friend on racer catches up - my touring pace

[kettle]

Today as I was about 2 miles from home on my Dawes Horizon on a 17 mile ride a friend caught up and spoke in my ear.
My pace is usually a slowish 12 mph. I of course felt the need to match his pace and as I was only 2 miles from home thought I would be ok.
Well I found the pace of the racing bike somewhat different and although completed my ride I did found it difficult.
Could I expect to increase my mph by using a racing bike?
If so what could I expect from a simple change of bike.

 

[HLaB]

Were you carrying luggage on the tourer. Ditching that, a lighter bike, more aggressive riding position, narrower tyres will lead to some automatic improvement but the rest will probably take practice.

 

[Garz]

Well for me a 'touring' pace is meant to be enjoyed somewhat. If your trying to go too fast you don't appreciate the views/scenery as much!

 

[snorri]

Well for me a 'touring' pace is meant to be enjoyed somewhat. If your trying to go too fast you don't appreciate the views/scenery as much!

Absolutely.

Also you may miss some handy items others have discarded at the roadside Today I found a scoop that will make a handy bailer for a boat, also found a cash box that had been bent about a bit, but I took that to a police station.

 

[Debian]

Absolutely.

Also you may miss some handy items others have discarded at the roadside Today I found a scoop that will make a handy bailer for a boat, also found a cash box that had been bent about a bit, but I took that to a police station.

I thought it was only me who scanned the verges for useful items!

 

[perplexed]

I thought it was only me who scanned the verges for useful items!

I do too, but I only ever seem to see crud!

 

[gpx001]

I picked up a roll of insulation tape the other day - very handy!

 

[Banjo]

I seem to be assembling a toolkit from the gutter. So far a nearly new carpenters saw. A large G cramp 2 screwdrivers and a 17mm socket.Annoying thing is I allways spot them when on the road bike so hide them in the bushes then go back on the commuter bike with panniers :-)

To go back to the original thread topic I think about an extra 2 mph on a road bike for a similar effort.

 

[Arch]

I'd think that if you want to up your pace on a permanent basis (and faster isn't necessarily better, as the verge scroungers have shown), then there are things you could do do your bike before you think about buying another. Slick tyres, pumped up to their max pressure, ditch any unnecessary weight you might be carrying in your pannier (or on you, if you're anything like me).

And just pushing yourself a bit harder. Eventually, your comfortable pace will increase a little.

 

[RedBike]

I used to ride a Dawes Horizon on club runs / sportives. If you swap to narrow high pressure tyres and loose the excess weight (panniers / guards etc) then you'll find the Dawes is just as quick as any budget racer

 

[StuartG]

There is an inverse correlation between distance and speed. Which do you value most?

If you want to go faster it may mean developing your lung/blood capacity. The fastest way to do that is running. Oh and people who run and do marathons have to work real hard at not running too fast at the start ... in the end it is what you want to do. I run (speedy 7:10 pace for an OAP) and cycle (12mph, slow for anybody). The combination means that apart from Leith Hill I always have enough lung and thigh capacity to have long comfortable, and not breathless, discussions with my fellow cyclists.