18 km/h

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Chavezbee
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18 km/h

Postby Chavezbee » Sat Jan 16, 2016 9:23 pm

I am new cyclist, I ride a specialized hybrid bike for relaxation and exercise. I usually average 40-60 km rides. However, no matter how fast or how hard I peddle I can not seem to go faster than 20 km/h. Further, I average about 16-18 km/hr over the course of a ride.

I have tried different gears, with no luck... Is there something wrong with my legs? Am I just really weak? ( I usually only cycle once a week), am I peddling wrong? Help?

I want to start going on group rides, but not fast enough to join now.

softy
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby softy » Sat Jan 16, 2016 10:36 pm

Are your tyres pumped up! Over 60psi, minimum.

if you have knobblys change them to road tyres (smooth)

do your wheels spin free?
does your chain bend easily and is lubed?

if so, keep your cadence (how fast your pedalling) up around 80 to 90 cadence. This is pretty fast pedaling, change your gears to maintain your pedal speed, but don't adjust you pedalling for speed. If you are swaying from side to side to push the pedals, change gears so you are pedalling faster for the same speed.

we probably need some more info from you to give more advice.

big booty
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby big booty » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:16 am

Ive only been riding for just under a year now after a 30 year absence. When I first started I was averaging 18km/h for my 1 hour ride. Im now averaging 28km/h for a 2 hour ride. So it will slowly get better. Also what softly said with regards your bike. Pump those tyres up to max and if running knobbies change to road tyres if you do most of your riding on the road. Do you wear a proper tight fitting cycling kit? It will make an aero difference, especially when peddling into a head wind.

Have you had a bike fit done? I see lots of riders and their saddle heights are way off. With the crank arm at the bottom of the stroke aim for about a 30 degree bend in your knee. I just made myself a protractor out of two long flat strips of wood and put a screw in them to act as a hinge. Get a mate to help. Place the hinge on the side of you knee, the lower strip lines up with your ankle bone and the top strip lines up with your hip. Then measure the angle. Or easier still just go to a bike shop, they should have a digital version. Do you use flat pedals or clipless? If clipless have they been set up properly? Adjust the cleats so that the ball of your foot is about 5-10mm in front of the pedal axle. Can you drop your bar height slightly to get a more aero stance? As Ive gotten used to riding again Ive progressively dropped the bar height, its probably 30mm lower than when I first started. I dropped it 3-4mm every couple of months so that it was a gradual thing.

Without being rude, what do you weigh? What is your BMI? If its too high (shoot for about 24-25 as a minimum) then go about a sensible weight loss program. You'll be amazed at how 10 kg less body weight makes pedalling uphill so much easier.

Buy yourself a cheap trip computer that can do cadence as well as speed. Mine cost about $80 from ebay. When I first started I was averaging about 70-75 cadence. Too low! Ive slowly built that up and now when Im cycling I aim for about 90-92. If I drop below that when going up hill or into a head wind I go to an easier gear. Choosing a lower torque higher cadence will mean you last longer.

Lastly (in my other post) try drinking a big glass of beetroot juice about 30-60 minutes before a ride. It will supercharge you!!
Last edited by big booty on Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:42 am, edited 2 times in total.

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foo on patrol
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby foo on patrol » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:18 am

Chavezbee wrote:I am new cyclist, I ride a specialized hybrid bike for relaxation and exercise. I usually average 40-60 km rides. However, no matter how fast or how hard I peddle I can not seem to go faster than 20 km/h. Further, I average about 16-18 km/hr over the course of a ride.

I have tried different gears, with no luck... Is there something wrong with my legs? Am I just really weak? ( I usually only cycle once a week), am I peddling wrong? Help?

I want to start going on group rides, but not fast enough to join now.
There is your problem! :wink:

Foo
I don't suffer fools easily and so long as you have done your best,you should have no regrets.
Goal 6000km

dalai47
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby dalai47 » Sun Jan 17, 2016 9:32 am

foo on patrol wrote:
Chavezbee wrote:I have tried different gears, with no luck... Is there something wrong with my legs? Am I just really weak? ( I usually only cycle once a week), am I peddling wrong? Help?

I want to start going on group rides, but not fast enough to join now.
There is your problem! :wink:

Foo
Biggest problem is trying to sell things (peddling) rather than pedaling... :wink:

Riding once a week is too infrequent if you want to improve.

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rheicel
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby rheicel » Sun Jan 17, 2016 12:12 pm

I have been riding regularly 5/7 days a week and my commute average speed is usually only in the low 20 kph. This is due to the frequent stopping, backpack and terrain.

If you want to become a fast rider, ride faster and ride more.
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Aussiebullet
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby Aussiebullet » Sun Jan 17, 2016 12:25 pm

As others have said you are simply not riding enough to improve.
Best ways to improve are:
Ride more frequent at least 4 days per week that way you are riding more days p/wk than not.
Ride longer every now and again
Ride harder every now and again even if only for shorter rides
Check out the people you want to ride with look at their bikes and tires and their position on their bikes to give you an idea of how streamlined they are, you may not be all that aerodynamic and need a proper bike fit.

chriso_29er
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby chriso_29er » Sun Jan 17, 2016 4:29 pm

Being a new'ish rider myself, I would say you just need to push harder :)

I started by doing very similar distances to you and my average speed quickly grew to 20km/h in no time by riding some variable terrain.
And that was on a full mountain bike with knobby tyres riding once a week, sometimes once every 2 weeks if I had other stuff on.
No pain no gain ;)

If you cant push past 20km/h in a sprint on hybrid bike on the flat I would say there is something very strange going on (injured?).
Not sure how old you are, I was 35 and hadn't riden a bike since childhood.

By the way, going on the group ride now is probably the best thing you can do.
Will force you to push yourself.
The group ride average speed may also seem high because different people take turns at the front doing the most work. It is very easy to sit in behind someone and keep up.
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Chavezbee
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby Chavezbee » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:16 pm

Thank you for all the great advice from everyone.

I adjusted my seat higher and that seems to have helped a little. I'm also trying pumping up my tires more. In the city I get up to 22 km/hr on flat ground, just doing urban wandering... This often slows down to 16 when going up hill or dodging taxis, bus, bikes, ect.

Ok my longer rides I should mention that I ride on paved road along the river (I live in Japan) and it is really windy. Even though there are no cars or stop lights, I average 16 km/hr on a 50 km ride. This might be because of the wind?

I don't have a road bike, but I have seen people going way faster than me on similar bikes.

I also think I need to pedal faster, but I'm not sure how to increase my speed. especially in the wind when I'm only going about 16-18 km/ hr and I am breathing pretty hard.

I'm a 29 year old woman. As far a weight I'm 153 cm (5ft) and 46 kilos. Pretty average for my height. My bike is xs, so I think it's the right size for my small frame. Ofcourse I can only get so aerodynamic on a hybrid sport bike--- as I just bought this bike last spring, I'm not going to be buying a new bike soon.

Also, because it's winter I tend to wear bulking jackets and jeans, maybe this is slowing me down too... But it's really, really cold. I'm not sure what people wear in winter?

any other advice, especially on pedaling faster would be awesome.

Top_Bhoy
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby Top_Bhoy » Sun Jan 17, 2016 9:35 pm

The clothing and the wind won't be helping but there is no magic bullet to what you want to achieve other than some hard work and commitment.

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foo on patrol
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby foo on patrol » Sun Jan 17, 2016 9:43 pm

Chavezbee wrote:Thank you for all the great advice from everyone. Any other advice, especially on pedaling faster would be awesome.

Ride more than one day a week! :idea:

Foo
I don't suffer fools easily and so long as you have done your best,you should have no regrets.
Goal 6000km

koshari
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby koshari » Sun Jan 17, 2016 9:52 pm

i think if your not going any faster than 20 and are still averaging 18km/h you must be riding some pretty flat terrain which is not unusual for trails that are adjacent to waterways, Sure your speedo goes over 20??? :lol: :lol: :lol: When its windy here (30km/h wind) it makes my average speed 2 or 3 km/h slower, and iam travelling generally between 12km/h & 50km/h some of the hills round here i dont even have to pedal to reach 50.

as people have mentioned try spinning a little bit, in other words use a lower gear so you can crank faster, as big booty said not a bad idea to figure out what cadence you are peddling at. i just use a $3 cheap cycling computer with a single magnet of the crank and the sensor on the chainstay to give my cadence.
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Chavezbee
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby Chavezbee » Sun Jan 17, 2016 11:57 pm

Koshari, actually the river path is super flat! It only has inclines and declines when you go under bridges. The turns in those are so sharp I usually break, but even while breaking I'm going 25 km/hr and can keep at about 23 to 24 until I go back up hill (very slow, short climb). After the five minutes a bridge underpass takes I'm back on flat ground and quickly to my average 16-18 km/hr speed. Sometimes if I really push I can get up to 20-22 for just a few minutes on the flat part. Not sure why I'm so much slower on the river path than in the city, given there are less obstacles, just more wind.

I have a speedometer and that's been really fun to watch, not sure about cadence though. Will have to keep that on the wish list. So many gadgets.... Thanks!

softy
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby softy » Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:43 am

Something is wrong somewhere, you are a real lightweight, which is actually an advantage.

Doing 25km on the flat is not that hard, if no stops or traffic lights i think something is wrong.
I do need to ask are you stopping alot for traffic stops, etc? This will slow your average down heaps.

At the end of the day speed is not nessecary, as long as you are having fun and keeping fit. Who cares how fast you are going.

i have been riding years and i don't even put speed on my garmin, i have cadence, calories, distance and time.

why, because it plays tricks on your mind (as it is doing here), to fast, to slow, and you don't ride with even energy. Average speed doesn't mean much anyway, it is affected by so much.

Keep cycling!

brumby33
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby brumby33 » Mon Jan 18, 2016 4:45 am

You can go a fair way in an hour in metro city Japan, car traffic speed limits are generally around 40kph and most Japanese drivers are very considerate as the road rules are pretty strict over there. Car drivers spend a lot of money and time to get their licences so don't want to lose it quickly..not like in Australia where it seems that all you have to do is buy a corn flakes packet....licence inside :lol: They are also very used to driving around where bikes are as it's deemed a necessary form of transport over there.

I agree the wind over there can cut like a knife, especially in winter, I thought until you mentioned a sport Hybrid bike, I thought you might've been riding one of those mama-charis you find hundreds of at rail stations....Most Japanese consider cycling only as transport where they need to go, they can't take the car unless they have a registered carspace to park as there generally no street parking over there....even in the home, no carspace...no car!!

Most either just ride for shopping or to the train station and you don't have to ride far especially in the Tokyo area to catch a train and theres mostly always lots of bicycle parks there. Are you living in the Tokyo region? When I go over there, I mostly stay near Chiba-shi but I've never ridden a bike there, i'll have to do that next time I go over. I would like to tour Japan one day by bicycle.....really soak up the culture.

I guess all you need to do is ride more, hopefully by the time it reaches Summer (real humid) you'll be averaging higher speeds....but as far as I'm concerned, if you're riding in a Japanese Winter...you're more hardy than I am :lol:

Keep going....don't worry about the speed...just enjoy the ride.

Cheers

Dave
"ya gotta hold ya mouth right"

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2003 Diamondback Sorrento Sport MTB

big booty
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby big booty » Mon Jan 18, 2016 4:20 pm

At 5 foot and 46kgs you are pretty small. Like others have said perhaps just concentrate on riding for enjoyment rather than concentrating on becoming faster. Having said that lots of cycling clubs have fun runs where riders are grouped depending on how fast they can ride. Ask around to see if there is a club suitable for you.

koshari
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby koshari » Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:14 pm

you can always get on strava to get a decent breakdown of your ride, this will let you compare runs on days when the wind is of differing strength ans compare your runs over time.
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Robinho
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby Robinho » Tue Jan 19, 2016 5:03 pm

Simple thing to check is to run a GPS app on your phone (strava, endomondo or one of many others) and compare with your speedo. Assuming it is a simple, non GPS, bike computer the wheel size calibration might simply be wrong and under reading your speed a few kms. Run the app for a ride and the speedo to measure the distance. Try at least 10km to account for minor discrepancies. If they are not the same (or at least close) at the end then you may need to update the settings in your speedo. That could account for your "missing" speed. If it isn't that, then try all of the other things, like riding more, harder, higher cadence, better tyres, higher pressures, bike fit, new bike, better gear, personal coach and all those progressively more expensive things that give marginal gains.

cp123
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby cp123 » Wed Jan 20, 2016 4:34 pm

windy because of wind blowing?

or windy - as in curvy, bendy with lots of twists and turns you have to slow for?

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Derny Driver
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby Derny Driver » Wed Jan 20, 2016 6:45 pm

18-20 kph is quite a good speed considering ...
1. You are a small lady
2. you are on a hybrid bike not a racer
3. You are wearing jeans and a coat
4. You are on a path
5. It is windy

I used to race A grade and my training rides would average 25kph on a race bike in race gear, a strong fit male. I think you are doing very well.

The key to speed / going faster is cadence, not bigger gears. I suspect like most casual riders you are turning the pedals too slowly. If you dont have a cadence meter then you just just count every time your left leg hits the bottom of the stroke. Aim for 100 pedal strokes per minute.
Just practice that nice smooth pedalling and dont worry about your speed. Enjoy!

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Duck!
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby Duck! » Thu Jan 21, 2016 2:25 pm

+ Another for working on increasing cadence.

50-60km once a week with no other riding is not a great program faster. Do some shorter rides with the goal of pedalling faster. Quite a few responses have mentioned that this is what you need to do, but they've left out a significant detail. Making your legs work faster initially will cut your rides shorter, because your respiratory system needs strengthening. You will feel "puffed" with this kind of riding, but as your aerobic fitness improves, you'll be able to hold the higher cadence for longer, and with less effort. Then you'll be faster.

Build your cadence gradually. Generally speaking, above 80rpm is considered optimal, but the exact number will vary from person to person. Say your current cadence is 60, don't just go straight up to 90 or whatever. Aim for 65. When you can hold an average cadence of 65 for an hour, aim for 70. And so on. As you gain fitness, you'll find you can ride a higher gear at the same cadence. Bingo! You're going faster! :) It won't just happen, but the more often you can ride, the faster you'll improve. Stick at it and the gains will come.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

looseleftie
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby looseleftie » Mon Feb 29, 2016 7:54 pm

1.Get your legs spinning bit quicker (cadence).
2.Ride more often, get some miles into your legs will help.. Ride 3 times weekly 30 km slightly harder for two of those rides, this will over time (try it for a few months..just an idea) help your speed I'm guessing.

Remember your a newbie still, ride a heavier bike, and ride in windy conditions.. Don't be too hard on yourself..Also u mentioned the ride u take has a lot of sharp turns and whatnot, that will dramatically slow u down..
If u had a road bike, in a different environment, u may be up 10kph in speed straight away for nothing?!

Bottom line, if speed doesn't bother u, then go out once a week and enjoy your ride!! Otherwise, start looking at a easy to follow training mini program, with some shot term and long term goals in mind.. And then work towards them.Just my 2c here.

softy
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Re: 18 km/h

Postby softy » Mon Feb 29, 2016 9:42 pm

Pump your tyre up hard!

Don't ride upgrades, ride up grades.

this is a statement you hear often in cycling and it is true. Riding up hills really develops your power. Remember improvements come slow, it take months, mostly year to see big changes.

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