I want to go faster, do I need another bike?

[larringt]

Hi All,

I'm new to cycling and this forum... I'm fairly experienced runner and due to injury I starting cycling this summer. I brought my first bike ( Giant Roam hyprid) which I really love. It's good on the road and trails plus I can jump off curves without worrying. I take it in the city and it's great for commuting as well I think.

My problem is as I have been riding more and more. I find that I keep getting my A@# handed to be by road/race bikes a my local park. I want to go faster, I feel fairly comfortable with my heart rate too. I was around 13 mph then once I got some help with using the gears I got up to 16 mph... I'm sure I can do a little better with time. But my question is:

If I really want to ride in races, or go faster than 19 / 20 mph did I buy the wrong bike?

Are there somethings I can do to my Roam to make is faster?

Based on what I said above should I start looking at purchasing a road / race bike? I know people that have both, and I can afford it I just don't want to waste money.

Any advice or opinions would be helpful..

 

[themosquitoking]

I got told i was like a different rider the first ride i went out with a road bike after changing from a hybrid.

 

[Canrider]

Let's take a look at this bike then...

 

[Canrider]

Okay, that's quite a nice bike for the money (you didn't say which Roam you had so I looked at the £359 Roam 4 and the £500 Roam 1).
There's not a whole lot wrong with it from a hybrid point of view, it's got sensible gearing and sensible tyres.
Where you're losing out to dedicated road bikes are in three aspects:
1) Suspension forks which are great for hopping pavement kerbs or tree roots but aren't on a 'road bike' and so add weight and potentially sap energy from your straight-line speed. Make that a lot of weight and energy, really.
2) Gearing in that you have a triple chainset that 'only' goes up to 48, where a road bike would go to 50+
3) Tyres that are 40 width where a road bike would have 28s or even 23s.

If you want to 'ride races', well, it depends on the race, doesn't it? If you desperately want to race on roads, and you say you can afford it, buy a new bike with a more clear 'road racing' focus to it. But, don't buy a drag racer if you also want to ride it to the shops, if you see what I mean.

 

[marzjennings]

At a not a complete guess I'm going to say engine/rider 90% and bike 10% of performance.

A new bike is not going to add on 3 or mph to your average speed.

Looking at the Roam 2 (wasn't sure which version you had) on Giant's site, with some good tyres and pedals should be ok for ~20mph.

Potential upgrades, if you want to road race, switch the forks for rigids, swap the crankset for a lighter double.

With the right legs and lungs Cat V podium can be yours.

 

[biggs682]

try and borrow a road bike and try it first and see what happens

 

[larringt]

Thanks for all of the responses and advice. First of all I have a Giant Roam 2 (2012) model, sorry for not saying that earlier. After reading all of your comments it sounds like I can get more performance out of my Roam so I'll try that first. I'll get some pedal or pedal straps and just work utilizing the gears better and see where that gets me. While I can afford a race bike now I want to get the most I can out of my bike first that way I'm better prepared when I go to a race bike. At least that's my thought. Also I want to avoid spending 100's of dollars changes to my Roam when it just seems easier to pay a few more hundred and buy a bike designed for what now want. Plus I don't want to lose out on the hybrid features of the Roam. The reason I brought the Roam hasn't change, I just have some new desires... ( now I see why some people have two bikes)

 

[Kestevan]

I just have some new desires... ( now I see why some people have two bikes)

That's how it starts........ when you've got a road bike, you'll decide you want to try more serious off-roading so you'll "need" a mountain bike. Then it's a fixie, and a full-suss downhill machine....... Before you know it the shed's full and your wondering if the missus would notice if you bought a recumbent......

Welcome to N+1 - this way lies madness (and poverty).

 

[Gravity Aided]

Could always buy used. Fills the shed twice as fast, makes the other half only half as "concerned".

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I am roughly 1- 1.5mph faster on my road bike than on my hybrid, and the road bike seems to take less effort.

If you can afford it, keep the hybrid for the commuting, pootling around, and get a road bike as well for the racing/social riding scene

 

[numbnuts]

When your an old fart like me it doesn't matter what I ride I'm still slow.

 

[HLaB]

On my old steel Hybrid I was around 12.5mph comfortable (14.5mph if I worked). On my Ridgeback Velocity Hybrid I'm around 13.5-14mph comfortable (just above 15mph if I work). The flat bar roadbike (Sirrus) I'd be around 14.5-15mph comfortable (16.5mph if I worked); converted it to a drop bar and I was averaging 15.5-16mph comfortably (17-18mph if I worked) and on my other road bikes I was averaging around 16.5 comfortably (18-19mph if I worked) (now I'm fitter I'd say 17mph comfortable and 19-24mph working but its not a fair comparrison, fit me with a less fit me ). There's more to it than just the bike for instance my heavy steel fixed road bike average 19.4mph on relatively flat course and the good geared bike was only 19.6mph allbeit an easier 19.6mph but IME the type of bike does matter particularly when it comes to aerodynamics.

 

[larringt]

Thanks for all the info ladies and gents.. I'm traveling this week so I cant ride till next week. I'll get some toe straps and try a better gearing strategy to see what it gets me.

 

[vickster]

Why not go clipless? Get some pedals and shoes, can always swap to any new bike you get

I assume your Giant has a lock out fork?

 

[lulubel]

In addition to the fairly small speed gains you'd get from a road bike, there are psychological speed gains too. If a bike's designed to go fast, I tend to ride it hard and go fast. If it's designed to pootle along, I pootle along.

Whether you need a road bike to go faster or not isn't about whether you actually need one - it's about how much you want one. If you want one enough, you will buy one ... and ride faster on it.