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Getting shelled out from the gun, Hmmm getting used to that in weekly Crits. Zero to mental ain't for me, and that's with the LVRC. When I was going off the back I looked at the speeds, bearing in mind our local is a perfect oval on a hillside. On the straight 26MPH, climb 24MPH decent 35MPH miss a shift on the climb and your out.
What's the pace like in the newer version of what would have been 3/V races? I much prefer a race that winds up, preferably on grotty roads.
[i]What's the pace like in the newer version of what would have been 3/V races?[/i]
3/4 races are notoriously jumpy. Sit at 22 then someone goes for it, speed will hit 27 for a couple of mins then back down then someone else tries a break etc etc. Vets are normally a lot better, they have the experience to sit at a steady pace and not go off half cocked every few mins. E/1/2 races aren't *that* much quicker, they're just a lot more steady. At 24-25mph...
[i]and I can normally easily average 20mph for a decent length ride[/i]
Well I can't. My sportive times for this year were 5.30 something for the cairngorm classic and the radar ride in 6:38 (slower than I hoped as I was riding with a slow pal for the first 60 miles.), I was 24th fastest up the climb to the finish though.
I still can't get anywhere near 20mph on a solo ride of a decent length and it's unlikely I ever will.
Just shows how out of touch I am, I didn't know there were still Vets races, I thought Vets were automatically a 4th cat. I'll be fifty for the coming season so if that's the case I might ditch my LVRC licence for BCF one. I need that 40 minutes you mention, which means hanging on and avoiding the spills before moving through. As a lot of my regions races are Crits I don't fare to well. Got me thinking now.
I still can't get anywhere near 20mph on a solo ride of a decent length
You need to live near Southport (flatter than Belgium), eat ice cream and cakes and ride with POF. He'll show you how.
😉
Out of interest how much riding do you do?
Cycle to work every day and try and get 3 rides in a week.
And my statement wasn't directed specifically at you Gary, but I get the impression that you take these things personally, so apologies if you feel I've singled you out.
I'm not taking it personally but I can't be doing with folk who say 'just ride your bike man'. Each to their own and all that.
I struggle to top 18mph on a long solo road ride (100 miles+) and most people think I'm fairly quick.
Well you're not ransos, you're bloody slow just like me 😉
I can only assume you simply don't have flat enough roads Gary - or maybe you just never do rides on them. Certainly should be a possibility if you can average over 18mph on the hilly route of a sportive. I suppose it also depends what you think of as a decent length - for me nowadays an hour would count (longest I've ridden this year is 3 hours!)
Have to admit I mostly now do far more hilly rides with averages down around the 18mph mark, but there are still the flattish roads if I want an average speed ego boost.
I live in ayrshire aracer so flat routes aren't really an option, and I enjoy climbing so tend to opt for hilly routes anyway. A decent length of ride for me would be around the 50 mile mark, I'm doing an hour+ on the bike twice a day on my commute so don't really think of an hour as a decent length.
This morning tailwind gave me 'an average speed ego boost' 😉
So how much faster is a road bike than a MTB with slicks on a long ride....10%? 20%?
18.63%
That's a lot, I've always felt it to be closer to 13.7565%
I've an old steel Cougar that I commute on. Part of my commute is towing the kids trailer. Its only a 7 mile round trip but I made the fatal mistake of lashing the trailer up to my Enduro one day...must have been 40% more effort.
Flat road I can sit at just over 20mph, but I'm not that fit. I do tend to work a lot harder on the road bike.
I'd not be without a road bike of some sorts now, sometimes I just want to go out & ride a bike, & I love the road bike for its simplicity.
Oh, & components last for bloody ages on them. Heaven knows how old the old ones were but I've just stuck two new Conti Gatorskins on it, thats just £40 & a few sprays of lube in 18 months.
I am a MTBer with a road bike I only really commute on the road bike and occasionally go for a little bit of an evening ride.
As regards to ooOOoo's question when I commuted my 16 miles (each way) on a HT with semi slicks (that really needed a good service) it took me around 1.3-1.5 hours now I have my road bike I normally arrive in just under an hour.
Yes I am slow averaging only 16mph but I'm faster going along and up than I used to be and I do think that is down to commuting. Really couldn't be bothered with being a roadie with a MTB as its just not as enjoyable.
Hmmm double post strange.
[i]Really couldn't be bothered with being a roadie with a MTB[/i]
Do you need to be pigeon holed?
I am a MTBer with a road bikeReally couldn't be bothered with being a roadie with a MTB
What the hell's the difference?
How are people working out their average speeds? are you just believing your computers? are they holding the clock for stoppages? surely total journey time/distance is the most "honest way"...
I'll own up now to having a spreadsheet with the precise route distance and time taken (rounded to about 30secs), I let Excel tell me how slow I am (15.63MPH Avg from june up to now)I' sure it's excessivly geeky but I like to keep a record and look for improvement... There has been none... 😥
cookeaa I do the same thing. I track my distance, time and average speed on a month by month basis and a ytd total.
Average is average of time moving. Assuming that you're not doing anything silly (eg riding flat out for an hour then stopping for 12 hours then doing another hour and taking the average of both as an average for a two hour ride) then that's perfectly logical and perfectly honest too. Stopping (well, starting again) most likely drops your average, not improves it compared to riding without stops since having to get back up to speed creates more fatigue than stopping for a short period will ever get you back.
All this fascinating discussion of average speeds. Makes me realise why I'm not a roadie. ¦-O
Yes me too, I'm yet to be convinced by road bikes. I commute on my HT with slicks, and while I could be a little faster on a road bike, I'd have to be compromised by not jumping kerbs, worse brakes, less steering control and no sus for smoothing out our sh!t roads. Plus I find roads are full of too many cars, they're too wide so you really notice how slow you are travelling and you never feel you can easily stop at your leisure. An efficient way of getting from A to B, but just not that enjoyable IMHo.
I'm with you on that clubber. I base my average speed from that on my computer. On my commute for instance I don't gain anything by stopping at traffic lights so why include that time.
Generally on road rides I don't stop anyway so my 'real' avearge and actual are the same.
On the mtb I don't really care what my average is.
[i]I'm yet to be convinced by road bikes[/i]
What are you hoping to be convinced of?
Where can I buy one these cycle computers which give you a TDF standard average speed of 25+mph. I want one! Mine seems to have a ceiling of 20mph no matter how fast I pedal.
[B]...I'd have to be compromised by not jumping kerbs, worse brakes, less steering control and no sus for smoothing out our sh!t roads...[/B]
You wouldn't be "jumping kerbs": you'd be on the road.
Worse brakes? Road bike brakes are bloody powerful. Enough to take you by suprise...
Less steering control? A road bike can handle, certainly better than an MTB.
No suspension? Not an issue: the roads aren't THAT bad.
Watch footage of Cancellara's descent on stage 7 of this years TdF to see quite how 'badly' a road bike handles under the right rider. You'd be first down on the tarmac after trying to corner that fast without a clue what'd happened!
[i]Watch footage of Cancellara's descent on stage 7 of this years TdF to see quite how 'badly' a road bike handles under the right rider[/i]
If only the roads round here were like that. But they're not. In so many ways.
All this fascinating discussion of average speeds. Makes me realise why I'm not a roadie. ¦-O
Shall we talk about how much our trail bikes weigh then?
I don't believe most of what's posted in those threads either 😉
Neither round here Dez, don't worry, my point was merely that anyone who thinks that a road bike doesn't handle as well as an MTB needs to watch a video like that!
They have to handle well - dodging all those moronic motorists! 🙂
To find a STWers true average speed, you need to take claimed speed and minus 1mph per stone overweight. 😉
I think those narrow drop bars really scare me!
Surely a nice wide MTB bar gives you better steering control than those?
Yes if we had lovely smooth deep black tarmac like the euros, I might consider one...but as Dez says, we don't.
Road bikes are steered much more by leaning than steering so wide bars aren't necessary for decent handling unless you're planning to ride singletrack 😉
You don't necessarily need wide bars for decent handling off road either.
[i]Surely a nice wide MTB bar gives you better steering control than those?[/i]
Different geometry and you don't really turn the bars on a road bike, you steer by leaning or pushing. Try riding along at a decent rate on the drops. Then push your left hand forwards into the bar. The bike will initially nudge right then very quickly move left, almost without the front wheel moving. Using that countersteer technique can shift the bike around amazingly quickly, use it in conjunction with a bit of lean and the bike will rail corners far beyond the limits of what you thought were possible.
OK, but it gives you finer control. Probably not necessary on most roads I admit.
Made me laugh on the TDF when they described the stage round Monaco as "very technical" - you can fit a F1 car round there FFS!
er - Member
You don't necessarily need wide bars for decent handling off road either.
I know - I actually hate wide bars offroad but really couldn't be bothered to challenge it on a thread about road bikes...
Made me laugh on the TDF when they described the stage round Monaco as "very technical" - you can fit a F1 car round there FFS!
Try riding it on a TT bike, on the tribars, when doing 30+ on super hard, skinny tyres. I'll bet it feels plenty technical 😉
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've never seen the F1 cars go up a big climb like they had on that TT.
[i]Made me laugh on the TDF when they described the stage round Monaco as "very technical" - you can fit a F1 car round there FFS! [/i]
If you don't find a section of trail technical you're not riding it fast enough. Unless you're on a motorway pretty much any section of trail or road can be technical given sufficient speed.
TT bike, low position, high speed and a bike really not designed for going round corners and it's technical!
Made me laugh on the TDF when they described the stage round Monaco as "very technical" - you can fit a F1 car round there FFS!
Never ridden fast on the road have you? 🙄
Hello all.
I ride both. On road I ride a new Specialized Allez Sport.
I'm using the road bike for a daily commute as I prefer it to the Scott Sportster I've ridden for the last few years which is now about knackered.
The Allez was £600 and got £60 worth of free goods from Minster Cycles in Beverley.
cp
[b]I think those narrow drop bars really scare me!
Surely a nice wide MTB bar gives you better steering control than those?[/b]
Different. But not better. If anything my roadbike dances around better than my MTB. As already said it (steering) is not done by heaving on the bars alone: bodyweight and an element of finesse comes into it.
[b]Yes if we had lovely smooth deep black tarmac like the euros, I might consider one...but as Dez says, we don't.[/b]
The way many bang on about the supposed state of the roads, you'd expect legions of roadies to be lost down giant potholes and chasms: a veritable compost heap of bodies, lycra, buckled wheels and energy gels. Can't say it's ever troubled me, however. Besides, you're supposed to be rufty-tufty gnar-core well'ard mountain bikers, non? What's a little bump every now and then?