profjmb

I ride alone–don't race or want to race–but like improving in various ways. One thing I pay attention to is my sprinting speed. I go over to a straight street and sprint as fast as I can. Thing is, building up to my top speed this way (31-ish) I'm pretty tired once I get there and think that I could go even faster if I weren't exhausted from building up. (Race guys, don't tell me that 31 is not fast. I don't care. I'm 55 and like I say don't race.) Maybe that's the nature of the beast, but I understand that in a group people draft and then sprint out from there. There is a hill (not many in Chicago-land) I can ride down and get to the mid 30s and maintain or even increase speed after it flattens out. Say I can get to 37 that way. What's my speed, 31 or 37?

Homebrew01

Your speed is whatever the computer says it is. Conditions are always different, so compare your speed to yourself, not everyone else.

gc3

As this is the 41...and although I'm a newbie here...I believe the answer is that you just averaged about 45 mph and 600 watts

merlinextraligh

If you want to see the top speed you can hit, without a leadout, gradually ramp your speed up to the fastest you can cruise without starting to go anerobic (likely low 20's based on your post) then jump as hard as you can, for as long as you can still gain speed (likely about 20 seconds) That typically will result in a higher speed than just gradually ramping it up.

merlinextraligh

BTW, an honest to god 31mph, with no leadout, is not bad. Cat 5 sprints have been won at speeds not much faster.

svtmike

There is some technique to improving sprinting performance in addition to just pedaling as hard as you can. Have fun.

https://cyclingtips.com.au/2009/07/ca...int-technique/

amit_shah25 

I would think there are quite a few factors. With vs without a lead out, an up-hill sprint, haven't really seen sprints right after a descent, so I guess it is tough to gauge like that. If you just want to ride solo, you have to compare it with yourself. If you want to compare it with others, I would say try out some club-rides who practice races, or try out an actual race. That will give you a good gauge of where you stand. Being a solo rider for over 5 years, and recently having started club-rides with folks who practice racing tactics etc., Id say being with a group you will improve quite a bit.

I have to give this a try. Have only recently started practicing sprints, but I rest, then jump and sprint, and repeat. Haven't tried to do it after a steady aerobic speed.

Gbrnole

Welcome to intervals!

canam73

And for some contrast, cruise around on popular cycling routes looking for an appropriately fast rider. Sidle up behind and suck wheel until he notices you and gets annoyed. At this point he will ramp it up an try to drop you which will inadvertently provide you with a perfect leadout.

Follow him close until he peaks, and then come around him and hit it with all you've got for 20 seconds. At the end, sit up, point at your junk and tell him to.....well, alright, that part is optional.

carpediemracing 

Sprint speeds are what they are. For a non-racer it's not quite as relevant how you gauge your progress. However if you're sprinting against others (whether formally, informally, or in your imagination) you probably want to figure out your absolute top speed given some competition, i.e. some drafting before you actually sprint.

To replicate this I recommend finding assistance of some sort - a slight downhill, friendly traffic, friendly wind, etc. A slight downhill into a non-wind area is ideal because you can measure your progress somewhat accurately without worrying much about outside factors. Using a friendly truck to get up to speed makes such repetition virtually impossible.

More details:
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...sprinting.html

There are some other things you can do. One is a "one gear, one jump, max effort" thing. I first read about it when Steve Bauer talked about doing such things. He'd start in his final gear (53x12 in his case) and go from a very slow rolling start.

Another is to do a slight variation on this, jumping in a given gear, like a 53x17, and sprinting and shifting until you've maxed yourself out. This throws a variable into the equation but it is more realistic if you're sprinting all out because it's almost always beneficial to jump in a lower gear and finish your sprint in a higher gear.

Have fun and keep your head up.

cdr

Clipped_in

WIN!!!!

TrojanHorse

You know, this is one area where Strava is really helpful. You can set up short segments that you ride on frequently and keep track of how you do on those segments every time you ride them. It doesn't matter if it's uphill, downhill or flat, you'll easily be able to see your historical performance on that one little segment.

hamster

+1

I don't know anything about cat 5 sprints, but, just doing a numerical simulation and plugging my weight (155 lbs) and max 20s power (~800 W) and the default drops CdA from Kreuzotter, looks like I should max out at about 33.5 mph using the technique above. I get 30.2 mph at 600 W, 31.9 at 700, 33.5 at 800, 34.9 at 900, and 36.3 at 1000.

I know, I should just get out and test this.

merlinextraligh

^ I think the Kreuzotter numbers end up a bit high. I don't think they consider the power necessary to accelerate to that speed. In other words it's the wattage to sustain the speed.

For example, rolling down a bridge, you get to 36mph, and level out there. It may take 1000 watts to maintain that, but it's going to take more than 1000 watts to accelerate to that speed on flat ground.

Not sure I'm right on how it's programmed, but trying to correlate the numbers, with what I've observed on my power meter that's my guess.

It predicts I can sprint at 40 mph plus, and I can tell you I've only hit 40mph in a sprint with a lot of lead out help, and a favorable wind, downhill, or both.

hamster

Yes. Which is why I manually did the calculation of accelerating from 21 mph at sprint power in Excel using their formula. I get to within 1 mph of peak speed at 20 seconds and within 0.5 mph at 25 seconds.

Will Goes Boing

Most if not all of us have probably done a sprint (running) at some point in our lives, so IMO a cycling sprint is exactly the same thing. Either from a dead stop or a rolling start, you exert maximum effort to get your body (or in this case your bike) up to maximum speed.

IMO for cycling a good way to gauge and as well as to be fair it should be done on a flat road. And as stated, it should be done from a build up of speed, so if you were charging downhill and it flattens out.... it doesn't matter if you are able to sustain a higher speed because you didn't use your own power to get yourself up to that speed to begin with.

When it comes to measuring your own abilities, especially for training purposes... don't lie to yourself. In actuality your sprint speed as of now is 31, not 37. Using the downhill to get yourself up to speed is the same as that guy who does a half rep on the bench press and goes around thinking he just did X amount of weights when the fact of the matter is.... if he would have gone low enough to touch his chest he wouldn't even be able to do anywhere near that weight.

spectastic

When I do interals solo, I've sprinted up to 31, but no more than that. In a group, I'm pretty sure I did 34. It's completely different to draft behind someone, conserve your energy, and then go all out passing them on the sprint finish. I was also chasing a guy down, so that added to my motivation. In a group, I'm not afraid to burn all my matches, because I know I can always piggy back behind someone else. But solo, I'm more afraid of blowing up, and I think that hinders my top sprinting speed tbh.

banerjek

Fify for reporting in the 41

Seattle Forrest

This is the wannabe racer forum on BF. Just make something up. Your sprint speed is 45 mph. Going uphill.

caloso

My coach has me doing a couple variations on this theme. One is a standing start big ring (53x14) all out for 15 seconds. Rest 3'. Standing start small ring (say 39x14) all out for 15 seconds and try to match the big ring speed (I'm spinning like hamster on crack by the end of the 15'). Repeat at least 5 more times.

Another is "Five good strokes." Which is the Steve Bauer rolling start, but I only get 5 pedal turns, so there's no wind up; it's crushing the pedals as hard as you can 5 times.

I still have a lousy sprint, but I have a better lousy sprint.

gregf83 

Sprinting on a bike is not exactly like a running sprint and your solo sprint speed is not really relevant. In road bike racing sprints don't happen solo or from a standing start.

It's more meaningful to start your sprint from something like 50kph, easy to do rolling off an overpass. It's also a better workout, more specifically targeted to what you'll actually see in a race.

Brian Ratliff

That's not a sprint. That's kind of a slow building leadout.

wn rider

I think most these models assume steady-state conditions so, as you stated, the requirements to accelerate to a given speed would not be considered but would be very relevant in a real scenario.

If 1000W is necessary to sustain 36 mph, then if you are traveling less than 36 mph you will accelerate, if you are traveling more than 36 mph you will decelerate. Therefore, if you are starting from rest you would not need more than 1000W to get to 36 mph, but you would need significantly more energy, since the time necessary to reach 36 mph would be longer.

hobkirk

A newbie who has obviously learned much. Very good, Grasshopper.

mrardo

31 sounds pretty good for a youngster of 55. But sprinting is more than speed it's timing and position and tactics in the group. Our old folks mostly 65+ sprint from my leadout which is usually 27-32 mph depending on the wind and how I feel . 4 or 5 usually come around at 30 to 35. When to go and how to get a gap decides who wins.