Originally Posted by
BlackCheetah
Well, my part in aerodynamics is that I took off my rear rack, both fenders on both wheels, I keep the handlebars permanently done, and I recently installed some L bar ends I bought from walmart which help alot.
Yes, my cadence is between 90 and 110 depending on the wind, and how hungry I am. I've tested my cadence and I do get up to 20 mph at 100 rpm, the tires I have are both 20 x 1.75 and I keep them at 60 psi. Half a year ago I replaced my rear rim with bmx one from my Local bike shop which was heavier but stronger than previous one.
I really want to get work in a hour, but I keep maxing out on 48x13. I can cruise that at 17 mph easily, but 48x11 I can't cruise about 14, and the wind destroys me on that cog.
18 used to be my top speed, and anything over 13 mph was so tiring, I don't know why but I'd so much faster now and 15 mph is like walking through a park.
I've been trying to figure out how to maximize this folder's performance and I think most like its the weight.
This is what it looks like now
And what it original looks like.
For speed, weight only matters on hills, not on flats. The only reason it makes sense to make a really light folder is because you might be carrying it.
For low speed, rolling resistance matters a lot (switching to the tires Bruce recommended above may quite a difference).
For high speed, aero is where you need to make improvements. I see you've already got bar ends - switching to drops would give you more positions (although this isn't cheap) - just lowering the handlebars you've got works too but may not be comfortable.
For gearing, you could put a double crank on as well (but it doesn't sound like gearing is your problem at this point).
Of all of these, tires is really the only one on which I'd recommend spending money - otherwise I'd recommend saving a buying a nicer bike.