Does the bike really go faster, or the person?
 

Just a quick question......

Someone suggested to me that I could get a "faster" bike if I want my commute to not take so long. But doesn't the condition of the person riding the bike determine the speed?

In other words...... are some bikes really that much faster than others, or can I make any bike "faster" by riding more and pushing myself in terms of performance?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Yes, some bikes are faster. They accelerate faster, they have a higher top-end speed, they roll easier, and they are more efficient.

How much of a difference you might see in your commute is debatable.

For commute purposes it may be meaningless. Whether I ride my 17lb Tarmac or my 30lb Rock Hopper, it's still going to take me 18-22 minutes from my house to the office, depending on traffic lights.

I think what you would find is if you hopped on a lighter, more aggressive bike is that you are used to something heavier and would indeed go faster. No reason you can't get within 1-2 mph difference on your current bike if you did intervals, hills repeats, etc.

For that matter, hopping on a road bike with no bags or locks or anything you'll find you are stronger than you thought you were.

The traffic lights are probably the limiting factor, not the bike. The Tarmac is going to accelerate away from the light faster than the Rock Hopper but the speed difference probably isn't enough to let you get through the lights quicker.

A relatively short commute may have some effect as well. On a longer commute...about an hour...I notice large differences in my average speed over the same distance based on the bike I'm using. If I ride my go-fast bike, I have a slightly higher average speed than if I ride my road commuter...15 mph average vs 12 mph average. If I ride my mountain bike (with knobs with the pressure set for off-road riding), I'm much slower...10 to 12 mph average.

With a faster bike, I can knock 5-10 minutes off my commute depending how far I'm riding. No lights to slow me down. Probably averages out to 1-1.5 mph increase in overall speed. At any given point, I'm probably riding around 2-3 mph faster.

To me a fast bike means that it's lighter--better acceleration, handling, braking, more aggressive aero position to minimize air resistance and to maximize power to the pedals, and good tires that have low rolling resistance.

When I ride my 19-lb drop bar road bike on any given day it is, on average, faster than my 30-lb mtb with knobby tires by at least 2-3 mph. That might be enough to allow me to make a one or two more lights on my 20-commute, which may translate to 3-4 minute difference in overall time.

My experience was, 12 mph on my MTB, 14 MPH switching knobbies for slicks, 17 mph switching to a racy road bike. I was not really athletic. Since then I've had my speeds cut a third due to health issues.

10 km open route, flat, minimal number of traffic lights: difference between a fast and a slow(er) bike, at a moderate, commuting effort (not wanting to arrive all sweaty) is about 25 to 30 minutes (5 minute difference).

I find commuting on a bicycle with wider tyres, mudguards and a rack a lot more comfortable, more convenient (running errands), so the slight speed penalty is worth it.

Sure you'll go faster, but it most likely won't save you much time.

From slowest to hardest ride, I'll save only about 5 minutes on the 7 miles road/MUP portion if I never stop for a light and never have to slow for anything.

I specify road/MUP for that because another good portion at each end is parking lot, and how I ride there (ie, 6-10 mph) can take several minutes extra. So if I really wanted to save time I'd concentrate on going faster safely in a parking lot instead of faster on the road.

Follow up question...... for those of you who commute 50+ minutes one way (which is what mine is averaging to be right now).

What do you think about while you are riding? Do you ever feel lonesome?

I really like riding my bike to work, and for health and other reasons I'd love to do it every day. So far the longest streak I've done is 4 consecutive days in a row.

I like the exercise. I just can't shake how lonely it is. It's possibly the only real obstacle left between me and daily cycling.

Possibly this is a personal problem. I'm just curious if anyone else feels the same, and if so, how do you convince yourself to ride anyway. I thought about getting some earbuds and an MP3 player..... but I ride through traffic and rely heavily on peripheral hearing for safety and decision making.

thanks again for your thoughts.

Agreed...

I did some personal tests on my commute... between my typical commuting "truck" of a bike and my weekend crit racer and yeah, I shaved off a minute or two on my 12 mile 45 minute commute.

But indeed it was traffic lights that really seem to make the difference... In spite of my best sprint speed... spending several minutes at several traffic lights seems to really kill the average speed.

Traffic lights do the same to motoring speeds too... you may "race" between lights at top speed, but you still spend minutes of down time waiting for the red ones. This why you, as a cyclist, can often "keep up" with the same motorists even on 35MPH roads... they may roll to the red faster than you, but you'll roll right up to the same reds just seconds later... thus giving you about the same average speed... which is much lower than that posted 35MPH.

I generally thought about the traffic around me... tending to keep my head on a swivel while watching for errant motorists. But in those places where there was little other traffic... I always had a song in my head.

I could RACE from one light to the next at this one (pair of) locations and if was just doing well enough I could JUST make the 2nd, but they de-sync'd the two so I can't do that anymore.

I think this is a matter of personal disposition. One person's loneliness is another person's solitude. Being alone for extended times is one of my favorite things about cycling.

I'd really like to be able to not think about anything, but monkey mind usually takes over and I think about anything from problems I'm trying to solve at work to why squirrels behave the way they do. I don't do music because I feel like it's important to be able to hear what's going on around me, but I do frequently sing to myself.

You know, stuff. Often work-related, I can figure something out while I'm riding that I can't in the office with the phone ringing etc... I don't make an effort to think about it; things kind of move in and out of my head or stay there for a while...

mostly this.

it's not entirely meaningless, but my commute times seem to mainly be governed by rush hour traffic, lights, stop signs, etc. along my 5 mile commute.

to give you a rough idea:

car: ~20 minutes
road bike: ~23 minutes
commuter bike: ~24 minutes
winter beast with studded tires: ~27 minutes

so between my road bike and my winter beast there is a 4 minute difference, but that is mainly due to the studded tires. they are heavy and chock full of rolling resistance.

but between my road bike and my daily commuter, the time difference is only about 1 minute. even in my car, which can theoretically travel at 100+ mph, it still takes about 20 minutes because, as i said earlier, traffic and traffic control devices are the primary limiting agents of my overall average speed, not the top end power of the vehicle i'm riding.

Everyone is focusing on stoplights. My commute has few or none depending on the route.

And five minutes in a day might not be important, but five minutes times two rides a day all year long is a lot of time. This is the sort of thing I think of while brushing my teeth for two minutes... twice a day... half an hour a week... 24 waking hours a year

NPR on the way in to work, podcasts on the way home. I have open air earphones that don't seal out surrounding noise; large portion of the commute is on a MUP anyway ( about 30mi r/t)

I'm too busy paying attention to the traffic and road conditions around me to be lonely or bored, because not paying attention could cost you dearly. My ride is about an hour one way, so it's not short, and it's all on the road. There's always interesting things to see, especially when I'm stopped at a light. I look at the drivers around me, and what they're doing. Sometimes we'll acknowledge each other with a nod and/or a smile. I wonder what they're thinking, something like, oh it must suck to be you as they are looking at me while sitting in their air conditioned/heated metal cages and I'm drenched in sweat or wet from the rain, or bundled up that you can barely make out my face.

I'd advised against earbuds though, especially if you travel in heavy traffic.

One more thing: When I'm riding it's rarely at a leisurely pace. I'm almost pushing pretty hard, so the effort itself sustains my attention for the most part. But I can see how if you're just puttering along at a leisurely pace that it can get somewhat boring.

That's a good point, but it's more usually one or two minutes, unless it's a longer commute. Frankly I think I save more time by not bothering to change for the ride home.

Don't the voices in your head keep you company? Seriously, though, I can ride all day and not feel lonely in the least. Being connected with the world around me is highly entertaining.

I use 1 earbud and keep my left ear (traffic side) open. However, I do tend to take the sidewalk on certain parts (~1 mile) of my commute where their is high traffic and no bike lane, just not worth it for me to stay in the street.

Sometimes I wonder why I am doing this, but I forget about that rather quickly.

I never have felt lonesome because I find riding a bike one of life's pleasures that the feeling of lonesomeness doesn't get in the way. I am wondering if you really meant "boring" rather than lonesome because that is a different kettle of fish. Yes, my long commute was mostly on a MUP so I didn't have to be as diligent as I do on roadways and so I did listen to music sometimes during those portions on the MUP to cut out the boredom.

What worked for me in commuting is not giving myself a choice. Every morning there was no decision to be made on how I was going to work, it is always by bike. My commute was an hour and fifteen minutes and regardless of the weather, including winter, I rode my bike. My commute now is shorter, my workplace is right on the subway line so easy to get to, I still ride. Again I never make it choice it is just something I do.

Regarding the question of whether or not a different bike can make you faster, I think the biggest component is psychological. At least it is for me. While I am theoretically able to cover the same distance in nearly the same amount of time on a "slow" bike, I usually don't. If the bike feels heavy and sluggish, I give in to that and ride at a relaxed pace. If the bike responds in a spirited way when I pedal, I'm more likely to give it a hard effort. This isn't just a placebo effect. Riding fast on a bike that's built to go fast is a lot of fun. Riding fast on a bike that's built for relaxed riding is a lot of work and often just plain sucks.

It's still not a lot of time. If I ride at a lazy pace, my commute takes about 50 minutes, which includes about 5 minutes stopped at various intersections. If I ride it like it's a race and hit a couple of traffic lights just right I might be able to trim that down to 40 minutes. For me, the biggest benefit is that I enjoy the ride more on a faster bike.