Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
14 MPH is an interesting data point. It is about the speed at which aero drag losses surpass all the other things that are holding you back combined. If you want to go faster than that, work on your aero position on the bike.
Yup learn to tuck in, keep the back flat.
Originally Posted by
Gresp15C
Spandex.
It could help a little if ya got flappy mtb shirts, shorts.
Originally Posted by
Rajflyboy
Is some of this purely Mental? Can it be a mental barrier as much as a physical one ?
Im not a strava fan.
I went from mtb to road and it felt like mtb used different muscles, took me awhile to start hitting 17mph solo, finally was hitting 20mph without any wind on the flats. Probably a season of work. This is the start of my third season and finally I can hold a solid 18 - 20 on 30 mile solo rides. Nutrition has been a big issue now for those speeds.
Another thing that might be holding you back is the larger cassette gaps. But you should also learn to spin the cranks so it's a wash. It's easy to eek out another few mph's when your cog jumps are 6% in your "cruising range".