Improving Bike Speed .. Tips

aerobars good wheels

"dambox" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I would be interested in peoples top 3 tips for improving bike speed. I typically finish in the
top 20 in the local races I enter, and over the past 4-5 years my bike splits have remained in the
same ball park.

This winter I have been pretty consistent at doing specific training - however this has not made a
significant difference.

Hills seem to be the weak point in terms of my abilty to maintain a similar pace to the leaders.
--------------
David, England

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I would be interested in peoples top 3 tips for improving bike speed.

1. Interval work - I do 3 min X 10 all out, w/ a 3 min rest interval
2. Threashold work - This depends on race distance. I typically do a long warm-up and warm-down w/
an interval equal to 1/2 the target race distance slightly faster than race pace.
3. Bike Fit - keep dialing until you have it optimized.

Good Luck! David Never give up, Be satisfied w/ your best, Do unto others.....

David,
You answered your own question. You said that hills seem to be your weak point. If you've identified part or all of the problem, then work on it. Hill repeats are an excellent workout. The same workout you would do for running. Pick a long, steep hill and work on repeats. At least there's your starting point.

Other things to consider are intervals and one-leg cycling on the trainer. This helps with the pull of your bike stroke instead of just the push.

Hope this helped.

cj

dambox said:

I would be interested in peoples top 3 tips for improving bike speed. I typically finish in the
top 20 in the local races I enter, and over the past 4-5 years my bike splits have remained in the
same ball park.

This winter I have been pretty consistent at doing specific training - however this has not made a
significant difference.

Hills seem to be the weak point in terms of my abilty to maintain a similar pace to the leaders.

Hill performance on a bicycle is largely a matter of strength to weight ratio - that's why, as the
climbs get steeper, the little guys do better and better. Dropping weight is worth considering -
from you, the bike, or both.

The distances at which you compete matter. Look at Lance Armstrong - he dropped about 10 kilos, if
memory serves, when he came back from cancer and it took his climbing to the next level. He
certainly has less muscle than he did before but aerobic exercise is largely about the aerobic
system and not about absolute strength - the longer the races you do, the more important being
light becomes.

There are many strategies for climbing hills on a bicycle. You need to find which works best for
you and exploit it. For instance, a triathlon bike's forward position is not the best from which to
get power while seated. If you prefer a relatively low gear when climbing, you might consider
sliding your saddle back on the rails a bit (moving the bars back as well, of course) to see if
it's an acceptable compromise - it should give you more seated climbing power. At least experiment
with sliding back a cm or two on your saddle when you climb seated. If you like to spin up the
hills it shouldn't make as much of a difference but it's still worth exploring. Don't forget that
sliding the saddle back can make the effect reach to the pedals longer so you might need to lower
your saddle as well.

There is a psychology to hill climbing as well. When you train alone, be sure to pace your effort
going uphill so that you can continue to push hard as you crest the hill - you want to feel like the
hill didn't take everything out of you. Learning to pace yourself on hills is critical to having a
good overall performance on a hilly course.

-S-
--
kbnj.comkbnj.comOpen ↗

You forgot to tell him about working with those strength thingies - what was it? Oh yeah, your balls
with the handle on the end.

Steve Freides <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

dambox said:

I would be interested in peoples top 3 tips for improving bike speed. I typically finish in the
top 20 in the local races I enter, and over the past 4-5 years my bike splits have remained in
the same ball park.

This winter I have been pretty consistent at doing specific training - however this has not made
a significant difference.

Hills seem to be the weak point in terms of my abilty to maintain a similar pace to the leaders.

Hill performance on a bicycle is largely a matter of strength to weight ratio - that's why, as the
climbs get steeper, the little guys do better and better. Dropping weight is worth considering -
from you, the bike, or both.

The distances at which you compete matter. Look at Lance Armstrong - he dropped about 10 kilos, if
memory serves, when he came back from cancer and it took his climbing to the next level. He
certainly has less muscle than he did before but aerobic exercise is largely about the aerobic
system and not about absolute strength - the longer the races you do, the more important being
light becomes.

There are many strategies for climbing hills on a bicycle. You need to find which works best for
you and exploit it. For instance, a triathlon bike's forward position is not the best from which
to get power while seated. If you prefer a relatively low gear when climbing, you might consider
sliding your saddle back on the rails a bit (moving the bars back as well, of course) to see if
it's an acceptable compromise - it should give you more seated climbing power. At least experiment
with sliding back a cm or two on your saddle when you climb seated. If you like to spin up the
hills it shouldn't make as much of a difference but it's still worth exploring. Don't forget that
sliding the saddle back can make the effect reach to the pedals longer so you might need to lower
your saddle as well.

There is a psychology to hill climbing as well. When you train alone, be sure to pace your effort
going uphill so that you can continue to push hard as you crest the hill - you want to feel like
the hill didn't take everything out of you. Learning to pace yourself on hills is critical to
having a good overall performance on a hilly course.

-S-

Good answer, David. You are correct and everyone is wrong. That's why you and I will smoke everyone
else on the bike.

[email hidden] (David) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I would be interested in peoples top 3 tips for improving bike speed.

1. Interval work - I do 3 min X 10 all out, w/ a 3 min rest interval
2. Threashold work - This depends on race distance. I typically do a long warm-up and warm-down
w/ an interval equal to 1/2 the target race distance slightly faster than race pace.
3. Bike Fit - keep dialing until you have it optimized.

Good Luck! David Never give up, Be satisfied w/ your best, Do unto others.....

Dambox:

How fast are you??? How fast can you ride a 10 mile time trial???

24 mph??? 28 mph??? 30 mph???

That says a lot about where you are at. Riding at 24 mph, you probably have a lot of room for improvement. Closer to 30 mph??? You may be getting close to your genetic potential.

What kind of workouts are you doing??? How heavy are you???

You will do poorly on hills until you train on them all the time. If you are losing big chunks of time on hills, you have no choice but to work on your climbing.

You need to do speedwork on the flats and on the hills. Concentrate on 3-5 minute efforts for both. Go as fast as possible for 3-5 minutes. If you are doing 3-5 minute intervals and you feel like you could do another 5 minutes, you are going too slow.

Do some at 70-80 rpm, and also as high as 100-105 rpm. Higher rpm will stress the aerobic system more, lower cadence will shift the burden of power output to the leg muscles, making them stronger. You need to maximize muscle strength and aerobic/anaerobic power for optimal performance.

On climbs you need to also do hill sprints. Go up at a steady, hard pace, then sprint as hard as possible both seated and standing, until you explode. Since you are on a climb where are you going to go??? You must keep turning the cranks to keep from falling over. Gear down, recover, and sprint again. This will make you very strong and fit. They are very difficult, make sure you have your head into the workout before you clip into the pedals!!!

If you are using 78+ degrees of seat tube angle, consider going down to 75 degrees if your course has lot of climbing.

Train on heavy 36 spoke wheels. Always. 36 spokes not 32!!! You want your training wheels to be heavy and slow. Using expensive, trick wheels for everyday training is a crime!!! Use heavy tubes (thornproof) and heavy tires as well. The extra weight/drag of heavy wheels will make you stronger. When you race, put on your light/aero wheels. You will be faster, and the effort will seem easier.

3-5 minute efforts should be performed at very high intensity, well over 90% of max heart rate. Start of with 1-2 to start, then work up to 4-8 intervals. Your recovery ability will determine how many and how often you should do them.
Well-trained riders can do 4-8 intervals twice a week or so. Be sure to warmup and cooldown properly!!! Don't do them all year either. If you feel like you are burning out, take a week or so off from these intervals, just ride easy instead.

Also mix in some 10-20 minute efforts (slower) once in a while, as well as 30-60 minute efforts. You can safely substitute a 10/25 mile TT for these workouts (best).

Good luck!!!

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.

Forget the training interval [censored], the best way to be able to ride faster is to ride with people
that are better than you and that will stress you to the max.

"dambox" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I would be interested in peoples top 3 tips for improving bike speed. I typically finish in the
top 20 in the local races I enter, and over the past 4-5 years my bike splits have remained in the
same ball park.

This winter I have been pretty consistent at doing specific training - however this has not made a
significant difference.

Hills seem to be the weak point in terms of my abilty to maintain a similar pace to the leaders.
--------------
David, England

24 mph is faster than most people do 10 mile time trials and 30 mph would set you up as one of the
best in the nation.

"J-MAT" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dambox:

How fast are you??? How fast can you ride a 10 mile time trial???

24 mph??? 28 mph??? 30 mph???

That says a lot about where you are at. Riding at 24 mph, you probably have a lot of room for
improvement. Closer to 30 mph??? You may be getting close to your genetic potential.

.

Mee, you are not me. Quit acting like an ass. You know all to well that I would drop you like a
hot potato.

[email hidden] (Phil Mee) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.

I beg to differ. There are many 10 mile time trials with the top 10 going under 23 minutes, some in
the 20-21 minute range.

20 minutes, of course is the 30Mph mark, while 23 minutes put you at about 26Mph. Granted, a top 10
finish it good, but there are hundreds of these races across the US -- and not everyone of these
racers would qualify as one of the best in the nation.

I've never come close to 30mph in a 10minute time trial (perhaps down a 10% grade with a tail wind
;-)), though I'm a decent TT'er and I'm usually in the pack around 23Mph.

Wim

"Jim Quinn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

24 mph is faster than most people do 10 mile time trials and 30 mph would set you up as one of the
best in the nation.

"J-MAT" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dambox:

How fast are you??? How fast can you ride a 10 mile time trial???

24 mph??? 28 mph??? 30 mph???

That says a lot about where you are at. Riding at 24 mph, you probably have a lot of room for
improvement. Closer to 30 mph??? You may be getting close to your genetic potential.

.

I have not done a time trial, however I typically average @ 23 Mph. I am 6'1" 85kg. I typically do a
mix of training, with @ 2 days / week 45 mins on a bike in Gym (typically constant intense
sessions). 2 hours cycle at weekend. Rest is running/swimming.

To be honest, aside from hills on the weekend course I do, I dont specifically train on hills.

Some excellent advice here.

J-MAT said:

Dambox:

How fast are you??? How fast can you ride a 10 mile time trial???

24 mph??? 28 mph??? 30 mph???

That says a lot about where you are at. Riding at 24 mph, you probably have a lot of room for
improvement. Closer to 30 mph??? You may be getting close to your genetic potential.

What kind of workouts are you doing??? How heavy are you???

You will do poorly on hills until you train on them all the time. If you are losing big chunks of
time on hills, you have no choice but to work on your climbing.

You need to do speedwork on the flats and on the hills. Concentrate on 3-5 minute efforts for both.
Go as fast as possible for 3-5 minutes. If you are doing 3-5 minute intervals and you feel like you
could do another 5 minutes, you are going too slow.

Do some at 70-80 rpm, and also as high as 100-105 rpm. Higher rpm will stress the aerobic system
more, lower cadence will shift the burden of power output to the leg muscles, making them stronger.
You need to maximize muscle strength and aerobic/anaerobic power for optimal performance.

On climbs you need to also do hill sprints. Go up at a steady, hard pace, then sprint as hard as
possible both seated and standing, until you explode. Since you are on a climb where are you going
to go??? You must keep turning the cranks to keep from falling over. Gear down, recover, and sprint
again. This will make you very strong and fit. They are very difficult, make sure you have your
head into the workout before you clip into the pedals!!!

If you are using 78+ degrees of seat tube angle, consider going down to 75 degrees if your course
has lot of climbing.

Train on heavy 36 spoke wheels. Always. 36 spokes not 32!!! You want your training wheels to be
heavy and slow. Using expensive, trick wheels for everyday training is a crime!!! Use heavy tubes
(thornproof) and heavy tires as well. The extra weight/drag of heavy wheels will make you stronger.
When you race, put on your light/aero wheels. You will be faster, and the effort will seem easier.

3-5 minute efforts should be performed at very high intensity, well over 90% of max heart rate.
Start of with 1-2 to start, then work up to 4-8 intervals. Your recovery ability will determine how
many and how often you should do them. Well-trained riders can do 4-8 intervals twice a week or so.
Be sure to warmup and cooldown properly!!! Don't do them all year either. If you feel like you are
burning out, take a week or so off from these intervals, just ride easy instead.

Also mix in some 10-20 minute efforts (slower) once in a while, as well as 30-60 minute efforts.
You can safely substitute a 10/25 mile TT for these workouts (best).

Good luck!!!

--------------
David, England

Train the hills, mate. If you do, you'll move from 20th place to top 3.

dambox <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I would be interested in peoples top 3 tips for improving bike speed. I typically finish in the
top 20 in the local races I enter, and over the past 4-5 years my bike splits have remained in the
same ball park.

This winter I have been pretty consistent at doing specific training - however this has not made a
significant difference.

Hills seem to be the weak point in terms of my abilty to maintain a similar pace to the leaders.
--------------
David, England

You are too slow to know anything about improving bike speed. Go to the back of the pack and let the
big boys pull. You are slowing us down.

dambox <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I have not done a time trial, however I typically average @ 23 Mph. I am 6'1" 85kg. I typically do
a mix of training, with @ 2 days / week 45 mins on a bike in Gym (typically constant intense
sessions). 2 hours cycle at weekend. Rest is running/swimming.

To be honest, aside from hills on the weekend course I do, I dont specifically train on hills.

Some excellent advice here.

Ok let me be brief and to the point: if you want to get faster, I mean seriously fast in time trials
or on triathlon courses, then I recommend that you face the hills dude! Forget the 'gym bike' - get
out on your own bike - on the road - you need to adapt fully to the race bike and conditions.

Devise a circuit of say 10 km with 4 different hills of around 500m - 1km in length and with a
variety of gradients. Over time your aim is to get around this circuit 4 times ( 40km) - it is hard
on the legs and initially you will have to learn HOW to climb a hill, so that the hills become
something you love!

How to climb a hill: take the first part easier than you would go flat out up the hill, spin a nice
gear, then HOLD the pace whilst you click up a gear ( bigger gear) to your threshold heart rate,
keep seated and keep the revs constant, now, as you approach the top of the hill, keep seated and
take the gear to the next gear up - this may be initially quite difficult to hold at your constant
rev/ so you should really push over the top of the hill with your speed at max as you crest the
hill, then HOLD the pace and start to spin out the gear down the other side of the hill - this
trains your speed - this is the place where a lot of people lose it in road races and time trials.

The other technique is to click up a good two gears in the last 1/4 of the hill and go, go, go OUT
the saddle accelerating all the way - and basically you should be sprinting over the other of the
hill before sitting down to recover...never stop at the top! Never change down a gear when going up
hills, if this happens, then you judged the hill wrong from the bottom and everybody will come
flying past:-(. In a road race this would mean you would be dropped on the first hill - ummmm, has
happened to me.

It is all about practice - do this once a week, or once every 10 days. Your average speed up the
hills should increase, which should mean you have a substantial increase in power on the road when
it is totally flat! :-)

The other session I suggest is a long climb of around 10km in length, this compliments the short
hills and teaches you to keep an 'even effort' when going up hills more than 1.5km. Again it
trains power and you'll soon discover that 'mountain/hill climbing' requires different
techniques for different gradients...I could write a thesis tonight but no, I'll let you get
going with the above....

Oh and get your aerodynamics checked out for time trailing on the flat - you need a flat back and to
be comfortable on the bike. Bike saddle height issues come right with experience - once you find the
right bike, for goodness sake, stick with it! I have a Look and it is a dream machine...Another
quick tip is that some of this training above can be done in the triathlon races, so remember to
take loads of rest in between these races and hard trainings.

R

Now, these "dambox" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have not done a time trial, however I typically average @ 23 Mph. I am 6'1" 85kg. I typically do
a mix of training, with @ 2 days / week 45 mins on a bike in Gym (typically constant intense
sessions). 2 hours cycle at weekend. Rest is running/swimming.

To be honest, aside from hills on the weekend course I do, I dont specifically train on hills.

Some excellent advice here.

J-MAT said:

Dambox:

How fast are you??? How fast can you ride a 10 mile time trial???

24 mph??? 28 mph??? 30 mph???

That says a lot about where you are at. Riding at 24 mph, you probably have a lot of room for
improvement. Closer to 30 mph??? You may be getting close to your genetic potential.

What kind of workouts are you doing??? How heavy are you???

You will do poorly on hills until you train on them all the time. If you are losing big chunks of
time on hills, you have no choice but to work on your climbing.

You need to do speedwork on the flats and on the hills. Concentrate on 3-5 minute efforts for
both. Go as fast as possible for 3-5 minutes. If you are doing 3-5 minute intervals and you feel
like you could do another 5 minutes, you are going too slow.

Do some at 70-80 rpm, and also as high as 100-105 rpm. Higher rpm will stress the aerobic system
more, lower cadence will shift the burden of power output to the leg muscles, making them
stronger. You need to maximize muscle strength and aerobic/anaerobic power for optimal
performance.

On climbs you need to also do hill sprints. Go up at a steady, hard pace, then sprint as hard as
possible both seated and standing, until you explode. Since you are on a climb where are you
going to go??? You must keep turning the cranks to keep from falling over. Gear down, recover,
and sprint again. This will make you very strong and fit. They are very difficult, make sure you
have your head into the workout before you clip into the pedals!!!

If you are using 78+ degrees of seat tube angle, consider going down to 75 degrees if your course
has lot of climbing.

Train on heavy 36 spoke wheels. Always. 36 spokes not 32!!! You want your training wheels to be
heavy and slow. Using expensive, trick wheels for everyday training is a crime!!! Use heavy tubes
(thornproof) and heavy tires as well. The extra weight/drag of heavy wheels will make you
stronger. When you race, put on your light/aero wheels. You will be faster, and the effort will
seem easier.

3-5 minute efforts should be performed at very high intensity, well over 90% of max heart rate.
Start of with 1-2 to start, then work up to 4-8 intervals. Your recovery ability will determine
how many and how often you should do them. Well-trained riders can do 4-8 intervals twice a week
or so. Be sure to warmup and cooldown properly!!! Don't do them all year either. If you feel like
you are burning out, take a week or so off from these intervals, just ride easy instead.

Also mix in some 10-20 minute efforts (slower) once in a while, as well as 30-60 minute efforts.
You can safely substitute a 10/25 mile TT for these workouts (best).

Good luck!!!

--------------
David, England

Beautiful post, Becky. Absolutely magnificent. Will you marry me?

"Rebecca Bishop" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Ok let me be brief and to the point: if you want to get faster, I mean seriously fast in time
trials or on triathlon courses, then I recommend that you face the hills dude! Forget the 'gym
bike' - get out on your own bike - on the road - you need to adapt fully to the race bike and
conditions.

Devise a circuit of say 10 km with 4 different hills of around 500m - 1km in length and with a
variety of gradients. Over time your aim is to get around this circuit 4 times ( 40km) - it is
hard on the legs and initially you will have to learn HOW to climb a hill, so that the hills
become something you love!

How to climb a hill: take the first part easier than you would go flat out up the hill, spin a
nice gear, then HOLD the pace whilst you click up a gear ( bigger gear) to your threshold heart
rate, keep seated and keep the revs constant, now, as you approach the top of the hill, keep
seated and take the gear to the next gear up - this may be initially quite difficult to hold at
your constant rev/ so you should really push over the top of the hill with your speed at max as
you crest the hill, then HOLD the pace and start to spin out the gear down the other side of the
hill - this trains your speed - this is the place where a lot of people lose it in road races and
time trials.

The other technique is to click up a good two gears in the last 1/4 of the hill and go, go, go OUT
the saddle accelerating all the way - and basically you should be sprinting over the other of the
hill before sitting down to recover...never stop at the top! Never change down a gear when going
up hills, if this happens, then you judged the hill wrong from the bottom and everybody will come
flying past:-(. In a road race this would mean you would be dropped on the first hill - ummmm, has
happened to me.

It is all about practice - do this once a week, or once every 10 days. Your average speed up the
hills should increase, which should mean you have a substantial increase in power on the road when
it is totally flat! :-)

The other session I suggest is a long climb of around 10km in length, this compliments the short
hills and teaches you to keep an 'even effort' when going up hills more than 1.5km. Again it
trains power and you'll soon discover that 'mountain/hill climbing' requires different techniques
for different gradients...I could write a thesis tonight but no, I'll let you get going with the
above....

Oh and get your aerodynamics checked out for time trailing on the flat - you need a flat back and
to be comfortable on the bike. Bike saddle height issues come right with experience - once you
find the right bike, for goodness sake, stick with it! I have a Look and it is a dream
machine...Another quick tip is that some of this training above can be done in the triathlon
races, so remember to take loads of rest in between these races and hard trainings.

R

Now, these "dambox" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have not done a time trial, however I typically average @ 23 Mph. I am 6'1" 85kg. I typically
do a mix of training, with @ 2 days / week 45 mins on a bike in Gym (typically constant intense
sessions). 2 hours cycle at weekend. Rest is running/swimming.

To be honest, aside from hills on the weekend course I do, I dont specifically train on hills.

Some excellent advice here.

J-MAT said:

Dambox:

How fast are you??? How fast can you ride a 10 mile time trial???

24 mph??? 28 mph??? 30 mph???

That says a lot about where you are at. Riding at 24 mph, you probably have a lot of room for
improvement. Closer to 30 mph??? You may be getting close to your genetic potential.

What kind of workouts are you doing??? How heavy are you???

You will do poorly on hills until you train on them all the time. If you are losing big chunks
of time on hills, you have no choice but to work on your climbing.

You need to do speedwork on the flats and on the hills. Concentrate on 3-5 minute efforts for
both. Go as fast as possible for 3-5 minutes. If you are doing 3-5 minute intervals and you
feel like you could do another 5 minutes, you are going too slow.

Do some at 70-80 rpm, and also as high as 100-105 rpm. Higher rpm will stress the aerobic
system more, lower cadence will shift the burden of power output to the leg muscles, making
them stronger. You need to maximize muscle strength and aerobic/anaerobic power for optimal
performance.

On climbs you need to also do hill sprints. Go up at a steady, hard pace, then sprint as hard
as possible both seated and standing, until you explode. Since you are on a climb where are you
going to go??? You must keep turning the cranks to keep from falling over. Gear down, recover,
and sprint again. This will make you very strong and fit. They are very difficult, make sure
you have your head into the workout before you clip into the pedals!!!

If you are using 78+ degrees of seat tube angle, consider going down to 75 degrees if your
course has lot of climbing.

Train on heavy 36 spoke wheels. Always. 36 spokes not 32!!! You want your training wheels to be
heavy and slow. Using expensive, trick wheels for everyday training is a crime!!! Use heavy
tubes (thornproof) and heavy tires as well. The extra weight/drag of heavy wheels will make you
stronger. When you race, put on your light/aero wheels. You will be faster, and the effort will
seem easier.

3-5 minute efforts should be performed at very high intensity, well over 90% of max heart rate.
Start of with 1-2 to start, then work up to 4-8 intervals. Your recovery ability will determine
how many and how often you should do them. Well-trained riders can do 4-8 intervals twice a
week or so. Be sure to warmup and cooldown properly!!! Don't do them all year either. If you
feel like you are burning out, take a week or so off from these intervals, just ride easy
instead.

Also mix in some 10-20 minute efforts (slower) once in a while, as well as 30-60 minute
efforts. You can safely substitute a 10/25 mile TT for these workouts (best).

Good luck!!!

--------------
David, England