Originally Posted by
Osama_momen
Thank you all for the recommendations. The issue I have is that I try to ride with one of the Strava clubs and almost everyone has a road bike and I'm having trouble keeping up. When I posted the thread I had imagined I would get recommendations to increase/modify the gearing but it sounds like it is more my fitness level more than anything. According to the Strava app I averaged 11.43 mph and I got left behind. It seems that others were averaging 15 mph + cruising speed, although admittedly a good portion of the ride was up wind.
So my next questions are:
1- Where would I be able to get a drop bar that won't get in the way of me folding the bike? Any suggested brand?
2- What are flipped-over riser bar? are these better/more comfortable than the drop bars?
3- On cars, one would find the suggested tire pressure stamped on the driver door. Where would I find the suggested air pressure on my bike? what if I change the tires at some point? is there a rule of thumb?
4- I bought a cloud 9 comfort saddle. Would this get in the way of me picking up speed? I have not installed it yet.
5- And one last one: With the factory setup, would I be able to get up to 20 mph speed on my vigor without maxing out the gears and wiouth vigorously peddling?
Finally, thank you all. This is a great community and very happy to find people like you taking to guide beginners like me. The tips and the tone is very constructive. Great mentorship. You guys are awesome!!
Have a great day
They sell a lower handle post for folding bikes by litepro or fnhon, i bought one from the philippines for about 60usd (27cm) and it's fixed/non-telescopic. Bought grips with bar-ends, hence mini/baby bullhorns. Your tires recommended tire pressure are on the side, judging from the specs online (Schwalbe Marathon) they should be around 40-75. Racier folders tend to have the skinnier Schwalbe Durano (about 20x1.1) or the Schwalbe Kojak (Probably around the same width or googles says 20x1.35). With 53/39t on my front and 11-32t on my back I have no problem going 0-20mph in a short sprint, taking off from a lower gear also helps, probably about 4th or 5th gear but keeping the same effort would be a problem for me since I'm a little less fit and more heavyset. Once you get fitter, you can almost catch to roadies but not keep up with them on the long run unless they run just at least 15-20mph. Also I think stop and go traffic hurt your average mileage. I started on my dahon vybe with a 46t by 14-28t gearing but sicne upgraded to a 53t by 13-28t gearing but i do spin out on my downhill descents. Keep riding for a good month or so more and improve your fitness. If you wanna keep up with the roadies, I'd suggest getting a road bike for that matter since you'll be at a disadvantage with the vigor.