Make me faster
Discussion
I’m somewhat confused.
I recently (in the last year) moved up from a racer that you couldn’t give away (80’s Raleigh) with nice thick crumbling tyres, buckled wheels…well you get the gist. It still flew me from Nottingham to Leicester and back though, often overtaking other riders in full garb.
The newly purchased racer (a Raleigh Record) was bought from EBay and was only 52 squid, but the difference was astonishing. It was like going from a Austin allegro to a new Ford Mondeo. The brakes were sharp, the tyres were pencil thin (and fully pumped up) and the whole bike looked superb. I was in love.
I found I was easily knocking twenty minutes off my Leic/Notts time and could average very quick speeds. No one was going to catch me….well that was until last weekend.
As I dashed through the outskirts of Loughborough I noticed five synchronized cyclists up ahead, all decked out in fluorescent lycra and sunglasses…with, what looked like, the latest lightweight racers. I desperately wanted to get close, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t even touch them and to make matters worse the following group caught me up and raced past.
Would a £5k bike really make that much difference?
Will it last very long? (im 15 stone and im sure that makes a difference on the longevity of the bicycle)
Ok, im a tight buggar, but I know id appreciate a 5k bike much more if I start with old bangers and work my way up.
I also cycle about 150 miles a week, so I know it’ll get some use.
Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
I recently (in the last year) moved up from a racer that you couldn’t give away (80’s Raleigh) with nice thick crumbling tyres, buckled wheels…well you get the gist. It still flew me from Nottingham to Leicester and back though, often overtaking other riders in full garb.
The newly purchased racer (a Raleigh Record) was bought from EBay and was only 52 squid, but the difference was astonishing. It was like going from a Austin allegro to a new Ford Mondeo. The brakes were sharp, the tyres were pencil thin (and fully pumped up) and the whole bike looked superb. I was in love.
I found I was easily knocking twenty minutes off my Leic/Notts time and could average very quick speeds. No one was going to catch me….well that was until last weekend.
As I dashed through the outskirts of Loughborough I noticed five synchronized cyclists up ahead, all decked out in fluorescent lycra and sunglasses…with, what looked like, the latest lightweight racers. I desperately wanted to get close, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t even touch them and to make matters worse the following group caught me up and raced past.
Would a £5k bike really make that much difference?
Will it last very long? (im 15 stone and im sure that makes a difference on the longevity of the bicycle)
Ok, im a tight buggar, but I know id appreciate a 5k bike much more if I start with old bangers and work my way up.
I also cycle about 150 miles a week, so I know it’ll get some use.
Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
d1bble said:
I’m somewhat confused.
Why, at what?d1bble said:
I noticed five synchronized cyclists up ahead, all decked out in fluorescent lycra and sunglasses…with, what looked like, the latest lightweight racers. I desperately wanted to get close, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t even touch them
That's because they are better riders than you.It's not the bike you ride - be it £5 or £5000. It's that you're riding and enjoying it. Those 'all the gear and no idea' guys you are ridiculing pump huge amounts of money into the industry, which in turn means more development and better bikes for all - if they want it.
If you want to improve your cycling performance then Cycling Plus has a section each month on training and nutrition. There are lots of books on training for cycling to. Do it to get more enjoyment out of cycling not to try and show up other riders.
Bluntly, your post comes accross as rather arogant and in the vein of Harry Enfield's 'Better than yeeow' character. Personally, not the sort of person I would like to ride with. For Society's sake I hope I'm wrong.
Edited by mk1fan on Saturday 11th August 16:01
d1bble said:
I found I was easily knocking twenty minutes off my Leic/Notts time and could average very quick speeds. No one was going to catch me….well that was until last weekend.
so give us an idea how far in how long?d1bble said:
As I dashed through the outskirts of Loughborough I noticed five synchronized cyclists up ahead
That probably answers your own question.You're riding 150miles a week which is probably more than a quite a few of the riders you're aspiring to be like....however 5 riders riding in perfect synchronisation means that each of them is working 15/20% less than you.
If we assume that all of the 5 are of the same level as you then if they work as hard as you they will be going 15/20% Faster.
Assuming you're a good rider and you're averaging 18mph on your ride they will be averaging 20mph.
It sounds in your post as though there was another "gang" coming up behind the 1st therefore this indicates that it might be a club out training therefore the 1st gang won't be averaging only 20mph.
When the 2nd gang came through did you drop onto the rear wheel of the last rider or not?
mk1fan said:
Why, at what?
I'm confused at something which i don’t understand and thought the knowledge of people on PH would put me straight.mk1fan said:
Those 'all the gear and no idea' guys you are ridiculing
I'm not ridiculing them; it’s basically a description that you have interpreted as being negative. And i haven’t called them 'all gear and no idea', that was you. They obviously know what they are doing as there bloody quick.mk1fan said:
Do it to get more enjoyment out of cycling not to try and show up other riders.
Bloody hell chap, im not trying to show them up!!, but trying to compete and wondered if it would help to get a quicker bike. mk1fan said:
Bluntly, your post comes accross as rather arogant and in the vein of Harry Enfield's 'Better than yeeow' character. Personally, not the sort of person I would like to ride with. For Society's sake I hope I'm wrong.
That’s a bit out of order, i have never (hopefully) posted anything before that wouldn’t make me look arrogant, but i suppose that’s your opinion. Also, im not saying im better than someone else...i ride a 50 quid bike.Trooper2 said:
I totally agree with mk1fan, the cyclists you were trying to catch probably ride 400+ miles per week. Putting in the mileage would make more of a difference than whether you are riding a $400.00 bike or a $3000.00 bike.
Thanks Trooper2, i see what you’re saying. I'd be struggling to find the time for 400+ miles a week.Marcellus said:
so give us an idea how far in how long?
I average about 18 mile an hour, but it is a tad hilly between Leic/Nottsd1bble said:
As I dashed through the outskirts of Loughborough I noticed five synchronized cyclists up ahead
Marcellus said:
That probably answers your own question.
You're riding 150miles a week which is probably more than a quite a few of the riders you're aspiring to be like....however 5 riders riding in perfect synchronisation means that each of them is working 15/20% less than you.
If we assume that all of the 5 are of the same level as you then if they work as hard as you they will be going 15/20% Faster.
Assuming you're a good rider and you're averaging 18mph on your ride they will be averaging 20mph.
It sounds in your post as though there was another "gang" coming up behind the 1st therefore this indicates that it might be a club out training therefore the 1st gang won't be averaging only 20mph.
When the 2nd gang came through did you drop onto the rear wheel of the last rider or not?
I didn't know that (about the 15/20%) You're riding 150miles a week which is probably more than a quite a few of the riders you're aspiring to be like....however 5 riders riding in perfect synchronisation means that each of them is working 15/20% less than you.
If we assume that all of the 5 are of the same level as you then if they work as hard as you they will be going 15/20% Faster.
Assuming you're a good rider and you're averaging 18mph on your ride they will be averaging 20mph.
It sounds in your post as though there was another "gang" coming up behind the 1st therefore this indicates that it might be a club out training therefore the 1st gang won't be averaging only 20mph.
When the 2nd gang came through did you drop onto the rear wheel of the last rider or not?
Yep, i think it was a club training session and no i didn’t drop onto their rear wheel as i had to turn off just down the road, but I see your point.
I don' think your weight will have any adverse effect on a "carbon bike" or shorten it's life...yes you would notice a difference but not purely down to the frame......the gears will be more precise, the brakes sharper, the wheels with a lower rolling resistance etc etc etc...will it make you significantly faster.....I doubt it....I went from a "good" bike to a "really good bike" and apart from feeling better was actually no quicker in races!!
Marcellus said:
I don' think your weight will have any adverse effect on a "carbon bike" or shorten it's life...yes you would notice a difference but not purely down to the frame......the gears will be more precise, the brakes sharper, the wheels with a lower rolling resistance etc etc etc...will it make you significantly faster.....I doubt it....I went from a "good" bike to a "really good bike" and apart from feeling better was actually no quicker in races!!
That's all i wanted to know. Thanks Marcellus. mk1fan said:
If you want to improve your cycling performance then Cycling Plus has a section each month on training and nutrition. There are lots of books on training for cycling to. Do it to get more enjoyment out of cycling not to try and show up other riders.
You say that cycling plus has training programs and diets in them ! Edited by mk1fan on Saturday 11th August 16:01
How do able are they i find the ones in mens health are very time consuming and having a job and a family i would find it hard to work with. I know you only get out what you put in but i need to be reailistic and find i cant fit everything in.
I haven't tried them as I'm content with my current level of performance. The training tips are straight forward to incorporate into an existing riding schedule but if you're not riding regularily then you need to find time for that.
As for the food then, imoho, if you eat a balanced diet then you shouldn't need to get too into nutrition (medical reasons aside). However, eating good, healthy food does require more time than phoning the local curry house. Which, to be fair, isn't a bad thing to do once in while.
As for the OP. As I read your post there seemed to be alot of points that weren't relevant to what you were / are trying to find out. And it came accross to me as bragging rather than an asking for help.
I didn't say you called them 'all the gear and no idea'. I was summerising how I had read and interpreted your post.
To use your analogy, yes it would be like jumping from a fiesta to an F1 car. But an F1 car with a fiesta engine.
Frame design has changed a lot since the time of your Raleigh. As has componentry.
I'm 15 stone and haven't had any issues with frames in the last 20 years of riding. I have had issues with wheelsets though. My commuting bike has a set of 36 spoke Deore mtb hubs laced to, oddly enough, 36 hole Mavic A319 rims because the original Scott branded items were too flimsy and broke atleast once a month / 600 miles. Similarly, I ride 321 rims on my Stiffee whereas my, lighter, riding buddies use 717's.
Why don't you join a local Bike Club. There's no faster way of improving than riding with guys that are better than you.
As for the food then, imoho, if you eat a balanced diet then you shouldn't need to get too into nutrition (medical reasons aside). However, eating good, healthy food does require more time than phoning the local curry house. Which, to be fair, isn't a bad thing to do once in while.
As for the OP. As I read your post there seemed to be alot of points that weren't relevant to what you were / are trying to find out. And it came accross to me as bragging rather than an asking for help.
I didn't say you called them 'all the gear and no idea'. I was summerising how I had read and interpreted your post.
To use your analogy, yes it would be like jumping from a fiesta to an F1 car. But an F1 car with a fiesta engine.
Frame design has changed a lot since the time of your Raleigh. As has componentry.
I'm 15 stone and haven't had any issues with frames in the last 20 years of riding. I have had issues with wheelsets though. My commuting bike has a set of 36 spoke Deore mtb hubs laced to, oddly enough, 36 hole Mavic A319 rims because the original Scott branded items were too flimsy and broke atleast once a month / 600 miles. Similarly, I ride 321 rims on my Stiffee whereas my, lighter, riding buddies use 717's.
Why don't you join a local Bike Club. There's no faster way of improving than riding with guys that are better than you.
Lots of valid points on here about how to go about getting faster, so I'll just comment on the bike angle. As commented above, your bike design is quite old and an improvement could be had for small beer rather than £5k.
The biggest difference you will find is using brake lever mounted gear shifters, these speed up your gear changes considerably and make a massive difference on hills meaning you rarely get stuck in the wrong gear - this is the most speed improvement you will get from changing bike alone.
Next up is the number of gears. If you live in a hlly area then you 'may' benefit from having more gears so you've always got the right one to hand. Modern bikes have 10 speeds at the back and 2 or 3 at the front so 20-30 gears as standard - just slightly more than your current 12/14 IIRC.
Other than that, the bike magazines from time to time do rollign resistance tyre tests. Now I haven't seen one of these for years (as I no longer cycle
), but the results used to suggest 23mm tyres were most efficient - however, these tests never took lateral grip into equation.
So those are the only areas that you could expect to get an actual speed improvement - and they would be very minimal. The other angle to look at is endurance. If you can cycle further with less effort then you can afford to spend more energy in a short burst to look good going past other people. Again, besides training there is one noticeable way the bike itself can help you here - get a custom made frame. Tailor made to fit you it would be very comfortable and handle well for your weight/build. Plently of advert in the mags.
Have fun with whatever you choose to do!
The biggest difference you will find is using brake lever mounted gear shifters, these speed up your gear changes considerably and make a massive difference on hills meaning you rarely get stuck in the wrong gear - this is the most speed improvement you will get from changing bike alone.
Next up is the number of gears. If you live in a hlly area then you 'may' benefit from having more gears so you've always got the right one to hand. Modern bikes have 10 speeds at the back and 2 or 3 at the front so 20-30 gears as standard - just slightly more than your current 12/14 IIRC.
Other than that, the bike magazines from time to time do rollign resistance tyre tests. Now I haven't seen one of these for years (as I no longer cycle
), but the results used to suggest 23mm tyres were most efficient - however, these tests never took lateral grip into equation.So those are the only areas that you could expect to get an actual speed improvement - and they would be very minimal. The other angle to look at is endurance. If you can cycle further with less effort then you can afford to spend more energy in a short burst to look good going past other people. Again, besides training there is one noticeable way the bike itself can help you here - get a custom made frame. Tailor made to fit you it would be very comfortable and handle well for your weight/build. Plently of advert in the mags.
Have fun with whatever you choose to do!
5k bike is nice to own, but be warned they are made partly as a marketing as to who can have the highest priced bike in the range, secondly they are usually out and out race bikes, often with twitchy handling, so you need to be able to ride it to get the maximum out of it.
Half the budget and you can still have your pick of some of the best bikes on the planet, in fairness you will be hard pushed to pick out a 1k bike from a 2k on the scales or by riding, the law of diminishing returns soon comes into play.
Best thing you can do, is buy two, one for the summer, a nice light super machine, and a cheap touring bike with guards, go out and get the miles in your legs, lots and lots of miles, ride out with a tail wind, then grovel back in the head wind. Do this all winter and early spring, and not until it is warm enough for shorts even get on your best bike, then you will have power in your legs and stamina and notice the nimbleness of the lighter bike, and enjoy it.
No one can win a road race with a cheque book alone.
Half the budget and you can still have your pick of some of the best bikes on the planet, in fairness you will be hard pushed to pick out a 1k bike from a 2k on the scales or by riding, the law of diminishing returns soon comes into play.
Best thing you can do, is buy two, one for the summer, a nice light super machine, and a cheap touring bike with guards, go out and get the miles in your legs, lots and lots of miles, ride out with a tail wind, then grovel back in the head wind. Do this all winter and early spring, and not until it is warm enough for shorts even get on your best bike, then you will have power in your legs and stamina and notice the nimbleness of the lighter bike, and enjoy it.
No one can win a road race with a cheque book alone.
I would give your existing bike a thorough service before spending money on something else. i went from an ageing but perfectly maintained raleigh to a nice bespoke built ribble and was so disappointed i stripped the ribble and built it again .. the initial build was shocking .. and even then there was only a small improvement in the overall feel of the bike compared to my old machine. i used to do about 250 miles a week "back in the day"
if you want to go fast you have to get areodynamic.I do some racing and have quite a bit of data.It takes me about 390watts to do 40kph on a top spec traditional road bike(legal for competition)On a time trial bike with a disc wheel and a tri spoke, areo lid and skin suit i can do about 5kph faster, simply because there is less drag.
On my mtb i can only manage about 36-37kph at 390watts, but thats because of the extra drag from the tyres and a more upright position.
As some cycling dude wrote, its not about the bike!Well it is when you've reached your body potential and you want every advantage you can get.
I'd say its more like comparing a defender on off road tyres to a diesel fiesta
On my mtb i can only manage about 36-37kph at 390watts, but thats because of the extra drag from the tyres and a more upright position.
As some cycling dude wrote, its not about the bike!Well it is when you've reached your body potential and you want every advantage you can get.
I'd say its more like comparing a defender on off road tyres to a diesel fiesta
I agree with BadgerBenji. It's like most things in life you see a lot of improvement for little money at the low to medium end of the range then the cost/improvement ratio increases terribly toward the top end of technology, lots of money little gain is waht I'm saying. I am sure you will easily see an improvement spending half of the £5k, even less than that I suspect.
Joining a club is a great idea, when you ride in a bunch you ride faster and further.
Joining a club is a great idea, when you ride in a bunch you ride faster and further.
BadgerBenji said:
5k bike is nice to own, but be warned they are made partly as a marketing as to who can have the highest priced bike in the range, secondly they are usually out and out race bikes, often with twitchy handling, so you need to be able to ride it to get the maximum out of it.
Half the budget and you can still have your pick of some of the best bikes on the planet, in fairness you will be hard pushed to pick out a 1k bike from a 2k on the scales or by riding, the law of diminishing returns soon comes into play.
Best thing you can do, is buy two, one for the summer, a nice light super machine, and a cheap touring bike with guards, go out and get the miles in your legs, lots and lots of miles, ride out with a tail wind, then grovel back in the head wind. Do this all winter and early spring, and not until it is warm enough for shorts even get on your best bike, then you will have power in your legs and stamina and notice the nimbleness of the lighter bike, and enjoy it.
No one can win a road race with a cheque book alone.
Half the budget and you can still have your pick of some of the best bikes on the planet, in fairness you will be hard pushed to pick out a 1k bike from a 2k on the scales or by riding, the law of diminishing returns soon comes into play.
Best thing you can do, is buy two, one for the summer, a nice light super machine, and a cheap touring bike with guards, go out and get the miles in your legs, lots and lots of miles, ride out with a tail wind, then grovel back in the head wind. Do this all winter and early spring, and not until it is warm enough for shorts even get on your best bike, then you will have power in your legs and stamina and notice the nimbleness of the lighter bike, and enjoy it.
No one can win a road race with a cheque book alone.
Just for clarification, even £250 for a new bike would include the main points I made in my post so I'm not suggesting spending anythng like £5k. 
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff