Haven’t rode a bike since high school and just picked this up off marketplace for $400. After test riding it, I realized that the bike feels pretty slow and sluggish. I feel like I shouldn’t have to put that much effort to move the pedals just to get the wheels going if that makes sense.
What can I do to make it faster/less sluggish? My ideal goal is just to ride long distances with minimal efforts while pedaling at a decent speed.
Also any seat suggestions as this one really hurts my bottom lol.
Thanks for reading!
by Crafty_Tumbleweed_47
25 Comments
Get a bike with gears.
Are you used to a single speed? Maybe a bike with gears would be better for you
Holy 2008 Batman!
Ride down hill.
You can swap out the chainring to change the gear ratio and make it easier to peddle, but the easier it is to get off the line the lower the top speed will be. As for a seat I’d give it some time. If you haven’t been on a bike in a long time almost any seat is going to smart for a while until your undercarriage is warmed up. Try riding with padded shorts at first to ease into it.
Change rear cog to something bigger. Try a couple more teeth at first.
It’s simple. Your body isn’t the same as high school
#1 Your tire choice is probably crap. Can’t see what model and brand those tires are, but they don’t look like slicks to me if you want some more speed. Looks like some sort of puncture resistant all-road tires similar to the likes of gatorskins which are notoriously slow.
#2 You’re riding a singlespeed which limits your top end speed significantly if you don’t have the correct gear ratio. If it’s sluggish/slow from a stop to get going, it’s probably because you only have 1 single gear and you don’t have the ability to downshift before stopping which makes starting up and winding up way easier.
#3 It’s probably just you… considering you haven’t ridden in a long time, you might just not have the muscle endurance and strength yet…
Ride some more bikes, see if they feel less sluggish. Have a friend ride your bike, maybe some issue sticks out to them that you aren’t seeing.
I can’t really advise without riding the thing. I can’t even tell you if what you are feeling is sluggishness or in your head without a test ride. Do the wheels spin freely? Maybe it’s just a meh tire. Pressure too high? too low? Brakes rubbing? Pedals spin freely? Cranks?
Check if you have a co-op or something near by, try to get some opinions from other people who can examine the bike in person.
Those wheels are anchors. Sick frame though. This bike has mad street cred potential
I’ll buy it for 450
Fizik tempo Argo r3 is a great saddle if you’re a dude
It is definitely you fit. Post you on the bike and get some fitting advice. Most of the time it is a seat that is too low, basically not utilizing the your muscle groups efficiently.
Is this BCJ?
Silly question: do the brakes drag? Do the wheels spin freely if you pick the bike up off the ground?
If not, then are the tires something awful like Gatorskins?
For a saddle I recommend the Pro Stealth Sport, about $50.
Make sure that the rear wheel is aligned properly and that it’s not creating any kind of friction. Does the rear wheel and front wheel spin freely?
The aerospoke isn’t helping your cause although it has premium fixie points attached to it
That’s the weight of denial
So do you live in a city with a lot of traffic and drivers that hate bikes? If so, you are living on borrowed time riding a fixed gear bike. Hope you have good insurance. I am strongly suggesting that you sell this thing and get a bike that is better suited for you (one with gears). Also, if you haven’t ridden since high school and you are older than 20, your butt is going to be sore.
If you have a flip flop hub, you can put a different size sprocket on either side. You don’t actually need to use a freewheel if you don’t want to.
Beautiful bike except for the wheels. Love the white wheel though.
That is a single speed steel bike with pretty crappy tires. Looks cool. Sucks to ride if you’re not already in great shape.
Check the smoothness and spinning the wheels and the bottom bracket to check the bearing functions
“Haven’t ridden”*. You’re killing us by using the past simple tense as a past participle. If English isn’t your native language, then my apologies and please carry on.
Chain might be over tensioned, hubs may need bearings or adjustments.