Why is my bike rolling so slowly

I built a nice/cheap simple rigid single speed 29er over xmas for commuting and playing in winter.

It’s great, aside from the fact that it rolls so slowly it feels like the brakes are on and/or the hub bearings are shot.

However the brakes are set up perfectly and the wheels spin fine when I’m not on the bike… (I serviced the rear hub as I thought that could be the problem, but it’s made no difference. It’s a cheap Shimano cup and cone thing.)

I cannot think of anything else that could be causing this, unless the tyres I’m running have obscene rolling resistance (which I doubt, as they are 2″ XC tyres at PSI in the high-30s).

Any ideas?

Here’s it out on it’s first ride, which took about 30-40 mins longer than normal I assume due to this slow rolling thing

Just because they are labelled XC doesn’t mean the tyres should be quick. What are they, and what tyres do you have on your other bikes?

30-40 mins longer over how long. If that’s a day’s ride then less of an issue than losing that time on a 2 hour loop!

Possible that brakes bind when loaded (flex in frame / forks) or that bearings aren’t as good when they are loaded by your weight as opposed to running freely in a stand? But even then…..

Take it and your reference to a slight road hill to isolate effects of suspension, etc. and do a timed roll down test?

Resistance from the pea soup you were riding through?

Often when you are ill e.g. carrying a virus everything thing feels like hard work & you are slower, even if you don’t have symptoms yet…

Narrow, high PSI tyres on soft terrain will be draggy.

My commuter felt really draggy. Turns out the rear axle has snapped in two inside the rear hub.

Seat position?

When I set up a new bike I often find it needs to go up a few times as I settle in.

It took me close to 5 hours to do a loop that normally takes me close to 4.

I should say that when I say the bike feels slow, I’m talking on a flat road, so it’s not winter conditions that are the problem. If I get rolling on the flat and then stop pedalling, I feel this sense of grinding to a halt that just feels damn strange.

I think that rules out illness/fatigue related things as well, especially as I’ve been riding my main MTB the past days and felt fine.

The tyres are these:
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVBRTNTF/vittoria-barro-race-folding-tnt-tyre

I don’t expect them to be super-quick, but I have 2.6 Nobby Nic’s on my main MTB running at 15-20psi and I don’t have anywhere near the same sensation of drag on the roads as I do on this (apparently) simple single speed…

Snapped axle, hmm, something like that could make sense, i.e. something that makes the hubs run like crap as soon as they are weight-bearing. I think I’d have noticed if the rear had a problem when I serviced it, but I can check out the front.

Come to think of it, I have one of those Nukeproof 15mm convertor things. I wonder if there is a problem there
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/nukeproof-conversion-kit-15mm-to-qr/rp-prod80192

I’d expect the ss to roll faster, but you have to compare like with like (same tyres and wheel size predominantly). Time both bikes rolling, not pedalling on the same road descent and you’ll know for sure.

Out on my ss Stooge yesterday I was rolling past others down the hills, and pedalling up faster too for that matter :). Stick with it SS is way more rewarding.

Oh, I’m certainly sticking with the single speed, I’m converted mechanically and spiritually 😉

Just trying to work out if I need new wheels!

Stiff BB or freewheel?
Timing clock malfunction?
‘wrong’ position for efficient pedalling?

Check the hub bearings on the wheel you didn’t service. I had a problem with cup and cone hubs which didnt show on the stand but as soon as you sat on the bike it rolled badly. Think from memory the cones were just a little too tight.

I had one the other day where the wheel was spinning fine in the stand but rubbing when ridden because rear qr was a bit loose.

When I use my 29×2.35″ G-One Speeds on the road, I typically use ~40/45PSI (front/rear) and they roll great. If I knew I was going to venture offroad, I’d drop pressures by ~5PSI or so for more grip from a larger contact patch. Rough ballpark current weight of me and Wazoo would be ~94Kg.

Those Barro tyres don’t look great for low rolling resistance on the road and especially not at high-30s PSI, unless you and your bike weigh considerably less than I.

I’d also check for brake rub and tyre rub under load.

Stiff BB or freewheel?
Timing clock malfunction?
‘wrong’ position for efficient pedalling?

I had one the other day where the wheel was spinning fine in the stand but rubbing when ridden because rear qr was a bit loose.

None of those unfortunately. I notice the drag most when just coasting on the road and the freewheel doesn’t seem to be sticking and wheels are done up tight.

I’ll check the front hub though: if the cones can only show symptoms of drag when the bike is weighted that could be it.

Are those tyres really soft compound rubber? My experience is that sticky-ish rubber will roll fine off road, but properly drag on tarmac. I’d change the rear for something else to start with and see what happens.

Edit: if you want quick, stick a G-One or some sort of semi-slick on the back. And don’t assume that just because a tyre is supposed to roll fast, it will. I ran some Smart Sams on my cross bike for a couple of days and they were really sluggish imo, despite claims to the contrary.

How many mince pies have you eaten over Christmas OP ? 🙂

Just to check the obvious… Aye you comparing times against a geared bike? My SS bikes have always felt slow on the flat

How many mince pies have you eaten over Christmas OP ? 🙂

Not enough unfortunately 🙂 I somewhat boycotted xmas this year…

Just to check the obvious… Aye you comparing times against a geared bike? My SS bikes have always felt slow on the flat

I only really have the one ride to compare times, and I’m not much of a timer of things so even that was somewhat rough.

It’s really the ‘feel’ of drag that I’m getting, so it’s not very scientific, but I’d like to think I’ve been riding long enough to not be making this up.

Perhaps you’re right though BadlyWiredDog: may be these tyres are some super-sticky compound, the sort of stuff I normally avoid as I go for durability.

Think I’ll change the wheels one at a time for those on my main MTB, see if it makes any difference and if so if one changes things more than the other.

It’s going to embarrassing if the explanation for this thread is simple that my tyres are a soft compound and I’m not used to it…

My SS experience has always been that they are less draggy. Keep us posted – I’m interested in the cause.

Do the pedals spin freely on the crank arms by hand?

Plus 1 hour on a 4 hour loop is a LOT!
Maybe as suggested above, the wheels might spin free when unweighted /upside down but if the cup n cone is too tight it might only become apparent when weighted/riding.

It’s going to embarrassing if the explanation for this thread is simple that my tyres are a soft compound and I’m not used to it…

I only mentioned it because I googled the tyres out of curiosity and at least one review said they wore fast because of the soft compound and I’ve experienced horrendous drag on tarmac using Maxxis Super Tacky rubber in particular.

I might be barking completely up the wrong tree, but when it comes to what feels like increased rolling resistance, the tyre’s a pretty obvious starting point, particularly the rear one.

Anyway, if nothing else, you might eliminate it as a possible cause. Good luck sorting it out whatever it turns out to be.

It’s going to embarrassing if the explanation for this thread is simple that my tyres are a soft compound and I’m not used to it…

Nah I’ve got exactly the same slow feeling issue with my commuter tyres moved over from g-ones to jack browns (being a cheapskate) and tbh it’s like riding a lead bike. I Had the power meter on it and I could see that it wasn’t me being a wuss and not pedalling hard enough.

Put it down to Xmas excess ! Simple. Not been on my bike for about 3 weeks. Having a break – back on tomorrow !

2 inch mtb tyres, 29er, above 30 psi … – I would be surprised if it’s the tyres. These narrow tyres at fairly high pressure should be fine on tarmac.

2.6 inch NobbyNic at low pressure on soft trails: yes – they roll quick.

But on tarmac… – the 29 er should feel way faster.

Cup and cone hubs?
These things can be nasty!

These things can be nasty

U wot now?