Virus610

I'm quite the amateur, I only got back into biking about 4 months ago. I mainly use my bike just to get around town, but I've been working on my endurance so that I can confidently hit a trail without being spent after 1 hill. I read about people and their biking experiences, talking about riding like 30+mph.

I know that mountain bikes aren't made for getting around town quickly, but all I can manage after 4 years of biking is an average about 12mph, which is about where I was when I started.

I'm sure a mountain bike is capable of going faster than that. I'm also sure that I have a long way to go in terms of power and such, but is there something I should be doing specifically to work on my speed?

If it means anything, here's what I'm riding: https://www.sportchek.ca/product/inde...uctId=11133871 I'm aware that it's a really cheap bike, but I am also a really financially unfortunate person.

LesterOfPuppets

Your 40 lb. (guessing) bike surely isn't helping matters. Rigid forks and slick tires help a LOT! I run Performance Forte Slick City 26x1.25" when I wanna go really fast. They drop your BB height quite a bit so watch your pedals in the corners. Back in the day I had clip-on aero bars on my MTB for my flat commutes. I was super fast back then, though. 17mph average on good days about 15 mph good days w/o aero bars. That ride had fewer than one stoplight per mile, however.

12 is about right for solo riding with frequent stoplights involved. I do about 12.5. Of course, I'm pretty slow in my advanced age too.

Nowadays I run Strava on my phone and make segments on hills and stretches of road with no lights and try to get better times on those segments. That means more than Avg. Speed.

Virus610

Ah, so if I want to get better average speeds, I pretty much need to disobey laws or get a road bike? Are those things really that much faster? I mean it's just a lighter bike with thinner tires, it can't make that much of a difference, can it?

LesterOfPuppets

Ummm, even skinnier tires and a rigid fork make massive differences on an MTB.

You can work on position also. My bars are about 3" below saddle. This = the fastness. I used to run the stem flipped for even more of the fastness when I only had this bike and no road bike.

Even with this position and with skinny slicks on, the bike weighing only about a pound and a half more than my road bike, yes the Pinarello is THAT MUCH faster. Mongoose weighs 24.5 lbs, Pinarello weighs 23.


DSCN1785 by Lester Of Puppets, on Flickr

fastbartender

It makes a huge difference. Try riding a road bike with someone that is riding a mountain bike. They will be working their butt off to keep up with you even if you are barely trying. Road bikes have larger gears for higher top speeds and more aggressive geometry. They are also usually lighter. You could throw some skinnier tires on your mountain bike though.

LesterOfPuppets

If this is your size, I'd get it. (gotta be at least 5'10" I'd think) Only $80 and would probably save you 10 lbs. of bike weight.

Try to find a -17 stem with a 25.4mm clamp to get teh aero. Find some slicks that fit the rims.

https://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/bik/2661094499.html



If you get too fast and spin out all the time you can swap out the rear wheel for one with a cassette so you can rock a 48x11 high gear.

You could also cruise Bikepedia and take note of all the 1990s MTBs with a stock weight of 26 lbs or less then cruise the CL for those bikes. They're usually pretty cheap like that Bianchi and way faster on road than your ride.

LesterOfPuppets

I just scored this beautiful CrMo rigid ride for $5.14 USD.

It had a saddle when I got it, but I'd already pulled that. Moving all parts except headset/fork/stem to a different bike.


DSCN1913 by Lester Of Puppets, on Flickr

Virus610

$5.14?? Eesh! Thanks for the craigslist link, by the way. I'll definitely look into that if I can muster up some cash.

As for putting skinnier tires on my mountain bike, I imagine that would make it less trail-friendly. Lots of loose dirt, sudden bumps and all that.

3speed

The slicks will make the bike a lot less trail friendly, but as mentioned, a LOT faster on the road. If you have to choose between one tire or the other, and do plan to take your bike on trails, just don't worry about your speed so much on the road. Note that you will wear your tires out riding them on the road, though, and it'll be that kind of wear where it's mostly just down the middle.

jbchybridrider 

Tyre's are cheap get a set of slicks and you'll still have your nobbys whenever you plan a dirty adventure.

Virus610

I suppose it would be a good learning experience to re-tire my bike. I'll give it a go when I'm less broke!