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From 14 mph to faster

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From 14 mph to faster

Old 05-15-19, 11:11 AM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by wipekitty
Yup. Those who drive to the start of a ride tend to have a higher average MPH than those who ride there, and overall/weekly average MPH is always highest for those who do pure road training and no commuting or MTB riding.
Right. Remember too, a lot of the MPH averages posted around BF is on group rides, where drafting can easily add 2-3 mph or more to ones average.
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Old 05-15-19, 11:16 AM
  #27  
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I’m riding a Fuji Jari gravel bike with 28mm road tires right now.

1x11drivetrain. I’m thinking a bigger chain ring up front.

Charlotte, NC. No big hills but virtually no level terrain either.

Thanks for all the advice! I do have tendinitis on the top of the right foot (certainly holds me back a bit).
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Old 05-15-19, 11:18 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by AlmostTrick
Right. Remember too, a lot of the MPH averages posted around BF is on group rides, where drafting can easily add 2-3 mph or more to ones average.
I didn稚 think of that. I知 trying to hook up with a group ride that averages 16 to 18 in the slow group. So maybe I知 not that far off that.
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Old 05-15-19, 11:19 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by Rajflyboy
1x11drivetrain. I知 thinking a bigger chain ring up front.
Unless you're regularly spinning out your top gear (which I doubt), that won't help at all.
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Old 05-15-19, 11:22 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by bakerjw
What kind of bike are you riding?
What kind of tires are on it? Mountain? Road? A hybrid tire?
Is the seat adjusted well?
Are you heavy? > 250#

There are a lot of variables. Sometimes it just takes conditioning. A few years back I was riding up a grade that used to kill me and I passed someone struggling along. He was on a road bike and not overweight. He commented that I should at least act like it was hard for me. He was a newer rider and I wasn't. I was better conditioned. The day will come when he will ride the grade without a problem.
Good story
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Old 05-15-19, 11:50 AM
  #31  
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How do I bust through this barrier ?
You don't. If you know enough about the Internet to post a question here - you certainly can search out dozens of articles on exercise and training.

The reason I answered your question with "you don't" - is because I doubt that your next exercise gains will take a form of "busting through barriers."

Since I know nothing about your situation - I can hardly expect to successfully offer specific advice. So I'll just rehash a few things that seem important to me.

First of all, if you want achieve a goal - you have to have a good and accurate way of measuring where you are now. (same bike/same tires/same weather/same odometer

Secondly, you have spend some of your training (or riding) time not testing yourself. This means you must purposely ride slowly for good periods of time.

And finally, you have to make your attempts at improvement incremental. This means you set out very short, but very intense sessions of riding.

And finally - always listen to your body - to be able to ride really hard - you have to learn to rest even harder.

Good luck - keep the rubber side down.
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Old 05-15-19, 11:52 AM
  #32  
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You've got a good bike for getting stronger. A 2x10 would probably be a bit better but what you have will work.
My Giant TCR has 700cX28 tubeless tires on it so the tires are not a real issue.
I doubt that you are running out of gears.
A decent cycling computer (I run a Garmin Edge 500) will show you a lot of good data such as cadence, heart rate, speed, etc...

Whatever you do. For all that is HOLY... Do not ever look at Strava.
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Old 05-15-19, 12:00 PM
  #33  
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Is some of this purely Mental? Can it be a mental barrier as much as a physical one ?

Im not a strava fan.
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Old 05-15-19, 12:21 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by Rajflyboy
Is some of this purely Mental? Can it be a mental barrier as much as a physical one ?
Yes, you have to be motivated to train harder, and endure the pain that goes along with it.
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Old 05-15-19, 12:26 PM
  #35  
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When you say you average 14 mph what do you mean exactly? Is this 14 mph average over an entire ride? If so, what's your terrain and traffic situation like? Or is it 14 mph cruising speed on level ground?
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Old 05-15-19, 12:27 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by Rajflyboy
I知 riding a Fuji Jari gravel bike with 28mm road tires right now.

1x11drivetrain. I知 thinking a bigger chain ring up front.

Charlotte, NC. No big hills but virtually no level terrain either.

Thanks for all the advice! I do have tendinitis on the top of the right foot (certainly holds me back a bit).
All that stuff about tires in this thread, and you're probably fine in that regard!

So you have extensor tendonitis? You might want to talk to a doctor about your footwear in general, and your bike footwear and pedals in particular.

Are you riding flat, clipless, or toe-clip pedals? I have no idea if that makes a difference for tendonitis, but it sounds like something worth checking out. I know that type of tendonitis is usually related to footwear, but I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on Bike Forums.
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Old 05-15-19, 12:32 PM
  #37  
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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.
If you're having a lot of foot pain if you overdo it, it might be the good kind of mental.
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Old 05-15-19, 12:39 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by Rajflyboy
Im not a strava fan.
That was more of a joke than anything.
In almost everything that we do, there are plateaus. Mental, physical, whatever. Don't let it get to you. Just go out, ride hard as you feel and have fun.
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Old 05-15-19, 12:57 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by clengman
When you say you average 14 mph what do you mean exactly? Is this 14 mph average over an entire ride? If so, what's your terrain and traffic situation like? Or is it 14 mph cruising speed on level ground?
Charlotte, NC

Mostly small rolling hills
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Old 05-15-19, 01:58 PM
  #40  
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Group rides. I was a steady 12-13 mph average until I joined a club. Even riding with 2 or 3 riders will boost your average. Besides drafting help, you will probably ride further, faster and maybe on roads that you would never think of going alone. Also depends how you measure the average. My Garmin pauses at stop light, coffee stops, etc. It only records and measures rolling time, which can make a big difference. On group rides, I'm usually 15-16 mph, sometimes into the 17s. When I rode solo, my average is also around 14-15mph. Don't obsess over the speed, just ride more, and you will ride faster.
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Old 05-15-19, 02:11 PM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by Rajflyboy
I mostly ride mountain bikes but I have started riding some road/gravel

I知 averaging 14 ish mph on my rides and struggle with going faster.

How do I bust through this barrier ?
Work harder.
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Old 05-15-19, 02:12 PM
  #42  
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There are a lot of variables. Distances, hills, roads, etc.

I have several bikes, and find that each bike has its own natural speed.

I struggle to keep my speed up on my Tricross. It seems like my road bike likes to roll about 2mph to 3 mph faster.

For my commuting, errands, whatnot, I'm often late going towards town, and go pretty quick, and then just grind on my way back home, often with a little extra load.
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Old 05-15-19, 02:17 PM
  #43  
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Intervals should work to increase your average speed.
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Old 05-15-19, 03:06 PM
  #44  
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Old 05-15-19, 03:12 PM
  #45  
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I think everyone including OP already knows that it takes physical training, time and effort to get faster. So inferentially, some common questions that he may be looking for:

Will road-specific equipment other than what he describes be appreciably faster?

Sure.

Is the speed he has now decent given his bike and how he describes his routes?

I'd say yes, that's nothing to be ashamed of, and if you need that validated just fire up Strava and make a long segment out of some of your usual routes.

Is it feasible for him to get significantly faster by training?

Again, skipping all the "it depends" stuff, there's no reason why he couldn't expect to gain several mph in average speed on the same equipment, same routes, by putting in a year of training.
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Old 05-15-19, 03:56 PM
  #46  
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Old 05-15-19, 06:10 PM
  #47  
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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.
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Old 05-15-19, 06:30 PM
  #48  
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How important is speed to you and what are you willing to do to achieve it? Training is definitely part of it, but you'll probably never reach 20 mph on a mountain bike.
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Old 05-15-19, 06:47 PM
  #49  
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Ride more. Push harder. When you feel like you've gotten to the limits of what you can do on the MTB in terms of speed and/or distance, get a more road-oriented bike. You'll be faster, but feel like you can be faster still. Ride more. Push harder.
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Old 05-15-19, 06:55 PM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by livedarklions
All that stuff about tires in this thread, and you're probably fine in that regard!

So you have extensor tendonitis? You might want to talk to a doctor about your footwear in general, and your bike footwear and pedals in particular.

Are you riding flat, clipless, or toe-clip pedals? I have no idea if that makes a difference for tendonitis, but it sounds like something worth checking out. I know that type of tendonitis is usually related to footwear, but I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on Bike Forums.
Clipless shoes on the road bike for now

I have tried about everything and flats with 5 10痴 work best for me and the tendinitis. I may try buying a pair of 5 10 clipless and see how that works.

Doctors have said rest or slow down some with walking/exercising even though that sounds counterproductive to good health.
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