Originally Posted by
ConstantRider
What's your stem angle like? After reading "flip it" about a million times in various BF threads, I finally did a while back and my average speed on standard routes instantly went up a little more than 1 MPH.
Also, how are you riding? Keeping a steady pace for the entire ride, or do you have stretches where you try to ride faster than your 15mph average?
Doing intervals -- riding at speeds you can only hold for, say, a minute at a time before you're gasping for air and coasting -- is the fastest way to improve your overall speed.
Thanks for the advice.
The stem is angled upwards (I don't know the degree, but it rises up quite a bit) where it is I am extremely comfortable riding on the brakes hoods. However, I do like to go into the drops for a while in each trip. By "flip it" do you mean flip it so the stem goes downward?
I generally try to maintain a fairly consistent pace, but I'm still at the "let's just try to make it to work" phase. When I ride on weekends I push the pace as fast as I can go, and definetly let it fly for stretches.