How to improve my average speed?

[marzjennings]

Sprints and interval training always works for me if I wanted to bump up power and speed numbers. You can google and find an training model that works for you. For me I have a 45 minute exercise I got from my track coach years ago.

5 min warm up
1st 5 min interval
2nd 5 min interval
3rd 5 min interval
5 min spin
4th 5 min interval
5th 5 min interval
6th 5 min interval
5 min cool down spin

Each interval is a combination of meduim/fast pedaling and all out sprint. When I start doing this exercise I start with 4 min fast and 1 min sprint. Heart rate is about maxed out for the sprint and by the 3rd and 6th sprint I can barely finish. After a few of weeks of doing this exercise maybe just once or twice a week I'm riding 2 mins fast and 3 min sprint. About puking on the last sprint.

The trick is to find a nice quiet section of road, about a mile or so in length, minimal traffic, no lights or junctions.

 

[kiwifruit]

You need to up your cadence to ride between about 90-100. 80 is too low. Your legs don't have the power at the moment to push heavier gears at the lower cadences you are currently riding to get the figures you want to see. In any case riding lower cadences pushing heavy gears is bad for your joints especially knees.

I would also look at what gearing you have on your bike what is your most comfortable gear and the gear you can comfortably accelerate in up to a max cadence. If you ride routes regularly you must know what gear you can hold at what cadence depending on the gradient and duration? Power data I guess would be nice but power meters are expensive, you don't need it. Maybe you have a HRM?

Back to gears, look at your cassette and see if there are any gears you could do without or indeed add. If there are big jumps up or down in the cassette missing out sequential intermediate sprockets you might benefit from a cassette with sprockets closer in size. If you ride flat routes get a cassette which has pretty much all sprockets with 1T difference. You might be able to ditch 11 and 12T sprockets of a cassette altogether perhaps just start at 13T going all the way up to 23T in even steps if 10spd or 25T if 11spd. Also if you are using a double chainset work out which gears are most useful you and any redundant over laps, typically use gear inches. Maybe change to a compact front chainset 50/34 if you have a 53/39 and are struggling to keep the pedals turning trying to push too heavy gears. A 53 x 11T or 12T combination is a monumentally huge gear for a newbie, plodder commuter, weekend warrior club type of rider to turn even going down hill with a following wind and wearing full Pro team kit.

But as already said pedal faster. Up your cadence. You need to increase your stamina.

 

[kiwifruit]

Thanks @Edwardoka both my road bike are compact 50/34 one bike is 32/11 and the other is 28/11. I tend to ride on the big ring on the front and roughly the middle sprocket on the back. But I do struggle a bit on the 28/11 especially on big hills. I will take your advice and try to improve my cadence.

 

[Edwardoka]

I've had a heart attack and the difference between that and my heart simply turned up to 11 while cycling was night and day. Again, the pain of pushing your lower body muscles where they dont want to go is more than slightly different to a heart attack.

Ah man, I didn't know. Glad you've recovered enough to be able to bag KOMs

However, not all heart attacks are the same, as i say, heart disease runs in my family, three of my uncles have had heart attacks, and they all manifested completely differently (one initially thought it was bad indigestion, tried to walk it off, and walked several miles to the hospital, another was fine one second and gone the next with no outward signs, the other had the classic chest-clutching crying-out-in-terrible pain)

I don't want to derail the thread about cycling faster any more than I already have so will leave it there.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

, I've been cycling since 2015 and cycle 3 or 4 times a week and my average speed hasn't improved much from when I started around 12mph on a 20 mile loop, now I average around 13.5 mph on the same loop. Yesterday I did a shorter route with less gradients I just manage 13.6mph.

Forget about strava and obsessing about average speeds. Stat-chasing is a load of shite that isn't worth worrying about. I've been riding various bikes for over 45 years and my average speed for a tarmac-only ride of 20-ish miles usually comes in at about 11.5 MPH. If I was to kill myself I'd be able to increase that by a couple of MPH, but I really can't be arsed. Nobody is paying my wages to ride as fast as possible, so I just concentrate on enjoying the scenery and getting some fresh air.
What speeds other riders may achieve isn't important, for a whole load of reasons; type of bike, riding position, power output, rider weight, age, level of fitness, weather conditions, wind direction, ambient temperature etc. Huge number of variables at play.

 

[johnnyb47]

I restarted my cycling adventures nearly 4 years ago. I was overweight and mentally drained with personal issues. The bike i was using was my beloved heavy old Steel Peugeot road bike.
My average speeds were around 13-14 mph.
After spending many a few 1000 miles cycling my need for speed has taken the bait.
I Lost around 3 stone and upgraded to a more modern light weight bike. The speeds slowly increased over time. I found doing really long rides followed by a good recovery time helped me increase my speed on a short 10 mile stint on the next outing. A good set of Wheels and tyres also seemed to make a difference to. If you're back and wrists can take it, ride on the drops for as long as you can. You don't notice instant speed improvements there and then, but over a long ride, the improved aero position soon mounts up to a better average. Sitting on the drops is now my default position. It can be hard to do for long periods but over time your body gets used to it. I think it's a combination of this that improves avg speed.
I now avg around 17-19 mph but still get thrashed by my mates lol, so there's still improvements to be made.
At the end of the day though speed is not the "be all" of the day. Enjoyment and good well-being is equally as important as health states. I just find it fascinating understanding and learning what makes a cyclist a fast cyclist.
Could i ask what tyres and pressure you are running them at. I have found that running 700c x 28 vitoria rubino pro on a set of fulcrum wheels really changed my avg for the better 👍

 

[cyberknight]

You need to up your cadence to ride between about 90-100. 80 is too low. Your legs don't have the power at the moment to push heavier gears at the lower cadences you are currently riding to get the figures you want to see. In any case riding lower cadences pushing heavy gears is bad for your joints especially knees.

I would also look at what gearing you have on your bike what is your most comfortable gear and the gear you can comfortably accelerate in up to a max cadence. If you ride routes regularly you must know what gear you can hold at what cadence depending on the gradient and duration? Power data I guess would be nice but power meters are expensive, you don't need it. Maybe you have a HRM?

Back to gears, look at your cassette and see if there are any gears you could do without or indeed add. If there are big jumps up or down in the cassette missing out sequential intermediate sprockets you might benefit from a cassette with sprockets closer in size. If you ride flat routes get a cassette which has pretty much all sprockets with 1T difference. You might be able to ditch 11 and 12T sprockets of a cassette altogether perhaps just start at 13T going all the way up to 23T in even steps if 10spd or 25T if 11spd. Also if you are using a double chainset work out which gears are most useful you and any redundant over laps, typically use gear inches. Maybe change to a compact front chainset 50/34 if you have a 53/39 and are struggling to keep the pedals turning trying to push too heavy gears. A 53 x 11T or 12T combination is a monumentally huge gear for a newbie, plodder commuter, weekend warrior club type of rider to turn even going down hill with a following wind and wearing full Pro team kit.

But as already said pedal faster. Up your cadence. You need to increase your stamina.

Research has found for beginners high cadence is actually inefficient
https://www.welovecycling.com/wide/...-cadence-cycling-has-no-benefit-for-amateurs/
https://www.bicycling.com/news/a26305270/high-cadence-cycling-not-increase-speed/
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitness/why-amateurs-shouldnt-try-to-pedal-like-chris-froome-191779
https://blog.mapmyrun.com/cadence-high-4-symptoms-spinning/
http://www.220triathlon.com/training/bike/should-you-pedal-at-a-high-cadence/12798.html
I am not saying the OP might not need to increase cadence but it has been shown high cadence is not the magic pill

 

[lazybloke]

Forget about strava and obsessing about average speeds. Stat-chasing is a load of shite that isn't worth worrying about. I've been riding various bikes for over 45 years and my average speed for a tarmac-only ride of 20-ish miles usually comes in at about 11.5 MPH. If I was to kill myself I'd be able to increase that by a couple of MPH, but I really can't be arsed. Nobody is paying my wages to ride as fast as possible, so I just concentrate on enjoying the scenery and getting some fresh air.
What speeds other riders may achieve isn't important, for a whole load of reasons; type of bike, riding position, power output, rider weight, age, level of fitness, weather conditions, wind direction, ambient temperature etc. Huge number of variables at play.

There's a lot to be said for slowing down and just enjoying the ride, but some folk like to go fast too.

 

[kiwifruit]

I restarted my cycling adventures nearly 4 years ago. I was overweight and mentally drained with personal issues. The bike i was using was my beloved heavy old Steel Peugeot road bike.
My average speeds were around 13-14 mph.
After spending many a few 1000 miles cycling my need for speed has taken the bait.
I Lost around 3 stone and upgraded to a more modern light weight bike. The speeds slowly increased over time. I found doing really long rides followed by a good recovery time helped me increase my speed on a short 10 mile stint on the next outing. A good set of Wheels and tyres also seemed to make a difference to. If you're back and wrists can take it, ride on the drops for as long as you can. You don't notice instant speed improvements there and then, but over a long ride, the improved aero position soon mounts up to a better average. Sitting on the drops is now my default position. It can be hard to do for long periods but over time your body gets used to it. I think it's a combination of this that improves avg speed.
I now avg around 17-19 mph but still get thrashed by my mates lol, so there's still improvements to be made.
At the end of the day though speed is not the "be all" of the day. Enjoyment and good well-being is equally as important as health states. I just find it fascinating understanding and learning what makes a cyclist a fast cyclist.
Could i ask what tyres and pressure you are running them at. I have found that running 700c x 28 vitoria rubino pro on a set of fulcrum wheels really changed my avg for the better 👍

I have 2 bikes both on mavic askium wheels the Orbea disc bike I use 700 x 25mm Vitoria Rubino pro at 90 psi and the other bike Rim brake I use Michelin Pro 4 endurance 700x 25mm also at 90psi.

 

[HLaB]

Hi all am 5ft8in, weigh 65kg age 48 slight built, I got 2 road bike and a mountain bike. I tend to ride the road bike and I do put some effect in on my rides. I do have a cadence sensor average about 80rpm. Please see attached

You've got the tools to go faster (not heavy and right bikes) and 80rpm if its your natural cadence isn't bad especially in Kent. Whilst Kent isn't flat you can definitely get faster with training. Flat out interval sessions and rest days is probably the best way to develop. Perhaps if you have not already done so get some clipped in pedals as well (spds, et al) may help to a degree.

 

[PaulSB]

that’s quite a lot of gain in 20 miles. Wear was the equivalent descent?

In my part of the world, Lancashire, this would be a flat, easy ride.

Out of interest is this amount of gain heading towards what you would consider hilly? Where would one find this sort of terrain in the UK?

 

[nickyboy]

Ok, taking that one ride you posted. It was 18 miles at about 50ft climbing per mile. Rolling but not really hilly. You did 13.8mph

Now I'm older than you and about 18kg heavier than you. I could do your ride at about 17.5mph. So why aren't you?

It isn't the bike. Well, it might be a little bit. But it isn't a big deal

It's you. You say you're doing similar miles per week to me (80-100). Now I'm no natural athlete, to do 17.5mph on your ride I would have to push quite hard all the ride and I'd be pretty tired at the end.

All I can conclude is that you've got the wherewithal to ride quite a bit faster (unless some health condition prevents) but you're not pushing yourself hard enough and there is plenty left in the tank

 

[nickyboy]

For example I'm about to go out and do 30 miles with 3,000ft of climbing. Hilly, so you should be able to thrash me as I'm lugging 18kg up the hills that you're not

I will average about 13.8. But that's by working hard and coming home tired. Afraid there is no magic bullet of gearing, cadence etc etc. You just need to push yourself more

 

[Venod]

I am not saying the OP might not need to increase cadence but it has been shown high cadence is not the magic pill

I agree with this cadence is a very individual thing, the ops 80 rpm is good, but increasing it may make him faster, that's why I suggested using the cadence readout, in the ops case when travelling at 15 mph @ 80 rpm I would change down a gear and up the cadence until the speed is more than 15 mph and see if its still comfortable.

https://www.roadbikerider.com/whats-the-optimal-cycling-cadence/

 

[vickster]

In my part of the world, Lancashire, this would be a flat, easy ride.

Out of interest is this amount of gain heading towards what you would consider hilly? Where would one find this sort of terrain in the UK?

S/he is in Kent
I’m in SW London, you can do 20 miles with pretty much no gain if you ride along / around the Thames