I'm the one using shades in the video (they have eye glasse lenses inside so I can see better) is there any tips or techniques you can give me so that I can get better and faster
Question on how to get faster
byu/Ach1lles_2103 inFixedGearBicycle
by Ach1lles_2103
18 Comments
Dial in your fit and position on the bike, drops can help you get nice and low over the bike. Run a bigger (higher # of tooth) chainring or a smaller cog. Ride more often, ride hard, and take nutrition and recovery seriously!
Faster only in short bursts? Pedal harder.
Faster overall? Get a bike with gears.
Get lights or become an organ donor!
the thing about fixed gear is that you can just increase your cadence to increase your speed 🙂
in my experience, I’ve gotten faster by doing group rides with people faster than me; there’s also specific workouts to increase endurance and top/average speed if you have something in particular you want to improve
Run a lighter ratio and start doing squats. I know the first part is counterintuitive, but I’d wager you’re not strong enough to push 48/14 effectively. I say switch to 49/16 and get comfortable with a faster cadence. You’ll be faster a month from now than you are on your current setup.
Train the legs on the gym. It gives you strength to push the pedals harder, and the bike helps you train cardio.
From the short clip it looks like you’re mashing a pretty low cadence (which makes sense, given your gear ratio.) As others have suggested, a lower spinnier ratio at a faster cadence (80-90 RPM at least) will increase your average speed. Might I suggest getting a cadence sensor, just so you have a more accurate picture of how slow/fast you’re spinning, and how much you can improve in this regard? What’s the average speed / distance of the rides you’re doing with your pals where you’re getting dropped? The strongest fixed riders i know more than keep up with roadies on fast group rides with 48×15 at the very most.
Pedal faster
There’s only one way to get faster, and it’s T.i.t.s – time in the saddle. Keep riding, and keep pushing yourself.
There is something called momentum where you gain speed as the evaluation of the acceleration increases potentially getting into “Cadence mode”.
Cadence is the rapid rotation of your entire drivetrain setup.
This one is my favorite because you are going faster than the bike after picking up the pace to match with the bike’s energy.
It’s insane because you lock in like a flamingo; Basically there is two methods where you can go all out head down child pose pelvic on the tip of your saddle abs tight to the core fiddling circular crank motion.
And then there is keeping head straight which is a balance of maintaining your energy while your springing, cadence, going fast or whatever.
Make sure you do work outs, jogging, yoga (stretching) and, eat right because it’s not about the bike it’s the rider.
I did a race for the first time once on my bike and ranked out on the 2nd lap after the warm up lap.
Make sure you practice….
First step, put your phone away.. then climb some hills and get stronger legs
Don’t hold a selfie stick
use a road bike
Run lighter gear ratios and practice spinning out in those ratios then your pedalling technique and cardio will improve and transfer over. This along with working on legs in the gym will allow you to reach the higher rpm range on heavier gears then it’s just on you to keep the cadence up. I wouldn’t ignore other muscle groups though, having a strong back can help massively when pulling on the bars more to transfer power through your legs
Lose weight, get stronger.
1) That gear ratio is too high for you. I would suggest 16T back.
2) Get yourself an HRM and dial in your pulse zones. Base endurance training is mainly done in zone 2, tempo in zone 3, high intensity training – in zone 4/5 intervals. You can look this stuff up online, there’s plenty of information.
3) Do squats at the gym 1-2 times a week. You’re going to need a knowledgeable person to look after you though, it’s easy to waste your back with bad technique.
Focus on putting power through the whole crank rotation. Not only on the up and downstroke if that made sense.
No one wants to say it but you can significantly get faster by running, it’s much more effort and harder on all your joints, so you know when you get on the bikes shit about to be sweet