Mountain Biking - Going Faster

As lame as this may sound, what are some upgrades you can do to your bike to make it faster? i know weight is a good one and i've sort of done that by switching from a heavy fork to a much lighter and better one. would hub upgrades be another good place to look at? any other suggestions are welcomed as well be it upgrades or special lubes or something.

Change your gear ratios.

What cassette range do you run? Chances are you have an 11-32 or an 11-34. Drop that to a tighter range and you won't have as easy a bail-out gear, but a tighter spread between gears.

Or, you can switch your chainrings around a bit. i.e., most stock cranks these days are a compact triple with 22-32-42 chainrings. Switch to a standard and go to a 24-34-46 and your top end will increase.

Cross train, buy a road bike and spin below your anaerobic threashold for a couple hours two or three times per week.

You can also drop your position. Most current crop of bikes are equipped with riser bars and a shorter stem. If you are racing primarily XC, go back to a longer stem, with a flat bar.

Bikes aren't fast, riders are. Improve your fitness so you can push a taller gear, and then you'll be going faster regardless of terrain.

If you are enquiring about equipment only, we need to know what type of riding you'd like to become faster at...an 8" travel fork will make you faster at downhill, but slower when climbing, etc.

what i want to do is make sure i can get the most of my bike. i ride XC by the way. what i would like to do is decrease rolling resistance so i move better.

As lame as this may sound, what are some upgrades you can do to your bike to make it faster? i know weight is a good one and i've sort of done that by switching from a heavy fork to a much lighter and better one. would hub upgrades be another good place to look at? any other suggestions are welcomed as well be it upgrades or special lubes or something.

Titanium this and carbon that. Scandium is good too.

Generally, $300-750 makes your bike 2mph faster. $750-1500 is 4mph faster, and so on.

But seriously, lungs and legs, lungs and legs.

The best way, in my humble opinion, for a mountain biker to get faster is to spend some quality time on a road bike.

what i would like to do is decrease rolling resistance so i move better.
The only way to do that is to put skinnier/harder/smoother tires on it.

Generally, $300-750 makes your bike 2mph faster. $750-1500 is 4mph faster, and so on.

But seriously, lungs and legs, lungs and legs.

The best way, in my humble opinion, for a mountain biker to get faster is to spend some quality time on a road bike.

Although the road bike will give you the ability to hit the desire speed, riding on the trails are much different. Choosing the right lines, balance, and basic ability to manuver over obstacles will help you improve speed on the trails.

I disagree with your pricing. Does that mean if I put in over 3 grand I will be able to go 8km faster? 6 grand and go 16km faster.

If so, sign me up.

hubs dont make a huge difference in rotatiomal weight. THe farther from the hub, the more you notice lightness.

Titanium this and carbon that. Scandium is good too.

Generally, $300-750 makes your bike 2mph faster. $750-1500 is 4mph faster, and so on.

But seriously, lungs and legs, lungs and legs.

The best way, in my humble opinion, for a mountain biker to get faster is to spend some quality time on a road bike.
I know people who spend thousands on upgrades and lighter bikes and STILL ride with the "slow" group. The best bike in the world won't make you faster, the only way to get faster is to ride often and and work towards improvement

Choosing the right lines, balance, and basic ability to manuver over obstacles will help you improve speed on the trails.

I disagree with your pricing. Does that mean if I put in over 3 grand I will be able to go 8km faster? 6 grand and go 16km faster.

If so, sign me up.

Well, I hope you are kidding about the dollars vs. speed comparison. I was. It was a joke.

However, you are right about riding the mountain bike more. The best way to improve your handling is to ride a lot.

My point about riding the road bike is that, IN MY EXPERIENCE, while mountain bikers have power and technique skills, they might not have the aerobic fitness to maintain top speeds on a long ride.

No, I am not talking about you or any of your friends

Well, I hope you are kidding about the dollars vs. speed comparison. I was. It was a joke.

However, you are right about riding the mountain bike more. The best way to improve your handling is to ride a lot.

My point about riding the road bike is that, IN MY EXPERIENCE, while mountain bikers have power and technique skills, they might not have the aerobic fitness to maintain top speeds on a long ride.

No, I am not talking about you or any of your friendsNo I actually agree on the road bike bit. It was my bad for not editing that part out

If you REALLY want your bike to go faster put a 2 stroke motor on your bike.

Alot of "opinions" on this post, but the fact is that the wheelset/tires makes the largest difference in speed. The lighter your wheelset & tires are, the faster you can go (on level ground & uphill), period.... That's why I run the 1.8" P'Racer Fire Mud Pro's.... Skinny L@@king, but fast.

If you REALLY want your bike to go faster put a 2 stroke motor on your bike.

Sometimes you make me wonder...seriously... :rolleyes:

Gotta say I agree with Killer b...trying to go faster on regular trails and flat sections etc...run small lighter tires. Then worry about gearing and stuff...at least imo (I hate playing with gearing)

The only way to do that is to put skinnier/harder/smoother tires on it.
my average speed increased by almost 2mph going to a skinner tire that was a slick.

slicks make a huge difference on road. I use Ritchey Tom slicks 1.4 and what a difference they made, those tires are great. Cheap and light

Better training is key. Ride the road, practice both sprints and endurance (mileage). Road riding is the best way to build fitness, because you can ride at full output for long periods of time, without slowing down for obstacles, etc.

Well, I hope you are kidding about the dollars vs. speed comparison. I was. It was a joke.

However, you are right about riding the mountain bike more. The best way to improve your handling is to ride a lot.

My point about riding the road bike is that, IN MY EXPERIENCE, while mountain bikers have power and technique skills, they might not have the aerobic fitness to maintain top speeds on a long ride.

No, I am not talking about you or any of your friends

I though you were serious. I blame this all on the internet, you can never show scarcasm.

Wow your signature is really annoying. Back on topic: ive noticed that my kenda kinetics made me alot slower :(

And yours isn't?

what brought this question is that i'm planing on getting a set of Panaracer Fire XC Pros, the Kevlar bead not the crappy steel. Fire XC Pros (http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product.aspx?i=TI707A08) . it got me thinking about rolling resistance and what not, so i thought id ask. can anyone recommened a better set of tires? let me know. as of now im fixed on these

Wow your signature is really annoying.


:D Revenge for all of the stroboscopic, psychedelic mayhem that has taken over the forums :D

I'd rather see a bike ride across the screen by itself than a guy scratching his balls...

:D Revenge for all of the stroboscopic, psychedelic mayhem that has taken over the forums :D
Get Mozilla Firefox and get the Adblock extension. No more annoying strobing pics

Or just turn off sigs in the personal options :)

Or just turn off sigs in the personal options :)
I like the non stroby ones, plus this gives me the options of eliminating the annoying ones.

I'd rather see a bike ride across the screen by itself than a guy scratching his balls...

That guy just happens to be stewie from family guy. :rolleyes: Didnt you ever see that episode?