Gears
 

Those road bikers that fly by can be deflating. Try to keep spinning the cranks rather than pushing higher gears. That would have you toward the middle gears, I've got a couple combinations that are most comfortable for flat normal riding. Try to keep your cadence steady and adjust the gears a bit for conditions. One way I encourage myself to increase speed is on shorter rides find a few stretches and go faster than normal, recover and go again.

Gotta say though, sounds to me like your doing just fine.

Don't worry about competing with others, there will always be someone faster than you. Just spin along and enjoy yourself.

Look at the bikes too. There will be a moderate benefit of going from a low end bike to a high end bike.

But, many of us have that same issue... Either getting passed, or perhaps riding with someone else that seems to be putting in little effort. That may, or may not actually be true. They may be working really hard, and you just don't notice it, or you don't feel the burn in their legs.

More training does help... even as one ages. So, the more 20 mile rides, or 50 mile rides, or 100 mile rides you do, the stronger you will get.

Finally, don't worry too much about cyclists that are 50 years younger than you. They will get old sometime.

It all depends on you, your fitness, and the conditions you are riding in! For efficient, spirited riding, aim for 80-90 rpm's at the crank. If you can easily spin a certain gear at this rate, shift up. If the gear is too difficult to hold 80-90 rpm's, shift down.

To determine your rpm, count the pedal revolutions for 15 seconds, and multiply by 4.

Most beginners don't spin fast enough, and instead lug a gear that is too high.

As others have said, the ratios that you should be using are the ones most comfortable to you. This will vary with speed, incline, surface type, riding position, etc. Pick a trail/ride where you have a mostly flat or a slight incline. Get up into the gear that you find comfortable. Can you go into a higher gear and maintain a similar cadence? If so, this will increase your speed. A computer can be helpful, so you can see your speed and/or cadence. If you can go into a higher gear and maintain your cadence, that's good. Can you go into an even higher gear? At some point, you'll find a gear where you can just maintain your speed (and your cadence will slow). Even higher, and you won't be able to maintain your speed OR your cadence. I typically try to keep my cadence in a range that is comfortable to me, and I allow my speed to vary based on that. Going up hills, I'll gear down, and slow down, but I'll continue spinning at my cadence. I don't measure my cadence...it's just whatever feels right.

Basic Math .. a 50 t chainring turns a 25t hub cog twice for every 1 crank rotation.

multiply your wheel diameter , in this case by 2.. 2:1..

that diameter's circumference is how far you go every rotation of the wheel ..

a bike computer counts rotations , per minute for speed,
and sums them up for distance.




....

Like you, I don't measure my cadence, although I have a feeling that over the last few years it has gradually been creeping up, as well as my average speed creeping up. But, in the past, I was probably sub 60... perhaps by a bit, for general cruising.

I went car-free a couple of years ago, and have become a pretty hardcore bike commuter and utility rider.

20 miles 2 weeks ago is not enough to really get the exercise to improve. I don't ride every day, but so far this year I've been averaging about 20 miles a day total (thus most rides are longer than 20 miles). And the total miles really add up.

Anyway, if you wish to get stronger, get out there 3 or 4 days a week or so, for 20+ miles each ride, and sometimes longer rides.. 100 miles?

As for gearing, go by what is on your bike. If you find yourself riding 90% of the time in your top gear combination, or lowest gear combination, then look for something extra. If you land somewhere mid-cassette (or freewheel), then keep using what you have.

52/39 or 50/34 on front are common on road bikes. Smaller for MTBs and hybrids. On the rear, 13/30 or so would be common for freewheels. 11/30 or so would be common for cassettes. But, there is a lot of variability from rider to rider.

I ride the NCR trail all the time on a Specialized Crosstrail. It's a good solid bike but it's not a speed machine.

On that trail I often pass guys on $3000 road bikes who look like they think it's a Tour de France qualifier. (Lycra...Lycra everywhere....)

And I often get passed by some kid on a 26" wheel mountain bike from Wal Mart.

Don't worry about what other riders are doing. Some have just been riding longer. Some are younger. Some are just out cosplaying 'bike racer'.

Focus on yourself.

Are you enjoying your ride? That's literally the ONLY thing that's actually important in cycling.

I was out and about today.

I turned onto the bike path. I passed an older guy on a really nice Trek. Then I set my sights on this younger guy that looked like he was on a beach cruiser about 100 yards ahead.

I could probably have caught him, but dang if I wasn't cruising 18 to 20 MPH, and not closing the gap an inch.

When I did finally catch him at the light at the end of the path, I noticed that he had a rear hub about a foot in diameter, and it confirmed what I was already suspecting.

I looked at the Trek website to see the Verve 2 and the stock gearing. Front crankset has 48/38/28 teeth, and the rear cassette has an 8 speed, 11-32 teeth.

I'm 65, so I can relate to your dilemma. I offer this advice: If you stay in too high of a gear, your knees will complain. If you're going downhill, use the big chain ring in front and whatever gear in back feels right. If on level ground, use the middle chain ring in front, and whatever gear in back. If climbing a hill, use the small chain ring in front, and so on. If it gets too hard or too easy, shift. Downshift before you need to shift. Rinse and repeat.

That's not really the question to ask.
You are you, and I am I. Our conditions, riding goals etc aren't the same.

Outside racing or group rides, the best payout is from making every ride YOUR best ride.
Ride within your limits, according to your ability.

Humans, like all engines, work best at a certain level of resistance and rate-of-turn.
Knees are quite tolerant to fairly fast repetitive motion at light effort (spinning).
But continuously pushing slow-and-hard, (mashing) particularly at a high degree of bend, is a common cause for aches and pains.
Cyclists don't talk about pedal RPM, cyclists talk about "cadence".
And it's quite generally agreed that the best/most overall efficient cadence is in the 80-100 range.

"Trouble" is, many rookie riders feel that this is too fast, and tend to grind along at a lower cadence, stressing their knees instead of working on their cardio ability.

So get yourself a cyclocomputer with a cadence counter.
As long as you aren't cross-chaining(chain on big-big or small-small), use whatever gear that gives you a cadence in the recommended range and a resistance that feels right to you.
Let the speed be what it becomes.
There are tiny efficiency and drive train wear benefits from keeping the chain as straight as possible,and/or staying on as big cogs as possible but for most riding they aren't important.

There ARE anatomical freaks who do better at either a lower or a higher cadence. Going higher is generally not a health risk.
But do put the time and mileage in getting acclimatized to an 80+ cadence BEFORE deciding you're one of those rare beasts who do better at a lower range.

It's possible to get a kinda-sorta estimate of cadence by counting turns for x seconds, then multiplying.
Never worked particularly well for me.
Once I got a CC, it was obvious that while I counted, I also concentrated on pedalling and got a number that wasn't representative for my average, actual riding. .