One year on - average not improving

[Gixxerman]

I am not that bothered about my average speed.
I was just trying to find out if it was about par for the course for an old fart on a hybrid, and why I can't seem to make any progress over and above my very first ride.
Maybe my first ride was quite a good time anyhow due to my general fitness and I was already near the top of what I and the bike is capable of right from the off.

I started biking again beacuse:-
1) I wanted something to do at the weekends when I had nothing to do at home and was bored.
2) Lose weight so I could prolong my footie career.

The irony is:-
1) I am nearly always out on the bike now, so nothing gets done at home (even the stuff that really needs doing!).
2) I have lost an inch round my waist, but unfortunately gained 2 inches on my thighs and an inch on my calfs. My weight initially went down to sub 12 stone, now it is back to 12 stone 4 pounds due to the extra muscule I have put on my legs. So it has sort of kind of backfired a bit.

So I have not got any faster over the ground at footie, but by heck can I leather the ball now. My clearances from the back are legendary!

 

[sundaram]

Riding up the hill might tamper with your speed or average. Well on the road the average may be the same and not improving due to age factor. I am 46 and I have just revived my cycling skills and I too feel the same.

 

[BrumJim]

Riding up-hill, power is much closer to a direct relationship with speed. You are gaining potential energy, which is why it is hard work. Power is energy over time, so climbing the hill twice as quickly takes twice the power.

Going downhill, the thing that is slowing you down is air resistance. This rises as a cube of speed, so you need 8 times as much power to travel twice the speed (ignoring all other factors).

So whilst this is horribly simplified (not including rolling resistance, ignoring wind resistance uphill), it shows why your average speed on hillier routes is lower than on flat runs.

 

[Tigerbiten]

Going downhill, the thing that is slowing you down is air resistance. This rises as a cube of speed, so you need 8 times as much power to travel twice the speed (ignoring all other factors).

Air resistance only increases at the square of the speed.
But if you double the speed then you half the time you take to cover the distance.
Hence the 8x power need to move at twice the speed.

Luck ..........

 

[jimboalee]

Air resistance only increases at the square of the speed.
But if you double the speed then you half the time you take to cover the distance.
Hence the 8x power need to move at twice the speed.

Luck ..........

Too simplistic.


Pf = ( Crr x (W/375) x V ) + ( CdA x (V^2/391) * (V/375) )

Cd x A = ( (Pf-Prr) x 391 x 375 ) / V^3

Prr = Crr x (W/375) x V

Crr = Rolling resistance.

W = weight ( lb )

V = velocity ( mph )

A = cross section area. ( sq ft )

Pf = Horsepower.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Air resistance only increases at the square of the speed.
But if you double the speed then you half the time you take to cover the distance.
Hence the 8x power need to move at twice the speed.

Luck ..........

And here's the rub.
The main opposition to increasing your average speed is air resistance. Improving wheels and tyres will make small improvements, but improving your wind resistance will make by far the biggest impact to your average speed.
So, make a smaller hole in the air, lower your bars, use Tri-bars (it's acceptable to do this with flat bars and the gain is the same as using them with drops). Once done, narrower tyres, etc may than have a more notable benefit.

But really... you need a nice road-bike... you know you do

 

[HJ]

I have had my Trek 7.3FX for just over a year now.
...

Get a lighter bike...

 

[zacklaws]

I don't worry about my average speed no more, but one thing I used to always look out for and that was malingering at a speed less than the average speed that you want to acheive or beat. So for example, when you get to the top of a hill, there is no time to hang about and recover, get the pedals turning and speed back above the average speed you want to achieve. Time spent dawdling, is hard to claim back. For example 5 minutes dawdling at 10mph, requires 10 minutes at 20mph or equivalent to make up that time, and if your legs or bike are not up to achieving 20mph, which you may have to do if the course is short and you cannot make the time up over a longer period before the finish, then it becomes harder to make up that time, 15 minutes at 15mph?. Going up hills, 15 minutes at 4mph if it is a steep one, requires 45 minutes at 19mph to regain lost time to achieve an average of 16mph (think my maths are right), but the problem is, it may be easy to cruise along at 16mph, but can you manage 19mph for 45mins? granted it may be downhill, but it will not be downhill for 45mins as a rule and you may race down at 40mph but only for a couple of minutes or less, and you may even encounter another hill to slow you down. One hill I climb, it takes roughly about 9 mins to climb at 4mph - 6mph, 0.9 of a mile, but I decend it at 40+mph at the other side, so it barely takes less than a minute to decend, but I have then a deficit of around 8 minutes to make up, roughly just over 2 miles behind schedule

Another thing I also did was fit more efficient brakes or maybe just pads may suffice, the original brakes on one of my my road bikes was poor and consequentially I would have to slow down early if I was approaching for example a junction in case I had to stop, soon as your below your average speed target, then time is being wasted. I fitted some new brakes and now I can brake at the last moment if need be, and if its all clear just keep going without having to incur a loss in speed.

I've been working nights, so it may appear a load of dribble if I have worded it wrong, but I think you may know what I mean.

 

[Tigerbiten]

And here's the rub.
The main opposition to increasing your average speed is air resistance. Improving wheels and tyres will make small improvements, but improving your wind resistance will make by far the biggest impact to your average speed.
So, make a smaller hole in the air, lower your bars, use Tri-bars (it's acceptable to do this with flat bars and the gain is the same as using them with drops). Once done, narrower tyres, etc may than have a more notable benefit.

But really... you need a nice road-bike... you know you do

Or just go to the dark side and get a recumbent .......
You have a much smaller frontal area on one, so a lot lower air resistance.

Luck ............

 

[Fab Foodie]

Or just go to the dark side and get a recumbent .......
You have a much smaller frontal area on one, so a lot lower air resistance.

Luck ............

You mean something like this?

 

[kewb]

my average speed fluctuates between 8mph and 18 mph ,

depending on weather ,road and physical condition`s  lol

my avg avg is around 14mph if that makes sense ,

i know if required these days i can get to 25mph in a sustained sprint something i had no hope of doing when i started cycling 

and climb a steep hill at 12mph compared to half that when i first started ,

average whats average lol .

 

[Fubar]

Since I started cycling again back in March my average has gone from approx 10 mph (no bike comp at the beginning) to now 12-13 mph so it hasn't improved by much, despite me losing 2 stone.

I can however do much further distances, don't have to stop on hills unless I want to and am not half-dead at the end of each run - success! I'm 42 and still overweight so although I'm still not happy with my average I think it's all relative...

 

[HLaB]

Since I started cycling again back in March my average has gone from approx 10 mph (no bike comp at the beginning) to now 12-13 mph so it hasn't improved by much, despite me losing 2 stone.

I can however do much further distances, don't have to stop on hills unless I want to and am not half-dead at the end of each run - success! I'm 42 and still overweight so although I'm still not happy with my average I think it's all relative...

Speed will come IMO the ability to get good base miles in (which it sounds like you are doing) is more import

 

[TheCharityShop]

I brought this subject to the attention of this site a few months ago

I have basically the same problem in that my fitness hasnt improved despite riding everyday in quite a hilly area too

I think the problem is, is that because modern bikes are so efficient it is very difficult to maintain an incremental improvement in overall fitness/speed because you just tend to plateau out especially when you are getting abit older

And hybrids dont tend to be the best bikes to use to guage or improve fitness even further

I suppose if you switched to a decent road bike and doing regular long rides you would see a drop in the times you are doing

if you really want to get fit just take up running, there really is a massive increase in fitness stamina endurance running say 10 miles a day than any amount of cycling unless you are riding up Alp d;huez which is unlikely in the UK

riding on the flat is next to useless

 

[Alien8]

Once you plateau it's all about intensity. It doesn't matter what you ride or where you ride you can always up the intensisty.