Improving Cycling

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con101193

New Member
I am 15 years old, just got a pinnacle peak 4.0 about a month ago and have started bike riding again.

i can do a 14 mile bike ride in 1 hour 10 mins but i want to get better as i don't think this is that good for somebody my age.

how could i say get my time down to 50 minutes. how much training and what kind of training would be the best?
 

aJohnson

Senior Member
Location
Bury, Manchester
I'd just say keep riding for the time being, you'll get fitter then time will improve.
 

GrasB

Veteran
Location
Nr Cambridge
Yeah, just ride & make sure you're eating a healthy & appropriate diet. As your body gets used to cycling you'll get stronger, fitter & faster. The speed will come with time, don't try to force it out when it's not there. When I started cycling I was about your age & I think about that sort of speed too, as I cycled more I got faster & faster.
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
Hi Con and welcome.

I don't know if you have clip-in pedals - if so then you want to develop a minimum of four pedalling styles so that when the legs get tired using one style you switch to the next etc.
 

SimonC

Well-Known Member
Location
Sheffield
jasonmccullum said:
3 pedalling styles.. can you explain please,, sorry i'm a nube

Dont worry about it, I've been riding for years, and dont know what these four pedalling styles are.

Please explain accountantpete:smile:
 

andyfromotley

New Member
Ride your bike absolutely everywhere! A year of doing this will se you as fit a butchers dog. Then you could start doing some specific training, perhaps with a cycling club.

Just ride the bike, quickly, slowly, long or short trips, it all counts.

oh, dont forget to enjoy it as well.
 
Hi con101193, you're on a front suspension mtb, one not really built for speed you may be able to lock out the suspension and put narrower slicker tyres on it to improve speed and practice is vital you've got plenty of time to improve but in the end of the day if that doesn't get you sub 50 a new road bike may be in order.
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
SimonC said:
Dont worry about it, I've been riding for years, and dont know what these four pedalling styles are.

Please explain accountantpete:smile:

At the very basic level you can move the bike by pushing down on the pedals. This utilises one set of muscles.

You can also transfer power by dropping the heel and then pulling the pedal down and back from the 3 o'clock position to the 6 o'clock. This uses a largely different group of muscles.

So you can use the first style for a mile and then switch to number 2 for the next mile allowing the muscles used in the first process to rest and keep alternating the styles.

If you then add on a pull back and up phase and a push forward phase you add a bit more variety to this process.

Going up hills I prefer to integrate all four into one fluid turning of the pedals with the feet exactly as one would turn a handle with your hand as this for me is the most efficient way of getting up hills.
 

SimonC

Well-Known Member
Location
Sheffield
accountantpete said:
At the very basic level you can move the bike by pushing down on the pedals. This utilises one set of muscles.

You can also transfer power by dropping the heel and then pulling the pedal down and back from the 3 o'clock position to the 6 o'clock. This uses a largely different group of muscles.

So you can use the first style for a mile and then switch to number 2 for the next mile allowing the muscles used in the first process to rest and keep alternating the styles.

If you then add on a pull back and up phase and a push forward phase you add a bit more variety to this process.

Going up hills I prefer to integrate all four into one fluid turning of the pedals with the feet exactly as one would turn a handle with your hand as this for me is the most efficient way of getting up hills.

And all these years I've just been pedalling;)

Seriously though, these alternative pedalling styles cant all generate the same amount of power.
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
SimonC said:
And all these years I've just been pedalling;)

Seriously though, these alternative pedalling styles cant all generate the same amount of power.


With practice and the resultant muscle development they can get very near- but even so you can utilise the weakest on the most favourable bit of road -say a slight downhill with a following wind and the strongest on an uphill road with a headwind.
 
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