What will really speed up my commute?
 

Hello all!

I regularly commute 28km round trip to work on a mid-grade hybrid bike, and although I'm reasonably fit, most people seem to smoke past me on the bike trails. But I'm getting mixed signals on what I can really do about this.

Option A: upgrade to a nicer road bike. But given the cost, I only want to do it if it would *really* make a difference. (Current hybrid is a generic "Genesis" bike). Plus, I have some bumpy roads to navigate, needs paniers, etc.

Option B: Get real bike shoes and clipless peddles (Yes I bike in sandals, please don't judge :) ). Would this be the best bang for the buck?

Option C: Something I'm not thinking of.

I'm new here, so I hope this is not too much of a repeat question.

Many thanks! If I can shave even 5-10 minutes off my commute this would matter a lot.

Slick tires will help if your using something with more tread.

Find a regular commuting partner. Any time I meet up with a buddy on my commute, we end up pushing each other to pedal just a little bit faster.

Is your commute mostly or only partly on a trail? If it's mostly on city streets, it's likely that it won't matter what you do; the limiting factor is probably traffic signals. My 4mi/6.5k commute takes me 19-22 minutes every day whether I ride my Tarmac or my old Rock Hopper with semi-knobbies. It's the stop lights.

In my experience, going from a hardtail mtb to a road bike did speed up my riding, but not that much either, it's not like I'm cruising at 20mph but that's probably my fault, not the bike's.

A road bike, even one with a relaxed geometry, will give you a more 'aero' position than the hybrid. It would also come with higher gears (bigger chaing rings) so you could pick up more speed (I'm assuming your hybrid has MTB gearing).

If you currently have a 44/32/22 or similar MTB crankset and you commute is mostly flat maybe changing to a trekking crankset (48/38/28) could be a convenient way to pick up more speed without having to change much of your setup.

Have you tried pushing down harder on the pedals?

started with a mountain bike with knobby tires carrying all my stuff to & from, cpl years later I was riding a road bike with slicks & stocking up on supplies by driving a weekday or riding on the weekend

in between was all kinds of nonsense like slicks for the mountain bike, then bolt on drops for the straight bar, then a hybrid, then slicks for the hybrid, then bolt on drop bars for the hybrid, then actual drop bars for the hybrid, then a 30 yr old heavy road bike, then a light(er) road bike, etc etc.

finally landed with an aluminum road bike w a carbon fork, integrated brake / shift levers & a leather saddle

my advice for myself would be, skip the nonsense & go directly to a nice light road bike that can take fenders & a rack :D

oh & I don't get passed anymore except by the guys w the burly legs, happy smiles & a little wave. don't mind that

I ride a similar distance (6-16 miles RT, depending on the switchover point), and am still quite new at this as well. I offer my experiences, not advice.

I switched out MTB tires to somewhat aggressive 'urban' tires (but puncture-resistant) last year. This year, I went to a lighter weight smooth tread tire, and lighter weight tubes, and gained about 0.7 mph immediately.* That cut my time down, and I felt less sweaty as a bonus.

The lightest clothing (warm enough to start, but maximize cooling during the ride) means I don't have to slow down as much the last few miles; I do swap shirts once I get to the office.

Replacing the chain (old one was dirty and stretched), and keeping it clean feels much smoother, vibrates less. Not sure how much it helps.

I use toe clips, as it helps me keep my feet on the pedals as I go over potholes and storm drains; I am not quite comfortable with clipping in, and I bike in with my work shoes. Works for me.

I go much faster on my road bike, and on weekends I go much faster because I ride on country roads with (almost) no traffic lights, or even stop signs. Getting in at least one more demanding ride on the weekends seems to pay off, as I can pay attention to cadence, fit, shifting, etc.

My shortest route also has the most lights, and hills, so isn't necessarily the fastest route.

*I also started carrying a spare tube, instead of just a patch kit, as I figure the chances of a flat are probably several times higher.

Go with B. It will make your efforts more efficient and give you a better workout as well, since you will be able to pull as well.

Best investment I did on my hybrid. Although it has not stopped people from zooming past me :p I figure there will always be people faster than me, so I just focus on my own riding.

Get a $10 computer at Walmart, set it to show average speed for the day, and try to push that number up

Option D: Think if there is good reason why you give a dang if other cyclists "smoke" you while commuting. Are you in a race or that big a hurry to get to/from work?

If no rational reason comes to mind, forget about all the biased mixed signals emanating from the hypesters on the blogosphere or at the LBS and enjoy your ride. It is already "real".:)

Two words: E Bike.

Seriously. Twenty eight km is not a short commute by anyone's standards. Never mind the guys smoking you on the MUP, it's a lot of distance to be doing it day in and day out. An ebike can cut your commute time drastically.

Multi Mode, take the Bus for the bulk of the distance, bike goes on the rack in front of it,
Bike to and from the most convenient bus stops.

1. what is your average speed?
2. what tires are you on?


thanks

The big gains - dropped handlebars, especially on the windy days. Decent rolling tires on reasonably light wheels. Pedals and cleats (or toestraps) so you can pedal full circles. None of this has to be a big cash outlay. An older steel sport bike can make for a very good commuter. It is possible that your hybrid can take dropped handlebars and serve well, but that depends on both you and the bike. (Fit issues.) Pedals and shoes are an easy upgrade and can be transferred to any bike you get in the future. (I kept my work shoes at work.)

If you want to avoid the used bike hassle and are willing to spend some more money, look at a bike like the Surleys. (And don't pay attention to I-Like-To-Bike. He is always quick to point out how what we do and think are wrong.)

Ben

The only 2 things that have noticeably worked for me (in my limited experience) is to get slick tires and to reduce the weight.

I bought some lightweight tires that are still wide enough to soak up the bumpy roads. I was hesitant to get wider tires (700x35), but I'm glad that I did because they were noticeably faster than the semi-knobby tires I had which were skinnier.

If you already have slick tires, look at reducing the weight of anything and everything. I was surprised how much a pound or two made. As mentioned, I had lighter tires, but I also went through my bags and got rid of the little stuff that I really didn't need (but kept "just in case"). For instance, I had a flashlight that I can mount to my bike, so I did not need my little LED keychain light and the charging cable that I was also carrying around. After taking out a handful of things like that, I was surprised that so little actually amounted to a better ride...I just hope I don't become a junky obsessed with weight savings down the road. At some point, that ends up costing more than it's worth. $$$

+1
I commute 17km round trip on city streets. I have three different bikes, a light 1980s steel roadbike, a new mid-weight semi-touring road bike , and a very heavy 1990s hard tail Mountain bike with higher road gearing. All three run on smooth street tires (except the MTB in winter, then it's studded snows).

On street tires, all three average the same running time due to lights, etc. I have multiple routes of similar lengths and the one with the least number of lights is quicker by 5 minutes.

Normally I ride at a good clip, 21kph in (It's slightly downhill) and 18.5kph on the uphill ride home. Occasionally I get the urge to see how fast I can ride my commute. Pushing as hard as I can I can get my average speeds up by about 1.5kph. This usually translates into a total time savings of only 5 minutes.

For instance my average time riding home is 45-48 minutes. Pushing it as hard as I can means 38-43 minutes. And when you add time to shower and change (shower at home only) it is not worth it to me.

Based on what you described I would make the following suggestions for the most speed for the least money:

A) Toe Clips with Straps. They probably work with the platform pedals you already have and they are not as good as clipless, but they are cheaper than buying and installing "Clipless" pedals which need clipless shoes, and with toe clips you can wear any shoes you want, like old sneakers, but probably not open toe sandals. Approx $12 a pair online.

B) Smooth street tires. This alone made a 2.5 kph difference on my Mountain Bike Based Commuter. over knobby mountain bike tires. Without traffic, that's good for loosing almost 7.5 minutes without traffic (I think). If you don't need super tough puncture resistant tires these can be found on sale on line for less than $30 a pair. If you need more puncture resistance, try adding tire liners, like Mr. Tuffy's. $12 a pair or so, and then you can continue buying regular, less expensive tires.

C) An aero bar or drop-bar-end add-ons. Even on a straight bar bike. I put an aero bar on my Mountain Bike Commuter to increase the number of hand positions I have, and away from traffic I gain a couple of kph. I don't like riding in the aero position too long. But I also have bar-ends I mounted inboard. They approximate riding on the drops and I am more tucked in than on the normal flat-bar grips. I bought mine for $30 a few years ago, and the bar ends were like $12. This was on sale at a local bike shop.

In fact, check with your LBS first...they may have deals on all of these things.

Good luck!

Here's a photo of my Mountain Bike based commuter:

What will really speed up my commute?
 

Hello all!

I regularly commute 28km round trip to work on a mid-grade hybrid bike, and although I'm reasonably fit, most people seem to smoke past me on the bike trails. But I'm getting mixed signals on what I can really do about this.

Option A: upgrade to a nicer road bike. But given the cost, I only want to do it if it would *really* make a difference. (Current hybrid is a generic "Genesis" bike). Plus, I have some bumpy roads to navigate, needs paniers, etc.

Option B: Get real bike shoes and clipless peddles (Yes I bike in sandals, please don't judge :) ). Would this be the best bang for the buck?

Option C: Something I'm not thinking of.

I'm new here, so I hope this is not too much of a repeat question.

Many thanks! If I can shave even 5-10 minutes off my commute this would matter a lot.

The reality is that the people that smoke past you might only get to their destination a few minutes sooner than you if they were going to the same place.

If you have a lot of stop lights, it's not going to matter too much what you ride, that's going to be the limiting factor. If you have some decent stretches of open road, then a combination of changes could knock off 5 minutes. 10 minutes might be harder to achieve consistently and it really depends on how hard you're willing to work.

I really doubt a road bike or clipless pedals alone would make more than a few minutes difference. You'll have to ride faster. Now, just getting on a road bike might help. Sometimes it's just an attitude thing.

Regardless of your fitness level, cycling is a different activity. There are all sorts of ways to train yourself to go faster. Ultimately (short of an e-bike), if you want to go much faster, that's what I think it's going to take.

Think about it for a moment. At any given point during your commute, you can choose to go faster, right? So the key is to train your body to be able to maintain a faster pace for longer periods of time. How do you do that? Well, you ride faster. ;)
Do a little research into interval training. That will help.

Also a little competition can help, even if it's with yourself. "Strava" and other smart phone apps like it automatically keeps a history of your times. You can see how you're doing compared to your personal best and the best rides of other people on the same stretches.

Thanks everyone!
Just to clarify, I have fairly slick tires right now, and few stops along the way fortunately (but lots of hills).
I'm going to try lowering my handlebars (left over from when I was pulling a child and wanted to be upright), lightening up some accessories, and trying clips/clipless of some kind.
I have a background in physics, so I have indeed "tried pushing down harder on the pedals". :) But riding with a buddy is a good idea for helping me push harder :)
I don't measure my speed, but I do about 14km in 50 minutes, with a lot of substantial hills, so about 17km/hr.
Very much appreciated!!

Get a red bike, they are faster. Also buy an expensive bike, it will motivate you to go faster. :)

It is a proven fact that orange bikes are faster.

Pretty short.
It comes out to be only about 9 miles each way. :ride::commute:
As mentioned above, a lot depends on how you are riding now. Those who ride longer distances often gravitate towards nicer, lighter bikes, but each person is different too.

There are a lot of different speed estimates out there. I do think you could gain some speed by going to a road bike, but don't expect to be transformed overnight from commuting at 10mph to 20mph. Perhaps a gain of 1-3 MPH on average.

I ride a road bike a lot, but am also pretty careful about what I run over. Cross/Cyclocross/Gravel bikes are an option that are a little more robust, but still with many features of road bikes.

You have a 28-km ride to work on a very hilly route, so riding 100+ minutes one-way...I'm going to reiterate my suggestion of an ebike. You could easily average 25+ km/h, in which case you will spend a tad over an hour one way. That's mover 50% faster...unless of course you like to suffer.;)

Edit:
Never mind. I misread the original post--I thought 28 km one way. No ebike necessary. HTFU!