Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Performance!!

So, I began to challenge myself by keeping my speed above a certain mph on my rides and each week or so increase my speed by .5/1mph. My question is what do you do to "train" or improve performance/speed/stamina? And is what I'm doing good?

Attack every hill, buy a road bike, etc.

I was taping up a car for paint and chuckled at the tape reel. It said automotive "performance" tape. I was like, "it's tape, bro."

use a power meter and try to sustain a certain amount of a wattage throughout the ride :P Going by speed doesn't mean anything because of winds and road gradient changing. You can time yourself on a set distance and just compete against yourself, but that will only do so much if you keep doing the same route

And I would suggest riding more. Increasing distance. 20 mile rides. 50 mile rides. Centuries. Two-day tours. And on...

the power meter idea sounds good. any suggestions on which to buy? i guess i can also time myself on a certain distance and just push to beat my time. thanks

interval training and endurance workouts on machines. i know it's lame but if you stay on a stationary bike and just work REALLY HARD twice a week it's better than having to deal with real world riding.

then again, if you know how to train you can do it on the road pretty successfully.


the only thing you need to buy to gain speed is food, and sometimes expertise. you don't need power meters and you don't need drugs/coaching/ultralight racing components. you just need your bike and your muscles and your brain to tell them what to do. strength is about your brain being able to work your muscles to exhaustion and your digestive system being able to build them up stronger.

Go for distance not speed and work like you're a mule.

Train Muay Thai.

oh, also genetics. you're nothing without the genetics, but this only relevant depending on your interests

Oh, also spin a low gearing at a high cadence, like Mr. hairnet over there.

I never gets easier, you just go faster.

yeah. thread can be summed up in two words.

WORK HARD

but keep it fun

know about your body and keep it fun and work hard

but keep it fun
Win.

I ride my fixed for fun and if I wanted to reach my peak performance, then I'd just get a road bike.

stay healthy know about your body keep it fun and work hard

make sure your bike fits perfectly stay healthy know about your body keep it fun and work hard

take steroids make sure your bike fits perfectly stay healthy know about your body keep it fun and work hard

I was taping up a car for paint and chuckled at the tape reel. It said automotive "performance" tape. I was like, "it's tape, bro."

cool story, bruseph

Sounds good. Thanks for all the advice. I actually found a training program that I will begin next Monday. Also, I don't want a road bike....FIXED!!!

quadruple post ftw, brah

Also, I don't want a road bike....FIXED!!!

I call shenanigans.

I ride my fixed for fun and if I wanted to reach my peak performance, then I'd just get a road bike.

Actually, wouldn't riding a fixed gear get you in better shape than a road bike because you can't slack off?

No, because you can't vary your intensity. It's like doing nothing but push-ups VS a real weight training routine.

Actually, wouldn't riding a fixed gear get you in better shape than a road bike because you can't slack off?
I slack off constantly on my fixed gear.

Add to that the fact that riding fixed encourages you to develop dead spots in your pedal stroke, and I'm pretty sure there is no physiological/training advantage EXCEPT for improving cadence.

Ride a lot and challenge yourself.

You don't need to do uber-long distances. You could get very fast without ever doing anything over a 40 mile ride. Eat lots and lots of hills. A nice steady diet of hills. Hill repeats, intervals. Eat lots of protein and do recovery rides in between your difficult, high intensity rides.

You don't need a power meter, though they do help once you get to a certain level. Just ride difficult terrain and push hard...you don't really need to be more precise than this until you are more advanced.

You don't need a power meter. A cheap heart rate monitor will do just fine for interval training. If you move to an indoor trainer get rollers. They will help you with your spin and bike control. Plus they are far less boring than trainers.