Boerklong Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 Losing weight made me climb easier which made my ave go up, not by much but its a big confidence booster when your climbing picks up
Li Mu Bai Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 I've obviously read lots on upping watts per Kg to increase average speed and doing intervals etc etc... I feel like I've hit a bit of a plateau and any gains at the moment are quite minimal, but I can't help feeling I may be missing a trick or three wrt to technique. I'd like to hear how fellow Hubbers have upped their average speed through technique rather than fitness and training. Things like consistency, flow etc. come to mind. I'd really appreciate some tips and some shared knowledge on the subject. Cheers...Pedal faster up hills....
TIB Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 I did practise it with a Dr Ferrari online training program in 2003 / 2004 and it worked for me now I've got slack and find i default to a lower cadence again... Yep, I'm too lazy for high cadance. Now I've got to work very hard at grinding uphill in a high gear.....
Icycling Posted January 28, 2015 Posted January 28, 2015 If you do have a road bike - then use it, if you don’t start to use your MTB on the road:1. Motor pacing cadence high2. Rollers cadence high.3. Tail wind riding cadence highI am a roadie / track rider but often take some of the top RSA MTB rides in the country out motor pacing (even on their MTB bike). From the above the common aspect is learning to pedal fast - cadence above 110rpm but hopefully above 120rpm! What this achieve is not only power but torque plus major cardio. I not sure if its that easy to do this training off road.
BarHugger Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 If you do have a road bike - then use it, if you don’t start to use your MTB on the road: 1. Motor pacing cadence high 2. Rollers cadence high. 3. Tail wind riding cadence high I am a roadie / track rider but often take some of the top RSA MTB rides in the country out motor pacing (even on their MTB bike). From the above the common aspect is learning to pedal fast - cadence above 110rpm but hopefully above 120rpm! What this achieve is not only power but torque plus major cardio. I not sure if its that easy to do this training off road. 100-110 rpm on a rocky steep incline in GRANNY gear easy.......problem is that you are sometimes going so slow that even a rock step can be a problem. The thing with off-road cycling is not about increasing your average speed as every route differ.........there are huge differences in doing a ride at Van Gaalens, or Sabie, or even Sondela. From serious technical single track, to climbing, to just a nice flat race. There are a plethora factors that play a role in improving your ability to finish a ride/race in a quicker time. Riding the same track repeatedly might be a good measure of determining if your average speed is improving......but then there is the question of being familiar with the track and knowing what to do when, how much. Riding unfamiliar track will atfect average speed. But hey, what do I know.........I am just a moderated weekend warrior.
Nayr Posted January 29, 2015 Author Posted January 29, 2015 Thanks for all the constructive comments, much appreciated.
FC&P2C Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 Having not read the previous 5 pages please excuse for any repetition.Off course training more and having more power will enable you to go faster but more important I believe is to understand that average speed is influenced more by your lowest speed than your maximum speed. Thus to increase your average you are better of working harder on the climbs to keep you minimum speed as high as possible. 30km/h Average for average road cyclists is usually a bench mark. To prove my theory from above: 30km/h ave is 2 minutes per kmBut when you drop to 15km/h on a climb you are taking 4 minutes for that kmThus you lost 2 minutesAnd to make up 2 minutes for the 1km climb you have to do 2km at 60km/h. Easy to see thats why its a problemwhere if you climbed at 20km/h and took 3min per km you only fell 1minute behind and that will only need 1 km at 60km/h to make up.Yes i took 60km for an example but reality is that you would more like be doing 36km/h and then you only make up 20sec per km and it will take much longer.This gets exponentially worse the slower you go. So in a nutshell you can improve your average by just riding clever. taking as much speed into a climb and keep the momentum going for as long as possible to top out as fast as you can. then you can chill on the down as the damage to your average was not nearly as bad as it would have been topping out at a slower pace!
_David_ Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 Maybe try a 14 week Cadence cycling program. It is expensive but worth it if you are serious about improving.
rudi-h Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 I know it is counter intuitive but remember that on a MTB harder pressure than necessary increases rolling resistance and is slower.Is this just opinion or can you quote literature. Trains have solid steel wheels because of the low RR (rolling redistance) . Pro roadies run 11 bar for improved RR. Mining haul trucks run on 8 bar for improved RR. So basically all vehicles that are built for fuel economy run at high pressures. Why would an Mtb be different. Softer tyres = more deflection at contact patch = more friction IMO...
BarHugger Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 Muscle strength and short term cycling power (2012) Muscle strength and short term cycling power.pdf
BarHugger Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 Is this just opinion or can you quote literature. Trains have solid steel wheels because of the low RR (rolling redistance) . Pro roadies run 11 bar for improved RR. Mining haul trucks run on 8 bar for improved RR. So basically all vehicles that are built for fuel economy run at high pressures. Why would an Mtb be different. Softer tyres = more deflection at contact patch = more friction IMO... Types of tyres and surfaces on the power output in the mountain bike.pdf
Slowbee Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 Muscle strength and short term cycling power (2012) Muscle strength and short term cycling power.pdfnice article Barhugger
BarHugger Posted January 29, 2015 Posted January 29, 2015 Is this just opinion or can you quote literature. Trains have solid steel wheels because of the low RR (rolling redistance) . Pro roadies run 11 bar for improved RR. Mining haul trucks run on 8 bar for improved RR. So basically all vehicles that are built for fuel economy run at high pressures. Why would an Mtb be different. Softer tyres = more deflection at contact patch = more friction IMO... Tyre Rolling_Resistance_Eng_illustrated.pdf
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