That's one approach.

Another is just not to ride every day. I ride two or three days a week, as my commute is 43 km round trip.

I could pass lots of people wearing flip flops and a parachute.


And sometimes people are doing a recovery ride, or they are recovering between intervals.


When I said it would bug me, it's more along the lines that someone who has not committed to the almost basic necessities of efficient cycling is fitter than me...that would bug me.


It's like someone at the community pool doing laps or whatever, and they are wearing a robe. Yeah, you can wear a robe in the water. But why?

Could be that the guy you passed thrashed himself in a pre-work session and is now riding home in a button-down shirt and dress pants after a day at the office.

Does it matter who's passing you or who you're passing during a commute? Commute to me is more about traveling and enjoying than racing. Enjoyment and speed is determined by wind, terrain and my fitness. The biggest factor is my fitness.

Last week I was the roadie and a racing dude on a Specialized Venge was you. :) I only caught up to the racer dude and said, "nice bike." He said thanks. Then promptly shifted into the large chainring right before cat hill and got out of the saddle and dropped me like a bad habit. No matter how fast you think you are, there is always someone faster. Even if its not a race... :innocent:

No, it doesn't matter in a real sense, but it's fun and interesting to muse about these things, as commuting only occupies half of the brain.

That's why listening to music, podcasts or audiobooks while bicycling is not a problem for those cyclists capable of chewing gum while cycling.:)

Duplicate threads merged.

It might just be me being a little height challenged but it seems that folks on big bikes always seem to pass me. I ride a 51cm and those bikes that look like 56cm and bigger go faster. Might just be they are younger and stronger (bigger engines). Anyway, just some random thoughts going through my mind as I ride... Unless there is some truth with bigger bikes going faster. Maybe their cranks are longer or something... :-)

That's funny, it seems like the ones going faster than me are narrower

28km round trip is about 17 miles or 8.6 miles each way. Assuming you go about 13 mph (in sandals) that would take about 39 minutes. To cut that down 5-10 minutes you would need to be going 16-18 mph. Clip pedals will help but I think it's mainly about getting stronger. You can do that by riding more

If your already going faster in sandals (15 mph), then to cut down by 5-10 minutes, you would need to be hitting 18-20 mph. Depending on what your average speed is, it may or may not be possible without external assists.

A lot of this boils down to, pay attention to how fast you're going, and take measures to go faster

Have you looked at alternative routes that avoid the worst of the hills? I've been bike commuting for about 17 years now but for the first couple of years i simply rode on the same routes that I had been driving for years. It took a bit of exploratory recreational riding to discover that adding a few kilometers on different streets actually reduced my ride times considerably.

As a taller dude - I don't go faster than others. I do have a bike with 200mm cranks though (KHS Flite 747) and when I am on that - I sure can generate a lot of torque. I go faster on that bike just for novelty sake. In any case, crank size and speed has been studied a lot and I think the outcome is that more aero higher cadence wins. With 200mm cranks you cannot do aero without beating your belly off with your knees - meaning that shorter cranks get you more aero.

How did I miss this? Best quote I've seen in a long time. :) Actually worthy of a sig quote...

Good for you! I think e-bikes make good rabbits if you feel frisky enough. I once saw a dude that looked like the Michelin man come speeding by me on a mountain bike during winter. It was the slight grade going uptown on St Nicholas Ave in Harlem. I couldn't believe it. Then I caught up to him since he stopped to check his bike for some reason. I then saw the pregnant rear hub and then knew that it was an e-bike...

getting to work faster
 

Option C: the best way I've found to get to work faster is to put all the pre-ride preparations onto autopilot. Out of the house & garage and on the road pronto.Same thing in the pm. With the bike... for commuting, it's all in the tires. That the bike has a certain heft is a given. Silly clipless shoes and pedals won't make you faster commuting.
So says me.
Jon in Philly

Hi all,


I thought I'd post an update. I've indeed shaved off 5 minutes! Thanks to everyone who posted constructive suggestions.


What worked so far is: a) getter better quality, even slicker tires (and I probably had a slow leak in my front tube), and b) lowering and pushing forward my handlebars.


This commute is mostly along trails, so not much stopping. I had thought that 2 years of doing it would build my endurance naturally, but i'll be trying some interval training next to further build my strength. I'll also try the power grips toe straps that someone suggested.


Cheers all.

To stay real here: a lighter bike with better wheels and tires will speed up your rolling time. So will pedaling harder. But the commute time change will be highly dependent on traffic lights if you have them. In Portland, many of the better cross-town streets have timed lights. Going in town (slightly downhill, making all of them is easy so the bike matters zero. Likewise how fast I go. Coming back, my good bikes mean that with real work, I can make all of them. Heavy bikes, I miss at least one light.

In commute hour traffic, factors like these usually drive my commute times nearly as much as the bike itself.

Ben

Yay, good you're doing so well!
In my own experience I also thought riding by its own was enough of a workout but lately I've found that Pilates (or blogilates) helps a lot. Since I've been doing it regularly my arms and core are stronger and it has helped me go a little bit faster on my commute.