Advice please-newbie wants to improve bike and performance

[Joeletaxi]

OK heres the story,,

Im in my early 50's ,,6ft tall currently 80kg ,reasonably fit ( i think) and in the hope of keeping that way ive dragged my bike out of the shed again !

My bike is a typical steel mountain bike (raleigh) flat bar with knobbly tyres and 18 gears (i think),with twist grip gear changers.

It weighs 16.5kg.

For the past few weeks, a couple of times a week i have been doing a standard 7.4 mile circuit. I do the same circuit so that i can assess improvements in fitness and endurance.

Gradually the circuit has come down from around 52 minutes to my current as of this morning 45 minutes.
I use an app on my phone. The average speed is showing 9.8mph with a max of 20.7mph and an average pace of 6.08 minutes per mile.


Whilst my pace has gradually improved, i have noticed that my endurance has improved also. The first time around i was almost having a stroke but now i can just keep going the whole circuit without stopping.

I do notice that other cyclists (not necessarily road racers!) fly past me.

So what can i do to make my heavy steel mountain bike better?

Would swapping the tyres make a big improvement?

Do i need to sell it and buy better?

I just want to cycle and get fitter not enter the tour de france so i dont need to spend 5k on a road bike

All advice welcome

 

[Yellow Saddle]

If you want to go faster, get a training plan.

 

[raleighnut]

Nowt wrong with Raleigh MTBs, bit hefty maybe but I've had a few (2 of em were nicked, still got an 'Outlander')
I'd put Schwalbe Marathons (26x1.75?) on and run those at their 'Max Rated Pressure (printed on the side of the tyre) and drop a bit of weight by swapping the handlebars/seatpost for Aluminium ones, after that it gets a bit more expensive.

 

[numbnuts]

Get rid of the knobbly tyres

 

[Mrs M]

My Pashley is a "chunker" with only 5 gears but I do the same route as the "roadies" and getting faster have'nt overtaken any (yet) though.
It has Schwalbe Marathons and shifts along nicely on them.
Just keep riding

 

[e-rider]

OK heres the story,,

Im in my early 50's ,,6ft tall currently 80kg ,reasonably fit ( i think) and in the hope of keeping that way ive dragged my bike out of the shed again !

My bike is a typical steel mountain bike (raleigh) flat bar with knobbly tyres and 18 gears (i think),with twist grip gear changers.

It weighs 16.5kg.

For the past few weeks, a couple of times a week i have been doing a standard 7.4 mile circuit. I do the same circuit so that i can assess improvements in fitness and endurance.

Gradually the circuit has come down from around 52 minutes to my current as of this morning 45 minutes.
I use an app on my phone. The average speed is showing 9.8mph with a max of 20.7mph and an average pace of 6.08 minutes per mile.


Whilst my pace has gradually improved, i have noticed that my endurance has improved also. The first time around i was almost having a stroke but now i can just keep going the whole circuit without stopping.

I do notice that other cyclists (not necessarily road racers!) fly past me.

So what can i do to make my heavy steel mountain bike better?

Would swapping the tyres make a big improvement?

Do i need to sell it and buy better?

I just want to cycle and get fitter not enter the tour de france so i dont need to spend 5k on a road bike

All advice welcome

if you are serious about cycling and intend to be doing it for the foreseeable future then invest in a new bike - either a road bike or a hybrid

obviously you haven't told us how much money you have spare, but if the funds are available then do it

 

[EnPassant]

Six months ago, I was the same, aside from being a couple of inches shorter and a good deal heavier @ 93kg. I'm a similar age. My bike is lighter and has road tyres but wide ones @35mm as it's a cx bike and I like the comfort of wide rubber. I've lost a lot of the excess (more to go) and am now about the same 80kg you are but still 2 inches shorter .

If I were you, I'd not bother with a new bike yet. As suggested, if you have knobbly tyres, lose those and get some road ones, it's a much cheaper alternative for the time being. Yes the bike is heavy but unless you are doing a lot of hills in that 7 miles its not that important in my view. At least, not yet. The combined weight is 96kg and that's largely what counts for my money, getting a bike half the weight knocks that down to what 88kg? At a large cost. Can't see a huge improvement in that myself, I lost the same from me not the bike, and whilst faster, some (maybe most) of that is improved fitness as well as less weight. Mostly I think the weight counts on hills, on the flat it matters less, particularly once you are moving (see Aero TT v Lighter climbing bikes that the pro's use).

Miles is what is needed. Six months ago after a years break 7 miles @ 7mph did me in. Now I can do double both, which is still only 14 miles @ 14 mph and would be viewed as a warm up for some around these parts, but for me, it's progress.

Short version. Save the money, swap in some road tyres at minimal cost, see where you are in a couple of months.

 

[Kajjal]

Start with thin, slick tyres and you will notice a big difference. Then gradually up the distance.

Then think about a road bike if you keep going.

 

[mjr]

Don't need to be very thin, but slick and supple. If you tell us the tyre size, someone may suggest good ones.

Other than that, the next best improvement is £15ish for new swept handlebars that you can grab near the centres and lean forwards when you want to push on. My three speed roadsters will cruise over 20mph (with luggage on!) like that!

 

[NorthernDave]

Slick(er) tyres are a cheap fix if your route is all on road.
Lots of people swear by Schwalbe Marathons, although I'm not a fan personally. If you want to retain an element of off road grip, Schwalbe Land Cruisers are a good compromise.

Or maybe think about a road bike?

 

[SpokeyDokey]

So what can i do to make my heavy steel mountain bike better?

Would swapping the tyres make a big improvement?


All advice welcome

Short answer is no.

But, well done you for getting your bike out of the shed and using it.

I can think of easily two hands worth of people I know where their very nice expensive bikes hang from eg the rafters of their garages in perpetuity.

The most important thing is that you are out their doing something. At the moment your distance ridden is short and your speed is modest and there is 100% nothing wrong with either.

As to swapping tyres, at your performance level they will make minimal difference.

Just keep riding/improving and maybe think about a lighter or different style bike if you are still riding next year (or whatever time period you need to elapse to convince yourself that you will stick with it).

 

[Joeletaxi]

Thanks all for the advice especially enpassants personal experiences which are similar to mine.

I just checked and the bike is a Raleigh Manta Ray (made in england!) with 18 hears. Id guess its about 6 years old. The only thing i added were some lightweight plastic mudguards to save me from being sprayed with rainwater and dirt.

The tyres are the original knobblies 26 x 1.95 (54-559)

The max pressure is 55psi so ive just brought them up to 50 and also raised the seat post as i suspect it was a bit low.

I shall try it out again tomorrow morning bright and early.

The change to a smoother tyre sounds like a good initial move. I can see Schwalbe cityjet 26 x 1.5 at halfords for £8.99 ?

 

[Joeletaxi]

PS was wandering around a store today and spotted new Forme longcliffe 3.0 bike for £359..any good?

 

[Nigelnaturist]

PS was wandering around a store today and spotted new Forme longcliffe 3.0 bike for £359..any good?

I would say so. as been said just keep riding fitness comes the more you do, speed isn't everything, the first month I rode my average speed was 10.75mph on a Viking road bike (not the best in the world) but within a year I was doing 2,500 miles a quarter at 14.83mph, so just keep it up you never know where it will take you.

 

[Kajjal]

Very good deal for the bike if they have the right size.