Instead of mimicking what you see on TV, get a professional bike fit.
On the other hand, if you’re comfortable and spinning the pedals as efficiently as possible, you’ll be more likely to put more power to the pedals and average a higher speed over longer distances. Think of it this way: If you can’t ride in the drops for more than a few minutes because it isn’t comfortable, an aero bike setup isn’t going to do you much good. Too often cyclists adopt aggressive positions on the bike to mimic the pros and to look fast, but it ends up causing is a sore back and neck and a position that isn’t all that efficient for your individual body type, causing you to slow down anyway. And while lowering your head position, tucking your elbows and buying things like aero helmets and wheels can certainly help, if you want to go faster you also need to be comfortable. When it comes to improving average speed, aerodynamics is what gets talked about most often. You’ll be surprised how much better you feel at the end of the ride and how much faster your average speed is. Instead, stick to a heart rate or power output number you know you can maintain for the duration of the ride no matter the terrain. Hammering to the top of a hill in a heart rate zone well above where you should be can leave you feeling tired and ragged for the rest of your ride, affecting your average speed.
Climbs are one example when this often happens. While you might think this strategy would end up averaging out to about the same number you’d get riding at an even pace, the truth is riding steady keeps your legs feeling better and allows you to ride faster than trying to hang on during those last few miles.Īlso think about those times during a ride when you steer away from a consistent effort. If you begin a ride at a pace you can’t sustain, eventually you’ll have to slow down. Whether it’s a race or a local climb with your training partners, one of the biggest mistakes cyclists make is not pacing their efforts correctly.