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Modifying Vigor P9 to be faster

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Modifying Vigor P9 to be faster

Old 11-09-16, 06:41 AM
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Schwalbe Marathon Supreme...

...is a now a discontinued 42mm wide tire. It is rated for 50-85psi.
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Old 11-09-16, 09:19 AM
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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
~12 mph is in the 50 gear inch range for me. My 88 gi top gear (someone mentioned yours is ~90 gi?) can cruise comfortably in the 23-24mph range, but I don't have the power to drive that except downhill. I don't think gearing is your problem.

For quick fixes, get toe clips or MKS pedals/clipless system and use stiff cycling shoes for improved efficiency and cadence. Wind force is proportional to the square of speed (eg, doubling your pace requires 4x the power to overcome air resistance) and is going to be, by far, your greatest impediment as you get into the teens mph. Lower your bars to rock bottom and position your hands together tight in near the stem (fists only an inch or two apart - no brakes though), keep elbows/knees in, and make a bullet of your upper body. Wear skin tight Lycra. Draft stronger riders in the group.

In the end, however, power is power and as many alluded to, you simply need to train get your legs/lungs in shape... unfortunately, no easy way around this one - it's a slow and tough process.... and frankly, never ending. For example, even if the clipless and aero suggestions can immediately bump you from 11.4 to 13 avg, you will still need to DOUBLE your power output get to an 18.33 mph avg (wind force square rule).

Last edited by reppans; 11-09-16 at 09:28 AM.
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Old 11-09-16, 10:40 AM
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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.
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Old 11-09-16, 01:32 PM
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We have had much of this conversation in another thread on 20" vs 700c.

There are more factors. The advantage to riding in a group is significantly less wind resistance for the pack. Depending on where you are in the pack and the speed of the pack the advantage is between 8 and 15% benefit to the followers. This is even better with a 20" wheeled bike as you can get closer to the rider in front of you. Early on the extra stress you get from riding close in the pack will burn energy too.

On flat ground the main mechanical resistance is the tire road interface. Historically the narrowest tire available with the highest tire pressure will be one of your lowest resistance tires.---There is very little comparative data on rolling resistance in tires. Usually the narrowest tire available for the 406 rim is 20 x 1.1.

I recommend using Strava to train with but do not race it all the time. It is great for keeping track of your workouts on the same route over and over. Built routes in Strava where you expect to ride a lot if there are not a lot of routes already built.

Enjoy the ride
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Old 11-09-16, 02:26 PM
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Here is how my setup looks like. Almost no need for drops with the pseudo bar-ender grips and lower handlepost
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Old 11-09-16, 05:25 PM
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lower handlepost
small bar ends
kojak tires or smaller even duranos or schwalbe one even
clipless pedals and shoes
lighter wheels
after that you can lighten the bike with better cranksets, carbon handlebar seatpost etc etc



saddle is very personal, if yours feels good , than dont change it

thor
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