[Closed] How much speed will I lose if...

2.3mph

Take the peak off, often find with a peak on a road bike it obscures your vision a bit and annoys me.

Are you in a time trial? If not, you'll not notice any difference.

Try both, report back your findings...

4.95678999 mph

Are you mad? No roadie will ever take you seriously again 😉

I'm just looking for a few extra mph. See people talking of 17mph + average speeds and I'm only looking at 15 or so.

Only just started using a drop bar bike instead of a mtb for the road and wondering why it's not a night and day difference in terms of speed.

Because you're not very fit. HTH.

What njee said

HTH #2

Because you're not very fit. HTH.

+1 get rid of the gut before you get the bib shorts out.

the human is the draggiest part of the bike/human machine.

and in my head there's a rule-of-thumb-that-might-well-be-crap that says at 20mph half your energy is just pushing the air out of the way.

so, i wouldn't be surprised if wearing baggies, and riding in a fairly upright position*, slowed you down by an mph or 2...

(*you may well be sitting up to see under your peak, andor you might have put an unnecessarily short stem on to get yourself 'comfy')

Are you mad? No roadie will ever take you seriously again

I always wear baggies and SPD's on my road bike.
Never really have a problem with other roadies. Most of them still say hello and don't comment on my shorts.

is it a gnar lid, or a fastish xc one?

Most of them still say hello and don't comment on my shorts.

They wait till you have gone and then laugh at you.

Then they post about you on secret forums you're not invited to.

All joking aside wearing baggies will slow you down, entirely possible it'd be worth 1mph or so if they're very baggy!

Forget speed for 1 second, comfort should be the deciding factor and having the baggy clothes flapping around isn't nice.

The MAMIL is not a good look and you will not lose any appreciable speed. You don't wear Speedo's in the pool do you - at least when not training or competing? (I hope you don't). Lycra on a bike is the cycling equivalent to wearing a banana-hammock.

I'd say you will loose at the very least your dignity 😆

@wobbliscott: daft argument.

Why go for the less comfortable, less practical, flappy, sweaty option just because you are worried about what other people might think?

I'm happy to wear Lycra or baggies (with Lycra inners) as conditions dictate.

[i]They wait till you have gone and then laugh at you.[/i]

😉 It (me going) usually happens quite quickly. I'm hoping the speed with which they get left behind causes some of them to question their derision.

[i]I'm just looking for a few extra mph. See people talking of 17mph + average speeds and I'm only looking at 15 or so[/i]

Well, a lot more will depend on terrain, wind, road surface etc.

And if it makes you feel any better, my last tow (lycra clad) road rides only averaged 13.5mph.

Shaving your legs will give you 0.3859999857 mph too.

Having a dump before a ride will give you 0.19756 mph.

A positive mental attitude will give you 1.123456789 mph

Getting fit will give you 2+ mph... oh hang on, thats the difference you were after ! 🙂

GrahamS - Member

Why go for the less comfortable, less practical, flappy, sweaty option just because you are worried about what other people might think?

I can honestly say I find baggies no less comfortable, less sweaty, and more practical (pockets!) I guess it depends a bit on your baggies.

if you buy your lycra from some of the Chinese companys you could have the best of both worlds ....baggy lycra

wobbliscott - if you were swimming to get some distance in/ go faster , improve fitness etc, then why would you wear draggy shorts? I would certainly wear trunks of some sort. Similar situation on a bike. For any kind of getting-the-miles in riding, whether xc or road, why not go for the comfy and faster option of some well fitting lycra?

Re- what other people think? -i'm comfy so who cares?

edit- this might possibly be an old giffers point of view given that I can't see much wrong with socks and sandals nowadays....

See people talking of 17mph + average speeds and I'm only looking at 15 or so

ride in a group. i do most of my riding solo and I always forget how much easier it is sharing the work.

Baggies on a road bike are horrid, you'll realise this once you get over it.

TBH, I'm not fit but I wear lycra on my road bike, it's the appropriate clothing for the activity, lighter, better at wicking away sweat, a bit more aerodynamic if you like.

you are probably going to put in the same effort in Lycra or Baggies I'd have thought, if so you'll get home quicker and be just as knackered if you wear the lycra, save the baggies for MTBing...

I'd say about the same as riding on the hoods instead of the drops - about 1 mph, or 10-20 watts. You need a power meter for callibration - i'll commute in my Humvees on the road bike (for research purposes only - and in the dark, obviously 😳 )

[i]I'm just looking for a few extra mph. See people talking of 17mph + average speeds and I'm only looking at 15 or so.[/i]

putting more effort in will have a greater effect than changing your clothing.

Lycra only, is the most comfortable thing to ride in. Fact.

You do have to get over the fact everyone can see your penis though.

You do have to get over the fact everyone can see your penis though.

You should really try shorts as well!

'd say about the same as riding on the hoods instead of the drops - about 1 mph, or 10-20 watts. You need a power meter for callibration - i'll commute in my Humvees on the road bike (for research purposes only - and in the dark, obviously )

Agreed. Frontal area and all that, there is an appreciable difference that comes just from getting your head down in the wind Vs sitting up on the hoods/tops...

Similarly flappy clothing vs something a bit more "Fitted" will have an effect too.

To answer the OP's original question, Yes getting lycra'd up, as well as using the drops as much as possible /comfortable could take your 15mph Avg up to ~16.5mph without too much bother, obviously to up that Average further you'll need to ride more, and get fitter, but that will come...

Biggest difference I found was getting used to pushing a 53t ring as opposed to a 44t. Once I'd done a couple of months and built up my strength then the averages rose quite quickly.
Full lycra is the way to go though, it's the right tool for the job.

Thanks for all the replies and debate. I've only had the road bike a week and I'm still getting used to it. I use it for commuting and have been doing 100 miles a week for the last 18 months so my fitness isn't too bad.

I hadn't considered the effect of building the muscles with the bigger ring, nor the consequences of riding in a group. I'm trying to use the drops as often as possible, but hand ache is making change position frequently.

Will give it a couple of months as see how the speeds go.

Baggies will slow you down IMO. I've got some nice slim fitting waterproof shorts that go over bibs and don't flap, they're great through the crappy weather but get a bit hot once it warms up so I wear just bibs and a jersey. I tried wearing a pair of MTB baggies one day last week and as well as being too warm they felt like sails!

I'm happy wearing just lycra if out on a training ride but commuting I'd rather put on a pair of thin shorts, as the receptionists at work can't stop laughing at me. Still trying to find some suitable ones (looking at swrve at the moment).

Strava reckons my commute is on average 1mpg slower in baggies on the road bike.

I've just started getting into the roadie more this year the advice about just keeping on pushing the speed/big gears is goods, it'll come*.

*says the man still pushing girls gears 50/12-28!!

*says the man still pushing girls gears 50/12-28!!

hi-5 fellow low gear user!

It's alright, the fassion for huge gears was an 80's thing. People have been spinning at 95-100rpm in lower gears since then as it's more efficent for most people.

I just prefer it as it means I never need to drop out of the big ring unless things get really deperate.

if you've only had a road bike a week...

are you using the original tyres? what are they, and what pressures do you use? are the pressures correct for your weight (online calculators to help with this eg on vittoria's website)?

not scientific, but...

I found reducing pressures and running a slightly fatter tyre helped to increase my journey speed despite lowering my max speed. max speed on smooth tarmac. most of journey on rough/broken tarmac where tyre compliance steamrolls it smoother for me.

I am definitely slower when I don my winter/wet weather jackets.

in preparation for riding the singlespeed I am building, I have banned myself from using bottom three gears. not being able to be lazy on the uphills has had a massive impact on my times.

my 2p

not being able to be lazy on the uphills has had a massive impact on my times.

conversely choosing to spin rather than gurn up my local Cat2 climb I knocked nearly a minute off my PB.

I just prefer it as it means I never need to drop out of the big ring unless things get really deperate.

Likewise, I could never get the trim quite right on the triple, but the compact didn't rattle in any gear.

Baggies = bees up shorts = not good.

Baggies in the cooler weather means a loss of heat and a cold breeze/gale whipping round your nuts.

Lycra shorts have their place on a road bike. They are practical. Same goes for bib tights on the winter. You might look like a bit of a tit but the practicality of them out weighs the looks.