How much improvement in new bike?

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
kwackers
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Re: How much improvement in new bike?

Post by kwackers »

16-18mph* average is easily attainable on my tourer, the only concession to performance is to check the tyre pressures and blow them up a few pounds above the max recommended.
No idea of weight (I've never weighed it) but there's no shortage of stuff bolted to it (including front pannier fittings - despite the fact I haven't got any) it usually has one rear pannier fitted and carrying stuff so I suspect it's quite heavy.

No idea of any altitude gain or loss either (don't measure that either) and clothing consists of jeans/shorts & t-shirt with a pair of old running shoes or boots.

I did have a carbon fibre bike for a while which I reckoned was about 2mph faster, it was a poor ride though so I gave it to my son. My MTB was about 2mph slower again compared to the tourer.
IMO it's mainly down to tyres. Whilst most things have an apparent effect, I think it's mostly psychological. Weight for example is a teeny percentage of total weight, but tyres consistently seem to have a measurable effect.

*When I was fitter (i.e. commuted 30 miles a day around 20mph was more typical), I also find the marathons I've fitted are slower than the continentals so my average is currently nearer the bottom figure over distance. Next pair of tyres won't be marathons, too treacly...
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timmyhiggy
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Re: How much improvement in new bike?

Post by timmyhiggy »

In terms of bolt on speed, then the things to look at are tyres, wheels and general aerodynamics. Reduced weight does make a difference, but you have to put a big change in to make a noticeable difference! The smallest amount of weight I can add that makes a discernable distance is going with or without my D lock, which must be about a kilo and a half, and even that only makes about 0.2mph difference on a short (<20mile) ride!
A road (or cross) bike will probably put you in a more aerodynamic position, so slightly reduce the effort to do a given speed, at the expense of changing your riding position (could be a good or bad thing)
Wheel upgrades will help you accelerate due to reduced inertia, and tyres should generally reduce rolling friction.

The biggest performance upgrade from buying parts is the "I spent so much money this had better make me faster" effect when riding, I am a bit of a skinflint so will thrash it on the first ride after an upgrade in order to justify the expenditure to myself :D

The other alternative is to change your riding approach a bit. I hit a bit of a wall and was struggling to increase my speed. My solution was to start going riding with some faster people, which has definitely sped me up! Its much easier to push yourself harder if you can actually see what you are trying to hang with, rather than just keep looking at your speedo to convince yourself to go faster. The other solution is to vary your riding a bit more, with longer rides, intervals, hill reps or something else "serious". The nice thing about those options is that they are free!
porky
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Re: How much improvement in new bike?

Post by porky »

easyroller wrote:Of course all things considered the correct answer is: Buy a new bike. You know you want to.... :D

I bought a new bike this week :D I've gone from a Specialized Rockhopper with knobblies to a Scott Metrix. I haven't done any timings but it certainly feels faster. Maybe it's the big wheels and smooth tyres, rigid fork and light weight. Maybe it's all psychological and it's just that riding a new bike makes me want to work harder. Either way, I'm enjoying it.
My car does 40 miles on a gallon of petrol, my bike will do that on a mug of tea and a slice of cake.
Mark1978
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Re: How much improvement in new bike?

Post by Mark1978 »

porky wrote:
easyroller wrote:Of course all things considered the correct answer is: Buy a new bike. You know you want to.... :D

I bought a new bike this week :D I've gone from a Specialized Rockhopper with knobblies to a Scott Metrix. I haven't done any timings but it certainly feels faster. Maybe it's the big wheels and smooth tyres, rigid fork and light weight. Maybe it's all psychological and it's just that riding a new bike makes me want to work harder. Either way, I'm enjoying it.


New bikes do make a difference. I just upgraded to a carbon frame and I'm faster for the same effort.
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CJ
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Re: How much improvement in new bike?

Post by CJ »

You've not hit a barrier, you've realised your potential. For most people, 60 to 70 minutes for 15 miles is as quick as it gets. Of course a few people go even faster, but to do that in rush-hour traffic turns the daily commute into a danger sport. You only need to look at the number of crashes and close shaves reported by racer-commuters. Fine if that's what turns you on, but you've already reached the point of maximum health benefit from cycling. Apart from crashes, going faster puts unnatural strains on the body in order to minimise frontal area and maximise power output. You'll be moving from simple healthy exercise into a sporting discipline where compensatory exercises will be needed to guard against neck, knee and other over-use injuries.

My advice is be content with 12 to 15mph, live long and prosper!
Chris Juden
One lady owner, never raced or jumped.
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: How much improvement in new bike?

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi
CJ wrote:You've not hit a barrier
My advice is be content with 12 to 15mph, live long and prosper!


+1
Thats about right for commuting, especially in traffic, new bike the novelty soon wears off :(
I continue to train on my 18 kg tourer, if you want faster / longer thats the way to commute, save the racer for sundays.
One hour x 3 / week on the turbo then the road work if you want to rack yourself and just remember to do two + hours on the hardest course you can find.
Getting there is hard and staying there is heavy on the mind.
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill
Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
Mark1978
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Re: How much improvement in new bike?

Post by Mark1978 »

I've recently been able to do 15mph average on short (12 mile) rides, I'm happy with the speed, but I'd like to be able to do the same speed over 50 miles ;)
samsbike
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Re: How much improvement in new bike?

Post by samsbike »

I struggle with this as well. My deviation in average speed, trip to trip is nearly 2mph, around 20%. I would love to have more consistency and a higher average speed.

The issue with trying to follow faster riders is that eventually they drop me and I am totally spent, invariably slowing down and losing whatever time I gained.
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timmyhiggy
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Re: How much improvement in new bike?

Post by timmyhiggy »

samsbike wrote:I struggle with this as well. My deviation in average speed, trip to trip is nearly 2mph, around 20%. I would love to have more consistency and a higher average speed.

The issue with trying to follow faster riders is that eventually they drop me and I am totally spent, invariably slowing down and losing whatever time I gained.

The idea behind trying to hang with faster riders is that you push yourself really hard trying to stay with them, wake up the next day with aching legs, then a couple of days later you will be fitter and stronger, so you can go faster yourself
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easyroller
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Re: How much improvement in new bike?

Post by easyroller »

Average speed is a misleading master though. My average speed on rides varies through a range of +/- 5mph depending on whether I'm wrecking myself over a flat route, going solo, on a club ride, hitting the hills, feeling fresh or sore, out in the wind... Even comparing two rides on different days over the same exact route needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
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