Originally Posted by
runnergoneridin
I'll assume this comes up a lot.
Current setup is a stripped down Vilano aluminum roadbike (first bike, got it on craigslist for $25 - so I can't really complain). I've removed as much useless junk as possible. Specs are:
- Shimano Tourney 21-speed setup.
- 50t/xx/xx chainring
- Highest rear cog is a 14t
You have gearing to sprint 39 MPH.
You need 120 RPM for peak muscle fiber recruitment to make maximum power, and another 20 RPM beyond that isn't a big deal.
- No water bottles, nor water bottle brackets
Get two cages and 750ml bottles . Use clamp on mounts if there are no threaded holes for the matching bolts.
You want enough water to ride 3-4 hours until you're forced to stop and pee.
So I've been riding this thing for a couple weeks now, and yesterday I finally put a computer on it to see where I'm at. Well, on flat'ish roadways, tucked on the down bars, I can put a lot of oompf into it and managed to only push like 25.4 mph (50t/14t), but don't have cadence numbers on that (felt like a lot lol).
You need to work on the motor.
With all this, what can I do to get more speed ? Cheers!
Spend most of your time below your aerobic threshold. This will have the largest effect on speed over longer distances.
Your aerobic threshold is where breathing becomes rhythmic, conversation doesn't flow, and lactate/hydrogen ions start to accumulate. It's an intensity you could sustain for 3-5 hours with an even split between halves. Mark Allen set his unmatched 2:40 Ironman marathon split record in 1989 after doing that, initially dropping his training pace to 8:15 with performance improving over a year to 5:20 at the same 155 bpm heart rate.
One day a week ride at least double your daily time.
Except on your rest week spend a day a week working on your anaerobic threshold and VO2 max. Ride 7–10 minute intervals as hard as possible until you can’t break it. Your anaerobic threshold is approximately what you average over the last 20 minutes of a 30 minute all-out effort running, riding, rowing or whatever you do for cardio. In theory you could do that for one hour straight although that's very unpleasant - "
It was the most intense hour of my career,” said the greatest cyclist of all time Eddy Merckx. “It was pain, pain, and pain"
Go for a group or longer fast ride once a week for fun if you want. Don’t do that too often because it will probably be too hard to train aerobic performance and too easy for anaerobic.
Add 10% to your time riding every week, except the 1 in 3-4 you go easy to allow time for adaptation.
You'll need to total 6 hours/week to be in good shape, and 10 to achieve much of your potential.