link0

Commuting to work and to the rock climbing gym on my bike instead of driving.

Silvercivic27

Drew, what program are you using to generate those charts?

Inpd

So with weight how did losing all that weight help you. We're you faster, had more endurance, let you clim better ....

Did lighter wheels help: because you were faster or did it also improve handling.

BenPS

Finding people I like riding with. If you tell someone else that you'll meet them at 6 in the morning, it makes getting up and riding that much easier. There have been plenty of bike things that have helped, but having a good group of guys to ride with, and planning rides, are what actually get me on the bike a lot. On those cold or rainy mornings, if I was just going to ride by myself, I would totally have stayed in bed.

jwalther

Losing weight, if needed, is the most important change a recreational cyclist can make. Going clipless, upgrading wheels, moving from 23 to 25mm tires, group riding, and finding a good LBS all help too.

Drew Eckhardt 

Golden Cheetah, with manual labeling of workouts on my 3 month aerobic power peak chart using gimp.

Runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac.

Free. Cyclists who program add features they find useful.

I'm still using version 2, but will probably finally get around to upgrading.

Machka 

I broke through the 100 mile in one day barrier.

Heathpack 

I gave a tongue-in-cheek answer earlier with my Magic Bike comment, but here's my serious reply, the most significant things I did in order:

1. Fitting. I stumbled into working with one of the best fitters in the world. The kind of guy who gets flown to France mid-TDF to tweaks the pros fits and who makes you wait a little because he's working with the next big thing in US track racing and the national team is out on the track right now starting practice, he needs to get this fit done now. The fit and on-going evolution of it are hugely important for a newby cyclist like me.

2. Bike. I was on a $600 entry level bike, it was serviceable but not amazing. Then I bought a new bike optimized for the type of riding I am interested in (endurance events) and everything was instantly better. Which is why I call my bike The Magic Bike. Exceeded all expectations, because I had read on the 41 that the bike didn't matter. Balderdash, complete and utter balderdash.

3. Back up bike. I bought one used. Makes my life better when main squeeze bike is out of commission for any reason, I can still ride. It's not an endurance bike, but I love it took, it's peppy and fun to ride. I bought it for a good price off a guy who was racing it.

4. Power meter. All along, I've been pretty interested in training and consistent improvement. YMMV, having a power meter opens a whole other huge can of worms, it depends on what floats your boat. But I have no interest in riding without one now.

5. Coach. Awesome guy, love him. Was able to see the weakness that I could not see and start to correct them immediately. Kind of obvious now that I'm in the middle of it, but for a year I was self-training and honestly just working on what were already my strengths. Whereas he could immediately see what I was missing & set me up with a plan that both maximizes my strengths and improves my weakness. Pretty amazing given the fact that he'd never ever laid eyes on me until 4 months into the process. People say "you don't need a coach, just ride more". Maybe that would have worked eventually but having the coach makes it way more efficient.

6. New wheels and tubeless tires, better brake pads. My new wheels are lighter than my previous ones, but the difference is pretty marginal. The biggest difference for me with the new wheel/tire/brake pad set up is cornering, which means technical descents are faster and way more fun. I do a lot of climbing, now it is way more awesomely fun to ride the associated descents. I got the lighter wheels to make climbing better, I knew going in the difference would be marginal and it is. But I got a sweet deal that I could not pass up, so marginal gains were worth it at that price. What I did not fully expect was the improvements with descending. Worth every penny.

Theres lots of other things that I couldn't live without: my trainer, my bike computer, my freakishly short-reach bars, a couple of good books on training.

H

Gknight

Agreed, a HUGE difference, even if you were using toe cages before.

Stucky

Lighter wheels will make you feel faster.... and while they will technically make you faster and make climbing easier, the actual improvements in those areas will be so marginal, that unless you're tracking your rides to the second, you won't notice. That's what it comes down to with most upgrades. They offer nicer aesthetics, and may make the bike feel faster or more responsive, etc. but as far as an actual difference in performance, 99% of it is in the mind. And the 1% which is real, amounts to a few seconds- which is of no consequence, unless you are a serious racer.

I'm not saying don't ever upgrade...but just realize that you can't buy performance- that comes from your legs and heart and lungs and mind.


It's kind of like ev eryone going on and on about clipless pedals. I ride clipless pedals....they're convenient; they look nice...but seriously, they do nothing more than straps and cages.

The best thing you can do, is to realize that it's all about the engine[you]. If you want fancier equipment or various accessories, fine....but just understand that what you're buying is perception and aesthetics. Not that there's anything wrong with those....but just understand that the best thing you can do, is to RIDE! Put in the mileage; ride the hills; push yourself; go further; etc. Those things will make you a better cyclist. Buying equipment may make you feel good, and may add to your enjoyment...but just know that, so that you're not disappointed when you spend the money, and don't ghet the expected results.

You could go out and buy a $2000 set of wheels. It will not change your ride one iota. It may make you feel a little faster; make you feel cool and all, having them; but if you really want to be faster; have more endurance, etc. the real key is to just RIDE!

To make an analogy: You can buy the best baseball glove in the world, but it's not going to make you into Willy Mays. And until you get to a level of extremely high skill, that glove is not going to do a thing for you that an average glove couldn't. Same with bikes. I have two awesome bikes. I love 'em...but really, they're being wasted on me.

Losing 50 lbs. and resurrecting myself from what had become a sedentary lifestyle over the 10 years before i started riding, THAT made a real difference- in speed (My first ride was 11 miles- it took me an hour and 20 minutes, and I'd have to stop multiple times going up many of the hills. Now I can do 22 miles in that same time); and endurance....everything.

It really makes no difference if your wheels are a few grams lighter; or if you use a cleat and a clip or cages and straps to hold your feet on the pedals. A lot of this stuff is just pure marketing BS....and the fact that a lot of cyclists are OCD types.....

la rosa 

Clipless pedals

rideBjj

Lighter wheels.

RogueRadio

Bought a proper saddle. Selle Lite 209. Can actually ride without loosing feeling in my crotch, and therefore can ride for much longer.

Drew Eckhardt 

It makes you faster up-hill. On steep climbs speed is nearly inversely proportional to total rider + bike weight. Dropping from 205 to 138 pounds is almost a 40% speed-up (aerodynamic drag still plays a role under 10 MPH).

It also lets you ride in a more aerodynamic position without your thighs running into your belly so you're faster on flat ground too.

rangerdavid

at first, it was getting a lighter set of wheels. Then it was upgrading the groupset. finally, getting a carbon bike with Di2

OldsCOOL

The decision to like hills.

NILS14

New to this forum, haven't posted much but have been reading, anyway.

2 main things, one being the consequence of the other.

1) Weight

I hadn't rode a bike in 10 years before I started again this month. I remember starting to dislike riding because of my weight, I weighed 260 lbs at that time, finally topped at 306 last year at the end of April. I have lost 105 lbs since then. You just feel better physically, every part of your body simply feels better, especially the back. It's so much easier to ride against the wind, climb a hill, recuperate, just to want to go out and ride. I still have to lose 25-30 lbs but man, there is just zero downside to losing all this weight, which allowed #2 to happen.

2) Road bike

After losing all this weight, I decided to reward myself with a nice bike. I loved riding when I was a teen but never owned a really good bike, plus with all that extra weight, owning a road bike was kinda out of the question. So I bought a 2014 Specialized Tricross. It's a great first bike with its versatility, relaxed geometry and even came with road-friendly tires. I just love this bike, it's so much fun to go anywhere with it knowing it can go through anything (within reason). I remember just riding 20km with a mountain bike was brutal. With the Tricross, no issues. I also subscribed to the n + 1 cult and got a used Felt F85, which I never, ever could have gotten if I hadn't lost the weight. I wouldn't have been able to get it going, let alone get on it without breaking it.

Jamminatrix

1 - Bike fit.

2 - Saddle that is comfortable.

3 - Good pedals/shoes.

Not one thing, but I couldn't narrow them to one since they're basically part of fit/sizing/ergonomics. Without these you'll never feel comfortable on the bike and never want to keep on riding and pushing further.

Giacomo 1 

Getting over my fear of ...SPANDEX!

Yeah, riding shorts, easily the best thing I've ever done.

Darth Lefty 

Some of these might seem a little to obvious or first-order for the intended audience.

Maybe the single biggest change was switching from an unbranded BMX built by my bike-hoarder grandfather, to a Murray 18-speed 24" MTB, at about age 10.
Switching from a MTB to a road bike for going fast
Clipping in for going fast
Metrology. Not even a GPS, just a simple computer makes a huge difference.
Switching from knobbies to slicks on the MTB for utility
Cleaning out the MTB's shifters after 12 years
Getting the riding position as I like it on each bike, including bar, saddle, and stem swaps.

Some other things that have helped:
Padded shorts for rides longer than my commute
Switching to great big alloy cage platform pedals on the utility MTB
Switching gearing on the MTB to make up for the slicks and keep the midrange centered on the middle ring, while maintaining the low gear for towing.
Giving up hope that my Brooks B-17 would eventually feel comfortable
Giving up on antique components on classic bikes if they don't work for me

Silvercivic27

[h=2]Hidden Motor for $3000 that adds 100-200 watts[/h]

moppeddler

Learning to pull up on the pedals during the stroke was huge for me.

Machka 

My first one helped ... took up Randonneuring after it.

Juan Foote

The thing that most improved my experience, or my performance?

For my experience, I would say purchasing a SS, putting on a really low gear and platforms, doing away with the speedo/Garmin and stopped giving a damn how far or how fast, attending social rides, not group rides.

diphthong

buying a memory foam mattress which really helped existing lower back problems that were limiting longer rides of 40+ miles.
will always have back problems but it's down to a handful of days a year where it affects my cycling/work/life vs 4-5 cumulative months a year.
oh...did i mention the 3x weekly chiropractor savings?