Is it the Bike?
 

Or, I should have said, "Is it time to upgrade"?

Lately, I have been going on these local group rides twice a week put on by a local bike shop. The distance is only 20 miles. And every week, twice a week, I am getting smoked. These guys are very fast and can sustain there speed for quite some distance.

Now, I am in my late 20's and in great physical condtion. Also, yes, I am fairly new to the sport and yes I have bought ENTRY level gear (bike and shoes). It has to be the bike slowing me down.

This is what I am riding. Click Here!

I was able to hear one of the conversions of one of the guys that ride and he was saying that he was getting up to 31Mph. That is pretty fast to me. I am only able to hit 27Mph, but not sustain it. Also I heard another one say that he has won a couple of races latey.

I think what I am dealing with is the real deal or semi pro guys that have been riding for a very long time. I think if I upgrade my bike I would be able to somewhat keep up with these speed demonds.

What do you think...upgrade the bike?

Thank you for your comments,
finsfree

It is you. Train more. I got a fancy carbon fiber road bike and it didn't make me any faster. When you start keeping up then maybe, get a fancy bike. All about the engine and yours just needs some tuning for these rides you are going on.

Well, I'm willing to bet that you are not in great physical condition as you think you are. You mention that you are fairly new to the sport. There is a lot to learn about riding technique, pacing yourself and putting power down.

I think that it is more your lungs and legs that need an upgrade than the bike. You may notice a small difference with a 16 lb bike over a 22 lb bike that you linked, but it won't be like you think. Often lighter bikes "feel" faster, yet don't make up for a deficit in physical conditioning.

It's not the bike. I first thought you were riding hybrid or some ancient road bike but that is a decent road bike and I can't think of any upgrades that would make you any faster. Try to do some intervals (they're free! :) ), they will make you faster.

Do intervals and/or sprints once a week.

Google "pyramid intervals".

Yes it's the bike

Get this and you will be killing those guys:rolleyes:

Definitely not the Bike. 1) weight of the bike matters very little, even less in Palm Beach Florida (i.e. flat) And you actually have a fairly decent bike.

2) Lighter, more aero wheels, such as some Zipp 404's might make you .2mph faster , but its an extremely small factor, and doesn't explain your problem.

3) My bet is these guys that are dusting you aren't "Semi pros" or the "real deal". Likely just local guys, some of whom may race. There are a whole lot of people who can do 31mph on a bike. Not saying that the guys on your local ride aren't fast. I am saying there are a lot of fast people out there, that are way below the level of being a professional cyclist.

4) Keep going on group rides with guys that can dust you; you'll get faster in the process.

5) Read some books on training, (google Friel, and Carmichael) and start doing a plan with interval work.

Many people think that they are very fit and you may very well be fit. But fit for cycling is quite different. It takes a lot of riding (not necessarily intervals) to get you to their speed. It takes will and just going out and riding. It took me about 1500 base miles last year to finally not get dropped by the group I was riding with. I just went out and rode solo and gritted my teeth a lot on group rides to get myself up to their pace. I have a 17lb bike and a 22lb bike. I can tell a difference in terms of how fast I take off from one to the other but I top out at the same speed on both. My lighter bike may give me an edge on a sprint but that is about it. Keep working and learn to ride in groups. It won't take long before you and your young legs/lungs will keep up.

It's the bike alright.

Just sounds like to me the other guys may just have trained more over the winter. I think that turning your guts inside-out over twenty miles once a week, without having done enough base training may cause you some problems. Upgrading equipment can increase speed but I dont think you're going to pick up 4 mph. good luck.

I was going to call Finsfree a troll. But if you look at his posts, he spent some time on BF deciding what entry level bike to buy. Then went out and bought one, and now is posting about riding it.

I think he believes what he wrote. You couldn't draft a better troll post though. The "semi pro" touch is just such a great hook.

Honestly it could be. On my touring bike w/ stem shifters, I can't stand up or I knee-shift. That makes me slower.

. . . and the Moto is the bait on the hook.

It's not the bike.

I take my 1988 Bianchi 14 speed bike with downtube shifters weighing 25~ pounds on fast group rides and keep up. One of my friends has an older Schwinn and does one of the fastest group rides in town.

:roflmao2:

That bike is about the same as my Allez Sport, maybe a little heavier. Maybe if you were doing a lot of hills a lighter bike could make a difference.

31mph is pretty fast for "normal" people but doable with no wind, perfectly flat or slight downhill. Throw some aero bars on.

Gene

There is great physical condition, and then there is great cycling condition. They aren't the same. Some similarities, a lot of overlap sure, but a lot of things are cycling specific that take years to build.

anatomy of the best troll ever?

I am going to go ahead and disagree. I don't think that one would do it. I was thinking Italian, as well, but maybe a little faster. I think this, would do it:

http://www.ducati.com/bikes/superbik...corse/index.do

It's you. Save the money. Just keep training.

I don't know about "real deal" and "semi-pro" but chances are they have been riding a lot longer than you have. Just keep riding and learning and you'll be able to keep up eventually. It's good to ride with a group that's a bit faster than you anyway. It's an opportunity to push yourself. I prefer to play catch-up instead of wait-up.

no

That is not good enough, you need the MOST Lightweight wheelset too. That way you'll go the mostest fastest. :p

OP, its just like running. You think you are in good shape, and you think you are fast but then you realize that some people are faster. You'll spend a ton of time training, realize that you've improved, but there will still be faster.

For example Robert Cheruiyot just won the Boston marathon with a time of 2:05:52. That's a 4:48 mile pace. I can sprint that fast, but I can't hold it for 26.2 miles. Its not the shoes that's holding me back.

Better cycling equipment yields performance gains, but its mostly all marketing hype. Go out an test ride a $9,000 bike and you'll see. They are really nice and really comfortable, but you're not really that much faster on them.

its probobly you but if u got the money just get a new bike.