it on the flats no matter how fast he got the bike, since he couldn't coast long enough to heat up (and therefore he wouldn't believe me... but that's another story ).

Still, that wouldn't affect you unless you're freewheeling. If it feels slow when the pawls are engaged - when you're pedaling fast enough to keep up with the wheel - it isn't the freehub.

Loose spokes - or just a floppier wheel overall? I had no idea how flexy spoked wheels are, and how much power you lose there, until the first time I rode a disc.

Yeah, it still feels slow when I pedal. People in front of me can be coasting down a hill and I can't even gain on them while pedaling like mad.

Maybe floppy wheels. They are definitely low-end wheels. Unfortunately we'd likely not put money into replacing them, even though they do seem to be the lowest-rent componentry on the bike.. I'm not sure how I can convinced DS to want to ride with us when this thing is such a dog. It's pretty demoralizing for a kid to have to work so hard to keep up with his chubby old folks!

[Becky]

Nevs are definitely a slow tire (but they grip everything!!), so I wouldn't discount that. If it were me, I'd start with re-packing and re-adjusting the hubs, and see what results that yields.

[zoom-zoom]

Nevs are definitely a slow tire (but they grip everything!!), so I wouldn't discount that. If it were me, I'd start with re-packing and re-adjusting the hubs, and see what results that yields.

I suggested looking at the hubs (since that seems to be such a common suggestion) to DH and he's out monkeying with our CX bikes for tomorrow's race and said if he has time he'll see what he can figure out. He knows his way around bikes pretty well (has changed out the drive-train multiple times on his kludged-together CX bike and does nearly all the maintenance on our bikes), but I'm not sure he's ever done much with hubs.

[dianne_1234]

Nevs are definitely a slow tire (but they grip everything!!), so I wouldn't discount that.

http://www.kendausa.com/en/home/bicy...n/nevegal.aspx

There are lots of Nevs, some very heavy (read: lots of ruber to flex and eat up your energy). I'm with Becky: try known-good tires before getting rid of the bike.