Biking Faster
willowsimmons
Posts: 2 Member
I want to be able to bike 16 miles per hour for commuting purposes. I do not think it would be practical to train by riding my bike only, so what are some exercises to help with this?
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Replies
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Anything that will improve your cardiovascular system. Leg strength won't help.
Gear selection can have a profound effect too. Good tires will make you faster than all the squats and leg presses ever will.3 -
willowsimmons wrote: »I do not think it would be practical to train by riding my bike only, so what are some exercises to help with this?
Is that because you can't ride more, or because you think you need to do other stuff to train effectively?
If the first, then ok... focus on cardiovascular/endurance work.
If the second, then your wrong. More riding is a great way to become a better rider.3 -
Do you have any hills close by that you can ride up? Training regularly on hills makes you faster on the flats.
In the absence of hills try interval rides (ie going full tilt for a minute or two followed by a few minutes of recovery) alternating with steady state longer rides. You will get faster.....
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What type of terrain are you riding? How far? If there is a lot of stopping and starting, then you may never be able to make that mph. 16 mph is really fast for a commute. I had a friend with a 10 mile commute some of it on a bike trail who managed 15-16 mph, but his top speed without stopping was over 20 mph.2
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Totally agree with @Roza42 and my speed varies between 12 mph (through traffic and with inclines) and 17 mph (flat, dedicated bike lanes, good surfaces). Speed is also dependent on the equipment. I improved massively once I moved away from my mountain bike.0
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If you want to get better/faster at riding then ride more.
There really isn't much crossover from strength training in the gym to improving your cycling speed - the exceptions to this are primarilly sprinters working specifically for short burst speed - not speed endurance.
Power in cycling terms is far and away a function of your CV system rather than muscular power and it's riding a lot that produces the adaptations you need to improve that.
At 16mph aero is making a significant impact and the vast majority of your drag is from you and your clothing and riding position and not the bike.
What you may well benefit from is interval training on the bike. If you expand on what is your limiting factor then you can get more specific advice.
Cadence?
Hills?
Endurance?2 -
willowsimmons wrote: »I want to be able to bike 16 miles per hour for commuting purposes. I do not think it would be practical to train by riding my bike only, so what are some exercises to help with this?
The best way to get better/faster cycling is to cycle more. More distance will improve your CV system and you can ride faster on shorter rides. Hill repeats are beneficial in developing power. Intervals are good.
I did some cycling specific work in the gym when I was racing and doing more cycling events, but most of my improvement came from time in the saddle...lots of time in the saddle...my wife would say too much time in the saddle which is one of the big reasons I haven't been racing in a couple of years.2 -
Make sure your tires are full and your bike is fitted properly. Do sprints and hills. And it helps me to monitor my heart rate- sometimes it feels like I'm going pretty hard but I have a long way to go before I'm in my upper ranges. I could go a lot harder!0
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Spin class?
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What kind of bike do you commute on? Hope is it set up?0
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Clean bike is a fast bike. Keep your drive train clean and use your gears properly. It is more about spinning and keep your cadance up.0
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And red is the fastest colour. Get a red bike.5
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Get an ebike and go 20 miles per hour or better
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menotyou56 wrote: »Get an ebike and go 20 miles per hour or better
Ride more & go 20mph or more without any assistance......😁1 -
I'm doing Peleton spin classes at home. I don't own a Peleton but do have an 8 yr old trainer in the garage that shows watt output. (I also ride outdoors but less in winter.)
Peleton app is $19 per month w/o the bike. ($49 with bike....don't get it...). I'm doing power zone training. Doing longer endurance classes a couple of times per week. Speed work (one more threshold pace intervals, one more straight anarobic/power intervals) twice per week. I recommend it. Think I'm going to upgrade the garage bike but probably get a used spin bike as long as it shows watts.
I need to lose about 15 lbs (which is why I'm here...although it used to be 20...). And of course that will help a lot.
But I do recommend the Peleton app for indoor on demand spinning classes. And in particular recommend the power zone ones that were designed to improve outdoor performance. Lastly, anyone can do it. Joe's zone 4 output might be Linda's zone 2...they have zone ("FTP") test to help you figure it out. And, they have a few technical but easy rides where they are trying to teach smooth circular pedal strokes.
Anyway, I would recommend this.0 -
Supple tires. Or tyres if you prefer. People think narrow ones will be faster automatically, probably because of weight and maybe some aero. But there's more to it than that. It takes energy to flatten the bottom of the tire, and as long as the tire is rolling this is constantly happening. (You get some of that energy back when the back of the contact patch springs back to shape, but only some.)
Tires are the #1 best upgrade you can make to any bike. But you can only do it once. Grand Prix 4000 and 5000 are excellent tires.
Every 0.01 crr is like riding up an extra 0.1% gradient. Always, for every mile of every ride. Even when you're riding downhill it's like a less step hill, on the flat you're working exactly as hard as you would going up however step a hill the math works out to with a better tire. Unlike with air resistance this is constant at every speed and not helped by drafting or anything else.
Supple tires grip better in turns too.0 -
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huntersvonnegut wrote: »
"Sometimes you find the motivation, sometimes the motivation finds you," LOL.0 -
NorthCascades wrote: »Anything that will improve your cardiovascular system. Leg strength won't help.
Gear selection can have a profound effect too. Good tires will make you faster than all the squats and leg presses ever will.
Why do you say leg strength wont help ? If leg strength does not help why then do most contemporary cycling coaches recommend adding some weight /strength training to their riders training schedules ???2 -
mojavemtbr wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »Anything that will improve your cardiovascular system. Leg strength won't help.
Gear selection can have a profound effect too. Good tires will make you faster than all the squats and leg presses ever will.
Why do you say leg strength wont help ? If leg strength does not help why then do most contemporary cycling coaches recommend adding some weight /strength training to their riders training schedules ???
To make them better sprinters, hill climbers or for short duration bursts of power such as breaking away from the peloton.
Not to improve average speed on a commute.2 -
Also it really helps with durability. I have giant strong legs but my ftp is complete trash squatting 2.5 times my body weight has like no practical cross over.2
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mojavemtbr wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »Anything that will improve your cardiovascular system. Leg strength won't help.
Gear selection can have a profound effect too. Good tires will make you faster than all the squats and leg presses ever will.
Why do you say leg strength wont help ? If leg strength does not help why then do most contemporary cycling coaches recommend adding some weight /strength training to their riders training schedules ???
To make them better sprinters, hill climbers or for short duration bursts of power such as breaking away from the peloton.
Not to improve average speed on a commute.
I would say that all other things being equal: i.e. aerobic capacity, bodyweight, anaerobic threshold, etc...etc. the cyclist with the stronger legs will still be faster overall3 -
mojavemtbr wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »Anything that will improve your cardiovascular system. Leg strength won't help.
Gear selection can have a profound effect too. Good tires will make you faster than all the squats and leg presses ever will.
Why do you say leg strength wont help ? If leg strength does not help why then do most contemporary cycling coaches recommend adding some weight /strength training to their riders training schedules ???
Because the force you apply to the pedals is miniscule. Track cyclists do a lot of leg work in the gym because they can't shift gears, they only have one, and choose a high gear for going fast, which means a lot of force is required to get the bike moving at the start of a race. Mountain bikers can benefit from leg strength because they take on grades (steepness) you don't see on roads. But in terms of getting to work faster, the question this thread is about, pushing hard on the pedals 5 times, resting 2 minutes, and doing 4 more sets of that, isn't going to make you faster. If it was, all professional cyclists would be doing it because they couldn't afford not to - and that's not the case.
I'm not saying strength training is bad and you shouldn't do it, I'm saying it isn't the answer for commuting faster on a bike. Cycling is an aerobic sport.1 -
mojavemtbr wrote: »mojavemtbr wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »Anything that will improve your cardiovascular system. Leg strength won't help.
Gear selection can have a profound effect too. Good tires will make you faster than all the squats and leg presses ever will.
Why do you say leg strength wont help ? If leg strength does not help why then do most contemporary cycling coaches recommend adding some weight /strength training to their riders training schedules ???
To make them better sprinters, hill climbers or for short duration bursts of power such as breaking away from the peloton.
Not to improve average speed on a commute.
I would say that all other things being equal: i.e. aerobic capacity, bodyweight, anaerobic threshold, etc...etc. the cyclist with the stronger legs will still be faster overall
All other things being equal also means the amount of time you have to spend training. Taking some of that away from building aerobic capacity to lift is counter-productive.1 -
I understand what you are saying. However my personal experience is that Im a much better rider when I incorporate strengh training into my training than when I do not. But then I also mountain bike way more often than I do roadie rides so that may be why. But do find I can push a bigger gear on road rides at the same cadence and at the same exerertion level when I do strength train than periods when I dont.1
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I find some other benefits from lifting that apply to cycling. Renegade rows are kind of an obscure lift, I never see anyone else doing them at the gym, but they do a lot for my core, and also for the back my shoulders which carry some of my weight on the bike.0
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mojavemtbr wrote: »mojavemtbr wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »Anything that will improve your cardiovascular system. Leg strength won't help.
Gear selection can have a profound effect too. Good tires will make you faster than all the squats and leg presses ever will.
Why do you say leg strength wont help ? If leg strength does not help why then do most contemporary cycling coaches recommend adding some weight /strength training to their riders training schedules ???
To make them better sprinters, hill climbers or for short duration bursts of power such as breaking away from the peloton.
Not to improve average speed on a commute.
I would say that all other things being equal: i.e. aerobic capacity, bodyweight, anaerobic threshold, etc...etc. the cyclist with the stronger legs will still be faster overall
Seem to be veering away from the thread here - how to boost average speed.
And then you have to define "stronger".
Max power 30 second test perhaps? You know the one where your power starts to fall off a cliff after about 15 seconds of maximal effort. Squats and leg press are going to boost that power nicely.
Or maybe 60 min FTP test would be more relevant - strength endurance perhaps (but far and away a test of cardio endurance). Low rep strength training would a miniscule factor in that.
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Just slap some clip on aero bars on that bad boy boom instant speed. Hip angle be dammed1
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NorthCascades wrote: »
Tires are the #1 best upgrade you can make to any bike. But you can only do it once. Grand Prix 4000 and 5000 are excellent tires.
Agreed - check the rolling resistance and weight of any tire you plan on buying (most manufacturers post that data). I'm a huge fan of Continental tires too, the GP 5000 gives you a great combination of performance and puncture resistance. You could also consider going tubeless but that's a more expensive option.
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I've been riding tubeless for 3 years now. You need a little bit more mechanical aptitude, or you can pay the shop to set them up for you. Need a valve core remover tool, and maybe an air compressor. The tires are more expensive, but there are very good choices available.
I went from flatting once or twice a month to twice in three years. That's worth the expense and hassle for me. Changing a tube in 40F rain isn't fun, you're chilled before it's done, and then getting started again is miserable.
Also you get to run your tires softer which is a plusher ride, and gets you better RR on anything but the most pristine roads, like brand new pavement, or maybe an indoor track. You feel more planted through corners, and have slightly better breaking power because the lower air pressure creates a large contact patch.0
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