jrossbeck

Hey everyone - I tried searching for this topic, and didn't find any good matches, but excuse me if it this dead horse has already been kicked.

I spent the last year getting back into biking for exercise (can't run distance anymore due to ankle issues), and two months ago upgraded from my hybrid to a entry-ish road bike (Trek Madone 2.1 Alum) with compact cranks and Look style clipless pedals. My legs are getting stronger, and I'm adding distance, but just curious what I should aim for in the lines of average speeds on rides in the 25-35 mile range (eventually longer). I've recently been hovering in the 17-18 MPH range with stops, and 18-20 when the stops are factored out using a site like Strava or similar. It feels like I am plateauing on my progress.

Are there any tips out there that might be helpful to eke out a bit more speed and maintain it? Or is this simply a case of needing to get with other riders to help with wind resistance, and/or the need to eventually upgrade to a full size crankset? Obviously I will continue to get stronger as I ride more, but just want an idea of what are realistic averages for others that ride compact cranks and travel solo a lot. Any advice would be helpful, let me know what speed you can maintain for 2 hours or more, and how long it took to get there. Thanks in advance.

rebel1916

I did the Kessel run in under 12 parsecs.

jrossbeck

Are you serious? That's an 18 parsec route!

bruce19

I have a 17.4 mi. TT with 1,000 ft. elevation that I just did at 16.6 mph. I also just did a Metric Century with approx. 3.000 ft. elevation that I did at 15.5 mph. The latter was a club group ride. I am 68 yrs. old.

slowgo

I'm by no means an expert compared to most here, but I don't think you are going to need to "upgrade to a full size crank", unless you are on the largest chainring and smallest cog, and in reality even if that is the case, which I assume its not, a standard crankset wouldn't help anyway. The way I look at it- I always ride in the large chainring and work between about 3 cogs in the back. (I ride flat Florida roads, only the wind necessitates shifts). I find a gear that I feel I can sit in and maintain for a nice distance. I try to keep my cadence at about 80 and know if I go up or down in gear I will gain or lose a mph or so. If I'm feeling particularly good I'll shift and take it up and see how it feels. This method works for me. My pre work morning rides are about 13.3 miles and my weekends are in the 25-35 range.

Homebrew01

It's not about the gears.
It's about your fitness, fit on the bike, aero-ness & comfort, training regimen .....

caloso

To ride faster you must ride faster.


While you ponder the deep meaning of this koan, consider interval training. It involves riding at a consistent effort for a specified time period, recovering, and repeating. My bread and butter interval set is the 2x20'. I do these with a power meter, at specified percentage of my FTP, which is the average power I can maintain for 60'. I soft pedal for 5' and then a second 20' interval at the same or slightly higher power.


You don't need a power meter to do these if you can consistently over the same stretch of road. A gentle hill that takes you 20-30 minutes to climb is a good stretch. If 1 is soft pedaling and 10 is absolute suffering, try to do these at 7-8. It should be uncomfortable but not killing. Remember that you have to keep it up for 20' and then repeat it.


You can do these intervals 2 or 3 times a week.

jrossbeck

Thanks to those who have replied thus far. When I bought the bike I honestly had no knowledge of compact vs regular gears so that was stuck in my head. Good the hear it's not an issue because I don't think I can sneak another purchase past the wife for at least another year.

shelbyfv

You need to define your goals. You mention cycling for "exercise." For lots of us that's code for "lose fat." If that's the case try to ride longer/farther. Burn more calories.

jsigone

when you can spin out at 42+ mph, THAN you can see how you're compacts are holding you back....

jrossbeck

To clarify - when I say for "exercise", I mean something to stay fit and healthy. I am a former/current swimmer and more recently a former runner. Swimming and running are very basic to me, as my body controls my speed, there is little or no equipment to worry about. But now I can't run so I've turned to the roads (still swum a couple days a week). This is where I get in my own way with cycling, it's easy for me to spend a mile wondering if my tires are too low, or try to find the perfect position to deal with wind. It's all so foreign to me which is why I asked for advice. Thanks again everyone for the help, the tip about interval training seems a fun way to change things up.

Homebrew01

Short intervals are good too. 1 or 2 minutes hard as you can for that duration. Throw a few of those in your rides once in a while.

deacon mark

Ok, I am a runner who cycles and you simply need to ride some distance. With a decent running background you could do 50-mile ride in within a month if you are already in shape. Your gears mean nothing compact or regular crank. I have a compact 50/34 and and a regular 53/39 and the average speed on them is no different. I tend to never go in the small ring on the compact unless really alot of wind it is basically flat here. On the standard I can switch a bit more. Try this, a 1 hour time trial all out on a course you can map out that is neutral. Go pretty much all out and use this as a base to make comparisons. Think of this as a 5k race. Work up to more miles and make comparisons based on this time trial.

Finally it did not take me any time at all to get some decent speed on a bike since I had the aerobic background that was very strong. It has taken me a few years though to learn to relax spin and feel smooth for a two hour ride at top speed. This or course is all solo because once you ride with a group and deal with any racing of pacelines then bike skill is the key. I have plenty of wind and endurance but put me in a group of 25-50 riders in a race and I am lost worry about crashing, turns, other riders, and how to avoid problems. Takes all the worry out of the problem of riding as fast as I can because I am trying to stay on the pavement with two tires.

hamster

Once you get in the neighborhood of 20 mph, it's very difficult to get perceptibly faster just by pushing yourself harder. Power requirements go up as a cube of speed. Besides, there are external factors like wind speed and direction and route profile that affect your speed more than your fitness level. That's why experienced cyclists rarely talk about average speeds.

Pendergast

On a road bike with compact gearing?

Sullalto

Yeah, do the math on gearing. Nothing at all wrong with a compact.


Something that a lot of people are guilty of(myself included) is doing their easy rides too hard and their hard rides too easy. Give yourself an easy day(or two!) between your hard days.

klmmicro

That should be fast enough for the old man...

Willbird

Looking at cycling from more of a training perspective changed my views on gearing. If I just rip around for some miles with no structure to my riding I could be convinced I never needed lower gearing than 38/26. But if I make my hard days very hard, then do a recovery day trying to stay in zone one (sub 120 heart rate for me) and I do not want to be limited to choosing a very flat ride then I need lower gearing than that.

milkbaby

Want to ride faster? Pedal faster. :-)

The concepts involved in training for swimming or running also carry over to cycling. Do enough distance/volume for endurance and then add in some tempo and some intervals. As noted, a compact crankset has nothing to do with it and isn't slowing you down.

bbattle

www.sheldownbrown.com/gears

There's a 4% difference between a 50t chainring and a 52t chainring. 1 mph difference at a cadence of 90rpm.

Do sprint intervals. Practice hammering down the road as fast as possible for as long as you can stand it. Work to increase your average cadence(rpm) level.

If you are riding with the fast group, watching for their accelerations is key to keeping up with them. If you are late, you burn too much energy trying to latch back on. But if you can match them, then it's a lot easier to stay with them.

RollCNY

Seems like you quit a lot of things. You might want to try smoking, as it's far harder to quit.

colnago62

I think a lot of what gears are best has to do with whether you ride in groups or solo for most of your rides and the kind of terrain that is being ridden.

rpenmanparker 

You only need a bigger crank if you are going 35 mph. Otherwise your cadence is way too low.

localroutes

Depending on terrain it sounds as though your average speed is not bad. The hillier the course the lower the speed. The compact crank set should have enough gear ratio to allow you to go as fast as you want, other then on a pedaling gradual downhill, where you will eventually run out of gear. Better to get to the point where you do not have to stop. Carry enough water and food with you and be able to access it as you ride.
localroutes

TrojanHorse