Hey guys, I'm a newbie to cycling; I've been doing long (2 hoursish), slower paced rides (14mph) just fine, but as soon as I hit some group rides where the pact is a bit quicker (~19, 20mph) my quads just self-destruct. I can hold my own when drafting but as soon as I'm up front, I get too tired. My bike is a bit on the heavier side, but I figure that's not too detrimental? How would I improve my speed over distance?

ride more, faster.

repeat.

Do some interval training. Get your body used to speed and working anaerobicly. Takes some time getting used to it, but it will come. Try to increase your avg. speed on your 2 hour rides, add a few intense intervals, seek some hills for more anaerobic efforts. Good luck.

ride your bike fast.

train slow all the time, guess what, you'll be slow. There's a time for riding slow, but it's not year round.

my first post was kind of mean, sorry But it's the truth- the only way to get stronger is to ride. If you're really interested in training properly, there are books (most notably "the cyclist's training bible") which will give you a good background on the theory behind cycle training. In reality, though, it comes down to putting down miles.

Also, if you don't already, you might look into getting some clipless pedals or at least toe cages. They will allow you to use a wider range of muscles during the pedal stroke, so you don't isolate and destroy the quads so much.

There are more muscles in your legs than just the quads. You are probably not using them.


https://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf%20final%20docs/backyard%20positioning_julu_aug_2004.pdf
https://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf%20final%20docs/THINGS%20YOU%20MAY%20NOT%20HAVE%20KNOWN%20ABOUT%20BIKE%20POSITION_final.pdf
https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/kops.html

I have this. But it's way too technical for me; I feel like it is geared towards more experienced riders, not someone just starting out.

Any other literature recommendations?

I can only tell you what worked for me. Ride more, especially 1 day a week. I started out riding 20 miles a day and when I caught the group riding 18 fast miles, I got dropped...everyday. I started riding 22 then 25 then 32-35 miles a day and a nice long 50-60 weekend day. The long days really seemd to help the most. So did rest days. I rode 4-5 days a week.
Another thing to look at is bike fit. I raised my seat and gained a lot as well.
And lastly, I spin much faster now. Usually around 90-100rpms.

The book is good. Don't stress yourself about making a workout plan, and sticking with zone 1/zone 2, etc. Just read the first 7 chapters and get a feel for what he's saying- basically, that you need intense workouts to stress your body, but overtraining is detrimental because your body doesn't have time to adapt. Once you take those lessons to heart, just keep in the back of your head and try to rack up as many miles as possible.

And remember, have fun!

I'm in the same boat. I do see myself improving but I still get dropped, usually on any type of hill (even small hills). I have gone from 205 lbs to 168 lbs which hasn't hurt either. I went riding with my step brother a few weeks back. He isn't a bike rider all that much, mainly a long distance runner (Under 3 hour marathons) and he leaves me on the hills :-(

I ride about 100 miles a week, varying miles each day. I have only been riding for about 6 months and I have seen tons of improvements over that time, but lately I have seem to hit a brick wall.

Don't stress too much on your bike, I went from a Specialized Hybrid to a Specialized Roubaix Expert full carbon bike and didn't see near the improvement I thought I was going to see. I'm really happy with my new bike but don't buy one thinking your going to turn in to Mr. Speed.

gotta do more than that to be Mr. Speed

There is a huge difference in the amount of effort required to go 20 vs. 14. If you are having trouble on the group rides pulling at 20, don't pull until you get fitter, or keep your pulls shorter.

I completely agree. Mix in some interval training, which will really help when you are up front in a group working hard for a few minutes or working to catch up as others have said.

The long rides are the best though. If you rest after, they can really help you. Even doing 3 or 4 long rides (at least 70) can really help a lot. Personally, when I started riding, after these rides are when I notice the greatest improvements.

Keep up the training though!

I ride a 40 yr. old racing bike with 10 speeds. Do just fine riding with the fast guys. No matter what anyone says, its not about the bike.

G. LeMond said it best: "It never gets any easier, you just go faster."

Speed will come with time, young grasshopper. =]

Speed is a more demanding master than distance is! Keep going on those group rides. Keep training on your own. Cycling strength, endurance, and skill is built and developed over time, and it takes more time than you would predict. But it is so worth it, and what could be more fun than riding your bike?

FWIW, I have your exact same problem. I just don't do any of the faster paced pulls. The faster club rides are huge motivation to keep working and training.

+1 to what everyone else said about speed. It will come with time and everyone on this board is waiting for more.

But I didn't wan't Dave's post to get glossed over. You should also look at how you are using your legs and if you are depending too much on your quads. I did for ages. Reading an article about climbing hills, I saw where they recommended dropping your heels as you pedal to engage the muscles in your glutes and your hamstrings. What's worked for me is staying on the hoods or in the drops and dropping my heels on the flats helping me to engage those muscles more to build them up and to train my muscle memory to remember they're there.

I still tend to climb more with my toes digging in, which engages the quads, though. What has helped me the most though is understanding how to engage different muscle groups to give the other set a break every now and then. Which muscles groups you use and when is entirely up to personal preference, but knowing how to use them certainly will help.

One thing that can help with this is cleat position. Ball of the foot is traditional, but there are merits to having it a bit behind.

Also, I don't know about anyone else, but I tend to spend a lot of time in my default position on the saddle, but move fore/aft a bit, depending on the situation, and particularly back to use my hamstrings more when the quads need a break. I guess I'm not sure how, if you do a lot of riding, you don't end up finding your most comfortable positions. I'd guess a lot of the people who want to be told specifically how to find them are not really riding that much. I say this because I used to be in this group.