Speeding up a steel touring bike

[mattsccm]

You will get/have gots lots of comments say don't worry or comfort is all. True enough but if you wanted those you wouldn't ask,
If I was you I would ditch all surplus weight. You and the bike. A kilo off the bike will feel better than a kilo off you by the way. Fast tyres help but don't keep elephant skin like tubes either. Maybe leave the mudgaurds until the night before.
Marathons are hefty in any form. Depends on where you come from I guess.I won't even use them on my gravel commuter. I would be looking for some nice 28mm things. Enough to take out the bumps but minimal weight penalty. Each to their own of course.
Can you lower your position? You have time to get used to it. You are very upright. The more aero the better. That's why keen TTers do it. You could even bung some cheap TT aero bars on.
It all depends on just how quick you want to go.
Nothing at all wrong in wanting to look good and keep up with your mates.

[531colin]

If you are on Marathon Greenguard, then Marathon Supremes will feel like flying.
I would leave the guards on unless you are guaranteed a fine dry day, because I hate having a wet bum all day.
Pay attention to feeding, watering, and establish a good fitness work-up for the months before the event.
Most people wanting to "press on" on a long ride find a high cadence (high pedal revs) works best to conserve energy, but you need to be used to doing it..
Are you very tall? I know the photo of the bike is distorted, because the wheels are taller than they are wide, but its still a big frame with a lot of seatpost showing.

[mig]

a 100 mile ride in the UK in spring without mudguards? i'd forego the aero advantage of removing them every time in favour of drier feet and back. a 28/35c rear tyre spraying up for many a mile isn't a good thing at all. to me that's akin to planning to definitely ride the event in shorts come what may.

[bohrsatom]

Wow - what a varied set of responses! I particularly like the suggestion of keeping the kickstand on to show that I'm not taking it too seriously Thank you all.

Tbh my only concern speed-wise is there's an 8 hour time limit - I'm not too fussed about finishing alongside all the roadies, I just want to make it to the line before the broom wagon!
According to my Garmin my long term average speed is a little over 12mph, but that includes all my riding - including to the pub, the shops and pootling around the park. The event is the Ridelondon which heads out into Essex, so on reasonably flat closed roads I'm hoping I can get 13mph/14mph across the entire distance.

Changing the tyres has been mentioned regularly so I'll definitely do some research into that. The rolling resistance of the Marathon Greenguards is poor so I'll find something more suitable, especially given the route'll be on roads rather than the National Cycle Network.

I'll play around with my position a bit too. I'm not against lowering the bars, although they ended up at this height as I was getting some back pain when riding the bike fully loaded on longer multiday tours (the cycling I'm most used to). Perhaps I'll shift it down a spacer at a time and see how I get on.

Finally, thanks for the tips on pacing and nutrition. I give no thought to either of these on my "longer" day rides (50-60 miles) and just travel at the speed I feel like, stopping for coffee/cake or perhaps even pint and a ploughman's mid journey. Neither of these will be an option on the 100 miler

Edit
PS - I'm 6ft1 and the bike is the 57cm frame

[LuckyLuke]

Hi, I rode the first two RideLondons, the route went from Stratford to the Surrey Hills and back at the time.
The closed roads, abundance of riders and the adrenaline meant for a fast pace. There were so many riders there’s always a wheel to latch onto. It felt like being in a grand tour peloton.
This style of riding is not really my thing at all. I saw a lot of crashes and kamikaze cycling. Brace yourself! However, the drafting deffo speeded things up.
On these big ride events feed stations can be chaotic, and it’s easy to lose time traipsing around. The snacks / gels on offer might not be to your taste. They can run out of supplies too, particularly if you’re at the back. I’d recommend a top tube bag or handlebar bag with your favourite snacks for grazing on the go. Glucose tablets, jelly babies, dried fruit etc. 2x 750ml+ bottles, perhaps another bottle on the underside of the down tube. All to allow you to bounce/skip a feedstation if desired.
Re the Rene Herse tyres mentioned upthread. I have a few pairs, including the 700 x 32s. They are fast rolling, grippy and super comfy. My absolute favourite tyres. But very expensive. You could dress your spare wheel set with them and keep this for fast rides. However, if you wanted to save cash I’d get Panaracer Paselas, 80-90% as good but 50% of the cost. If you currently run Marathon Plus style puncture proof tyres, most other tyres will roll better.
Best wishes,
Luke

[TrevA]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned it, but a set of clip on tribars will make you more aero and faster. You can’t use them whilst riding in a group (unless you are on the front), but they are fine if you find yourself riding alone. You’d need to practice on them beforehand as there’s a certain skill to riding with them.

I also have a set of Exal 17 wheels and you can go down as narrow as 25mm tyres. I’m running 25mm Gatorskins on mine currently. A more race oriented tyre will be faster - GP5000, Grand Prix GT or even a GP 4 Season. Wider tyres will offer more comfort and no loss of speed. A lot of roadies use 28 or 32mm tyres.

[LuckyLuke]

Tbh my only concern speed-wise is there's an 8 hour time limit - I'm not too fussed about finishing alongside all the roadies, I just want to make it to the line before the broom wagon!

Finally, thanks for the tips on pacing and nutrition. I give no thought to either of these on my "longer" day rides (50-60 miles) and just travel at the speed I feel like, stopping for coffee/cake or perhaps even pint and a ploughman's mid journey. Neither of these will be an option on the 100 miler

Hi, I think you’ll make it ok. The excitement of the day, the drafting, closed roads etc will all help. Getting the miles in and conditioning the derrière, as mentioned upthread are essential of course.
On one RideLondon I saw a chap on a BorisBike (sadist!), and Boris himself on his Boardman hybrid, with an escort of 3 plainclothes bike cops. (Not the first time he’s enjoyed an escort apparently…)

Re pubs and tea rooms, they’ll likely be plenty en route, and the food will be much tastier than the feedstation options. Give me a ploughmans over gels any day of the week!

[oldtimer99]

Luckyluke says much of what I was going to post.
I rode the first 3 ridelondon events ....enormous fun.
My normal (!) average speed oans out at around 15mph.
I cruised the first 40 miles of ridelondon at 18 mph.
Closed roads, no traffic lights, and plenty of others around...although half the art of finishing is keeping clear of others. Riders of all abilities, hills cause chaos as folk get off and walk without awareness of others. Road trains ride, well, like idiots at times....trying to get a pb when there are so many others around.
Remember the London marathon footage? It's like that with bikes!
The bit about minimising stops is important if you want a good time ...loo queues!! Snack stops. 3 stops of 15 mins is 45 mins!
Oh....and don't get a puncture. You will witness loads. I felt so sorry for the guy with an upside down bike 200m after the start. And the guy at 98 miles.
And a last one.....guard your bike. There are loos in the start areas. While I was there a guy was shouting where's my bike gone... SWorks and local vermin.
Enjoy enjoy.

[MrCJF]

Wow - what a varied set of responses! I particularly like the suggestion of keeping the kickstand on to show that I'm not taking it too seriously Thank you all.

Tbh my only concern speed-wise is there's an 8 hour time limit - I'm not too fussed about finishing alongside all the roadies, I just want to make it to the line before the broom wagon!
According to my Garmin my long term average speed is a little over 12mph, but that includes all my riding - including to the pub, the shops and pootling around the park. The event is the Ridelondon which heads out into Essex, so on reasonably flat closed roads I'm hoping I can get 13mph/14mph across the entire distance.

My experience of RideLondon as someone at the slower end of the field is - don't rely on the refreshment stops. There were very long queues and at the last feed stop, no solid food. I'd say set off from mile 50 (if there is a stop there) onwards with enough supplies of your own to get to the end. Water stops are more frequent and less busy.

I have no idea how they have routed it for Essex. The highlight for me was the closed roads in London at the start, crossing from Stratford in the East through trafalgar square, kensington and Hammersmith, exiting via Richmond Park in the West.

[thirdcrank]

IMO, the speed you need to know with some confidence is what I would term your cruising speed, ie the speed at which you are comfortable for mile after mile. Obviously, that will vary, especially with things like hills and wind direction but it's important on the day. So, if you can cruise at 15mph, it's going to take you sub 7 hours to ride 100 miles. It will probably tail off after hours riding, but not too much if you avoid the error of starting too fast. This is when oldtimer99's warning about 15 minute stops becomes significant. It's so much easier to lose time than to make it up. This can be really significant with a group not used to riding together. If everybody calls their own time-outs they all add up. If you are riding as an individual, it can be an excellent idea as others have said to latch onto a group going at a comfortable speed for you, but don't be afraid to press on.

[tenbikes]

Clipless pedals and learn how to use them.......

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

Clipless pedals and learn how to use them.......

Show me the paper/link?!
Please.

[PH]

Hi,

Clipless pedals and learn how to use them.......

Show me the paper/link?!
Please.

There's plenty and as you'd expect different conclusions depending on who and what is being tested.
Some concludes that for low intensity cycling "Though cycling shoes may have comfort or safety benefits, they do not enhance efficiency."
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10 ... 16.1140817

But then "Shoe-pedal attachment and stiff soles each positively improve cycling performance during high-power, uphill sprints."
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10 ... src=recsys

After decades of using SPD's I've gone back to flat pedals, without noticing any difference in efficiency, though most of my cycling is in the low intensity class.

[Norman]

I think it's all been said already. Presuming this is an Audax or similar, and not a race, don't fret about what other riders are on. There are a lot of posers around who have all the latest kit but still don't finish the distance.

Yes, keep the mudguards. If the weather is bad you'll be glad of them, several hours of being sprayed with water, mud and cow dung is not fun!

If you make serious changes to the bike, such as fitting drops rather than the flat bars, do some long rides before the event to make sure you are happy on them. If you can't get used the new set up stick to what you know.
You said you've done 90 miles on this bike so it's only another 10 miles!

Set yourself a comfortable pace and don't be tempted to keep up with someone who is going faster than you.

good luck

[rareposter]

Assuming the "event" is something like a sportive and not a timetrial, why do you have to do anything to the bike? Very few people actually care what anyone else is riding and those that do are normally not worth listening to anyway. Why is it any of their concern what you are riding or wearing?!

I'd take off the rack and the kickstand. Mudguards - I'd leave them on until a couple of days before once you know what the weather is going to be doing. If it's pouring down, you'll be very glad of them and you'll be nice and clean watching everyone else get covered in road filth. If it's forecast fine and has been nice the preceding week then by all means take them off.

Other than that, ride what you've got!