nova

Ok heres a weirdish one for you. My avarage max speed has went up and up and up yet my over all avarage speed is still sub 15 right around 14.5 14.7. As for my avarage max speed and avarage max cadence those are both going up quite quickly. Its just for some odd reason my true avarage speed is just crawling up at a extreamly low rate. Im riding the same routes i always do i dont feel like im realy pushing my self much harder on the flats and down hill. So why the super slow avarage speed increase? How do you all get your avarages to go up?

Preferably with out upgradeing my parts no job yet so no money.

DrWJODonnell

a maximum speed is a measure of one point in time. Since your rides are likely made up of thousands of points in time, a change in the peak that is your max speed (probably on a downhill section) the max will have little effect on the overall average. You want to raise your average, make sure that you are going faster than your average speed last time for a majority of the ride.

Chongo

Hi Nova, You might want to post your questions in the fitness and training section of this forum. No need for new equipment.

Richard Cranium

In theory -- bicycle rides that have the least deviation [change] in speed will produce the highest average speed. For instance, you should notice that "flat rides" can be performed at a higher average speed than a hilly route.

Using this over simplified approach, the best thing to do to keep a high average speed for any given ride, is to never slow down for the turns and try harder going uphill, restup going downhill and apply best efforts during the flats.

Get it?

merlinextraligh

intervals

donrhummy

Hill intervals.

patentcad

You don't actually believe that upgrading your parts will make you faster do you?

The ONLY part you need to upgrade is your MOTOR.

That means INTERVALS. As others here have correctly noted.

jrennie

Downgrade your parts not upgrade, go to yard sales and find a rusted out cluncker that doesn't roll very well and pedal the hell out of it. After a little while of doing that, go back to your regular bike and instant improvment.

The Octopus 

Forget equipment. You can buy speed, but not that much of it. Intervals are great and all, but there's nothing like finding riders who are faster and stronger than you are and going out and trying to hang with them. Put your ego aside and go get dropped. Go out with 'em next week, and try to hang on longer. This will also force you to ride smarter -- to counterbalance their increased fitness, you'll find yourself cornering better, dialing in your gear selections, using an efficient pedal stroke -- all kinds of things to give yourself every edge. You'll become a much better -- and faster -- rider very quickly. Have fun!

patentcad

I agree with the riding with the faster riders part. But without intervals you'll just perpetually get blown out the back door. In all likelihood. Whatever. I've been doing this for a very long time. Just telling you what really works.

So do both: start riding with faster riders. If you get dropped, intervals will eventually help you hang on. If you don't, intervals will make you stronger regardless.

But yes, forget equipment. I have a new $5000 racing bike. Does it help when it gets very tough on competitive rides? Yes. But I'd say it's 95% conditioning and 5% better bike advantage, even in those situations. And you really only experience that 'better bike' edge - on the VERY edge of getting blown out. THAT's when that investment MIGHT work in that way. But most of the time if your conditioning is right you could be riding a 25lb. clunker and still be there. Get nicer bike schwag because it's nice to ride and you like it, but have no illusions that it's going to really help you hang onto faster guys 95%+ of the time.

twilkins9076

Exactly.....You'll also notice that you probably have a greater deviation from your average speed when you slow down on hills and turns than when you speed up on the flats.

I don't believe average speed is much of an indicator, unless you're tracking average speed over the exact same course under the exact same conditions (wind, wet, etc.) over time.

HWS

Try this: Only reset the average speed on your computer every two weeks. Keep your pace arrow pointing up as much as possible. Only let it point down when you are stopping and try to keep it pointing up on hills.

I read that in a mag a couple of years ago and tried it. I gained 8 mph over the same 15 mile route that summer. I still find myself doing it, but look at ride time more than average speed now and my route has gone up to 35 miles.

botto 

guess you never heard of the LeMond quote: average speed equals an average rider

nova

Well if you seen my bike up close and personal you might not be so fast to say upgrade doesnt = more speed. Lets just say my bike is way behind the times ....

nova

Unfortunatly around here its hard to find people to ride with weekly let alone the same people. I do notice i get more avg speed in group rides. Few year back id go on a weekly 21 mile ride and i was always around 15 17 mph. Some times our corse was very hilly other times nearly pancake flat.

fmw

Pedal harder.

daytonian

...and more often

jjmolyet

Ride with faster riders.
Recovery and rest days.
Gear management, find efficient gears, and shift as needed.
Don't turn too big of a gear.
Hammer.
Fuel, Fuel, and more fuel.
Stay aero.

Snuffleupagus

Find the nastiest hill near to you.

Warm up...

Hammer up the hill, which will soon become your nemesis. Over, and over and over again. Possibly vomit...

Wrinse and repeat.

Starclimber

On the other hand...today's Romandie stage, contested by many of the best in the sport was won at an average speed of 21.5 mph. If your area is tremendously hilly, always up or down, your incremental improvements may seem quite small, yet you may be gaining a fair bit of fitness. You could test this by timing yourself once a month over sections of your 'standard ride'. See if you become significantly faster up a certain hill or over a particular flat section. Pay heed to the interval advice already posted. Keep at it, and good luck.

nitropowered

Average speed is bogus unless you are comparing the same route with similar conditions. Your average speed will also go up or down depending on if you are riding solo or in a group. On a completely flat course with little wind (bike path), I can easily average 21-23 for an hour or so. If I'm riding with others taking turns pulling, I can average the same speed for a longer duration, or crank out a higher speed for the same duration.

Plus hills can put a big damper on your average speed. On our moderately hilly rides, we will average close to 18. But on really hilly rides, we'll only average 15-16.

Go out and ride with other stronger riders. Even if you just sit back and never do work, you'll still get a feel for your level and get stronger. If you decide to pull, don't feel obligated to do long hard pulls (newbie mistake), burn out, and get dropped when you pull off.

operator

Surprised it took 20 posts until someone mentioned this. The only thing that's really close to useful is logging data with a power meter. And then, only if it's done right. Average speed is affected by so many things it's almost next to useless as a performance indicator.

ericgu

The average speed is much more influenced by your minimum speed rather than your maximum speed, simply because you spend more time at minimum speed.

Say you have a 2 mile climb that you ride up at 10 MPH, and then descend at 30 MPH. That two mile climb is going to take 12 minutes, and the descent will take 4 minutes for a total of 16 minutes = 15 MPH.

If you can push the descent up to 40 MPH, it will take 3 minutes for the descent, giving you 15 minutes = 16 MPH.

If the climbs are steeper, it's even worse.

You'll see the same effect if there's a lot of traffic or stoplights. It doesn't take much time spent at 10 MPH to knock the average way down...

domestique

All good advice.... intervals, ride more, ride faster, and riding with faster riders especially!

You will never get faster if you don't train faster, and let your body get use to increased effort..... Just keep at it, and find riding partners. When riding with faster people it keeps you motivated, and you are less likely to think how tired your legs feel.

Duke of Kent

A kid just won one of the conference crits last weekend with 28x700c tires, 36spoke rims and downtube shifters. He shifted twice the entire race. Once at the start to get into his big ring, and another at the end to get up for the sprint. The equipment argument is BS.