How to ride 30 kph (or even faster)

Wheels of Happiness

1.  Ride with the wind

2.  Select flat route or downhill

3.  Ride with a group (suck a wheel)

4.  Make your bike aero 

5.  Make yourself smaller

6.  Improve fitness  hiit, attack a climb

7.  Fuel/nutrition

8.  Pacing

9.  Less braking

How to ride faster: make your ride a collection of sprints x 10 seconds

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
July 27, 2018

Read also 10 tips towards becoming a fitter faster biker

Like the searchers for fountain of  youth, many of elderly riders search for ways on how we can ride faster.
After minding the equipment:  the bike, the tires, the jersey, the helmet, the nutrition, it is time to pay attention on how we ride.

I happened to read page 162 of the Cycling + Magazine with title FASTER FITNESS  that lists 5 ways on how to improve your time in TT rides.   The 4 others prescribe use of a trainer, hill climbs.  But what caught my attention and easy to remember is this:

     PEAK PRACTICE.

     Warm up 15 minutes and 5 x 15 seconds sprint

     Work out  3 sets) x (6 x10 sec  maximum power) 2 minutes rest between interval 5 minutes rest
      between sets.  This is an all out maximum effort.  Pukpukan   You have to do this even on a hill...
      or you feel tired...

      Cool down 15 minutes..

  Doing this consumes the whole time  it takes to ride from Angono to Morong.

What I found out:

1.   It leaves your breathless and you sweat out plenty after the 3 sets;

2.  The km come by faster;

3.  It makes you faster without feeling much pain.   And you dont notice it you get faster.  No need to worry about FTP

Of course to ride faster and better you have mind other things:

1.  Equipment:      lighter aero bikes,   aero wheelset,   tires with less rolling resistance, lesser watts the better
     This means more investment (more PHP)  Aero seat post, seat, handle bar. Removing stuff that make
      bike heavier or create drag:   like spare tube at the back of aero seat post;  two water bottles (make the
     bike heavier and create more drag)   Bar tape on aero cockpit

     Go for lighter bar tape.

2.  Posture:   the more your torso is parallel to the top tube, the better.  And the narrower you are, the
     better. Hence go for narrower handle bar.  Try 38 (which is 40 at the drop) or  40 (which is 42 at the
     drop.

     Hence slam your stem and your seat.  It can save you a lot watts in terms of drag.

3. Diet and nutritious.

    More carbs in your  diet.   Or even fast at times

4.  More rides and practice

    A biker who rides 3x a week will do better and be stronger than a weekend warrior

Some or many bikes look similar but are only branded and hyped differently

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
May 12, 2018

Based on the humble observation of this post, some bikes, mostly aero have the same shapes especially the aero bikes:

       1.  Scott Foil

       2.  Merida Reacto

       3.  Cippolini  NKIK

       4.  Specialized Venge Vias

       5.  Giant Defy Advanced

       6. Kuota  Kiral

       7.  Factor bikes  (latest from Celeste)

Please see.  Observe the following:

        1.  The head tube  bulk

        2.  The seat tube stay, the curved tube for the wheel

        3.  The rear tube stays

        4.  The offset between the top tube  and rear tube stays (mas lower)

Same design?  Different brand, different pricing?   How come we are falling for this?

     

                                                              Cippolini NK1K

                                                          Merida Reacto

                                                                          Scott Foil

                                                       Giant Defy 3

                                                                 Kuota Kiral


More or less we get a good picture of MO of bike manufacturing. To save on tool and die, manufacturers use same dies for their bikes;  they just brand the bikes differently.  To save costs

New wheelset for the Fuji Bike - now a complete expensive bike

Wheels of Happiness

                               Bike guapo


Angono, Rizal, Philippines  |  February 23, 2014

The Fuji bikes now has now  Cosmic aero wheelset.   I bought it on credit at 1/2 of its original price.  It looks guapo.  However, when I tried this for Antipolo Teresa ride, it had "sometimes"  When ever I ran over a bump, it would squeak.  I tried to oil the hub (the front hub)  it disappeared for  a while, from Morong to Binangonan.  But at convention hall of Binangonan, the squeaking (like the bearing was seizing) returned.  I put WD 40 when I got home.  Or maybe I would put some grease.  I hope that disturbing noise disappear.

But the bike looks guapo and now is drawing comments, as when I was at the Antipolo church.